American Museum of Fly Fishing’s Top 50 Objects, Part 1
For more than 50 years, the American Museum of Fly Fishing has been preserving the history of fly fishing across two physical locations—in Manchester, Vermont, and Springfield, Missouri—and through their award-winning quarterly journal, The American Fly Fisher. This year, AMFF and MidCurrent have teamed up to count down the 50 most interesting objects in the museum’s permanent collection, which currently includes more than 25,000 objects in total. Each month will feature a variety of historically significant items, with brief descriptions from AMFF curator Jim Schottenham. See how much work goes on behind the scenes to preserve and protect these fascinating objects, whether they’re on exhibit or not, starting with objects #50 through #36 this month.
To view additional information on each object, click on the link below the object image to access AMFF’s online collections database.
#50
Fly plate created for Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing, c. 2009
Gift of Project Healing Waters (2011.002.001)
Designed by John Gort of Port Angeles, Washington, this fly plate honors those who served and sacrificed for the United States. The work features sixteen one-of-a-kind flies tied and mounted with the companion Campaign Ribbon. Gort recruited and trained tiers from the 90-member Olympic Peninsula Fly Fishers club to create this wonderful piece, which was given to Project Healing Waters in 2009. It is currently exhibited at AMFF in Manchester.
#49
Dwight Eisenhower’s Hardy St. George reel, c. 1950
Gift of Mamie Eisenhower (1969.009.002)
Dwight Eisenhower, the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 to 1961, was known as an avid sportsman with a particular interest in fly fishing. His time at the famed Camp David was often spent fishing for the stocked trout he requested to be placed in the stream that flowed through the property. The Hardy St. George reel in the museum’s collection, a circa 1950s example, features a pressure-sensitive label with “D.E.” on the tail plate.
#48
Cabinet cards: Theodore Gordon, 1885 & Theodore Gordon with his dog, c. 1865
AMFF permanent collection (2024.015.001 and 2024.015.002)
These images of the famed angler and fly tier Theodore Gordon, often referred to as “the father of American dry-fly fishing,” have been used in conjunction with numerous articles on the man best known for his work in developing the Catskill Style of fly tying. A young Gordon poses with his dog in a dated 1865 image taken by Mrs. R. A. Smith of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, with a later portrait coming from Havens Studio in 1885, photographed by O. Pierre Havens.
#47
Preston Jennings’s unpublished manuscript, c. 1950s
Gift of Adele Jennings (1980.006.004)
In 1935, Preston Jennings published A Book of Trout, the first comprehensive guide to American insect life and the patterns that would emulate it. Focusing on the waters of the eastern US and drawing on the knowledge of the best entomologists of his day, Jennings emphasized the importance of imitation in fly design and set the standard by which future books would be judged. An unpublished manuscript, titled The Fish & The Fly, was to continue documenting his study of entomology and the interaction between the insect world and the trout.
#46
Manhattan Brass & Mfg. Co. invoice to Orvis, October 30, 1875
AMFF permanent collection (1982.103.004)
The historically important patent issued to Charles F. Orvis in 1874 for his fly reel has been shrouded in mystery for decades, with many noted fishing tackle historians seeking answers to just who made the reels. With the discovery of this invoice from the Manhattan Brass Mfg. Co., dated October 30, 1875, we now have solid evidence these reels were produced for Orvis by the New York City-based company.
#45
C. F. Murphy fly rod, c. 1865
Gift of Stanley Kauffmann (1970.020.002)
Credited with having built one of the first fly rods constructed of split cane from tip to butt, Charles F. Murphy of Newark, New Jersey, used six strips of Calcutta bamboo to produce his fly rod. While others of his era used split cane in their rods, they primarily used solid wood, such as walnut or lancewood, for the butt section. It is widely accepted that Murphy was also the first commercially offered all-bamboo rod, pre-dating the more recognizable names such as Leonard or Orvis.
#44
Ernest Schwiebert Cover illustration for the two-volume set, Trout
Color pencil on Mylar (31 x 20 inches)
AMFF permanent collection (2019.061.001)
The 1978 book Trout by Ernest Schwiebert (American, 1931-2005) is often mentioned as the best all-around book ever written on the subject of fly fishing for trout. Writing was not Schwiebert’s only talent, as evidenced by this original art: a colored pencil drawing on Mylar depicting three trout laid over a fly rod and landing net with an open fly box, used for the book’s front cover. This cover illustration is one of the most recognizable images associated with fly-fishing literature.
#43
Salmon flies tied by Megan Boyd, c. 1983
Framing by William Cushner
AMFF permanent collection (1985.001.093)
Some of the most sought-after classic and traditional salmon flies ever tied, the creations of Megan Boyd (1915-2001) earned her accolades that included an award in 1938 at the Empire Exhibition in Glasgow, as well as the British Empire Medal from the Crown of the United Kingdom in 1971. Her client list included some of the top names in the fly-fishing community. She tied flies for many generations of the royal family, including Charles, Prince of Wales; for author Joseph Bates of Massachusetts; and for others from Sweden, Norway, and America. Her skill is remarkable when you consider that Boyd never cast a fly rod.
#42
L. L. Dickerson Model 810510 D bamboo fly rod used by Art Flick, c.1959
Gift of William Flick (2022.053.001)
Lyle Dickerson was a self-taught rod maker who designed his own rod-milling and planing equipment. He was known for using only one or two strips from a culm, a time-consuming and expensive way to build rods which likely led to relatively low production. Dickerson rods number fewer than 1,000. This example, an 8-foot model 810510 D, is made even more special, having been owned and used by the famed angler and author Art Flick, with an inked date of 1959 on one of the flats.
#41
H. S. Gillum fly rod, c. 1950
Gift of Maxine Atherton (1976.045.002)
Harold Steele “Pinky” Gillum pioneered, along with Jim Payne, the method of oven-tempering cane, rather than tempering it with direct flame. He considered tempering the primary factor in building a superior rod. This example, a circa 1950, 6-strip Tonkin-bamboo rod is made of three sections that measure 8 feet when assembled. It belonged to world-traveling fly fisher Maxine Atherton, a highly respected author and angler. The high-quality work of Mr. Gillum places his rods among the most sought-after by vintage-rod collectors worldwide.
#40
Dave Whitlock’s HMH Prototype Fly Vise, c. 1976
AMFF permanent collection (2018.051.003)
In the mid-1970s, Bill Hunter, owner of the HMH (Hunter’s Mad House) company, built a small number of prototype “Standard” fly-tying vises, offering a few to the fly tiers he respected most, such as Dave Whitlock and Lefty Kreh, to get their feedback. This vise, numbered “01” and inscribed with the name “Dave Whitlock” on the heavy brass base, was the first sent out, with number “00” remaining with Mr. Hunter. As recorded in the HMH customer logbook, Whitlock—a lauded author, artist,and angler—was the first to provide feedback on the newly made tool.
#39
William Taylor custom rod built for Joan Salvato, c. 1943
Gift of Joan Wulff (1994.003.001)
In 1943, at age sixteen, Joan Salvato graduated from high school. That year, she competed in—and won—her first national casting competition: the women’s dry-fly accuracy championship at the National Association of Angling and Casting Clubs competition in Chicago using this rod, custom-built for her by William Taylor. Taylor, a Paterson Fly Casting Club member in New Jersey, mentored Joan and is credited for developing her casting style. Joan would marry Lee Wulff in 1967, and together they established the Wulff School of Fly Fishing in 1978.
#38
Prototype for Orvis CFO reel, c. 1970
Designed by Stanley Bogdan
Gift of Orvis (1973.086.002)
Designed and built by the legendary Stan Bogdan of Nashua, New Hampshire, the prototype model for the Orvis CFO fly reel was constructed in 1970, with the first production models appearing in the Christmas of 1971 Orvis catalogs. Made to honor the original reel patented by Charles F. Orvis in 1874, it was fabricated with perforated side plates. It featured an aluminum frame and spool, a reversible click, and an adjustable thumbscrew drag on the tail plate. The CFO series of reels remains a staple of the Orvis brand.
#37
Underwater camera case used in the production of Lee Wulff films, c. 1958
Gift of Joan Wulff (2021.034.001)
This camera case was originally made to explore the wreckage of the Andrea Doria, a ship that sank in 1956 off the coast of Nantucket, Massachusetts, and was later obtained by friend Ted Rogowski for Lee Wulff’s use. The waterproof housing allowed for underwater filming, a feature that would give Wulff’s films an extra special look, as in productions such as “Three Trout to Dream About.”
#36
Ogden Pleissner’s Edward Vom Hofe Restigouche Reel, c. 1935
Gift of Ogden Pleissner (1976.040.002)
American artist Ogden Minton Pleissner (1905-1983) set a standard for seeing and depicting the sporting world that has few equals, ranking among America’s greatest sporting artists. This personally owned and used Edward Vom Hofe model #423 Restigouche fly reel also has few equals, setting the standard for single-action, salmon fly reels for decades after its introduction in the late 1860s. The reel was given the name Restigouche in 1911 and last appeared in the 1950 Edward Vom Hofe & Co. catalog.
