Ephemera, its all in the bottom of the bag.

Many collectors of vintage tackle collect, reels, rods, lures and some accessories or ephemera. I have never specialised in ephemera but over the years I’ve always kept interesting bits ‘n’ bobs to display in my ‘wall cabinet of plenty‘. This cabinet is generally the one that attracts the most attention from collectors and anglers when visiting the office. It’s a lot of something and nothing, yet I never cease to be amazed at the conversation this creates. Alongside the postcards, AA badges, Bomber Command insignia and a hotch potch of bits, one piece caught my eye today.

John Stephenson's display cabinet
John Stephenson’s ‘wall cabinet of plenty’!

The embossed fly box “Eyed Flies” was retailed by Milward’s Bartleet after the turn of the century. Various models exist including “Dry Flies” and “Pike tackle”, they have a strange opalescent wash over the tin, are great fun and not too common either. They retail in the £20-50 bracket but what great fun.

The other tins include first Patent One shot dispenser c. 1920, gilt top shot tins, an alloy tournament casting weight, a tiny brass pike in a tin (!?) and so on…

So get digging in the bottom of your creels, baskets, tins and bags – there’s a host of interesting bits of loot to collect.

You can find some great examples of these on the Thomas Turner website under the ‘Accessories‘ category, particularly the ‘Miscellaneous’ section – happy shopping and collecting!


Do you have any vintage or classic modern fishing tackle to sell?

We are always interested in purchasing high quality vintage or modern tackle items. If you have a collection or an individual item to sell please get in touch. You can use our contact form, or email me at john@thomasturner.comPlease include some good clear images, watch our helpful video for some advice on that. We will get right back to you by phone or email.