Farlow 191 Strand willow fly fishers creel

Most of us at one time or another will use or have collected a creel or two.

Some for use, some for decoration and others for both.

Many creels are the simple woven reed affairs with wicker hinges and hasp, making the basket weaver’s job simple.

Not so in the Victorian times!

In the pursuit of the custom, makers such as Farlow, Hardy, Ogden Smith, Cummins and a select few others took the humble willow creels to a new level.

Both Hardy and Farlow used sturdy military style brass hinges and fittings similar to those used on gun and travel cases. You can see from the images here, these creels are a real statement piece.

Also, with the maker’s dates and address details engraved on the hasp plate it helps date the creels, in this instance between 1884 & 1895.

Value can be as low as a few ££ for basic recent models into thousands for rare, ancient and important examples.

Indeed a reference book “The Art of the Creel” features many such examples of stunning craftsmanship especially from the native Americans of the USA.

Value of the Farlow creels here £500-1000) condition dependent – check our site for similar ones for sale or contact us if you’re thinking of selling or trading your old creels.

These two are in stock at the time of writing – click here to view.