Fosters Acme lever controlled Spinning reel

Not many of these about, Foster of Ashbourne, Derbyshire retailed the reel as The Acme.

Virtually identical to the Hodder, or if you were in Peeks of London, they called it the Venus.

Fitted with a Silex type casting lever and a silent check. A black ebonite brake disc to the rear of the drum acts as the brake against the brass polo lever.

The Hodder was catalogued in 1929 as a roach or light spinning reel. Advertised in 3-1/2”, 4” and 4-1/2” sizes, the smaller being the rarest of the three. Costing 29 shillings it was relatively cheap when considering Cogswell and Harrison were offering a 4” Nottingham wood reel for 27 shillings at the same time.

Perhaps this Acme variant came as an upgrade to the Hodder with stronger check brake and casting control lever for salmon or even pike.

A factory-fitted brass sliding eye line guide harks back to the reel’s coarse fishing heritage.

This example is 4” diameter and one of the most attractive reels for any collectors cabinet.