Kelson, Oglesby, and Righyni

An unusual call to the northeast of England brought me to a Bruce and Walker collector. Passionate about all things Bruce and Walker he followed his angling heroes Falkus, Oglesby, and Righyni through their angling tales, eventually meeting and fishing with them on many occasions.

A collection of 30 mainly unused Bruce and Walker rods were out on display for my arrival. A cross-section of Hexagraph and tubular models for trout, sea trout, and salmon awaiting my inspection. For many anglers the Hexagraph is the ultimate expression of tradition and performance, being lighter and stronger than tubular-formed rods.

Angling tales exchanged the deal, which was about to be done when a surprise bonus was produced. An 1895 Geo Kelson, The Salmon Fly. The condition is not the best, however, the letter inside makes it interesting. The book had been loaned to Arthur Oglesby by Reg Righyni at some point and clearly demanded back. A covering letter typed on Seafield Lodge Hotel, Grantown-on-Spey headed paper made the apology.

Oglesby clearly assumed the book was a gift and not on loan. He not only impressed his library stamp but penned his signature to the front. The apology made, fishing matters briefly recounted, then signed and dated 1985.

Our client, being a friend of the aforementioned gentle fishers, ended up with the book.

The book and rods will be on the website shortly, so keep a watchful eye out for this little capsule of angling history to add to your collection.