No the Milward Brownie is not edible, it’s Mr S Brown’s Patent wood drum reel that started life in 1921 under Patent No 183277.
An interesting little reel! It was side-mounted on the rod, perhaps copied from the USA pattern reels including Pflueger and Southbend, this style remained popular through the 1920-40’s period finally dying off with the onslaught from Hardy and Mitchell with their iconic Altex and 300 models.
Sold only in one size, 3-1/2” diameter it had a polished wood drum on an alloy stem and foot assembly. A spring clip held a push through handle, the makers being Milward Bartleet.
An advert of theirs stated “Change hands, wind in ready for a fresh cast. Note – It may be easier to change the rod to the left hand after the cast and close the reel and replace the line with the right hand,” What!!
It had a hinged alloy joint with an indented ball bearing to snap it into place. I have seen a couple of slight differences in handles, line pickup wires and spool detailing.
All in all a very pretty little reel, quite fragile and very light & rare.
A welcome addition to any early spinning reel collection!
Thanks to Chris Sandford for the loan of the example pictured.
