My new book has finally arrived, and I couldn't be happier. "Forgotten Fly Rods: Overlooked and Underappreciated American Fishing Rod Makers" is a book I really, really enjoyed working on and it I think it is a very informative work and a good read, too. It takes a sort of different approach, in that the book is more about the rodmakers and their craft than a dissection of the rods itself. It is a nice hardcover with dust jacket and is limited to just 150 copies, about half of which have sold in the pre-order period.
I could not have done this book without help from a number of people here on Clark's. I truly appreciate the help, and being able to illustrate the work with photos of very, very rare rods was a real treat. In reality, the book was basically researched and written with the fine people of this board in mind. In a very real sense it would never have been done if Clark's did not exist, and in a small way it is my way of paying the board back for many, many hours of pleasure. I hope some people may in turn gain some pleasure from my book.
ABOUT THE BOOK
We know a good deal about many of the major American rod makers, ranging from Hiram Leonard to Eustis W. Edwards to Lyle Dickerson. But high end fly rod makers like these are just the tip (and a glorious one at that) of the iceberg. From the earliest days of American rod making in the 1830s to the immediate post-World War II era, hundreds if not thousands of men made their living in part or in whole as rod makers. We have documented histories of less than 10% of them. This book is an effort to resurrect the stories of rod makers that span the range of American fishing tackle history, from the beginnings to the 1960s.
Meticulously researched and documented, Forgotten Fly Rods brings to light a number of heretofore unknown rodsmiths including Morgan L. Marshall, Clarence Huntley, Nathan Harrington, Amasa Ward, George Miner, and Andrew Kull. It offers, for the first time, detailed histories of a number of rodsmiths whose stories have been misrepresented or incomplete, such as Will H. Cruttenden, George Morgan, Alonzo Fowler, and Roy F.B. Shaver. And it offers new interpretations and information on known rod makers, including Benjamin Welch, John Conroy, and Thaddeus Norris.
The story of the American fishing rod is much more than just split bamboo, and it goes far beyond just high end fly rods. The stories of these overlooked and underappreciated American rod makers will help us to better understand and appreciate the origins and development of the American fishing rod, and as such should prove of interest to fishing historians, rod collectors, and any anglers inquisitive about how the rod in their hands came into being.
192 Pages + 135 B&W Images + 332 Endnotes + 13 rodmakers = 1 great story of forgotten rods and their makers.
"Forgotten Fly Rods" is available from http://www.whitefishpress.com/ or by sending $54.95 (including shipping for U.S. orders only) to: The Whitefish Press, 4240 Minmor Drive, Cincinnati, OH 45217.
-- Dr. Todd
, had a wood panelled den, and big leather chair, this is the book I'd pick up after lighting the fire.
