Julius Vom Hofe - George LaBranche's Personal Salmon Reel

For sale here is a unique and historically fascinating raised pillar salmon reel made for the one and only George M. L. LaBranche of Wall Street and Catskill fly fishing fame.

The reel is in excellent original condition with no faults, just tarnish from age. LaBranche's name is engraved on the backplate. The reel's diameter is 4 1/4" (pillar to pillar) and with the silk line included the reel weighs 19 oz. The foot is unaltered. The adjustable two-setting (heavy and light) drag works as intended.

From the Catskill Fly Fishing Center and Museum's website:
With the introduction of the European Brown Trout to American waters, George LaBranche is credited as the first American angler to master the art of dry fly fishing to catch these magnificent game fish.  His research and analysis of the requirement of fast water fishing led him to invent the decoy method of floating a fly many times over a fish’s lie, thus creating an artificial hatch.  His book, The Dry Fly in Fast Water, remains a classic today for the true trout fly fisherman.

History of LaBranche & Co:
George Michel Lucien LaBranche was born in New York City in 1875 and went to work for a stockbroker in 1897. He became a member of the New York Curb Market (which later became the American Stock Exchange) in 1912 and purchased a seat on the New York Stock Exchange in 1917. Along with a son (also George M.L. LaBranche), who also bought a seat on the exchange, in 1923, he founded LaBranche & Co. LLC, a partnership, in 1924. The firm was a specialist in trading the securities of three listed companies at the time. It became a specialist in the stock of the American Telephone & Telegraph Co., one of the most heavily traded securities, in 1929.

LaBranche was also a founding member of the Anglers' Club of New York.

Reasonable offers will be considered.