Since Meisselbach reels were not marked "A.
F. Meisselbach & Bro." until 1906 and later, there are a lot of
Meisselbach reels out there that go unrecognized. I guess that is fortunate for
serious collectors, and students of Meisselbach reels. The starting point for
dating your Meisselbach reel is the model name or patents stamped on the reel.
If there is a patent date on the reel, the reel was obviously made after that
date.
1886-1905 — the reels have no
manufacturer’s name on them. Model names and numbers often appear. Patent
dates usually present are: Feb 23, 86; Nov 23, 86; Feb 5, 89; Jan 14, 96; Mar
9, 97; Dec 7, 97; Dec 8, 03; Nov 15, 04; Dec 27, 04; and June 20, 05. We can
generalize that any reel with those patent dates is a Meisselbach and was made
between the date of the last patent and 1906.
1906-1917 — Reels were stamped "A. F.
Meisselbach & Bro, Newark, N.J. USA"
1918-1921 — Most reels were stamped "A.
F. Meisselbach Mfg. Co., Newark, N.J. USA"
1922-1941 — Reels were stamped "A. F.
Meisselbach Mfg. Co., Elyria, Ohio, USA". Some of the cheaper plastic
reels were unmarked.
The above outline should give you a general idea
of when your reel was manufactured. There are many subtle changes that were made
within each model that will help to date your reel more precisely with further
study.
