Dating a JW Martin Rod?

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Paul F
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Dating a JW Martin Rod?

Post by Paul F »

Considering JW Martin had a reputation of mass producing fishing tackle to enable him to sell it cheaper to the working man angler, rods and reels marked JW Martin very rarely comes up in the market!

Maybe it was made so cheap and poorly, not much has survived!

I came upon 2 rods at a local auction last week, where one is marked JW Martin, the other although similar is not marked so I would say is not.

The rod is 11ft 6" long in 3 pieces
The butt has a hardwood handle of which half has cork sheet, it is a lovely tiger pattern whole cane, middle is ditto cane with a greenheart tip.

The rings are a first for me and looking in the Nottingham style book (1885) are described as guard safety rings in brass, with a flat steel loop on the tip, it has a brass butt cap which is stamped
"JW Martin & Son"
" Trent Otter"

It is in poor well used condition, and will need some work, or I could just keep it as it is!

In Practical Fishing (1906) he describes an ideal Nottingham rod thus;
The butt and the middle are selected pieces of East Indian cane, with a swelled and balanced handle grip, while the tops are made from a length of good tough greenheart........ The rings should be of the "Bells Life" bridge pattern or guard safety will do as well.

So it appears to be as described as above circa 1906, but all his books from the 1900's have adverts JW Martin, Seymour St, London, then later JW Martin & Co, but not & Son, any ideas?

Here are some photo's
Image

Image

Image
Stamped butt cap

Image
Image
Wire guard rings
Last edited by Paul F on Sun Nov 04, 2018 10:12 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Crucian
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Re: Dating a JW Martin Rod?

Post by Crucian »

What a lovely rod Paul, I particularly like those rings.

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StefanDuma
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Re: Dating a JW Martin Rod?

Post by StefanDuma »

Fantastic rod Paul and like you said the amount of his tackle that you see is scare.

I am starting to clear out my old archives ready for book 3 on Slater and the later tackle makers of Nottinghamshire and I think I have some adverts for his time in Newark I will keep a look out for them and post here if I find out.

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Lea Dweller
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Re: Dating a JW Martin Rod?

Post by Lea Dweller »

Well done Paul items from 'The Trent Otter' stable do not come along very often. I know a collector/dealer that was overjoyed a few years ago to acquire a centre pin with a J.W.Martin or Trent Otter stamp on it. He said it was one of the best things he had ever collected! :Hat:

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Tonkin Wand
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Re: Dating a JW Martin Rod?

Post by Tonkin Wand »

Hi T.F.F. souls, J.W. Martin (the Trent Otter) author and Tackle dealer. Died in 1915. His son G.S. Martin set up a tackle business in Clerkenwell post 1920.This rod dates to the sons retail he using Trent Otter brand name and J.W. Martin & son. He also reg a shield label logo in two designs using his fathers' reputation.This business lasted until his death (top of my head early sixties I would have to consult my notes).I have a genuine J.W. Martin rod that is marked "London "but retailed from the Seymore Street address (8 or 22 depends on the year) . However this does not distract from the desirability of the rods acquired, I am deeply envious. Tony.

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Paul F
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Re: Dating a JW Martin Rod?

Post by Paul F »

Tonkin Wand wrote: Sun Nov 04, 2018 3:38 pm Hi T.F.F. souls, J.W. Martin (the Trent Otter) author and Tackle dealer. Died in 1915. His son G.S. Martin set up a tackle business in Clerkenwell post 1920.This rod dates to the sons retail he using Trent Otter brand name and J.W. Martin & son. He also reg a shield label logo in two designs using his fathers' reputation.This business lasted until his death (top of my head early sixties I would have to consult my notes).I have a genuine J.W. Martin rod that is marked "London "but retailed from the Seymore Street address (8 or 22 depends on the year) . However this does not distract from the desirability of the rods acquired, I am deeply envious. Tony.
Thanks for the info Tony, much appreciated, so it seems it is some time after 1920 and maybe before WWII judging by the handle and guard rings!

I would like to see some pictures of your JW rod :Wink:

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AllRounder
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Re: Dating a JW Martin Rod?

Post by AllRounder »

What a fabulous find Paul. The decision to restore or not will need a lot of thought although it would be great to take her out onto the river once again. :Confused:

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Tonkin Wand
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Re: Dating a JW Martin Rod?

Post by Tonkin Wand »

Hi Paul, I have some photos of the rod but I am not good with IT so I will get some help show all! Tony

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