Bronson Reel Photos – Home Page

Bronson Reel Photos – Home Page

       

This is a collective website covering all types of reels produced by the Bronson Reel Company of Bronson, Michigan, from 1921 to about 1972. It was first published by the late Robert Ellis on August 23, 2011. It is ORCA’s intent to continue making this the most comprehensive site ever devoted to Bronson reels. It’s available to Bronson collectors, researchers, buyers, sellers or anyone who has even a passing interest in Bronson reels, as the go-to source of information.

Be sure to click on photos to see the full images or enlargements.
 
Because the site is maintained by the Old Reel Collector’s Association (ORCA), we rely on donations to keep the site active and to keep alive the memory of its creator, Robert Paul Ellis. Those who care to help maintain this incredible resource can donate any amount they wish to ORCA c/o The Robert Ellis Memorial Fund.
We enlist the help of the public to obtain any information that we don’t currently have here, whether it be a recently discovered Bronson-made reel, or box or even some historical information. If you think you have anything we can use for the site, don’t hesitate to contact ORCA. We’re always happy to credit your name to anything we can use.
 
If you are not sure that your reel was made by Bronson, click on the link at right that says “How Can I Tell My Reel Was Made by Bronson?”.

 

Check for other types of Bronson reels like the open faced spinning reels, closed face spinning reels, True Temper Unispins, salt water reels and fly reels. We have pages on the Miesselbach-Catucci models and J.A. Coxe reels and we also have some Bronson history, along with a boxes and literature section.

Some of you may know that the Bronson Reel Co. was one of the largest reel makers of their time. Their slogan for years was “Reels Sell By The Thousands”. They made hundreds of different model reels, many of them “trade” reels. These were often identical in every respect to one of their regular models, but re-branded with a different model name for a particular retailer or wholesaler. They were produced for the large catalog stores like Sears and Wards, right down to local tackle shops and hardware stores across the country.

See the “Some Bronson History” section for a brief history of the company, which spanned over 50 years.

We have collected and gathered pictures and info from all over. Robert Ellis was an active member of ORCA (Old Reel Collectors Association) and was a member of the (NFLCC) and enjoyed his hobby greatly. We want to thank all who have contributed to help start his site.

We are aware of every “regular” model reel produced by Bronson, but many Bronson trade reels are still being discovered and we are constantly looking for new models to catalog and add to the site. We are very sure we will never see all of the reels that Bronson made. But with your help, maybe we can discover more, so we can all enjoy them.

 

Editors: Mark Williams

Webmaster: Matt Wickham – Previous Webmasters : Ed Bronson,  Matt Lollman, Paul Manuel

Special thanks to: ORCA, Daryl Rodenberger, Rick Heitman, Len Sawisch, Bill Sonnett, Richard Thomann, Don Champion, Mark Williams, John Elder, Phil White, Dick Braun, Brian Purrone, Wayne Benson, Karl and Beverly White, Scott Truex, Jim Garrett, Skip Brooks, Kenzo Bronson and John and Debbie Ganung from Langs Auctions for help and information.