Banner photo of a sampling of various “spring-hooks” c.1846 – c.1928, from my “Vintage Hooks” collections: (left to right) – Berner’s Monopole ‘Style C’ c.1902; Guillotine (rare 1st model) c.1899 – c.1902; Guillotine 2nd model box (extremely rare, possibly “1 of a kind”) c.1903 – c.1906; Job Johnson 1846 Model spring hook ( standard 4 5/8″ size, properly stamped & rare) 1846; Howell’s Texas Angler with sales tube c.1928; Job Johnson 1846 Model spring hook (exceptionally rare large 7 3/4″ size – appears to be the only known example) 1846; Evans Eagle Claw c.1877; Old Glory 1st model with very scarce sales envelope c.1899.
Skillful inventors & craftsmen have produced ingenious hooks that range from delicate to downright deadly, designed for everything from sport fishing to pure “meat hunting”. Many of these are illegal to use now a days but they are all a fascinating part of our fishing history.
Browse through the Vintage Fishing Hooks category drop-down menus for the “Spring Hooks“, “Lever Hooks”, “Dead Bait Mounts” & “Miscellaneous Fishhooks” sub-sections that form a part of my extensive collection of spring & lever hooks, mechanized hooks and the like, which have long been a particular passion for me & still are a specific focus of my current area of vintage fishing collecting. I am always happy to discuss these with fellow collectors of any level. I’m generally not inclined to sell items in these sections, unless they marked “for trade or sale” or I have duplicates. However, for those of you who are serious about your interest, I will trade or sell obvious duplicates, or even non-duplicates if it helps me add something nice that I don’t already have (especially spring-loaded or mechanized fishhooks), so it never hurts to ask (even if you don’t see what you’re looking for, as I still am in the early stages of uploading the large majority of my collections to this website).