Rare & Early Hardy Perfect Trout Reel

In his book on Hardy Reels, historian John Drewett mentions a Hardy Perfect that was offered beginning in an 1891 catalog that lacked several features of the "standard" Perfect for a reduced cost. This circa 1894-1895 transitional reel could be had minus the ball bearings, tension screw and spool perforations, with two of those features not found on this reel. The 2 1/2" diameter reel does sport a nickel silver rim, perforated spool with two size holes, a solid brass winding plate with three marks; the rod-in-hand logo, an oval Hardy logo and a straight line "Hardy's Pat." stamp. The smooth brass foot has a narrow waist on this Ex- condition reel, with original grasp, left-hand threaded spool screw and nickel silver pillars. Since most of their customers preferred the higher-grade reels, these "economy" Perfects are much more difficult to find today than the full featured counterparts. A rare example for even an advanced Hardy reel collection.