Some of you might remember this earlier thread of mine about a "scarred" 1912 Perfect with old repairs and intriguing makers' stamps. I was pleased to notice that others share my fascination with these well loved, well used and in most cases very well repaired reels. Well, a pattern is starting to develop and I'm slowly but surely being lured in starting an asylum for faithful old timers. Reelsthat many collectors won't touch because they're far from mint condition.
The reel...
My latest acquisition is this 3 1/4 inch wide drum Hardy Perfect. I knew about the old repair to the rim when I bought it. Much less serious than the repairs my 1912 Perfect had undergone. At first glance a nice, original, probably still useable reel, quite a bit of leading left and with a (phosphor bronze?) rotating line guard. The actual story seems to begin and end with that one repair.
Oh well, still a very nice find...
But then I disassembled it. The seller hadn't provided pictures of the inside. As a general antiques trader he probably didn't know how to open it up. I didn't ask beforehand, sometimes I love a gamble.Also the price was temptingly low so I had to act fast.
Turning the face plate an unusual glimmer of brass showed in the dark. The size and shape of the part seemed strange. Silent check maybe? No, I'd already given the reel a spin or two and its click was music to my ears.
With the face plate completely removed, an inscribed semi-circular brass plate was revealed...
Very, very nice. My logical first reaction was to wonder who this mr. H.C. Golcher was, and if he might have been a member of San Francisco's famous Golden Gate Angling & Casting Club? So I started a search. I know of at least one forum member here who doesn't take Google searches seriously, but imho it does at least help and anyway, I just did.
The man...
To my surprise and delight I first found an older thread on Spey Pagesthat showed another, newer3 1/4 inch wide drum Perfect with a plate inside, saying "Made for H.C. GOLCHER & CO. SANFRANCISCO". That suggested that mr. Golcher was involved in the fishing tackle trade in San Francisco. But my reel was (according to the inscription) made for mr. Golcher personally ("expressly") so besides being involved in the tackle trade, he most likely was an avid angler himself, able ánd willing to special order fine tackle for his own use.
Search continued and I found some text fragments that proved that mr. H.C. Golcher was indeed a member of the San Francisco Fly Casting Club / GGACC, a tournament caster and record holder. Besides being a fisherman he liked to shoot and play golf also. Sources were from the late 19th - early 20th century, as diverse as "The San Francisco Call" newspaper, classic angling books like "Practical Fly Fishing" and "Bass, Pike, Perch and Other Game Fishes of America" but also "The Chamber of Commerce Handbook for San Francisco".
I also found a delighful article titled "Do Fly-Casting Tournaments Benefit Anglers?" in which the gentleman is mentioned...
The business...
I found several references to Clabrough, Golcher & Co. Sporting Goods in San Francisco. Clabrough apparently was an English gunmaker who moved to San Francisco in the second half of the 19th century but moved back to England in the late 19th century. The San Francisco store was said to be in business until the 1930s. They must have been famous makers / retailers of fine shotguns, because most online references are in that direction.
I founda wonderful publication on Google Books called "The Inner Man": link(see page 98 for Clabrough, Golcher & Co.) I also found out that the sporting goods store itself was demolished in the San Francisco earthquake of 1906.
But there's some questions left about the business side of things. I'm still not 100% sure about the connection between the two businesses Clabrough, Golcher & Co. and H.C. Golcher & Co. and about the time frame. My guess is that mr. H.C. Golcher was involved in Clabrough, Golcher & Co. and that he continued his business as H.C. Golcher & Co. after the death of mr. Clabrough. The reel on Spey Pages seems to confirm that, being newer than mine.
Anyone able (and willing) to shed some light on this with additional information is very welcome to do so.
Well, that's the story of my reel, and I'm sticking to it!
(to the story ánd the reel) 
