Mitchell Reel Forum

Hey Mates,

I am posting covers of Garcia catalogs/booklets and some content from 1982 to ~1952 that I own.

I very much would appreciate help on posting Garcia publication covers (and any content if requested by mates); I pretty much have an example from each year but I don't own everything Garcia ever published.

If you have a content question, I'm happy to post a page(s) scan to help answer in one to a few days.

I proceed in reverse chronological order from 1982 - in part to allow time for mates to add any missed examples. In case you are viewing this post at a later date, later (out-of-sequence) posts are very much appreciated, as well.

John

John,
A very interesting and informative post. I am really looking forward to seeing the rest of them.
Regarding the first three, sales brochures from 1980-1982. A very interesting time for the fishing reel world. I am quite curious as to who put out these brochures. Was it Abu-Garcia, the newly renamed company, or was it The Garcia Tackle Company? With Garcia's bankruptcy in around mid 1978, there are many possibilities as to which reels were being advertised between 1980-1982. Were any of them Mitchell reels, or were they the former Garcia, Japan made , reels? Or, and most likely, are they all Abu reels? With the Abu acquisition of Garcia's name, trademarks and so on, I am still unclear how it all played out at first.

Happy to help with the posting if you would like.

Kind Regards,
Bill

Hey Bill,

Thanks for your support and questions.

Yes, this was a transition time. Let me see if I can first answer your question about who published the catalogs I posted above. I only know some of the details of this time - so we may need some further help.


Mates,

I was just in process of posting images, so I'll continue a bit.

John

Hey Bill,

Neither the 1982 or 1981 catalogs have any publication information. They do not even have an introduction or table of contents; they go right into pages about reels. They do include a couple ABU-Garcia US addresses for service on the back cover.

The 1980 catalog (copyrighted 1979 by ABU-Garcia) has the following text on the inside cover:

The 1979 catalog has The Garcia Corp. as the source for the “Outdoor Library” shown on the back cover. The 1979 Garcia Fishing Magazine has the following text on the second page:

There are Garcia tagged/labeled reels shown in 1982, 1981, and 1980, while 1979 has Garcia Mitchell tagged/labeled reels also. As to where the reels were manufactured, the catalogs do not state – that would require another source.

John

Mates,

Some additional information. In reviewing my notes, I see a statement that ABU-Garcia acquired Conolon in 1981.

Growing up with Mitchell and ABU reels in the US, I had though of Garcia as an importer. Acquisition of Conolon (which may rightly have been called rod maker to the world at that time) by ABU-Garcia made it a major exporter.

Content below is from Wayne Real’s (a friend) ABU collector’s site, Real’s Reels, http://realsreels.com/:

From the 1981 ABU Tight Lines Catalog:

The Garcia Corporation acquisition by ABU this year, brought with it the Conolon Division, located in sunny California.

Here since its inception in the 1940's, the world's very first tubular glass fishing rods were made. CONOLON came from CON meaning WITH and NYLON. The secret nylon modified resin was used to bond the glass fibres together. This name Conolon would in a few short years, become world famous and generic for tubular fibreglass fishing rods. It hallmarks over 25 million rod blanks to this date. Forty years saw Conolon at the top of its game and #1 worldwide…

John

Continuing with covers: