Julius vom Hofe, New York, NY

The Julius vom Hofe Company was established in 1857. That was 10 years before his brother Edward established his business. He received several patents and became one of the most prolific reel makers. The first Julius vom Hofe patent was on November 26, 1867. It was for the bridge over the drive gear inside the reel. His next patent was for the reel end plates being made of hard rubber with metal protective bands. This patent was granted on November 17, 1885. The other common patent date seen on his reels is October 8, 1889. This was for a rear spool bearing steel pivot and washer. Julius was one of the most prolific reel designers with 9 patents granted to him. One of his most important patents was granted on March 21, 1911 for the B-Ocean star drag. His last patent was granted on May 20, 1924 for a reduced cost reel. His models range from the highest quality solid nickel silver reels to less expensive nickel plated brass and hard rubber reels. All of his reels are sought by collectors. His earliest pre-patent date reels were the ball handle style and had a distinctive clover leaf logo stamped in the reel's head plate. All of the reels pictured below are nickel silver or nickel silver and hard rubber.