H.L. Leonard, Bangor, ME

Hiram Leonard was a famous rod maker from Bangor, Maine. In 1877, Francis Philbrook assigned his patented raised pillar reel to him and that was the start of the Leonard reel history. The earliest models have marbelized orange and black hard rubber end plates, half-crank handles and are marked Philbrook & Payne, Makers. Leonard then made the marbelized orange and black reel with a counterbalanced handle and was unmarked. The next series were bimetalic and had nickel silver frame with bronze rims and pillar attachment tabs. The first bimetalic fly reels had nickel silver spools and later ones had aluminum ones. Either of these reels is considered rare and highly collectable. Most Leonard reels found are the later ones sold by William Mills & Son and are marked "H.L. Leonard, Patented" or "Leonard-Mills." The Leonard-Mills reels were made for the William Mills Co. by Julius vom Hofe starting around 1900 up until World War II. All the Leonard reels are high quality and sought after by collectors.