A few weeks ago, Bill Sonnett wrote about the G.M. Skinner spoon hook. CAFTA Newsletter editor Ken Kerr was kind enough to send in some more information about my favorite lure of all time, the G.M. Skinner Spoon Hook. Take it away, Ken!
Saw your story on Skinner and the old ad so I thought I would send you a couple things of interest.
one is the earliest ad found for Skinner, from the Gananoque Reporter of Oct. 4, 1878. This shows what is thought to be his 2nd store location (Steve Hays says he has an earlier
reference to Skinner in partnership, sharing some quarters on the same street, a few years earlier. It is actually a hand-written entry in a diary or journal).
Second is an 1879 bulletin published by the U.S. National Museum, under the auspices of the Smithsonian Institute. It has G.M. Skinner and his Gananoque trolling lures, listed on page 101. This bulletin is a listing of all the museum's holdings - there are flies and tackle listed from pages 101 to 138 and also on other pages.
Thanks Ken! Some awesome information. I love the fluted spinners so any new information like this is always welcome! By the way, the Bulletin referenced above is a superb resource for tackle of the day, for example fly rods made by Thaddeus Norris.
-- Dr. Todd
