Hardy Carry All Creel.
The recent sale of a Hardy Carry All Creel highlighted to me the fact that these often differ considerably from one model to another. However, the one thing that makes this creel stand out from all the others is the magnificent long Brass Hasp with its Victorian Registration Mark for
1883.
I have seen six models of this creel in three different sizes. A huge Salmon one and three trout size examples. Last month another one emerged that is smaller than the trout creel.
It is strange that once one’s attention is drawn to something how carefully we tend to examine items.
The creel sold in the sale was eleven inches high by sixteen inches wide by seven and a half inches deep and the entry point for the fish was through the top.
The one shown in the photographs is nine and a half inches high by twelve inches wide and seven and a half inches deep with a side entry for the fish.
A glance through some old catalogues made it obvious that the smaller creel was the earliest.
The 1886 illustration shows the creel with a side entry slot for the fish. In the 1892 catalogue, the fish slot was a top entry. Sometime during the six years, the style changed. We have another change to the model as shown in the 1905 Hardy Anglers Guide.
Later models of the creel added various straps including two so that the Hardy New Patent Tackle Book could be secured to the top of the creel.
I have shown close-ups of the registration marks and maybe there is a record of it that will tell us who invented the creel.