H.L. Leonard Philbrook & Paine Reel

H.L. Leonard, Philbrook & Paine, William Mills, T. H. Bate Reel

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 beautiful marbelized orange and black hard rubber end plates and handle knobs and are marked Philbrook & Paine, Makers. Philbrook was actually in partnership with Edward Payne and hence some confusion when one sees the name Paine on these early reels. Marbelized fly reels and salmon reels have also been found unmarked and marked William Mills & Son. Payne's 1890 patented sliding drag bar can be seen on Philbrook & Paine and H.L. Leonard reels. The next series after the marbelized versions were bimetalic and had a nickel silver frame with bronze rims and pillar attachment tabs. The first bimetalic fly reels had nickel silver spools and the Philbrook 1877 patent date on them. Later ones had aluminum spools and the patent number. 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. The company William Mills & Son was established in 1822 under the name T. & J. Bate. The company name changed to Thos. Bate in 1836, to T. & T. H. Bate in 1843, to Thos. H. Bate in 1853 and then to T. H. Bate & Co. in 1859. The name was finally changed to Wm. Mills & Son in 1875. Reels marked T. H. Bate are classified as New York ball-handled reels and are collectable.