From NFLCC Gazette
by George Ritchie
The Art of the Creel-By Hugh Chatham and Dan McClain
The first book ever published on fishing creels, and this book is outstanding. The photography is stunning, and the vast array of creels is unsurpassed. I’ve had the good fortune to look at many books, but this book is destined to become the standard by which other books will be judged.
The authors claim "this isn’t the last word on creels, but a beginning that most collectors can use as a starting point for information on creel identification origin, types of construction, origin dates and identification of known creel makers."
Creel collecting is in its infancy, and there are still lots of wonderful creels to be found. It is a relatively simple matter to build a collection that is native to your area. They are still commonly found in the flea markets, garage sales, and the like. Have you ever seen a metal creel. The Art of the Creel has a number of different metal creels.
Chapters include an overview history of creels. Another chapter deals with various types of Native American creels. A goodly amount of attention was given to the leather covered creels, commonly in the far west. Some, in fact, many creels went unmarked, and many of these are unidentified as to makers. Eastern wicker creels are shown, as are European creels, fishing bags and panniers.
Many people (myself included) never realized that many early fishing creels were imported from Japan and China. Some of these creels were imported, and then the fancy leather trimming was added by leather goods dealers on the west coast.
Many creels in The Art of the Creel are named, which aids collectors in determining if they have a Clark, McMonies, Peters, or a Turtle creel. A few modern day creel makers are in this wonderful book as well. The book sells for $85 plus $5. shipping.
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