This Edward vom Hofe reel, which looks like a Regal 491, comes up at Mallams in Abingdon, Oxford, next Monday (December 10). The listing describes it merely as  “an early 20th century reel  by Edward Vom Hofe NY”. It is stamped 644 to the foot (I think they mean 464) and carries the July 14, 1896 patent. The uncleaned example, vom Hofe’s “celebrated black bass reel”, is 4.25in, which would make it a 6/0. Perhaps most interestingly, it comes with “an Edward Vom Hofe Little Joker”. I seem to recall that is a very rare uncatalogued reel, having seen only one, owned by vom Hofe expert Steve Brown. Can readers tell us more? The £100-£200 estimate for lot 41 may be a little light. Thanks to Graham Wells for spotting this. The auction also offers a Malloch’s japanned fly box with some early salmon flies, a large Nottingham with a missing handle, and “a quantity of antique and later reels with two rods”.