Jamison Winged Mascot Antique Fishing Lure

The Jamison Winged Mascot Antique Fishing Lure In Rare Deluxe Scale Finish shown below is quite a treat. The Winged Mascot lure began being made by the W.J. Jamison Company, of Chicago Illinois, in 1915. The deep and rich history of the Jamison lure company begins in 1904 with Smiling Bill himself and extends into the 1950’s under the Shannon name providing both collectors and fishermen an array of historical material. In the Winged Mascot line up we would see three different sizes be offered, this being the 4″ medium size. The lure made of wood, has the traditional glass eyes, and a single forward line tie. There are 3 Double hooks to secure its prey secured with the traditional cup style rigging. Finally the namesake being a large lateral upturned diving wing, coming out from each side of the face of the lure.

In May, 1918, there was a field test of four fishing lure manufacturers using a new “Deluxe” scale finish on one of their lures; the companies were W. J. Jamison, Creek Chub Bait Company, James Heddon & Sons and the South Bend Bait Company. Jamison selected the Winged Mascot to be the lure field tested with the new “Deluxe” scale finish and started production on it immediately. Jamison asked an additional 15 cents for the Winged Mascot to have the new scale finish and that may be why we don’t find many of these beauties around today. Jamison made another distinction with the Deluxe finish by making these cedar lures the only lure with glass eyes. Finding “Deluxe” scale Jamison lures are like finding a needle in a hay stack.