Tight Lines Tuesday TH Chubb

by John Etchieson

133 years ago in 1886 this very rare and beautiful russet colored silk line wrapped on a cardboard line winder and packaged inside this blue, tan, and gold leaf bordered box marked ‘OUR “SPECIAL” BRAND OILED SILK BLACK BASS LINE’ was introduced and sold by the Thos. H. Chubb Company (Est. 1869) of Post Mills, Vermont, a maker of fine lance wood, greenheart, ash, and bamboo fishing rods.

The line itself was manufactured for Chubb by the Henry Hall Line Company (est. 1840) of Highland Mills, New York. The box was designed by A. T. Bond an advertising specialist known as “Bond of Boston” who also designed the cover of the 1891 Thos. H. Chubb catalog cover. The box features Chubb’s famous “LONE STAR” trade mark in the lower left corner which was his tribute to his home state of Texas where he grew up in Galveston and was educated at Baylor University in Waco.

Comments or questions may be sent to John at johnsetch@aol.com