A little bit of Swiss Stuff |
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goldenfox
Member Joined: 08 Apr 2010 Location: UK Status: Offline Points: 48 |
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Posted: 10 Apr 2010 at 10:14am |
Hi everyone, as this is my first proper posting, please bear with me and hopefully I will get it right!!!
As part of my collecting, I was fascinated by the fact that a lot of Jewllers and Watchmakers somehow got into the lure making game, whether for ptfit (probably) or just to show off their talents. One of the makers in Switzerland was a chap called Lehman Max, of which not a lot is known but what is known, I will probably detail here. I must say that apart from my own knowledge, I am right in thinking that probably the biggest and most respected collector of these and other European lures is a chap called Peppi Planzer, who most likely has the biggest and best collection of these types of lure. I have attached some photos of his collection and duly give credit to the man - a European Legend. Well, where do I start? I got my first Lemax lure about 12 months ago and was fascinated by it - the craftsmanship, the style and the pearl - and started collected this "lure jewellery" as I call it and am slowly building up a collection. A little bit about Lemax firstly. Around the early 1930's in Emmen, near Lucerne, a chap called Lehman Max started a workshop on the bridge at Emmen with a view to producing fishing products which he knew at the time, anglers were wanting. He tried and with great success succeeded in starting a mini revolution in baits. Here is probably one of the first he made - with the original stamp Most of the earlier lures were stamped like this and are pretty hard to find as they were not turned out in their thousands. A lot of his earlier designs were based on mainly metal and variations of fish styles and designs which, to say the least were a little adventurous, but starting a following. During the interim period between starting and around 1965, production was started on an experimental metal and pearl combined bait, which as far as I know was the "Wunderfischlei", which was a pearl two sided with a brass main body sandwiched in between and a loose, separate "devon style" spin head, these proved quite popular, so more designs and styles were made. You can tell instantly with these lures that they were made by someone who had Jewellery or Watchmaking experience! 1965 saw Lehman Max Junior start to take a more active roll and was instrumental in building new machinery to stamp out the metal shapes his father designed and wanted for production. Above are some of the early metal baits during the time the name changed to "Lemax" as it has been known since. Here are some more metal based baits which continued through the "Pearl" period of production - Lehman Max died in 1975 and Lehman Junior, who was a trained tool maker in his own right, took over the helm, having been instrumental with his father in developing a method of curing and dying the Pearl during the manufacture process. Here are some of the Pearl lures which were made by and had the name Lemax - and some others (note the "Wunderfischlei" on the far right!) The Pearl bait period was what most regarded as the most important period for Lemax and it turned out to become their speciality. The range and assortment of baits produced was pretty big considering, with lots of various styles, shapes and size of each type of lure. These baits were not cheap though - and one of the main reasons fo that is that they were pretty expensive is that the polishing alone could take up to a 100 steps to get the finish just how they wanted it and as such, was like making jewellery. No-on e seems to know yet at which point Lemax ceased making lures and operating but one thing we know is that they at the latter stages produced a couple of reels, which emulated the superb Allcock Aerial with limited success, although the quality was superb! Well, there is a little insight into a subject that not many are aware of and the little I know I can honestly credit Peppi Planzer in particular for the pictures and some of the information above and the rest gleaned from colleagues and other sources. i have added here some pictures of my own collection so far (there are some others I have purchased snce which I may add later) and I hope you will enjoy seeing a snippet of what is available form the tiny Watchmaking and Banking Nation in Europe. I will also add to this at intervals some close ups of the Lures if you wish and also a little bit on a couple of other Swiss manufacturers, Kneubuhler and Stukcki, which are just as tasty in their own right. ....and (Humbly) Peppi's current collection..........drool........ Thanks for viewing and I hope you enjoyed it. Till next time - Tightest of Lines to you all!!! David |
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Tightest of lines to you!
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Tony
Admin Admin Joined: 09 Nov 2009 Location: Hervey Bay, QLD Status: Offline Points: 6012 |
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Gday David,
What a great read that was! Thank you for taking the time to post it up I love the level of detail in the lures, and the pearl lures are stunning! |
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Cheers, Tony
For the love of Fishing Lures. |
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Abuadmiral
LureLovers.com Fanatic ABU Fanatic Joined: 09 Feb 2010 Location: Yeppoon Qld Status: Offline Points: 998 |
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Hi David
Very nice my friend images and great educational prose to compliment. I recognize a few PB there! Never realized you had so many. later Wayne |
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Tight Lines
Wayne Real |
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goldenfox
Member Joined: 08 Apr 2010 Location: UK Status: Offline Points: 48 |
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Hi Tony and Wayne
I enjoyed doing this and hope it is the first of many where I will share an insight into the other world of lures out there!!! My collection of lures is quite broad. I mainly collect as you know ABU stuff, early English and Swiss Baits but also have a smattering of French, other Swedish baits like Arjon and Bete plus a good range of USA Metals and unusuals. If I see it and like it, I'll try to get it. I will at intervals post pics of some of my Bait Mount collection as well, now there's a bizarre area of lures!! I must confess that I tend to eat, sleeo and breath lures at the moment so I guess that makes me a fully fledged "Lure Lover"!!! Many thanks for your kind comments and at least people have been viewing it!!! David |
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Tightest of lines to you!
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tooch
LureLovers.com Fanatic Twitchy Lures Joined: 02 Mar 2010 Location: windsor nsw Status: Offline Points: 3450 |
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Hi David , Very Nice collection of lures I am humbled to see such a well set out display of genuine Antique Lures. Regards pete.
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simon bruce
LureLovers.com Guide Joined: 29 Nov 2009 Location: Heathridge Status: Offline Points: 2951 |
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David
a very comprehensive and interesting post, I guess the jewellery link really raises them into the category of treasures.
Look forward to more of the european lures and their history
Simon
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CaptainCranky
LureLovers.com Guide Beta Tester Joined: 12 Nov 2009 Location: Cairns Status: Offline Points: 7143 |
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Great post David.I now have recognised a couple of pearl lures that I may have.They have the same swivel.Are they marked with a name,the pearl ones.
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The Journey is the Reward
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goldenfox
Member Joined: 08 Apr 2010 Location: UK Status: Offline Points: 48 |
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Hi Barry,
Thanks for the comments. i am always on the lookout to add to my collection - I am kind of addicted to these types of lures and will be posting more pictures over the next fe days. i am just getting some hosting sorted for the pics. Mail me with pics if you find any you want to sell! David |
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Tightest of lines to you!
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flylutz
Unverified New Member Joined: 26 Nov 2010 Status: Offline Points: 26 |
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hi, some vintage spining lure swiss and french
regards.fred |
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goldenfox
Member Joined: 08 Apr 2010 Location: UK Status: Offline Points: 48 |
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Hi Fred
Nice selection there. Have you been collecting these long? I like the Wyers items and have been trying to get hold of some Wyers Freres items for a while but they are a bit thin on the ground as they say. I see some Veltics and Celta there also as well as the nice pearl Lemax. Thanks for the showing and if you ever want to sell them, please bear me in mind. Once again, many thanks David |
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Tightest of lines to you!
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flylutz
Unverified New Member Joined: 26 Nov 2010 Status: Offline Points: 26 |
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hi david, i m french and i collect early 15 years but i collect espescially the automatics fly reels and lure heddon, it s expensive.i dont sale this lure , but i have some vintage wire to wyers as in the picture if you want .i have more lure , spining, rappala , hardy ,berto, swiss and others for sale .what do you search exactly?
regards.fred |
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goldenfox
Member Joined: 08 Apr 2010 Location: UK Status: Offline Points: 48 |
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Hi Fred
I collect early English lures, French, Swiss and Swedish plus early USA baits. I also collect hooks, traces, packets, bait mounts and all the smaller items. Mail on my normal email to discuss at mikfox2008@yahoo.com. Please feel free to send pictures of anything you want to sell. Many thanks for your reply. David |
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Tightest of lines to you!
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flylutz
Unverified New Member Joined: 26 Nov 2010 Status: Offline Points: 26 |
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for david, its very very rare swiss lure in wooden
dating early 1940 fred |
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goldenfox
Member Joined: 08 Apr 2010 Location: UK Status: Offline Points: 48 |
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Hi Fred
That is a nice old plug. Is it stamped or marked anywhere. I will post some photos of 2 that I got from a Swiss seller who claimed they were Lemax!!! Maybe you will recognise them. I will post later after I take pictures and load them. Many thanks David |
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Tightest of lines to you!
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flylutz
Unverified New Member Joined: 26 Nov 2010 Status: Offline Points: 26 |
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yes it s stamped GES.GESCHATZ
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goldenfox
Member Joined: 08 Apr 2010 Location: UK Status: Offline Points: 48 |
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Nice one. Is this one for sale at all? Send me a ;ist of what you have and let me know if there are any items that you are after getting. I may have it or know someone who has!!
many thanks David |
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Tightest of lines to you!
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flylutz
Unverified New Member Joined: 26 Nov 2010 Status: Offline Points: 26 |
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david ,i send some pictures on your email.fred
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hazmail
Stall Holder Rayna Lures Joined: 05 Jul 2010 Location: Calwell A.C.T Status: Offline Points: 2562 |
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Stunning stuff David, superb craftsmanship and thanks for posting- we recently had a thread about copying lures, it seems there is nothing new under the sun, it looks like copying has been going on for generations.
Pete-R |
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goldenfox
Member Joined: 08 Apr 2010 Location: UK Status: Offline Points: 48 |
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Hi Pete
Thanks for that. Yes, I believe the majority of the lures we all collect can be compared with many others at various points in the past. Even very early scarce glass eyed English Gregory baits were copied for years as there are loads that surface with no makers mark. There are usually one or two aspects of the lure that changes. I recently got a Swedish lure called a Gimmy and was a complete copy of the ABU Glimmy lure (I thought a lot nicer as a lure!!) but I thought it perhaps was a working model or a misprint. Wayne reckoned it was a ripoff copy but I was not so sure as I personally have only ever seen 4 for sale over the years and I got 2 of them!! The excitement is in the adventure itself, you never know what will turn up that you take a fancy to!!! Tight lines for now and keep in touch David |
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Tightest of lines to you!
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ropes.basstard
LureLovers.com Guide Asian Lures Guide Joined: 31 Dec 2009 Location: Sydney Status: Offline Points: 1961 |
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Brings a whole new meaning to the term cutlery! Buddy it is a very impressive and equally wonderful selection. Simply awesome.
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Hi I'm Ropes and I'm addicted to fishing lures.
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MXB
Senior Member Joined: 03 Dec 2009 Location: Sydney Status: Offline Points: 923 |
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Nothing is new . . . it is just a modern take on old ideas. Great lures David and I may contact you in the future via email about older lures MXB |
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goldenfox
Member Joined: 08 Apr 2010 Location: UK Status: Offline Points: 48 |
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HI MBX
Only just noticed your comment here regarding getting in touch. Not been on the forum for ages and just starting viewing again. Feel free anytime to get in otuch. Best wishes and tihgt lines. David |
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Tightest of lines to you!
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haluu509
Unverified New Member Joined: 01 Apr 2016 Location: washington Status: Offline Points: 1 |
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Hi, not sure if your interested but I have a small lemax lure. It is black on one side and pearl on the other. if interested let me know please.
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