Saturday, July 11, 2009

Deconstructing Old Ads with Bill Sonnett


Deconstructing Old Ads with Bill Sonnett

The Eclipse Minnow

In 1905 Outdoor Life was a small circulation magazine that advertised itself as "A Sportsman's Magazine of the West." It must have had low advertising rates as several early wooden minnows from second tier manufacturers from "back east" placed ads there. None has made me scratch my head more that this one from 1905, a full page ad for the Eclipse Minnow. The Eclipse Minnow is somewhat of a mystery itself. Very few have been found. It usually has a high quality paint job, something rare in 1905! It has unique aluminum hook hardware and quality spinners. The fact that so few have been found and that this is a full page ad featuring 13 different combinations of sizes and colors just does not seem to add up. As far as I have been able to determine it was never seen advertised again.



-- Dr. Todd

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