The American Snell Part VIII: A.C. McClurg & Co. Superior Snells

We wrote up the history of A.C. McClurg back in the “52 for 52” days, when we covered the history of 52 trade houses in one year.

General Alexander Caldwell McClurg was a Civil War veteran who became a legend in the book business, being one of the largest book publishers and distribution houses in America. Best known for publishing Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Tarzan books, in the 1919 Sporting Goods Dealer the company was listed as a sporting goods jobber, implying they were in the tackle business a generation before I had previously thought they were.



This would explain why bamboo fly rods marked “McClurg's Challenger” have been found; they are Union Hardware products, a pre-World War II manufacturer of note that never got back into the business after Word War II.

These are ca. 1950 McClurg & Co. snells from the 1930s, likely manufactured for them by Pequea (who utilized that sylized “S” on many snells they made for other companies). They are fairly hard to find.

— Dr. Todd