About Shakespeare
About Shakespeare
William Shakespeare, Jr. founded his company in 1897 with a first product that was a great hit: a patented level wind reel that was superior to anything else on the market. This was only the first of the reel innovations for Shakespeare, as in 1939 the Backlash Brake, a light action reel brake to prevent spools from back-lashing, was created for the Wondereel, among the most popular fishing reels ever invented.
But before the second venture into remaking the reel market, Shakespeare began making fishing lures around 1900. Their first catalog was issued shortly after that and contained four lures: the Revolution, Bucktail, Evolution and a Frog. Shakespeare lures were prime movers in the industry that was building up around fishing with artificial lures. The Shakespeare Revolution is one of the most collectible of the Shakespeare vintage fishing lures. Many of Shakespeare’s early products were rubber lures, including rubber frogs that exhibited real life movements in the water. A very rare collector’s item is the Shakespeare Tournament Casting Frog, which is a prize find for a vintage Shakespeare fishing lure enthusiast.
After World War II, Shakespeare focused on other products more than lures. New models of fishing rods and reels were developed and released in the 1950’s and 60’s. In 1966, Pflueger, a competitor was bought by Shakespeare. Shakespeare lure production decreased throughout this time frame and final lure production under the Shakespeare name was in the 1980’s.
Vintage Shakespeare fishing lures are a popular choice among followers of the “Big 5” vintage fishing lure brands. These vintage lures have collected a strong following over the years with items available in many price ranges for all levels of collector from beginner to expert. Finding a great vintage Shakespeare fishing lure will be a joy to any collector of vintage tackle.
