Bronson Spinit 400 Reel

Question
I recently bought a Bronson Spinit 400 reel at a garage sale, and know nothing of this reel or maker. It is in perfect working condition and wanted to know when these where made, and I heard they are a hard to find reel, but was a very good reel in its day? Thank you very much for any information you can tell me about this!

Answer
Chris,

this is a lower end collectable reel, worth about $25 if the finish is in excellent condition, around $10 if it has normal wear, etc.

In 1922 E.J. McMahon, the former sales manager of the Shakespeare company started the Bronson Reel Company in Bronson Michigan. By 1928 Bronson had increased their production to the point that they had to move to a larger 15,000 sq. ft. facility. In the 30's Bronson acquired Meisselbach-Catucci and the J.A.Coxe Reel Company.

Prior to the start of World War II Bronson had 135 different models of reels spanning the spectrum from inexpensive to exquisite and in the 1950's boasted that they were producing over a million reels per year.

The company was sold in the 70's and closed down a short time later.

regards

bob