Leaver’s casting reels were the invention of two brothers. Albert and William Leaver received two patents for their fishing reel design in 1904 and 1905. In the 1901 Chicago City Directory, Albert’s occupation was listed as Tool and Die Maker and William’s was listed as a Machinist. So they both had the skills and experience to invent and make this wonderful reel. The reel is made of German silver and has a fancy scroll along the edge of the head plate. The unique feature of this reel, and the obvious one, is the reciprocating level wind arm. While winding the fishing line in, the arm would swing in an angle back and forth to deposit the line evenly on the spool. The end of the arm has an agate lined line guide. By depressing the cross hatched pad on the rear pillar, the reel is put in free spool mode for casting. This also disengages the level wind mechanism during a cast. The Leaver brothers are considered to be one of the early great reel makers in the USA.
The LEAVER’S CASTING REEL, circa 1905
The February 23, 1904 Patent
The February 23, 1904 Patent