C.A.P.
A
collection of Mitchell and pre-mitchell round bodied reels
I
believe the following to be a fairly complete picture of
the
evolution of the Mitchell round bodied reel. It is based solely on my
own collection, however, and I know of at least one round body
collection far superior to mine and to which I hope to be able to
direct your attention in the near future. The numbering herein is my
own
and reflects the various visible changes to the reel over the years and
is not intended to be consistent with any other numbering system or
version numbers. By clicking on one of the links you may proceed to a
web page
describing and picturing that particular model in greater detail. Any
corrections, comments, or just plain additional
information you
might offer would be greatly appreciated so please feel free to contact
me at Information
Exchange
(This form is a temporary way to avoid spam - if you don't wish to
enter your name or email address please just type anything in those
boxes).
THE
CHANGES
- 1937: The original "oblique foot" C.A.P reel. Rounded dome on left side. Widely
spaced
silver pillars in silver spool. Wooden winder knob. C.A.P. on right
side. Lighter
bail wire and different bail mechanism than later models. Round spool
knob.
Reel 1
- 1938: Aluminum
winder knob. Closely spaced black pillars in
black spool. Three fingers added to spool knob.
Reel 2
- 1938: Heavier
bail wire. Simplified bail mechanism.
Reel 3
- 1946: Flattened
dome on left side. Reel 4
- 1946-1947: First
anti-reverse, sliding button style. Reel
5
- 1950: Dome gone from left side. Straight stem on
right
side. Anti-reverse becomes 304 style lever. External counterweight
gone.
First lubrication port at rear. "Made in France" added to right side.
Reel 6
- 1954: The
"Cap 54." The first full bail. Round aluminum winder
knob
replaced by flattened plastic knob. The first with planamatic gears
(which leads to a short rant - as near as I can tell all the round
bodies from this time on,
including the first 304's, had planamatic gearing. It was only the
later
model 304's and 340 that abandoned it, so it is incorrect to say that
the 314 is a 304 with changed gearing as everyone does. The later model
304's have the changed gearing, the
314's remained true to the end.) Reel
7
- 1954: "Mitchell"
and "Cap" added to left side. Pillars gone from
spool.
Aluminum "C.A.P. Serrage" plate gone from spool. Spool knob now has
integral flat disk behind fingers with "C.A.P." and "Made in France"
lettering. Reel 8
- 1955: "Mitchell
Cap 304" on left side. Reel
9
- 1956: "Mitchell
304" on left side. Non-planamatic gears for first
time since "Cap 54." Reel
10
- 1957: "Garcia
Mitchell 304" on left side. "C.A.P." gone from spool
knob. Reel
11
- The
"Super Cap". "Mitchell 314" on left side. Wide
anti-reverse lever. Push button spool. Reel
12
- "Garcia
Mitchell 304" on left side but "C.A.P." gone from
right side. Reel 13
- "Garcia
Mitchell 314" on left side but "C.A.P." gone from
right side. Reel 14
- 1968: "Garcia
Mitchell 340" sticker in indent on left side. Flat
anti-reverse lever protruding from opening at back of
reel. Different spool and spool knob. Red screw in lubrication port.
Reel
15
- 1969: "Garcia
Mitchell 304S" on left side. Anti-reverse lever
changed to "314" style. Reel
16
LINKS
This will take you to a page of links containing round body
information. More will be added as I find them.
The following information
was copied verbatim,
with permission, from the glossary section
of Luc de
Medts' Mitchell
Collectors International web site. It was originally
excerpted from "The Mitchell Collector’s
Reference Guide" by Dennis Roberts and his permission for
its use has also been graciously granted.
- C.A.P.
- For many years the debate as to the exact definition of these
initials has been ongoing. Taking into consideration historical
accounting and the many facets associated with these particular
initials, it is a collective opinion among Mitchell collectors that the
initials C.A.P. were actually the initials of the first company to
design and produce a round bodied reel that was later given to Carpano
and Pons for refinement and distribution. That company was La Canne
à Pêche of Angers. It is of opinion that when
Carpano and Pons produced the CAP reel, credit was given to the name of
the company who invented the reel, Canne à Pêche.
The letters C.A.P. were originally stamped by La Canne à
Pêche on those prototypes given to Carpano & Pons
which coincidentally were the same initials as Carpano & Pons
and Charles A. Pons. Even though the majority of collectors agree to
this conclusion, to provide fairness to the Carpano and Pons Company,
we would posture to say CAP could also represent the initials for the
Carpano and Pons establishment in France. Additionally, the possibility
exists that the initials are those of Charles A. Pons, one of the
original designers of the reel.
- "Cap"
- "Mitchell Cap" or "Cap 54" was the 1954
"C.A.P."-model
that became the third model open face spinning reel offered by Carpano
& Pons. First was the "Mitchell" (=300) and second the
"Mitchell Salt Water" (=302).
- Cap
Super - Name given in the Netherlands to indicate the
Mitchell 314-model. This name appeared also for a short time on this
reel distributed by Albatros.
- Carpano,
Louis - one of the founders of the Mitchell Company.
- Carpano
& Pons - Founders, designers, and manufacturers of
the CAP and Mitchell reel. In 1937-1938, the first Carpano and Pons
round body reel was made for the tackle shop "La Canne à
Pêche" under the simple name of C.A.P. The very first CAP was
issued with a wooden rosewood handle, which was identical to the first
handles, used on the Mitchell 300. The release time between the second
and third version was approximately 9 years due to the hostilities in
Europe during WWII. In 1946 the third version was issued that was
similar to the first two except for the side cover plate was no longer
domed but slightly raised. There is speculation that the first two
versions of the CAP were probably prototypes. After Carpano &
Pons finished the work on the Canne à Peche and the Pecos
reels, they pursued the manufacturing of their own round-body reel.
- (La)
Canne à Pêche - Was credited with
inventing the first round bodied reels that were the predecessors and
prototypes to the CAP reels produced by Carpano and Pons. This French
company from Angers manufactured this reel in the mid-1930s. Evidently,
the reel needed some improvements prior to marketing, therefore,
Carpano & Pons was contacted to refine their invention. After
Carpano & Pons completed design refinements, the product was
marketed in Europe. La Canne à Peche made approximately five
different versions of the round-bodied reels, each having the initials
C.A.P. stamped on the body of the reel.