A French fancy . . .

Other traditional odds and sods can be found in here.
Post Reply
User avatar
John Milford
Perch
Posts: 445
Joined: Mon Apr 03, 2023 11:05 am
Location: Derbyshire's Amber Valley

A French fancy . . .

Post by John Milford »

Because it was brass with a ventilated lid, I'd always fancied that this nineteenth century container by Girodon & Montet of Lyon, was a bait box.

It's hinged lid secures extremely firmly with a spring-loaded catch. The ventilation is also adjustable - I'd thought perhaps to allow for the different escapology skills of it's inhabitants?

I've recently discovered though, that it's connection to fishing is somewhat more tenuous - as it is actually a chauffrette (a portable hand warmer).

Could the likes of Alfred Jardine and Henry Leonidas Rolfe have used such a device to stave off the chill during a winter's day piking? Just possibly . . . . . :)

Screenshot_20230406-191729_Photos.jpg
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Last edited by John Milford on Thu Apr 06, 2023 11:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.
A seeker of "the fell tyrant of the liquid plain".

User avatar
EricW
Perch
Posts: 462
Joined: Fri Mar 05, 2021 7:29 pm
3
Location: Leics/Warks border
Contact:

Re: A French fancy . . .

Post by EricW »

:Hat: Love these old odds and sods, John. I recently acquired a copper bait box which was supposedly once used by the medical profession for keeping leeches in. There must be any number of wooden toolboxes that were once pole fishermen's 'thrones', I just wish I could find one. Anglers have always been resourceful and your box may well have served both purposes at different times in its long life. Nice find. :Thumb:
These are the Golden Years. Don't waste them.

Here are some of our fishing films that you may enjoy
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrUkLb ... -bz8H_vr7A

User avatar
John Milford
Perch
Posts: 445
Joined: Mon Apr 03, 2023 11:05 am
Location: Derbyshire's Amber Valley

Re: A French fancy . . .

Post by John Milford »

As you say Eric, anglers down the ages were pretty resourceful at 'repurposing' all manner of stuff.

Old leather cases and boxes for collars, brushes, shaving kit etc - even telescope tubes - were used for storing reels, tackle or as a float tube.

I recall those old, sectioned 'Elastoplast' tins being particularly coveted when I was a lad - the forerunner of the 'Fox box'! :Hahaha:
A seeker of "the fell tyrant of the liquid plain".

Post Reply

Return to “Other Traditional Items of Tackle”