Penn Fishing

We know that Otto Henze worked at Ocean City Reels Company of Philadelphia during the 1920’s. Otto worked as a machinist for Ocean City and learned enough to design and manufacture fishing reels. Mr. Henze left Ocean City Reels Company around 1929, with the intent of starting his own company. Little is known about Otto Henze’s activities in 1930 and 1931. It was a tough time to be unemployed, since America had entered the Great Depression. Otto worked from his home at 3306 Bailey Street in Philadelphia.

At some point in time, Otto Henze made the acquaintance of Mr. George Hunt, who we believe was affiliated with Ocean City Reels in a sales capacity. The two likely collaborated about going into business with each other – Mr. Henze knowing how to make reels, and Mr. Hunt knowing how to sell them.

ORCA member Gary Davis recently went to a flea market in Philadelphia and purchased a box of old Penn catalogues, documents and letters. One letter indicates that Mr. Henze had developed a prototype fishing reel in 1930 – but it was not the MOD F. This particular prototype was the MOD K, a reel that was first documented by Gary Quick in his 1996 ORCA “REEL NEWS” article. We suspect that Mr. Henze also had a prototype of the MOD F in 1930, but we have found nothing in writing yet to substantiate its existence.

We can only surmise that Mr. Henze spent the years 1930 and 1931 trying to perfect his prototype reels and raise the necessary capital to start his own company. We have not yet uncovered any other documents that relate to this time period. But numerous documents have been discovered that help paint a very clear picture of what took place in 1932.

A drawing dated April 1, 1932 for a MOD K side plate was discovered by Penn engineer Eric Baisch in some old files at Penn. It was beginning to look like the MOD K was Penn’s first reel, not the MOD F. An early “Parts” brochure for the MOD F has been in the public domain for many years, so most assumed it was Penn’s first reel.

Then in May, 1932, Otto Henze began taking the necessary steps to start his new company and bring his prototype reels to market. We have confirmed that George Hunt was a part owner in that new company.

On May 11, 1932, Mr. Henze paid attorney Leon Edelson $135 to prepare patent applications for two new fishing reels which turned out to be the MOD F and the MOD K. On May 14th, Mr. Henze began renting space at William Schmitz & Co. General Machinists at 492 North 3rd Street in Philadelphia. He immediately ordered the development of a 4-cavity side plate mold from Kuhn & Jacob Machine & Tool Company of Trenton, New Jersey. In July, Mr. Henze also had Kuhn & Jacob engrave two plugs to stamp the side plates – one plug for the MOD F, the other for the MOD K. Both plugs contained the Brand name Penn, and the new company name, Penn Fishing Tackle Mfg. Co.

From July to August, 1932, matching side plates were produced by Kuhn & Jacobs for the MOD F and MOD K. Records indicate there were 1,322 side plates for the MOD F and 1,018 for the MOD K. There are no actual production records available to determine how many reels were completed for the MOD F and MOD K, but it could not be more than the number of side plates produced.

On July 30, 1932, Mr.Edelson filed the two patents for the technology used in the MOD F and the MOD K. Based on this and all prior information, it would be accurate to say that Penn had “two” first reels – the MOD F and the MOD K. Both were produced at the same time, and both patents were filed at the same time. But just when the mystery of Penn’s first reel seemed unraveled, another discovery was made.

After evaluating the MOD K reels in existence today, it was discovered there are 2 different types – one with a star drag, and one without. So it appears Penn had “three” first reels –the MOD F, the MOD K with star drag, and the MOD K with no star drag. (There are only 4 MOD F’s known to exist today, only 4 MOD K's with star drag, and 3 without). There is further evidence to support the theory that Penn had “three” first reels.

Otto Henze spent the Fall of 1932 ordering parts and assembling his reels. As 1933 approached, Mr. Henze decided to change the names of the MOD F and MOD K reels before they were introduced to the marketplace. New plug stamps were engraved and boxes with labels were produced for “three” different reels – the SEA HAWK, the BAYSIDE, and the LONG BEACH. The MOD F became the SEA HAWK, the MOD K with no star drag became the BAYSIDE, and the MOD K with a star drag became the LONG BEACH. Actual sales invoices confirm that these three reels were first sold in February, 1933.

We theorized that the early boxes marked SEA HAWK, BAYSIDE, and LONG BEACH actually contained reels stamped MOD F or MOD K. It was unlikely that Mr. Henze scrapped the original production run of the MOD F and MOD K side plates. So he probably used the MOD F reels in SEA HAWK boxes,and divided the MOD K reels between the BAYSIDE and LONG BEACH boxes. This theory was recently confirmed when we purchased an original LONG BEACH box and reel on Ebay. The reel inside the box was stamped MOD K.

One thing is now certain – the MOD K reel should take its rightful place alongside the MOD F reel, and finally be recognized as Penn’s first reel. The MOD K and the MOD F were produced and sold at the same time, and each had identical patent application dates. The MOD K patent was actually approved before the MOD F patent.

There are still many unanswered questions relating to Penn's first reels. How many MOD F and MOD K reels were actually produced? How many MOD K’s were produced with a star drag and with no star drag? Were there ever boxes made with MOD F or MOD K labels? Is there a MOD K parts pamphlet to complement the MOD F parts pamphlet? Did George Hunt actually work for Ocean City Reels Company; and if so, did he leave at the same time with Otto Henze? Whatever happened to the Kuhn & Jacob Machine Company in Trenton, and the William Schmitz Company in Philadelphia?

These questions will continue to be researched; and hopefully someone will have documents, letters, boxes, labels, or early reels stored in their attic, garage, or basement that could help us solve the mystery of Penn's first reels.

Special thanks to ORCA members Gary Davis and Gary Quick for helping us piece together our early history. Also, to collector Eric Tilman for helping us acquire a MOD F reel. Visit the History Section on our website at www.pennreels.com to see additional photos of Penn’s early reels and related memorabilia.