The Horton Evans Vibro Spinner

Hello,





OK, this is the first of the Vintage British Fishing Lures that I want to feature. The content of this post will demonstrate to you just how much,or rather how little, I know about the lures featured.




The lure pictured on the left is called the Vibro spinner, made by a company called Horton Evans.


First question, does anybody know anything else about Horton Evans? Where were they based?When did they exist? Do they still exist? What else did they produce? etc. etc.


One of the tricky parts of collecting vintage lures is identifying them. Unfortunately they rarely include a imprinted model name, and often do not even include the manufacturers name. This is the case for this lure,you will not find the name Vibro imprinted upon it. Very often you will not be lucky enough to be able to buy them with the original packaging. In this case I was lucky.


How old is this lure? Whenever I see these lures I get the impression that they are from the 1950s or 1960s. My reasoning for this is the look of the packaging, as much as anything. It just looks to be from that period. Also, the label on the packaging indicates that the lure was made in England. Not Britain, United Kingdom or Europe, but England. Again for some reason suggesting to me the 50s or 60s.


What kind of product range was there? I have owned, and encountered on Ebay, a selection of colour patterns and different sizes. The lure featured is a 2 inch(ie the length of the spinner blade), green and yellow patterned lure. As you can see, half of the face of the spinner is green and the other half is yellow. The reverse of the spinner is also green and yellow,but in the alternate order,the green of the face is backed by the yellow on the reverse.


I am aware of various sizes,1 inch, 1 1/2 inch and 2 inch.


The actual overall, length of the 2 inch lure is 4 inches, including weighted bar and treble hook. Why are they not classified by this length, instead of the length of the spinner?


Again there seem to be a range of colour patterns available (although all of the ones that I have seen have been of similar design to the above,split 50:50 horizontally). I am aware of the colour combinations blue/silver,red/gold,blue/gold and of course green/yellow. Any more?


The treble hook size on the lure above is about size 10. Any others available?


The packaging that I have encountered is a rectangular cardboard box, covered in pale yellow paper. In the above example the label records, Horton Evans ' Vibro' (Patent No 665139) Spinner 2" Green & Yellow (Made in England). Is this patent relevant to all?

In terms of value these tend to sell on Ebay for maybe £2-£3, usually the top prices include original packaging. So a relatively inexpensive,but colourful item to include in a collection. At the time of writing there are a couple featured on Ebay.co.uk , however the pictures arent very good so I would be wary of bidding for them. The Vibro spinners appear fairly regularly so you can always wait until next time.

OK hopefully this gives you an idea of the kind of database I am trying to create, and the kind of information I require. I will try to regularly update this blog, and include a range of lure types made by a range of manufacturers. I will try to keep you updated with some select items currently selling on Ebay, or other auction sites,but please dont rely on this blog as your only means of keeping abreast of what is selling on there. Have a look yourselves.

If you have any information on the Horton Evans Vibro that you wish to pass on, please get in touch.

However, I havent actually worked out the best way of communicating yet,what does anybody suggest ? through comments? through an email? how do i stop my email address from being spammed if i publicise it on this site? does it matter?.

Indeed information and photos of any vintage British fishing lures will be gratefully received. I promise to respond to all emails, and will include your information whenever possible and relevant.

Thanks for reading this posting.

In my next posting I will feature the Hardy Strathallan Lure.