Goodwin Granger Registered RX9050
Goodwin Granger Registered RX9050
Goodwin Granger Registered RX9050
Goodwin Granger Registered RX9050
Goodwin Granger Registered RX9050
Goodwin Granger Registered RX9050
Goodwin Granger Registered RX9050
Goodwin Granger Registered RX9050
Goodwin Granger Registered RX9050
Goodwin Granger Registered RX9050
Goodwin Granger Registered RX9050
Goodwin Granger Registered RX9050
Goodwin Granger Registered RX9050Goodwin Granger Registered RX9050Goodwin Granger Registered RX9050Goodwin Granger Registered RX9050Goodwin Granger Registered RX9050Goodwin Granger Registered RX9050Goodwin Granger Registered RX9050Goodwin Granger Registered RX9050Goodwin Granger Registered RX9050Goodwin Granger Registered RX9050Goodwin Granger Registered RX9050Goodwin Granger Registered RX9050Goodwin Granger Registered RX9050

Goodwin Granger Registered RX9050 (Probably)

Serial Number: Unknown
Grade: Registered
Model: RX9050
Length: 9′
Weight: 5.0oz (5.6oz with Reel Seat)
Sections: 3/2
Ferrule Size: 18/12
Grip: Western
Reel Seat: Goodwin Granger Patented, Chrome Up-Locking
Tube: Original Black Crinkle Tube with Medallion
Bag: Reproduction Black Silk
Condition: Restored
Numbered Granger Registered Book: NA
Location: Longmont, CO
Status: Private Collection, Not For Sale

SKU: RX9050-1 Categories: , , Tag:

Description

This is very likely an early Goodwin Granger Registered. The rod is in excellent, post-restoration condition and is solid, full length and straight. This Registered has been restored and the restorer (unknown) unfortunately removed the Registered stamp and serial number.  Gorgeous cane from the same culm with 3×3 nodes. The wraps are black and white silk. Chrome ferrules, line guides and tip tops are clean and bright. Correct hook keeper. The chrome reel seat is excellent and operates very smoothly.  The cork grip had moderate ridging and patina from honest use. A reproduction black silk bag was provided by Mike Clark and early black crinkle tube (later Granger cap) with engraved silver medallion that reads: “Granger Registered, RX9050, Length 9 Feet, Weight 5 ozs.  Total Registered production was less than 400 rods.

The 1939 Catalog (pictured below) shows the Goodwin Granger Registered 9050 as one of eleven models offered that year.  Also available were models 7030, 7633, 8040, 8642, 9043, 9053, 9652, 9653, 9660 and 1062.

1939 Goodwin Granger Catalog p2
1939 Goodwin Granger Catalog p2

ABOUT THE GRANGER REGISTERED

The Granger Registered was first offered for sale by Goodwin Granger Company in the 1939 Catalog. Each rod was “registered” to the original owner by a card that was stored at the Granger factory. The card contained the owner’s name, address, purchase date and rod serial number. The 1939 Catalog describes the Registered this way:

“Think of the finest automobile you can name; the finest grand piano; the greatest violin ever made by the hand of man. Think of the imperishable work of master craftsmen—and then look at this Granger Registered Fly Rod. Examine the lucent golden color of its cane. Note the rich beauty of its black and silver windings, and the clean hard efficiency of chromium on guides, ferrules, tip-top and reel seat. Then put the rod together and take it in your casting hand. Feel the brave, sturdy heart of it—the delicate balance, sensitiveness and action. Take it to a fishing stream and match it against whatever fish you will; watch it come through with its black and silver colors flying—the greatest fly rod of them all!”

Serial numbers for all Registered rods begin with the year they were produced (first 4 digits) followed by the consecutive build number (1 to less than 400). The first Registered would therefore be numbered 19391 and the last (known) would be 1952393.

From 1939 to the start of WWII, there were less than 70 Registered rods produced by Goodwin Granger. They were available in 7′ to 10′ lengths (3 oz. to 6.5oz.) and priced at $75. Because of the war, production of all Granger rods ceased so there are no serial numbers associated with those war years.

In 1946, Wright & McGill Rod Company purchased Granger Rods and later resumed production of the Registered grade. The Registered was listed in the 1947 Catalog at a cost of $100 and offered in 7′ to 9.5′ lengths (3 oz. to 6.0oz.). It last appeared in the 1952 Catalog. In 6 short years, Wright & McGill produced approximately 325 Registered grade rods.

In all, the Registered grade was only produced for a total of about 8 or 9 years with fewer than 400 produced—making it one of the rarest of fine cane fly rods.

 

Excerpts from Colorado Classic Cane by Dick Spurr and Michael Sinclair

“The Granger Registered rod was the epitome of the rod makers craft in Colorado, and the one model that represents all three major Colorado companies. The Registered rod was designed by Bill Phillipson, produced first by Goodwin Granger Company and later by Wright & McGill Rod Company.

The special features that set the Registered rods apart from all others include a serial number on each rod, white trim wraps at both ends of the black wraps, a chrome plated internal uplocking reel seat rather than the normal nickel silver type, and a hook keeper. They were the only Granger rods fitted by the factory with a hook keeper.

Each rod came in a black bag and a black tube with an inscribed medallion attached to the tube. The tubes for the Registered rods were aluminum for all years except 1942, when World War II forced a switch to plastic tubes.”

GOODWIN GRANGER ADVERTISING IN THE 5TH ERA WITH PATENTED REEL SEAT (1938 – 1942)

Goodwin Granger advertisements of the late 5th Era are 2x – 3x larger than their predecessors and were also produced in just one color (black). The headlines in these ads tend to focus on the inherent VALUE of Granger Rods.

The first ads in 1938 highlight the “Granger Patented Locking Screw Reel Seat”.

In March of 1939, the ads describe another “NEW CATALOG”.  This is the 1939 Catalog with the SILVER cover. Two years later, Granger released the 1941 Catalog with the YELLOW cover.

All ads list “GOODWIN GRANGER CO.” as the business entity and the address is consistent at Grant Street, Denver, Colo.

You might notice that a different street number was assigned to each publication on all Granger ads. This was done to accurately track the responses for the same ad across different publications.

All ads shown here were scanned directly from their original publications.
March 1938 Field and Stream
March 1938 Field and Stream
March 1940 Field and Stream
March 1940 Field and Stream
June 1941 Outdoor Life
June 1941 Outdoor Life
April 1938 Field and Stream
April 1938 Field and Stream
April 1940 Field and Stream
April 1940 Field and Stream
March 1939 Field and Stream
March 1939 Field and Stream
March 1941 Outdoor Life
March 1941 Outdoor Life
April 1939 Field and Stream
April 1939 Field and Stream
April 1941 Field and Stream
April 1941 Field and Stream