RARE Advertising Postcard 1884 - Signed George A Clark Fishing Tackle Utica NY

Description

NICE Original Advertising Postcard
Geo. A. Clark & Company
Fishing Tackle
Utica, New York
1884
For offer, a very nice old Advertising postcard! Fresh from an old prominent estate. Never offered on the market until now.
Vintage, Old, Original -
NOT
a Reproduction - Guaranteed !!
Manuscript writing, signed at bottom - G.A. Clark &c. Sent to S Cases / Case Sons, Vernon, NY - a general store there.
In very good condition. Please see photos and scans for all details and condition.
If you collect 19th century Americana advertisement ad history, United States of America printing, American manufacturing, industry, sports / sporting, fish, etc. this is a nice one for your paper or ephemera collection. Genealogy research importance as well. Combine shipping on multiple bid wins! 371
Fishing tackle is the equipment used by anglers when fishing. Almost any equipment or gear used for fishing can be called fishing tackle. Some examples are hooks, lines, sinkers, floats, rods, reels, baits, lures, spears, nets, gaffs, traps, waders and tackle boxes.
Gear that is attached to the end of a fishing line is called terminal tackle. This includes hooks, leaders, swivels, sinkers, floats, split rings and wire, snaps, beads, spoons, blades, spinners and clevises to attach spinner blades to fishing lures, and tools that make it easy to tie knots. Sometimes the term fishing rig is used for a completed assembly of tackle ready for fishing.
Fishing tackle can be contrasted with fishing techniques. Fishing tackle refers to the physical equipment that is used when fishing, whereas fishing techniques refers to the manner in which the tackle is used when fishing.
The term tackle, with the meaning "apparatus for fishing", has been in use from 1398 AD.[1] Fishing tackle is also called fishing gear. However the term fishing gear is more usually used in the context of commercial fishing, whereas fishing tackle is more often used in the context of recreational fishing. This article covers equipment used by recreational anglers.
Hook, line and sinker
Hook, line and sinker is a classic combination of tackle empowering an angler to catch fish.
Hooks
Main article: Fish hook
A fish hook
The use of the hook in angling is descended, historically, from what would today be called a "gorge". The word "gorge", in this context, comes from an archaic word meaning "throat". Gorges were used by ancient peoples to capture fish. A gorge was a long, thin piece of bone or stone attached by its midpoint to a thin line. The gorge would be fixed with a bait so that it would rest parallel to the lay of the line. When a fish swallowed the bait, a tug on the line caused the gorge to orient itself at right angles to the line, thereby sticking in the fish's gullet.
A fish hook is a device for catching fish either by impaling them in the mouth or, more rarely, by snagging the body of the fish. Fish hooks have been employed for millennia by anglers to catch fresh and saltwater fish. Early hooks were made from the upper bills of eagles and from bones, shells, horns and thorns of plants (Parker 2002). In 2005, the fish hook was chosen by Forbes as one of the top twenty tools in the history of man.[2] Fish hooks are normally attached to some form of line or lure device which connects the caught fish to the angler. There is an enormous variety of fish hooks. Sizes, designs, shapes, and materials are all variable depending on the intended purpose of the hook. They are manufactured for a range of purposes from general fishing to extremely limited and specialized applications. Fish hooks are designed to hold various types of artificial, processed, dead or live baits (bait fishing); to act as the foundation for artificial representations of fish prey (fly fishing); or to be attached to or integrated into other devices that represent fish prey (lure fishing).
Lines
Main article: Fishing line
Fishing line with hooks attached
A fishing line is a cord used or made for fishing. The earliest fishing lines were made from leaves or plant stalk (Parker 2002). Later lines were constructed from horse hair or silk thread, with catgut leaders. From the 1850s, modern industrial machinery was employed to fashion fishing lines in quantity. Most of these lines were made from linen or silk, and more rarely cotton.[3]
Modern lines are made from artificial substances, including nylon, polyethylene, dacron and dyneema. The most common type is monofilament made of a single strand. Anglers often use monofilament because of its buoyant characteristics and its ability to stretch under load. Recently alternatives such as fluorocarbon, which is the least visible type, and braided fishing line, also known as 'superlines' because of their small diameter, minimal amount of stretch, and great strength relative to standard nylon monofilament lines.
Important parameters of a fishing line are its breaking strength and its diameter (thicker, sturdier lines are more visible to fish). Factors that may determine what line an angler chooses for a given fishing environment include breaking strength, diameter, castability, buoyancy, stretch, color, knot strength, UV resistance, limpness, abrasion resistance, and visibility.
Fishing with a hook and line is called angling. In addition to the use of the hook and line used to catch a fish, a heavy fish may be landed by using a landing net or a hooked pole called a gaff. Trolling is a technique in which a fishing lure on a line is drawn through the water. Snagging is a technique where the object is to hook the fish in the body.
Sinkers
Main article: Fishing sinker
Three types of small lead sinkers
A sinker or plummet is a weight used when angling to force the lure or bait to sink more rapidly or to increase the distance that it may be cast. The ordinary plain sinker is traditionally made of lead. It can be practically any shape, and is often shaped round like a pipe-stem, with a swelling in the middle. However, the use of smaller lead based fishing sinkers has now been banned in the UK, Canada and some states in the US,[4] since lead can cause toxic lead poisoning if ingested. There are loops of brass wire on either end of the sinker to attach the line. Weights can range from a quarter of an ounce for trout fishing up to a couple of pounds or more for sea bass and menhaden.
The swivel sinker is similar to the plain one, except that instead of loops, there are swivels on each end to attach the line. This is a decided improvement, as it prevents the line from twisting and tangling. In trolling, swivel sinkers are indispensable. The slide sinker, for bottom fishing, is a leaden tube which allows the line to slip through it, when the fish bites. This is an excellent arrangement, as the angler can feel the smallest bite, whereas in the other case the fish must first move the sinker before the angler feels him.
Fishing rods
Main article: Fishing rod
Fishing with a fishing rod
A fishing rod is an additional tool used with the hook, line and sinker. A length of fishing line is attached to a long, flexible rod or pole: one end terminates with the hook for catching the fish. Early fishing rods are depicted on inscriptions in ancient Egypt, China, Greece and Rome. In Medieval England they were called angles (hence the term angling). As they evolved they were made from materials such as split Tonkin bamboo, Calcutta reed, or ash wood, which were light, tough, and pliable. The butts were frequently made of maple. Handles and grips were made of cork, wood, or wrapped cane. Guides were simple wire loops.
Modern rods are sophisticated casting tools fitted with line guides and a reel for line stowage. They are most commonly made of fibreglass, carbon fibre or, classically, bamboo. Fishing rods vary in action as well as length, and can be found in sizes between 24 inches and 20 feet. The longer the rod, the greater the mechanical advantage in casting. There are many different types of rods, such as fly rods, tenkara rods, spin and bait casting rods, spinning rods, ice rods, surf rods, sea rods and trolling rods.
Fishing rods can be contrasted with fishing poles. The line on a fishing rod is controlled with a specialised reel which allows accurate casting. A fishing pole does not have a reel. Instead the line is just tied directly to the tip of the pole, or is tied to some sort of elastic mechanism at the tip. Poles can be up to 18 m in length and are made of optional sections which can be slotted together by the angler.
Fishing reels
Main article: Fishing reel
A spinning reel
A fishing reel is a device used for the deployment and retrieval of a fishing line using a spool mounted on an axle. Fishing reels are traditionally used in angling. They are most often used in conjunction with a fishing rod, though some specialized reels are mounted on crossbows or to boat gunwales or transoms. The earliest known illustration of a fishing reel is from Chinese paintings and records beginning about 1195 A.D. Fishing reels first appeared in England around 1650 A.D., and by the 1760s, London tackle shops were advertising multiplying or gear-retrieved reels. Paris, Kentucky, native George Snyder is generally given credit for inventing the first fishing reel in America around 1820, a bait casting design that quickly became popular with American anglers.
Fishing bait
Main article: Fishing bait
Natural baits
Green Highlander, an artificial fly used for salmon fishing.
The natural bait angler usually uses a common prey species of the fish as an attractant. The natural bait used may be alive or dead. Common natural baits include bait fish, worms, leeches, minnows, frogs, salamanders, nightcrawlers and other insects. Natural baits are effective due to the lifelike texture, odour and colour of the bait presented.
The common earthworm is a universal bait for fresh water angling. In the quest for quality worms, some fishers culture their own worm compost or practice worm charming. Grubs and maggots are also considered excellent bait when trout fishing. Grasshoppers, flies, bees and even ants are also used as bait for trout in their season, although many anglers believe that trout or salmon roe is superior to any other bait. Studies show that natural baits like croaker and shrimp are more recognized by the fish and are more readily accepted. A good bait for red drum is menhaden.[5] Because of the risk of transmitting whirling disease, trout and salmon should not be used as bait.
Processed baits, such as groundbait and boilies, can work well with coarse fish, such as carp. For example, in lakes in southern climates such as Florida, fish such as bream will take bread bait. Bread bait is a small amount of bread, often moistened by saliva, balled up to a small size that is bite size to small fish.
Artificial baits
Many people prefer to fish solely with lures, which are artificial baits designed to entice fish to strike. The artificial bait angler uses a man-made lure that may or may not represent prey. The lure may require a specialised presentation to impart an enticing action as, for example, in fly fishing. Recently, electronic lures have been developed to attract fish. Anglers have also begun using plastic bait. A common way to fish a soft plastic worm is the Texas rig.
Bite indicators
Main article: Bite indicator
Different types of fishing floats
A bite indicator, also referred to as a strike indicator, is a mechanical or electronic device which indicates to an angler that something is happening at the hook end of the fishing line. There are many types of bite indicators—which work best depends on the type of fishing.
Devices in wide use as bite indicators include fishing floats, which float in the water and dart about if a fish bites, and quiver tips, which are mounted onto the tip of a fishing rod. Bite alarms are electronic devices which bleep when a fish tugs a fishing line. Floats and quiver tips are visual bite detectors, while bite alarms are audible bite detectors.
In fly fishing a commonly used indicator is the "hopper dropper rig". With this technique a nymph or wet fly is hung from the bottom of a floating dry fly. This doubles the chance of a strike from a fish.[6]
Spears
Main article: Spearfishing
The Filipino Negritos traditionally used bows and arrows to shoot fish in clear water.[7]
Spearfishing is an ancient method of fishing conducted with an ordinary spear or a specialised variant such as a harpoon, trident, arrow or eel spear. [8][9]
Harpoons are spears which have a barb at the end. Their use was widespread in palaeolithic times.[10] Cosquer cave in Southern France contains cave art over 16,000 years old, including drawings of seals which appear to have been harpooned. Tridents are spears which have three prongs at the business end. They are also called leisters or gigs. They feature widely in early mythology and history.
Modern spears can be used with a speargun. Some spearguns use slings (or rubber loops) to propel the spear. Polespears have a sling attached to the spear, Hawaiian slings have a sling separate from the spear, in the manner of an underwater bow and arrow.
A bow or crossbow can be used with arrows in bowfishing.
Nets
Main article: Fishing nets
Fishing for salmon with a hand net on the Fraser River, Canada
Fishing nets are meshes usually formed by knotting a relatively thin thread. Between 177 and 180 the Greek author Oppian wrote the Halieutica, a didactic poem about fishing. He described various means of fishing including the use of nets cast from boats, scoop nets held open by a hoop, and various traps "which work while their masters sleep". Ancient fishing nets used threads made from leaves, plant stalk and cocoon silk. They could be rough in design and material but some designs were amazingly close to designs we use today (Parker 2002). Modern nets are usually made of artificial polyamides like nylon, although nets of organic polyamides such as wool or silk thread were common until recently and are still used.
Hand nets are held open by a hoop, and maybe on the end of a long stiff handle. They have been known since antiquity and may be used for sweeping up fish near the water surface like muskellunge and northern pike. When such a net is used by an angler to help land a fish it is known as a landing net.[11] In the UK, hand-netting is the only legal way of catching glass eels[12] and has been practised for thousands of years on the River Parrett and River Severn.
Cast nets are small round nets with weights on the edges which is thrown by the fisher. Sizes vary up to about four metres in diameter. The net is thrown by hand in such a manner that it spreads out on the water and sinks. Fish are caught as the net is hauled back in.[13]
Traps
Main article: Fishing trap
Vietnamese traditional fish trap.
Fishing traps are culturally almost universal and seem to have been independently invented many times. There are essentially two types of trap, a permanent or semi-permanent structure placed in a river or tidal area and pot-traps that are baited to attract prey and periodically lifted. They might have the form of a fishing weir or a lobster trap. A typical trap can have a frame of thick steel wire in the shape of a heart, with chicken wire stretched around it. The mesh wraps around the frame and then tapers into the inside of the trap. When a fish swims inside through this opening, it cannot get out, as the chicken wire opening bends back into its original narrowness. In earlier times, traps were constructed of wood and fibre.
Fish stringer
Simple fish stringer for spearfishing
A fish stringer is a line of rope or chain along which an angler can string fish that have been caught so they can be immersed and kept alive in water.[14]
Fly fishing tackle
Main article: Fly fishing tackle
Fly fishing tackle is equipment used by, and often specialised for use by fly anglers. Fly fishing tackle includes fly lines designed for easy casting, specialised fly reels designed to hold a fly line and supply drag if required for landing heavy or fast fish, specialised fly rods designed to cast fly lines and artificial flies, terminal tackle including artificial flies, and other accessories including fly boxes used to store and carry artificial flies.
Tackle boxes
Typical tackle box with rod and bait bucket.
Typical tackle box with rod and bait bucket
Fishing tackle boxes have for many years been an essential part of the anglers equipment. Fishing tackle boxes were originally made of wood or wicker and eventually some metal fishing tackle boxes were manufactured. The first plastic fishing tackle boxes were manufactured by Plano in response to the need for a product that didn't rust. Early plastic fishing tackle boxes were similar to tool boxes but soon evolved into the hip roof cantilever tackle boxes with numerous small trays for small tackle. These types of tackle boxes are still available today but they have the disadvantage that small tackle gets mixed up. Fishing tackle boxes have also been manufactured so the drawers themselves become small storage boxes, each with their own lids. This prevents small tackle from mixing, and can turn each drawer into a stand-alone container which can be used to carry small tackle to a rod some distance from the main tackle box.
Utica (/ˈjuːtɪkə/ (About this soundlisten)) is a city in the Mohawk Valley and the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The tenth-most-populous city in New York, its population was 62,235 in the 2010 U.S. census. Located on the Mohawk River at the foot of the Adirondack Mountains, Utica is approximately 95 miles (153 kilometers) northwest of Albany, 55 mi (89 km) east of Syracuse and 240 mi (386 km) northwest of New York City. Utica and the nearby city of Rome anchor the Utica–Rome Metropolitan Statistical Area, which comprises all of Oneida and Herkimer counties.
Formerly a river settlement inhabited by the Mohawk Nation of the Iroquois Confederacy, Utica attracted European-American settlers from New England during and after the American Revolution. In the 19th century, immigrants strengthened its position as a layover city between Albany and Syracuse on the Erie and Chenango Canals and the New York Central Railroad. During the 19th and 20th centuries, the city's infrastructure contributed to its success as a manufacturing center and defined its role as a worldwide hub for the textile industry. Utica's 20th-century political corruption and organized crime gave it the nickname "Sin City."[11]
Like other Rust Belt cities, Utica underwent an economic downturn beginning in the mid-20th century. The downturn consisted of industrial decline due to globalization and the closure of textile mills, population loss caused by the relocation of jobs and businesses to suburbs and to Syracuse, and poverty associated with socioeconomic stress and a depressed tax base. With its low cost of living, the city has become a melting pot for refugees from war-torn countries around the world, encouraging growth for its colleges and universities, cultural institutions and economy.
History
Iroquois natives and European settlement
A black-and-white map, depicting buildings and roads in simple, small black outlines. The text "Utica in 1802" is at bottom right.
An 1802 engraved map of Utica. The Mohawk River is at the top, and Bagg's Tavern is at the center right.
This 1883 index map shows the development around Utica and Bagg's Square, with the Erie Canal (now Oriskany Street) and Chenango Canal towards the upper-right.
Utica was established on the site of Old Fort Schuyler, built by American colonists for defense in 1758 during the French and Indian War, the North American front of the Seven Years' War against France.[3][16][17][18] Prior to construction of the fort, the Mohawk, Onondaga and Oneida tribes had occupied this area south of the Great Lakes region as early as 4000 BC.[19] The Mohawk were the largest and most powerful tribe in the eastern part of the Mohawk Valley. American colonists had a longstanding fur trade with them, in exchange for firearms and rum. The tribe's dominating presence in the region prevented the Province of New York from expanding past the middle of the Mohawk Valley until after the American victory in the Revolutionary War, when the British-allied Iroquois were forced to cede their lands as allies of the defeated British, and the American-allied Iroquois were forced to cede land in exchange for shelter and supplies following brutal fighting.[19]
The land housing Old Fort Schuyler was part of a 20,000-acre (81 km2) portion of marshland granted by King George II to New York governor William Cosby on January 2, 1734.[20] Since the fort was located near several trails (including the Great Indian Warpath), its position—on a bend at a shallow portion of the Mohawk River—made it an important fording point. The Mohawk called the bend Unundadages ("around the hill"), and the Mohawk word appears on the city's seal.[13][21][22]
During the American Revolutionary War, border raids from British-allied Iroquois tribes harried the settlers on the frontier. George Washington ordered Sullivan's Expedition, Rangers, to enter Central New York and suppress the Iroquois threat. More than 40 Iroquois villages were destroyed and their winter stores, causing starvation.[13] In the aftermath of the war, numerous European-American settlers migrated into the state and this western region from New England,[23] especially Connecticut.[13]
In 1794 a state road, Genesee Road, was built from Utica west to the Genesee River. That year a contract was awarded to the Mohawk Turnpike and Bridge Company to extend the road northeast to Albany, and in 1798 it was extended.[3][24] The Seneca Turnpike was key to Utica's development, replacing a worn footpath with a paved road.[25] The village became a rest and supply area along the Mohawk River for goods and the many people moving through Western New York to and from the Great Lakes.[26][27]
The boundaries of the village of Utica were defined in an act passed by the New York State Legislature on April 3, 1798.[28] Utica expanded its borders in subsequent 1805 and 1817 charters. On April 5, 1805, the village's eastern and western boundaries were expanded,[29] and on April 7, 1817, Utica separated from Whitestown on its west.[3][30] After completion of the Erie Canal in 1825, the city's growth was stimulated again.
The municipal charter was passed by the state legislature on February 13, 1832.[3][4] The city's growth during the 19th century is indicated by the increase in its population; in 1845 the United States Census ranked Utica as the 29th-largest in the country (with 20,000 residents, more than the populations of Chicago, Detroit or Cleveland.[31][32])
Industry, trade, and slavery
A black-and-white pencil drawing of a bustling, smoky, industrial city.
Bird's-eye view of Utica over Bagg's Square in the 1850s, showing the smoke from numerous factory chimneys
Utica's location on the Erie and Chenango canals encouraged industrial development, allowing the transport of anthracite from northeastern Pennsylvania for local manufacturing and distribution.[33] Utica's economy centered around the manufacture of furniture, heavy machinery, textiles and lumber.[34] The combined effects of the Embargo Act of 1807 and local investment enabled further expansion of the textile industry.[35] Like other upstate New York cities, mills in Utica processed cotton from the Deep South, produced by slave labor.
In addition to the canals, transport in Utica was bolstered by railroads running through the city. The first was the Mohawk and Hudson Rail Road, which became the Utica and Schenectady Railroad in 1833. Its 78-mile (126 km) connection between Schenectady and Utica was developed in 1836 from the right-of-way previously used by the Mohawk and Hudson River railway.[36][37] Later lines, such as the Syracuse and Utica Railroad, merged with the Utica and Schenectady to form the New York Central Railroad, which originated as a 19th-century forest railway in the Adirondacks.[38]
During the 1850s, Utica aided more than 650 fugitive slaves; it played a major role as a station in the Underground Railroad. The city was on a slave escape route from the Southern Tier to Canada by way of Albany, Syracuse, and Rochester.[39][40] The route, used by Harriet Tubman to travel to Buffalo,[41] guided slaves to pass through Utica on the New York Central Railroad right-of-way en route to Canada.[41] Utica was the locus for Methodist preacher Orange Scott's antislavery sermons during the 1830s and 1840s, and Scott formed an abolitionist group there in 1843.[40] The 1835 initial meeting of the New York Anti-Slavery Society, in Utica, was disrupted by an anti-abolitionist mob, including local congressman Samuel Beardsley and other "prominent citizens".[42] (It adjourned to Gerrit Smith's home in nearby Peterboro, New York).[43][44]
20th century to present
Two young newsboys smiling and standing in the snow. One boy is holding a bag.
Newsboys for the Utica Saturday Globe, 1910
The early 20th century brought rail advances to Utica, with the New York Central electrifying 49 miles (79 km) of track from the city to Syracuse in 1907 for its West Shore interurban line.[45] In 1902, the Utica and Mohawk Valley Railway connected Rome to Little Falls with a 37.5-mile (60.4 km) electrified line through Utica.[46]
Looking north towards the corner of Genesee and Bleecker streets, c. 1900–1915. Streetcars can be seen crossing a bridge over the Erie Canal.
By the 1950s, Utica was known as "Sin City" because of the extent of its corruption at the hands of the Democratic Party political machine.[47][48][49][50] During the late 1920s, trucker Rufus Elefante rose to power[51][52] although he never ran for office.[53] Originally a Republican, Elefante's power was enhanced by support from New York governor Franklin D. Roosevelt.[54] Waves of Italian, Irish, Polish and Lebanese Maronite immigrants worked in the city's industries in the early part of the 20th century. Until the 1980s, organized crime had a strong role in the city.[50][55]
Strongly affected by the deindustrialization that took place in other Rust Belt cities, Utica suffered a major reduction in manufacturing activity during the second half of the 20th century. The 1954 opening of the New York State Thruway (which bypassed the city) and declines in activity on the Erie Canal and railroads throughout the United States also contributed to a poor local economy.[56] During the 1980s and 1990s, major employers such as General Electric and Lockheed Martin began to close plants in Utica and Syracuse.[57][58]
With city jobs moved to the towns and villages around Utica during the suburbanization of the postwar period. This led to the expansion of the nearby Town of New Hartford and the village of Whitesboro. Utica's lack of quality academic and educational choices, when compared to Syracuse under an hour away, contributed to its decline in local businesses and jobs as some economic activity moved to Syracuse during the 1990s.[59] Utica's population fell while population in the county increased, reflecting a statewide trend of decreasing urban populations outside New York City.[60] Residents who remain in the city struggle to handle poverty issues stemming from social and economic conditions caused partially by a smaller tax base; this adversely affects schools and public services.[61][62] Despite the city's economic decline, it has benefited from a low cost of living,[63][64] attracting immigrants and refugees from around the world.[65][66][67]
In 2010, Utica, the focus of local, regional and statewide economic-revitalization efforts,[68][69][70] developed its first comprehensive master plan in more than a half-century.[71][72]
Nearby towns :
Cities
Rome
Sherrill
Utica (county seat)
Towns
Annsville
Augusta
Ava
Boonville
Bridgewater
Camden
Deerfield
Florence
Floyd
Forestport
Kirkland
Lee
Marcy
Marshall
New Hartford
Paris
Remsen
Sangerfield
Steuben
Trenton
Vernon
Verona
Vienna
Western
Westmoreland
Whitestown
Villages
Boonville
Camden
Clayville
Clinton
Holland Patent
New Hartford
New York Mills
Oneida Castle
Oriskany
Oriskany Falls
Remsen
Sylvan Beach
Vernon
Waterville
Whitesboro
Yorkville
Census-designated places
Barneveld
Bridgewater
Chadwicks
Clark Mills
Durhamville
Hamilton College
Lake Delta
Marcy
North Bay
Otter Lake
Prospect
Stittville
Verona
Washington Mills
Westernville
Westmoreland
White Lake
Hamlets
Blossvale
Cassville
Deansboro
Jewell
Lower South Bay
Point Rock
Sauquoit
Taberg
Verona Mills