Hi all,

I was very fortunate to stop at a garage sale and discuss and purchase this old tobacco glass Phillipson "Special" from the original owner. He was an older gentleman that used the rod sparingly throughout his life after purchasing it as a kid when he lived in San Marino CA. He is now in his late 70's. I told him a little bit about this rod and told him I was interested in it. He had a couple others that I was not interested in. After discussing a purchase he wanted me to have it for $20! I told him it was going to be used.

Well, as luck would have it, I had a trip planned to the Sierras the next week and got to try it out. I used it on a small Sierra water and it performed beautifully and I caught many 8"-13" browns with it. I texted him some pictures of it back in use on the water and he was excited to see it being used again. It is a sweetheart of a rod and throws a WF 5 beautifully! I can't wait to try some other lines with it. What a cool rod.

Now, I really like all of the Phillipsons that I have tried, as limited as it has been. However, I don't know much and can't find much about the early fiberglass "Special". Can any of you shed light on this early Phillipson? I would love to learn more about this gem.

As my first boss used to say, some 50 years ago, "You done good young man. You done good." The rod, depending on length, is probably for a D or C line, roughly a 6 or 7 weight. Just a guess, but perhaps at that time, Phillipson had a wholesale only offering, prelabled "Special" and then upon order, decal-labeled for the purchasing retailer, Tom & Ted Sports in this case. It would probably be the same blank as an off-the-shelf model for routine dealer to customer purchase, but besides the decal, something else distinctive, such as slightly different hardware or better quantity pricing.

With more detail--those are great pics--somebody here may be able to identify it more exactly. About that time, many outdoor products were "special," "custom," "deluxe," and so on. It was the advertising talk of the day, even though "palooza" never took hold on fishing tackle. Often it doesn't mean much. But that one, especially in its condition and the owner history you have, really is special. Thanks for showing.

Very nice find. It is rare to come across that old and buy it from the original owner and it appears to be in excellent condition. Love the tobacco weave glass.

Thanks for the information guys. I have been busy since I first posted this but wanted to give a few more details that were requested.

I measured the rod - 7'6". I have posted more pics of the rod model and details. I still can't tell if it says 76 S or 765. Looks like it may be an S but I am posting more pictures to help ID it.

The grip is not elliptical, it is round.

Whirlpool and Jgestar, your definition of "Special" is what I suspected all along but it is good to know that is probably the reason for the designation. JGestar, what would the S designate on a S76 model, Special? Or does it represent something else? This looks more like a 76S, with the S at the end, which would make sense if it is labeled a Phillipson "Special". Why would Phillipson sometimes label the S at the end of the model instead of the beginning? Would it mean something different in these different locations? I'm just curious and wanting to learn more.

Here are some additional pictures. I hope they help clear up some of the questions.

I thought the other day that it was 76S and it looks more like that in this pic set. so; "7'6'' Special" just guessing. Another guess is that early on in his own business the man had not yet established names nor a standard of labeling for job lot rods. I haven't seen a lot of discussion of his earliest 'glass productions nor many examples of them. I think all I've seen pictures of were Powr Kast and labeled "T" xx.
I like the clean simple looks of this rod a lot, thanks for posting.

The early 50s were the beginning of commercial fiberglass. The Tonkin cane supply was embargoed so Phillipson was changing from bamboo to glass. I'm sure they were figuring out how to produce and promote glass in a cost effective manner. The 1952 Phillipson glass rod listing only had two fly rods (P76 and P86), three spinning rods, and one salmon rod. Soon fiberglass was the majority of Phillipson's production. Eventually OEM rods became a large part of Phillipson's sales.

Not to be abrasive, but your Special is an inexpensive rod build. The reelseat was not dyed, the guide wraps were not tipped, the grip was round when the better models had oval shaped cork, and the rod case was cardboard. If it was so 'cheap', why was it called 'Special'? For the same reason most banks are called 'First'. Marketing. Through the 60s, the lowest grade Phillipson rods were labeled 'Master' or 'Classic'. Despite being built in Denver, your rod was sold in Southern California - the home of Conolon, SilaFlex, and Harnell. Your rod has a no-rock seat, quality Phillipson nickel silver ferrules, and a state-of-the-art fiberglass blank. Even Phillipson's bargain rods were well made.

Finally, your rod is special in a different sense. Often bargain tackle is not well maintained. The rods are left joined up in the garage or given to the kids. Your lucky rod was owned by someone who cared for it. Not many Specials are around anymore, especially in such good condition.


Tom

Today while helping my friend Charlie go through his extensive rod collection we pulled out a Phillipson S76 rod. This rod was obviously made in the 50's but was still in pretty good shape. Charlie has a couple of Phillipson Masters he picked up a couple of years ago but he didn't really know much about Phillipson. We put a reel with WF6 line on this rod and took it outside to cast it. Three of us cast the rod and we all felt this was one of the smoothest casting Phillipson rods we had ever held. Charlie has about 200 rods in his arsenal, but he wanted this one set aside so he can be sure to fish it sometime soon.

He wanted me to see what I could find out about this rod, and I found this thread from about 4 months ago that seemed to give me the information he wanted.

Larry

Tobacco glass, Phillipson. A basic 1950's fly rod, some of these rods had the painted blanks. As Tom has said, these rods were named and marked differently to be sold through various dealers.

I dig that Tom & Ted Sports decal on it, too. Crenshaw also a famous LA boulevard. Looks brand new