Here are a few pics of my CRI family. I know some of you are familiar with these reels, and I'm not the first to post pics of them. But I think this is the first complete set shown on the forum. I also own one of the rods, but since it's a graphite rod, let's just enjoy it as a member of the family. I also used a UFM UEDA Super Pulser on some of the pics, a rod which was manufactured during the same time as the CRI, but with less expensive appointments and materials. Unfortunately the CRI family did not include any fiberglass rods.

Chris,
Beautiful "family" portrait. Would you happen to have a shot of the internals?

Doug

Black-and-copper is an elegant colour combination.

there is nothing Orvis can do about the manufacture of the reel, but Cortland doesn't sell it here, nor have they for a long, long time.

I read that lawsuit at one time or another. I think you can find it on line.

Per some of the points below, practicality/economics goes into the decision to sue, but they still do it. Here's a more recent one that is kind of interesting, Cortland v. Orvis this time: http://www.law.cornell.edu/patent/comments/99_1081.htm

Not being a big fan of legal research, I didn't look around long enough to find the earlier suit. Infringement or not, the Cortland reel is great to see and very nicely executed.

Great reels - thanks for the post. I have the 2300 in the darker finish but I've always thought those silver models were among the most handsome fly reels I've ever seen.

the real question is whether a plaintiff would be willing to pursue it.
Pflueger and Shakespeare were never out of court until Shakespeare bought Pflueger.
They were in court over patent infringement claims continuously from 1915-63.

I don't think you would see Orvis pursue something like this today. Tackle is just a sideline for them, and is not profitable.
In the 70s-80s it was different, and Orvis ran their fly fishing schools, destinations and endorsements with a sharpened cutlass.
Anybody could sell Orvis, but to get their endorsement and national exposure, you had to exclusively sell Orvis.

Chris,

Looks like a recent aquisition arrived safely! Fantastic collection you have ... Lovely photos as well!

Mikey

Chris,

Thanks for sharing and nice picture of the family! I checked out the Japanese site with the Cantata reels. Does anyone know how much these reels cost in American dollars? Thanks Matt

Here are all the papers on these rods and reels.
/Chris