Mitchell Reel Forum

Christian,

Very nice. A 48-hour turnaround time – may we say that is another example of Mitchell competing in the “modern world”?

You have added another location (33 Boulevard Henri-IV, Paris) to this thread. A very nice location, near the Seine, ~3 km southeast of Notre Dame.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/33+Bd ... d2.3656467

Christian and Mates,

Given a date of 1960-62, I am not clear whether the Mitchell counter photo (***11.jpg above) was at the Messy or Thyez factory. Based on other photos in the production line series (above), I would think it was likely Thyez. Although, the earliest example of Mitchell at the Thyez address that I could find was 25-Dec-1965.

https://www.societe.com/societe/mitchel ... 20591.html

But then, one should not assume all the photos in that set were taken at the same time in the same location. Does someone wish to write/email the Museum (Musée de l'Horlogerie et du Décolletage) to learn what they are able to share about the Mitchell production line photos from the 2011/12 Exposition?

04 50 96 43 00
[email protected]

John

P.S. One more thing. Christian, did the 1966 fishing magazine articles mention what proportion of workers were women?

Hello John

I sent a message to the Cluses Museum asking them if they had any information on the sites and years of the photos taken by the Cluses photographer.
Regarding the Mitchell workers, no details on the sex of the workers,
It is specified that "it is boys of 20, 25, 30 years who tame these monstrous machines" I deduce that the men were in the workshops of factories and the women in the workshops requiring more meticulous work (assembly, checking ,,)

have invoices from 1955.

From 1955 to 1957 the invoices were established by La Canne à Pêche, General Sales Agency for Mitchell reels and CAP reels I have no invoices from 1958 to 1964 except one from December 1964 which is like the ones from 1965

From 1965 to January 1966 the invoices were established by Mitchell SA, 33 bd Henry IV Paris

In March 1966 the invoices were still with the heading Mitchell SA, 33 bd Henry IV Paris but on the payment receipt the fiscal stamp was stamped Mitchell SA 74 Cluses In July 1966 the invoices were still with the heading Mitchell SA, 33 bd Henry IV Paris but receipt with red stamp under the heading "Headquarters in Cluses (Hte Savoie),
Same in December 1966

From 1968 to 1972 I only had invoices issued by La Canne à Pêche
,
In 1975 and 1976 the invoices were established by Mitchell 16 rue Fabre d´Églantine Paris 75012 Headquarters in Thiez 74. The receipt is stamped "Head Office in Cluses (Hte Savoie)" but the fiscal stamp is stamped Mitchell SA 74 Thiez

Christian,

Thank you for contacting the Musée de l'Horlogerie et du Décolletage for details about the photos in their PDF on the 2011/12 Exposition. Hopefully, they will have some information to share. (If I may be honest, may I say I was disappointed in the Museum for not following scholarly standards of including date/location about their photos or acknowledging that details were unknown - even if their PDF was intended for a general audience.)

Your posts of invoices (above) appear to have left Mates speechless, including myself. Stunning! Thank you for sharing these marvelous documents (which few may have similar), useful for the locations we are considering here, but possibly also for other questions about Mitchell reels that may arise.

John

Hello John,
This afternoon I got a response from the Cluses Museum.
My message will be sent to Madame Florence Poirier, responsible for the Archives of the city of Cluses, on her return from vacation on September 6th.
In addition to the invoices I have a few other Mitchell documents sent to the tackle dealers, I will look at them and see what might be of interest.
Best regards,
Christian

Hello John,

Madame Florence Poirier replied to my message.
Unfortunately, she does not know the date and place where the photos were taken, but she thinks the deduction from the 1960s is probable.
She told me that we can cite the Exhibition from which the photos and other documents are taken.
Best regards,
Christian

Hello Christian,
Excellent detective work .

Kind Regards,
Chris

I am amazed at the level this post has reached.
At this point I wanted to ask some more delicate questions.
In Cluses factory there were some reels left in the windows, many probably seen in an exhibition about 10 years ago but many of these special and new ones have remained there for many previous years in some shop windows.
I believe these special objects only came out of the museum in 2017 and I also know who was allowed to appropriate them.
I know where many of these are today and I can't deny that I can touch some of them.
My questions are 2.
1 Does anyone have pictures of those shop windows?
2 Why do some of those Mitchells have a completely red foot on top?
I believe that only those who have contacts or have seen those cases can answer me, maybe Christian can help me in this.
Grazie e Cordiali saluti
Simone

Simone,

Above, excerpt of one of the Museum's display cases, taken from: https://jazlebontemps.com/2020/05/03/ma ... ntzenheim/ . There is not much available online.

We will await to hopefully hear from someone who has had actual eyes or hands on.

John

Hello Simone,
Sorry, but I don't have the answer to your questions.
I did not know that someone had been able to buy the reels that were in the window, probably someone who was well regarded by the managers.

Hello John,
You're right, not much on the web.
The windows in the photo show only a small amount of reels.
I continue my research.
Good day
Best regards,
Christian

Thanks for your help John e Christian
, I'm sure we can find more testimonials on the latest reels out of the factory.
In this article you can see the Cluses headquarters in its infancy !
https://jazlebontemps.com/2020/05/03/ma ... ntzenheim/

Simone,
Very interesting. Thank you for posting.


Ted Lanham

Thanks Ted! it is a purely advertising article, I cannot be sure of some information.
Some images and historical references from the period before Mitchell are curious.
Any system is good for gathering new information.

When Wallace is able, perhaps another thread to relocate under "Mitchell History Discussions"? It's certainly jam-packed with history.