Aroner Spinoza 8'3/2 #4 Serial No. 12

This is the limited edition rod (limited to 15) that inspired the name of our company. The complete package includes the rod, an Arnie Mason leather tube, and a 12th edition copy of John Taintor Foote's classic work "The Wedding Gift".

First, a bit of background. While visiting a friend's house in the late 1990's I was given a copy of "The Wedding Gift" for bedtime reading. This amusing and short book related the misadventures of a dry fly obsessed fisherman who lost his "Spinoza" rod overboard on the first day of his honeymoon at a remote Maine lodge. The protagonist explains that a 3oz. Spinoza is his favorite rod but that he is also a fan of "Meacham" rods as well. To the discerning reader, this certainly sounds as though he is referring to Leonard and Payne rods. There was only one problem: which was which? In Taintor Foote's second book of the series -- entitled "Fatal Gesture" -- the narrator reveals that old man Spinoza is dead but that his son has taken over the business and that "they still put out the best rod on the market". So we come to learn that "Spinoza" was clearly a code word for Payne.

At the time that I encountered these lovely books I had recently finished a short run of limited edition rods that I considered a tribute to my Leonard roots and was looking to do something different for my next project. In a stroke of luck I had just acquired tooling which would allow me to make the Payne style acorns which I had long admired. It was a natural fit. I decided to make a Payne tribute to match that which had been related in the story.

About the rod itself:

This limited edition rod is 8' 3-piece, 2-tip, with a medium action. The ferrules are an oxidized pot belly step design. Medium cigar grip with small 1/4 inch corks. Dished Payne-style front check. All cork real seat with nickel-silver divider between the seat and grip. Seat hardware is a slide ring with an aluminum acorn and polished nickel-silver pocket cap. Node spacing and temper color are intended to replicate that of Payne. Wraps are brown with yellow edges treated with original orange shellac color preserver. Rod shafts are coated with spar varnish. I have taken some poetic license with the design in two ways: first, the rod comes with Payne style ferrule plugs which are of course not period to the book, and second, the rod taper is a medium derivative of my dry fly action. Olive colored poplin rod bag.

The rod tube is the heaviest brass-lined leather Arnie Mason tube. Stamped with "Spinoza Rod Co. Ser #12". The end cap has a brass plaque hand engraved with a light scroll work treatment and "Spinoza Rod Co serial #12." The tube is in mint condition.

The book is the twelfth edition to match the serial number (to find the edition number simply turn to the last printed page and one can find it listed there). The inside cover has a Spinoza Rod Co book plate which I have inserted, with the rod serial #12 inked on it.

To my knowledge this is the only time a limited edition Spinoza has ever come to market.