Garren WoodFishing Hook Reference
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The Edgar Sealey S 1938 is an ‘Extra Quality’ dry fly hook from Edgar Sealey & Sons Ltd. of Redditch, sold under the firm’s registered Octopus trade mark. This No. 7 specimen has a turned-up ringed eye, round wire, a Sproat-type bend with a straight spear point, and a bronzed finish.
The green label with checkerboard border and octopus seal is Sealey’s house style from before the early 1960s. ‘S 1938’ is a pattern number in Sealey’s S-series, not a date. The company was trading by 1932 and is reported to have retired the octopus badge around 1963, which places this box broadly in the 1930s to early 1960s.
Turned-up-eye Sproat dry fly hooks have few close modern equivalents, which makes this pattern of interest to tyers of traditional British dry flies as well as to collectors of Redditch packaging.
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Turned-Up Eye (P) • Sproat Bend (I) • Standard Shank (E) • Standard Round Wire (E) • Spear Point (P) • Bronzed Finish (P)
The label does not state a wire gauge. Grid analysis gives a wire diameter of roughly 0.018″–0.022″ E on a hook 0.59″ overall, consistent with ordinary dry-fly wire for the size rather than a marked fine-wire pattern. A ‘1X Fine’ designation should not be claimed without a catalog source or a micrometer comparison against a standard hook of the same size.
The bend is a Sproat-type profile: a long, gradual sweep off the shank tightening at the lower rear, with a straight point lying parallel to the shank P. The gap is generous relative to shank length, with a shank-to-gap ratio near 1.9:1 E. The turned-up eye was favoured by one school of late-19th-century British dry-fly anglers, partly on the argument that it leaves the gap clear on small flies; whether turned-up or turned-down eyes hook better was a matter of preference and debate rather than an established engineering advantage I.
‘Extra Quality’ is a label claim whose meaning is not defined on the packaging P; any link to steel grade, tempering or inspection would be speculative S. The bronzed finish is visible in the photographs P.
Physical measurement with calipers
We have measurement for size 7. Know any others? Submit calipered measurements and we'll review and add them. Thank you!
Sources: this specimen and its packaging.
‘S 1938’ is best read as a pattern number in Sealey’s S-prefixed numbering, the same series that includes patterns such as S 4324 and S 4310 documented elsewhere on this site I. There is no evidence that the digits record a year of introduction. The label describes the pattern as an ‘Extra Quality’ dry fly hook with turned-up eyes P; what ‘Extra Quality’ meant in manufacturing terms is not stated on the packaging.
No catalog listing for S 1938 has yet been located, so the size range is undocumented; this entry records No. 7 only P. Sealey’s c.1950 sample book included a Dry Fly card V, but whether it shows this pattern number has not been checked. Sealey continued hook-making into the Dunlop era and until the Redditch factory closed around 1981 I; when S 1938 itself was discontinued is unknown.
'S 1938' is a pattern number in Sealey's S-prefixed series (cf. S 4324, S 4310), not a year I. Edgar Sealey & Sons was founded c.1930 and is listed in Kelly's Directory of 1932 V, setting the earliest date. The octopus seal is Sealey's pre-1960s registered trade mark; the badge is reported to have been replaced by a two-fish logo around 1963 I, setting a probable latest date. 'LTD.' and 'REDDITCH ENG.' are consistent with this range. Absence of a barcode or postcode is uninformative on a small hook box that carries no street address. Best estimate: c. 1930s–early 1960s I.
The octopus on Sealey packaging was the firm's own registered trade mark: the seal on this label shows an octopus above a banner reading 'OCTOPUS' and a shield bearing an interlaced ES monogram, with 'Trade Mark' lettering around the rim P. Sealey carried the Octopus name across its hooks and, later, its split-cane rods such as the Octofloat, and a company advertisement told anglers to 'Say Octopus' for hooks and rods I. The octopus badge is reported to have given way to a two-fish logo around 1963 I, which makes the seal a useful dating clue for Sealey boxes.
The Sproat bend is a long-established British pattern, widely used on trout hooks through the 19th and 20th centuries I. In the S 1938 it is combined with a turned-up eye, the orientation associated with the eyed dry-fly hooks promoted by H. S. Hall from the late 1870s, while H. Cholmondeley-Pennell championed turned-down eyes in the same period I. By the 1930s Redditch makers generally offered dry-fly hooks in both orientations.
Contemporary Redditch competition in turned-up-eye dry-fly hooks came from firms such as S. Allcock & Co. and Partridge I; direct pattern-by-pattern comparisons have not yet been documented for this entry.
The closest modern analogue in concept is the Mustad 94842, a bronzed turned-up-eye dry-fly hook, though its round bend differs from the Sproat-type profile of the S 1938. Most current dry-fly hooks use turned-down or straight eyes, so close modern matches for a turned-up-eye Sproat dry-fly hook are scarce.
| Silhouette | Hook Model | Match | Analysis | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
HP Sproat, TDE No. 6 — Yellow Label H.P. Sproat, T.D. Eye | 77% | Compare | |
|
1904 R No. 6 — 1904 R Sproat | 76% | Compare | |
|
W172 No. 14 — Allcocks W172 | 75% | Compare | |
|
L3A No. 12 — Captain Hamilton Dry Fly (Down Eye) | 74% | Compare | |
|
4xFF — 4x Fine Forged | 72% | Compare |
| Silhouette | Hook Model | Match | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|
|
B No. 10 — Albert Partridge Widegape Up Eye | 77% | Compare |
|
7731 A No. (unspecified) — Sea Demon | 63% | Compare |
Sold as a dry fly hook (P, label). The turned-up eye and light wire suit it to floating trout flies in the British tradition, including southern chalk-stream dressings I. On northern English and Scottish freestone rivers, turned-up-eye hooks of this kind were also used for wet flies and spiders I. The label’s No. 7 is on period Redditch numbering; at 0.59″ overall it should be compared with modern hooks by measurement rather than by size number E.
Traditional British trout dry flies — March Brown, olive patterns (Greenwell's Glory type), Iron Blue Dun, Pale Evening Dun variants, sedge patterns. No specifically named Edgar Sealey pattern documented.
| Hook | Match Quality | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Mustad 94842 | Good | Bronzed turned-up-eye dry fly hook — the up-eye counterpart of the 94840 (later R50U-94842). Closest modern match in eye orientation, finish and purpose, but it has a round bend rather than the S 1938's Sproat-type profile. New stock has been intermittently available. |
| Daiichi 1310 | Moderate | Round bend, turned-down eye, 1X short dry fly hook — not turned-up as previously stated. Shares only the dry-fly purpose; recommend downgrading to weak or replacing with a turned-up-eye model. |
| Tiemco 101 | Moderate | Straight (ringed) eye version of the TMC 100: 1X fine, wide gape, forged, bronze — not turned-down as previously stated. Similar purpose and finish; eye orientation and bend differ. |
Rated 5.0/10 — Uncommon but not scarce. Edgar Sealey & Sons was one of the principal Redditch hook makers of the mid-20th century, and boxed Sealey hooks appear regularly in the UK market. The original labelled box adds interest; the contents count of this box has not been verified.
Positive Factors: Genuine Redditch manufacture from a principal maker of the period, in its original labelled box. The Octopus seal and green checkerboard label are distinctive and readily identified. Turned-up-eye Sproat dry-fly hooks have few close modern equivalents, which adds interest for tyers of traditional patterns.
Limiting Factors: Sealey hooks turn up regularly in the UK market, and Sealey tackle generally draws less collector attention than the best-known British names I. The contents count of this box has not been verified. Relative demand for No. 7 versus other sizes of this pattern has not been established from sales data.
Most Desirable Variants: Boxes in very good or better condition with the stated contents present, and any documented earlier or later label variants, would be expected to attract more interest E.
Condition Impact: Label legibility and toning, box integrity, and hook condition — especially rust at the barb cut or point — are the main value factors E.
Small paper-covered card box, approx. 1.4" x 0.9" (~35 x 23 mm) measured from the grid E, in cream paper with a pasted green label printed in black. Black checkerboard border on all four edges. Seal at left: octopus above a banner reading 'OCTOPUS' and a shield with an interlaced ES monogram, 'Trade Mark' lettering around the rim. Text: 'Sole Makers: EDGAR SEALEY, & SONS, LTD., REDDITCH ENG.' / 'S 1938' / 'Extra Quality' / 'DRY FLY' / 'Turned-up-Eyes' / 'No.' with size '7' / '100' at lower left. The size numeral '7' differs in weight and style from the typeset text and appears to have been applied separately P. Printing appears to be relief (letterpress) I. No barcode, telephone number or street address. Label lightly toned with small spots at the right margin; tan board exposed along the top edge at the lid seam P.
Low ($15): Good condition — opened box, label legible with light toning, hooks present but count unverified.
High ($35): Excellent condition — box and label with minimal wear, stated contents present, hooks free of rust.
Premium factors: Label condition, verified contents, hook condition (no rust at barb or point).
Platforms: eBay UK (primary market for British vintage tackle), specialist UK tackle dealers, UK tackle auctions.
Confidence: E estimated — no comparable sales located specifically for S 1938; estimate based on general Redditch boxed-hook prices.
eBay UK (search: 'Edgar Sealey' or 'S1938'); UK vintage tackle dealers specializing in Redditch hooks; occasional appearances at UK regional fishing collectibles fairs and auctions; less common on eBay US or general antique marketplaces. Dedicated Redditch hook collector networks and forums may have periodic listings.
Identify Edgar Sealey S 1938 hooks by: (1) green label with black checkerboard border, (2) seal showing an octopus above a banner reading ‘OCTOPUS’ and a shield with an interlaced ES monogram, with trade-mark lettering around the rim, (3) ‘S 1938’ printed below ‘REDDITCH ENG.’, (4) ‘Extra Quality’ and ‘DRY FLY’, (5) ‘Turned-up-Eyes’, (6) ‘100’ contents figure at lower left, (7) size numeral applied separately from the printed ‘No.’, (8) relief-printed appearance I. Verify hook specifications for No. 7: overall length ~0.59″, gap ~0.25″, round wire, turned-up ringed eye, Sproat-type bend, straight spear point with cut barb, bronzed finish.
| P | Photographically verified — Directly observable in the photograph(s) on this page. |
| V | Verified by documentation — Confirmed by manufacturer catalog, spec sheet, or published reference. |
| I | Inferred — A logical deduction from observable or documented evidence, not directly stated. |
| E | Estimated — An approximation based on visual comparison, proportional analysis, or limited data. |
| S | Speculative — A reasoned hypothesis that cannot be confirmed from available evidence. |
Unnotated claims are the compiler’s synthesis; see Sources. All photographs on garrenwood.com are taken on a measurement grid where each square equals 1/10 inch (0.1″ / 2.54 mm).
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