MITCHELL C.A.P. 304

This article was published in the April 2003 issue of Rod and Line Fishing Magazine.

When I first saw this quaint looking fat round spinning reel sitting melancholy on the display shelf, I was immediately attracted to it. From the look of ate reel, I deduced it to be an antique.

Mr. Looi of IGFA sports, Ipoh, was kind enough to loan it to me for further examination. The name printed on the side plate was Mitchell 304.This beautiful reel fitted snugly into my palm. The operation of the reel could be described as functional. Compared to the present modern spinning reel, it seemed a bit lacking in finesse department. But during its heydays, I am sure this reel must be one of the most sought after.

Mitchell, a reel manufacturing outfit from France needs no further introduction. It had a long line of pedigree reels that was much copied in the past. Thus any old reel from this famous company triggered my curious instinct. Removing the side cover, the inside looked sparse compared to the modern reels, but was adequate for the job.

The "O" ring was a good design. It acts as a spring washer and at the same time prevents water from entering through the side plate shaft.

The round body design actually belonged to two French tackle companies called “La Canne a Perche” and “Pecos”. They contracted out to another company named “Carpano & Pons” to mechanically enhance this reel from mid to late 1930s. Leon Carpono and his brother in law founded “Carpano & Pons” around 1927. All reels manufactured then had manual bail pick up as the Hardy-patent for full bail was jealously guarded. When the patent expired in 1954 the reel was then fitted full bail and an optional manual pickup system. Later the name Carpano & Pons Company was changed to Mitchell. When Mitchell Company adopted this reel with round design into their stable it was named Mitchell C.A.P. In 1957 a decision was made to name all their reels with numbers, thus the Mitchell 304 was born.

Mitchell Prehistory – How the never ending Mitchell history began.

A photograph of Charles Pon and Leon Carpano.

 Well, it all started not in France but in Haute-Savole (High-Savoy), then part of the former kingdom of Sardinia (now Italy). The small town of Cluses, on the banks of the river Arve, was famous for its highly experienced gear-makers.

The Swiss border and the city of Geneva were just a stone’s throw away. Many of the parts used in “genuine” Swiss watches, were made elsewhere, even in the region which later became a ‘department’ of France.

It was also in another part of the kingdom of Sardinia, in Val-de-Mosso in the province of Navarro, that Louise Carpano was born in 1832. In 1851, he entered the Clockmakers School in Cluses.

At the age of 19, he became very familiar to gearing systems. Gears were used not only in watches, but also in engines of the first factories in these early years of the expanding industrial revolution.

After leaving school, Louis Carpano went to work in France and Switzerland. His first invention dates from 1860 and was an improved milling machine for the carving of gears. In 1860, Savoy was annexed by France, but Louis preferred to keep his Italian nationality. His craftsmanship was soon noticed when he came back to Cluses in 1868.

A.M. Jacottet offered him a partnership, and together they founded a company to produce and sell watch gears, milling machines and watch making tools. At the death of Jacottet, Louis Carpano became the owner. The company prospered and by the end of the 19^th century, in 1892, a hydroelectric power station was installed to provide the power necessary for the engines.

Louis did not have children, but his nephew Constant entered the company in 1896 and was trained by his uncle for six years. Louis retired from business in 1902 after spending more than 40 years in industry and trade. Constant took over and Louis lived in Turin (Italy) until his death in1919.

Constant Carpano had a daughter (married to Charles Pons) and when Constant Carpano died in 1927, the son of Constant, Leon Carpano and his brother in law Charles Pons founded the company “Carpano & Pons”.

Charles Pons was the moving spirit in the company. In the mid–thirties, he created a research and study bureau, and put Maurice Jacquemin in charge of it. Now almost all elements necessary for the birth of a legend were in place.

Carpano & Pons were credited with patenting one of the first electric shaver called “Carpo”, a lady’s cigarette lighter called “Cop” in the shape of a lip-stick, taxi meters, electric power-meters, electric windshield wipers for automobiles, and an open face spinning-reel were designed prior to World War II. The first prototype model of this reel was made in the later part of the 1930s.

First, let’s take a look at some historical background on the origin of Carpano & Pons & C.A.P. reel. During the mid-to-late 1930s ‘La Canne & Piche’ and ‘Pecos’, two French tackle companies , contracted Carpano & Pons to refine their existing reel designs.

During the years that followed, these reels were mechanically enhanced and manufactured by Carpano & Pons for these two companies. Both round-shaped reels were mainly made via sub-contract by Carpano & Pons.

Carpano and Pons now finally had the experience (by making reels for other companies), the skill (by making high-tech gears for decades) and the right man (Maurice Jacquemin) to develop and produce their reel. Jacquemin wasn’t an angler at all: he was an engineer and a very good one too!

Maurice Jacquemin had to cope with many requirements for the design of this reel. Pons, being an engineer himself, interfaces with Maurice on many of the design changes. To avoid line being captured between the underlying windings, turning speed of the rotor had to be different from the speed of the vertical movement of the spool. Therefore, extra gears were installed into an egg-shaped housing. The spool had an instant- release button on top, which allowed easy removal and replacement. A multi-stop anti-reverse device (a knurled button on the side plate) was present on the very first model.

The reel was fitted with a collapsible handle and the wooden handle knob was the same used in the first C.A.P. and Pecos models. The half bail arm-mechanism was the same as the one used on C.A.P. and Pecos models. Jacquemin had to use a half bail-arm. Hardy jealousy kept their patent on the full bail arm until it expired in 1954.

The finish was a very decent satin black on a priming coat. An application for a first patent was deposited on July 28, 1948 and the patent was granted on May 24, 1950 under number 969.584.

In the early 1950s, Mitchell offered manual pick-up for a very limited time (approximately 2 years) on the Model 300.

The true origin of the name “Mitchell” remains mysterious: legend tells it was the Americanized name of the deplored brother (Michel) of Charles Pons, along with several other stories.

Another Carpano & Pons had the firm intention to name their reel ‘Michel’, they found out that this name was already used and patented as a part of the name of another great French tackle manufacturer Pezon & Michel. So, they didn’t have a lot of choices: giving the reel an American sound was not only legal but also very commercial. This way they avoided a lot of discussion with their major competitor I France.

The Mitchell 304s part list.