About these pages

In the ABU Library, researcher and collector Mikael Risberg presents his research into ABU. The material has been collected since 1983, when Mikael began collecting, and forms the basis of these pages about the company, its fishing reels and catalogues.

The catalogues as a starting point

These pages document the fishing reels that ABU presented in its catalogues and sold to shops around the world. The catalogues are important sources for model names, versions and how the range was presented in different years.

A catalogue year shows that a model was presented in that catalogue. It does not always establish the model’s first or last year of manufacture. Catalogue evidence is therefore kept separate from confirmed manufacturing information.

Research that can evolve

These pages present the facts known so far. Figures such as the number of reels manufactured may need to be revised when new documents or other evidence emerge. This is therefore not a final verdict, but a summary of the knowledge supported by the available material.

Record — manufacturing variations

Record reel production had its own particular circumstances. If red agate stones for the bearing caps were unavailable, stones of another colour could be used. A colour difference alone therefore does not necessarily mean that a reel belongs to a different model or manufacturing year.

When a design was updated, parts already in stock were used first, until supplies ran out. The transition between two versions could therefore be gradual. A reel may contain a feature that, according to the documented update, was replaced the previous year, without this alone proving that the reel was later modified.

Commemorative gifts and special reels

The factory also made commemorative gifts, birthday gifts and special reels for major customers. Not all such variants are documented here. A few are shown, but most have been omitted because reliable information about their background and manufacture is very difficult to find.

The absence of an unusual reel from these pages does not mean it was never made. The scope reflects what can be documented, rather than ruling out the existence of other versions.