450 The highly important “Richard Walker Mk.II” 2 piece cane carp rod,

the 10’ rod ink inscribed “Stuart Walker, Hitchen” and with varnished over carp scale applied above writing, the 20oz test curve rod built on Allcock’s cane with 24” pointed cork handle and sliding alloy reel fittings, white agate lined full open bridge rings throughout, brown silk eye/ferrule whippings and green close inter-whippings, collared suction ferrule, small section of deterioration to the cork handle just above the alloy butt cap, black rubber butt cap, in contemporary cloth bag. The previous owner has extensively researched the rod and it is supplied with a (copy) letter of provenance from him, detailing the exact specifications of the rod offered here as being that described by R.W. in Walker and Ingham’s Drop Me A Line pgs. 26-28 and as having been made by R.W. in the winter of 1948 from cane gifted to R.W. by Maj. Courtney Williams, a director of Allcock’s, who felt that there would be little commercial interest in a specialist carp rod of this style. The rod was designed with the help of “B.B.” (Denys Watkins-Pitchford) but R.W. felt that, after some use, a more powerful rod was required and embarked on re-designing a 24lb t/c rod (the Mk.III) in 1950-51, further developments in design culminated in the now famous Mk.IV model going into commercial production through B. James in 1953 £4000-6000