A great deal of false information has been published regarding the bamboos or canes used for making split-bamboo fishing rods. In fact, practically all published information on this subject is incorrect. I will endeavor to straighten out some of the worst errors.

Bamboo is a genus of grasses. The word “bambusa” is sometimes used in place of the word bamboo. This is incorrect. Bambusa is only one of the many genera names for bamboo. There are some six or se­ven hundred known species of bamboo at present. They all have under­ground root system much like ordinary quack grass. Each system has from five or six to over a hundred stems sprouting from it. Bamboo grows in height from a few feet to over a hundred feet. Different species of bamboo vary greatly as to the diameters. Bambusa Guadua of New Granada and some Philippine and Java bamboos will grow to as large as fifteen or sixteen inches in diameter. The foliage found on bamboo is denser at the top of the bamboo than toward the bottom. The branches do not develop on the stem until the stem has reached its full height. The stem of bamboo is jointed like ordinary grass. The joint is called a “node” and goes completely through the stem to form a partition. The outside of the stem, when dry, is hard and sili­ceous. The inside pithy and soft and, in most cases, hollow. The stem, or stalk, of bamboo is botanically called a “culm”. The word “cane” so often given to a stalk or culm is also a botanical name. Cane refers to any plant that has long, elastic stems that have a hard outer surface.

Bamboos are found in all mild climates that are not too dry, such as the southern part of the United States, Central and South America, Africa, China, South Pacific Islands, Burma, India, etc. Certain bam­boos of India and China, however, are the only ones generally used for split-bamboo rod making. Bamboos have a great many uses besides fishing rod manufacture. Bamboo sprouts are eaten like asparagus. The juice of some bamboos thickens and is called “Indian Honey”. The various bamboos have seeds, nuts and apple-like fruits that are used as food. The stems or culms are used to make furniture, nails, baskets, houses, fortifications, water pipes, water bottles, etc. In World War II many of the Japanese “pill boxes” were supported with bamboo.

As before mentioned, many modern authors have ignored the facts and  have  confused  the issue with many false and  misleading statements. This is not sportsmanship, neither is it just plain common sense. It is hardly possible for present day men to know as much about Phillippe or what he did as men who lived with him in his era.

Here are facts, authenticated as given by Mr. Solon C. Phillippe, of Easton, Pa., (son of Samuel Phillippe) to Dr. J. A. Henshall. This son worked with his father.
“Samuel Phillippe was born August 9, 1801, in Reading, Pa., and died in Easton, Pa., May 25, 1877. He went to Easton when about six­teen years old, where he learned the trade of gunsmith with Mr. Peter Young. He was a skilled workman in wood, or metal. He made violins and fishing rods in addition to his regular work as a gunsmith. He received a silver medal for one of his violins from the Franklin Inst-tute Fair, at Philadelphia. He made the first “Kinsey” fishing hooks from patterns furnished by Phin-eus Kinsey, of Easton, Pa. He was a good trout fisherman, and fished at times in company with Thad. Norris, of Philadelphia, and Judge Jas. Madison Porter, Colonel T. R. Sitgreaves, Wm. Green, Phineus Kinsey, John and Abraham De-Hart, Sheriff Heckman and others of Easton.

“He visited a number of places with Mr. Thad. Norris, when the latter was seeking a location for a trout hatchery, and which was finally located near Bloomsburg, N. at work on split-bamboo rods in his shop. Charles F. Murphy, himself a noted rod maker, of Newark, N. J., also visited Phillippe to learn something of his method of making split-bamboo rods.

“In his first experiments Phillippe made tips and second joints of two, and then three sections of split-bamboo, enamel outside, with butts of solid cane or ash. But these rods would not cast the fly true. He then made the joints of four sections, and found that they would cast perfectly in any direction. He then made complete rods of four sections, including the butt, and later of six sections or strips; the enamel was always on the outside. These rods were for his own use, but afterward he made some for his friends, one of the first being for Colonel T. R. Sitgreaves, with ash butt and joints of four section split-bamboo.

“His books show that the first split-bamboo rod sold was in 1848. This was a four-section rod in three pieces, all split-bamboo, includ­ing the butt. His first rods were made certainly as early as 1845. Solon Phillippe learned rod making, in addition to the trade of gunsmith, from his father. In 1859 Solon made a complete rod of six sections; the hand piece, 18 inches long, was made of twelve sections of hard wood. In 1876 he made a three piece rod, with hand piece of red wood, and balance of rod of eight sections or strips, four of split-bamboo, and four of snakewood, alternating.”

Here is a letter from Mr. George W. Stout of Easton, Pa., to Dr. Henshall:

“I came to this town in 1851. I made my first split-bamboo rod in 1860, and got my idea from Phillippe’s rods. I was an amateur only, and never made more than a dozen in all.

“Ex-Sheriff Thos. Heckman, now in his eighty-sixth year, was a life-long acquaintance of Phillippe, and often went fishing with him. He is well preserved, with an excellent memory, and is good author­ity. He says he knows that Samuel Phillippe made split-bamboo rods in 1846. Edward Innes, a man of repute, aged about sixty-seven, re­members seeing him making one of these rods in 1847. You may rely implicitly on the evidence of Heckman and Innes, who both fished with Sam before, and many years after 1846. Innes was much at Sam’s shop before 1847 and fixes the date by its being just before he removed to Philadelphia, where he resided several years.”

A letter from Mr. Thos. Heckman, ex-Sheriff of Easton, Pa., to Dr. Henshall reads as follows:

“I knew Sam Phillippe a great many years, some sixty or seven­ty. I have fished with him many times, sometimes for a week’s camping in the mountains of Monroe County. He was the first man in this part of the country to build a split-bamboo rod. He made two for me, one of which is still in good condition. To my best recollection he built his first rod about 1846; he made his own ferrules, rings, and keepers.”

Here is a letter from Abbey and Imbrie, of New York City to Dr. Henshall:

“Your account of the origin of the split-bamboo rod is perfectly correct. Our Mr. Abbey, the writer, was the active member of Andrew Clerk and Co. at the time of the origination, by Mr. Phillippe, of the split bamboo rod, and is therefore well acquainted with its history down to the present time.”

A letter from Mr. Chas. F. Murphy, famous early rodmaker of Newark, N. J., states:

“Mr. Chas. Luke, of this city, formerly of Easton, Pa., used to fish and hunt with Mr. Phillippe, and frequented his workshop, where he saw him use split-bamboo for fly rods certainly as far back as 1848. Luke moved from Easton to Newark in 1850. I am very certain you can give Phillippe credit for the discovery of split-bamboo for fly rods without fear of being contradicted. While making rods for An­drew Clerk and Co., Mr. Abbey, of that firm, showed Mr. Green and myself a rod made by Mr. Phillippe, the top and second joint made of split-bamboo, with butt joint made from white ash. I made the first split-bamboo salmon rod, also the first black bass rod of split-bamboo.”

Further corroboration is found in this letter from Dr. W. W. Bowlby of New York City to Dr. Henshall:

“My earliest recollection of the split-bamboo rod dates back to about the year 1852. At that time I lived in New Jersey, near Easton, Pa., and fished in the same waters in New Jersey and Pennsylvania with an old gunsmith of Easton, known among us as ‘Old Sam Phil­lippe.’ It was about the year above-named that I saw a split-bamboo rod in his possession, and he informed me at the time that he was the originator of the idea; and to him, I earnestly believe, belongs the credit of having first conceived the idea of constructing a rod from such material.”

Mr. Asher J. Odenwalder, 45 South 4th Street of Easton, Penn­sylvania, a noted present day collector of fishing rods, has a six strip bamboo rod made by Phillippe. The cigar shaped Phillippe grip is even made from bamboo on this rod, and it is beautifully checkered.

Because this grip swelled from the rod, itself, people who observed the rod thought the butt was made from wood, not bamboo. This is not at all true but shows the class of people who take it upon themselves to be authorities on rods.

The following measurements of Mr. Odenwalder’s Phillippe rod were taken by Mr. V. C. Marinaro, a man who is a marvelous maker of rods. Mr. Marinaro, however, makes rods only for his own use.

Three sections of six-strip bamboo; length 11 feet; swelled grip checkered bamboo; diameter of swelled grip at largest diameter 1 inch; butt section above checkering 34/64; middle of butt section 25/64; top of butt section 23/64; middle section 19/64 – 18/64 – 14/64; tip 12/64 – 10/64 – 5/64; dovetailed ferrules sizes 19/64 and 12/64.

After Samuel Phillippe’s death, some competitors, although fully granting that Phillippe invented the four and six strip bamboo rods, tried to dim his popularity by saying his rods had been crudely made. They also claimed that they had never been made with all the sec­tions constructed of split-bamboo. They reported that his butt sections were always made of ash. Nothing could be more of a lie than these statements. A Mr. Mitchell, a rod maker of New York, was especially jealous of anyone questioning his opinions on rods. He actually knew little about rods or rod history but set himself up as a self styled authority. He made many of the misleading and false statements re­garding Phillippe. He even had an article published in the American Angler, regarding rod making which was not only badly incorrect but which also falsely discredited Phillippe.

Phillippe was a violin maker, and his rod work was never equal­led by any of the competitors of his era. After 1870, Phillippe made no fishing rods as his health did not permit it.

At the World’s fair in Chicago, the United States Department of Fisheries displayed rods made by Phillippe of six strips and all sec­tions were made of bamboo.

In 1861, E. A. Green and Thadeus Norris made four strip, three section bamboo rods for their own use. They were copied directly from Phillippe’s rods, and they learned how to make them from Phillippe.

In 1863, Charles Murphy, who also learned what he knew about fine rod making from Phillippe, made trout split bamboo rods for the commercial trade. In 1865 Murphy made the first split-bamboo salmon rod which was taken to Scotland by Dr. Andrew Clerk where it aroused much favorable comment. It was a four strip rod. Its design was at once copied by English and Scotch rod makers. The first split-bamboo black bass rod was made by Murphy in 1866. It also was a four strip rod.

In 1870, H. L. Leonard of Bangor, Maine, brought out a six strip rod with the enamel on the outside. Leonard did not originate the rod; not only Phillippe, but also Phillippe’s son, had made such rods many years before. This fact was well known to all the recognized rod makers of the era and also to Andrew Clerk and Co. to whom Phillippe, Murphy, and Leonard sold rods. The company acted as ad­visor to all these rod makers, assisted and encouraged them at all times and kept them informed of improvements made by individuals of the group.

The Clerk Company exported a great many six strip and twelve strip rods to England. In fact, for years they had standing orders foall they could secure. Many of these rods were shipped back to Amer­ica and sold as English made rods at ridiculously high prices. (The Andrew Clerk Company was succeeded by Abbey and Imbrie).

In 1877, Leonard and William Mills and Sons went into partner­ship and the factory was moved from Bangor, Maine, to Central Val­ley, New York. It is still operating in this location.

After this time, many fine rod makers sprang up all over the States, and today America is the home of fine rod makers known the world over. Nearly all of the well known rod makers of today now, however, make both split-bamboo and glass rods.