Letcher Lambuth Collection, 1935-1972
Table of Contents
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Lambuth, Letcher, -- 1890-1974.
- Title
- Letcher Lambuth Collection
- Dates
- 1935-1972 (inclusive)19351972
- Quantity
- 1.25 linear ft. (3 boxes)
- Collection Number
- XOE_SC0033
- Summary
- Correspondence, papers, photographs, and other material related to Letcher Lambuth, a noted author on fly fishing and maker of fly rods.
- Repository
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Western Washington University, Special Collections
Wilson 6th Floor
516 High Street MS9103
Bellingham WA
98225-9123
Telephone: (360) 650-3193
Fax: (360) 650-3044
speccoll@wwu.edu - Access Restrictions
-
The collection is open to the public.
- Languages
- English
Biographical Note
Benjamin Letcher Lambuth was born in Washington, D.C., in 1890, and moved to Seattle as a child. He studied at the University of Washington, Center College in Kentucky, and Princeton University. In 1911, he took up a career in commercial and industrial real estate, operating the Seattle firm of Lambuth, Sill, and Company.
An avid fly fisherman, in the 1930s Lambuth began constructing innovative spiral bamboo fly rods that are now prized by collectors. He was also a pioneer in the study of river insects of the Pacific Northwest and among the first to tie flies that imitated them. As a member of the Washington Fly Fishing Club, he organized the campaign to designate Washington’s first fly-fishing-only waters. He was a fishing companion of noted Canadian writer and conservationist Roderick Haig-Brown, who wrote the introduction to The Angler’s Workshop (1979), Lambuth’s posthumously published memoir of the early days of fly fishing in the Pacific Northwest.
Letcher Lambuth died in 1974.
Content Description
The Letcher Lambuth Collection contains one box of correspondence. Letters to and from commercial and scientific contacts in China, Southeast Asia, and the United States pertain to the sourcing of bamboo for fly rods. Correspondence of the Washington Fly Fishing Club relates to membership and club activities, particularly its opposition to the use of salmon eggs as trout bait and efforts to secure fly-fishing-only waters in Washington. Also available are three papers written by Lambuth, notes on the testing of fly rods, and 29 original examples of flies that Lambuth himself tied. Box 3 contains photographs of Lambuth, probably dating from the 1930s and 1940s, along with an album of several hundred photos of scenes from fishing trips.
Use of the Collection
Preferred Citation
Letcher Lambuth Collection, Special Collections, Western Libraries Archives & Special Collections, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225-9103.
Administrative Information
Acquisition Information
Gift of the Washington Fly Fishing Club.
Processing Note
About Harmful Language and ContentTo learn more about problematic content in our collections, collection description and teaching tools (including how to provide feedback or request dialogue on this topic), see our Statement About Potentially Harmful Language and Content.
Detailed Description of the Collection
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Description: Correspondence on sourcing of bamboo for fly rodsDates: 1939-1944Container: Box 1, Folder 1
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Description: Correspondence, Washington Fly Fishing Club activitiesDates: 1939-1944Container: Box 1, Folder 2
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Description: Correspondence, Washington Fly Fishing Club membershipDates: 1939-1945Container: Box 1, Folder 3
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Description: Correspondence, Washington Fly Fishing Club, miscellaneousDates: 1940-1941Container: Box 1, Folder 4
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Description: Correspondence, Lambuth’s fishing trips to British ColumbiaDates: 1961-1970Container: Box 1, Folder 5-6
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Description: Notebooks containing portions of The Angler’s WorkshopDates: undatedContainer: Box 2, Folder 1
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Description: "Trout Foods from the Angler’s Point of View"Dates: 1963Container: Box 2, Folder 2
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Description: "Fly Casting"Dates: 1939Container: Box 2, Folder 3
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Description: "British Columbia Fly Lakes, 1919-1971"Dates: 1971Container: Box 2, Folder 4
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Description: Rod records concerning fly rods made by LambuthDates: approximately 1935-1945Container: Box 2, Folder 5
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Description: Notes on flies and Northwest fishing tripsDates: 1935-1939Container: Box 2, Folder 6
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Description: Flies tied by Lambuth with notes on useDates: undatedContainer: Box 2, Folder 7
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Description: Photographs of flies tied by LambuthDates: undatedContainer: Box 2, Folder 8
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Description: Lambuth insect collectionDates: 1966Container: Box 2, Folder 9
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Description: Maps of British Columbia fishing areasDates: 1960sContainer: Box 2, Folder 10
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Description: MiscellaneousDates: 1963-1972Container: Box 3, Folder 1-3
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Description: Photographs of LambuthDates: undatedContainer: Box 3, Folder 4
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Description: Unidentified photographsDates: undatedContainer: Box 3, Folder 5
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Description: Album of photographs from fishing tripsDates: approximately 1935-1939Container: Box 3
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Fishers -- Washington (State) -- Archives.
- Fishers -- Washington (State) -- Correspondence.
- Fishing rods -- Design and construction.
- Flies, Artificial.
