# L.L. Bean's 100th Anniversary Collection...



## hardline_42 (Jan 20, 2010)

...looks a lot like what L.L. Bean Signature should have been. A few notable items that will be available as part of LLB's year long celebration:

Special edition Maine Hunting Shoes









Collector's Edition Shotgun









Bamboo Fly Rod









Maine Snow Shoes









Model A Canoe









A couple of books - one describing LL Bean's history, the other a reprint from 1942 on hunting, fishing and camping by Leon Leonwood himself









I wouldn't mind having each one of those items in my collection.


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## hookem12387 (Dec 29, 2009)

That shotgun is beautiful; know who makes it by chance?


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## hardline_42 (Jan 20, 2010)

hookem12387 said:


> That shotgun is beautiful; know who makes it by chance?


The shotguns are made by Merkel with LL Bean-specific cosmetic treatment. They're selling the 20ga in extremely limited numbers for a rumored $15k a piece and 4-gun sets (16, 20, 28 and .410) for $75k. Well out of my price range, but nice to look at nonetheless.


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## hookem12387 (Dec 29, 2009)

Wow, beautiful


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## hardline_42 (Jan 20, 2010)

Tell me about it. The closest I can get is my old Stevens 20ga with a poorly drawn hunting scene I doodled on with a Sharpie.


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## hookem12387 (Dec 29, 2009)

Haha, my dad has a couple of antique shotguns that need restoration with some very cool engravings. So pretty


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## Jovan (Mar 7, 2006)

Where did you find this information?


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## zzdocxx (Sep 26, 2011)

I was hoping they were going to commemorate it with a 100% off sale.

:icon_smile_wink:


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## hardline_42 (Jan 20, 2010)

Jovan said:


> Where did you find this information?


They have a teaser page with some product previews. The rest was a result of my Google-Fu.


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## DukeGrad (Dec 28, 2003)

Nice set up thank you.

The fly rod was made by Eugene Edwards.
He and Payne did the old LL Bean rods as well as the old Abercrombie fly rods when Abercrombie had one store!!!
In NYC.
Thanks for showing

Nice day


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## hardline_42 (Jan 20, 2010)

DukeGrad said:


> Nice set up thank you.
> 
> The fly rod was made by Eugene Edwards.
> He and Payne did the old LL Bean rods as well as the old Abercrombie fly rods when Abercrombie had one store!!!
> ...


Duke, thanks for the info. I know Gene Edwards made rods for L.L. Bean in the 40s but I thought the company was only around 'til the 50s, and they were out of New Haven before ceasing operations. These are new rods that Bean advertises as "Made in Maine." Their spring fly fishing catalog should arrive this week and is supposed to have more info on the 100th anniversary rods, but in the meantime, do you know of any other bamboo fly rod manufacturers in Maine that are still around?


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## DukeGrad (Dec 28, 2003)

Hardline 42

Not from that era!
BTW I have the Abercrombie ( Payne rod married up with the Abercrombie ( Hardy reel from that era).
I started many years ago, early 1970 time. I was in Europe, got a Hardy Marvel bamboo rod, and a Hardy Perfect reel.
As cost went up for rods, especially the fiberglass rod. Bamboo vintage was cheaper. I have Euustice rod, Gene Edwards. EC Powell (mid west), FE Thomas, and few Granger, and Divine rods out of NY. Actually had a 100 year old Divine Paramount redone by a very , well know rod maker, who is well known for renovations.
Vintage bamboo for me again was cheaper, than buying new.
For instance, you will not see many, many Grangers now days. You will see Wright McGill rods, also a Granger.
Tell you this, cause Granger rods have gone up. Go figure a blue colar rod, will increase in value.
The same with reels, collected a lot of Hardy, Farlows.
I can find someone for you, the wait list is 2-5 years with these makers. I am a member of a fly rod forum. Classic fly rod forum for your information.
This place is a joy.
There you will find a rod maker your way.
If you google bamboo rod makers. You will get a million hits!
This place, if looking, is up to snuff, my friend

Could talk fishing all day!
Nice day


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## hardline_42 (Jan 20, 2010)

Duke, thanks for the offer, but I think a bamboo rod is something I'll have to treat myself to when I'm retired (or some other future time when I can afford it!). For now I'll stick to my lower priced Sage graphite rods.


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## Patrick06790 (Apr 10, 2005)

Get your bamboo now, while you can still cast the thing. My father gave up on his bamboo rods in his early 50s because of arthritis. You wouldn't think a weight difference of a couple of ounces would make that much difference, but it does.


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## DukeGrad (Dec 28, 2003)

My friends

I agree regarding some weight but not very much in a 3or4 weight bamboo rod I use my Hardy Angel 3/4 weight as a guide This is lighter than any graphites have seen My granger special is a much lighter rod Most bamboo 5-8 weight is a different ballgame FU I. You may see bamboo cheaper than graphite What I love about bamboo you can actually appreciate your rod load Bamboo is unique in how much more sensitive it is Ok have nice day guys jimmy


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## DukeGrad (Dec 28, 2003)

who made this original shotgun? 
god that is worth something nice day


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## hardline_42 (Jan 20, 2010)

DukeGrad said:


> who made this original shotgun?
> god that is worth something nice day


It's a Merkel 147SL with special L.L. Bean cosmetic treatment. As with most retail branded "special edition" items, I suspect it'll be worth less than the standard version in a short time. Or maybe that's just the jealousy talking :frown:


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## hardline_42 (Jan 20, 2010)

Updates:

100th Anniversary Old Town Canoe and Paddle

Century of Outfitting America

Product Videos

Additional 100th Anniversary products:

Looks like some decent stuff. I think I might be able to afford the trout knife, at least (though it looks an awful lot like a $14 Old Hickory knife).


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## nerdykarim (Dec 13, 2005)

I'm definitely going to try to pick up the Gorman book if it shows up at a bit of a discount on AMZN in a few months. 

I thought "Making of an American Icon" was a fantastic book. It was written for the HBS press, so it presents both the LLB culture and the business/economic issues that it was facing as it grew.


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## DFPyne (Mar 2, 2010)

nerdykarim said:


> I'm definitely going to try to pick up the Gorman book if it shows up at a bit of a discount on AMZN in a few months.
> 
> I thought "Making of an American Icon" was a fantastic book. It was written for the HBS press, so it presents both the LLB culture and the business/economic issues that it was facing as it grew.


I wonder how much different this book will be compared to L.L. Bean: The Making of an American Icon which his Father, Leon Gorman, wrote only 5 years ago.

L. L. Bean -The Man and His Company: The Complete Story written just last year by James L. Witherell is also interesting from an outsider perspective.

Then there is also the classic In Search of L.L. Bean published in the mid-80s at the height of the TOPH.

Curious why there are so many books about L.L. Bean


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## nerdykarim (Dec 13, 2005)

I didn't notice that the two Gorman books were written by two different Gormans...that's really interesting. I also wonder if the new one will be any good.

I haven't read the Witherell book, but I enjoyed In Search of L.L. Bean by M. R. Montgomery. It's also interesting that there have been so many books written about Bean; it really is a cool company.


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## Jovan (Mar 7, 2006)

The Maine Hunting Shoe is tempting... I like the idea of having two different lace sets so you can pick which one you like better. The fact that you have to waterproof them yourself is, well, truly trad I guess.


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## Taken Aback (Aug 3, 2009)

The red-brick soles don't hurt either.


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## DukeGrad (Dec 28, 2003)

Morning

Old Hickory it was regarding the knife.
Bean had a folder and I think they sold Case Remington as well?
The boot as others say is tempting.

My question who made the original shotguns?
Escapes me

Nice forum, thanks for posting my friend

Jimmy


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## Jovan (Mar 7, 2006)

Taken Aback said:


> The red-brick soles don't hurt either.


That too. I do wonder why it costs that much more over the normal 12" Maine Hunting Shoe though, especially considering the leather is do-it-yourself-waterproof!


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## Taken Aback (Aug 3, 2009)

They make much out of the quality of the leather, but it could just be the premium that accompanies such a "limited edition". The signature waxed cotton versions are also more expensive than their leather counterparts (I still don't have my gumshoes!), and I'm sure the leather costs more to procure.


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## hardline_42 (Jan 20, 2010)

The MHS is definitely a contender for me. I don't mind the untreated leather at all. I Sno-Seal the uppers and Shoe Goo the rubber/leather seam on all of my pac boots, "waterproof leather" or not. I like the option of the rawhide laces and the taslan, but the cost is negligible to get rawhides yourself for a regular pair of bean boots. The big thing for me is replacing the red brick sole once it gets worn. I just got back a pair of pre-Bean Boot MHSs in 8" and I had to special request that they put MHS bottoms on them. They came back with Thinsulate bottoms which say MHS on them (and are quite comfy and warm, so no complaints there) so, I'm glad they make the effort in that sense, but no-way are they going to stock replacement red brick bottoms. Still, if I cash in all the $10 gift cards I got this season I could get it down to the regular bean boot price if not lower, so I guess it's a wash. If anyone gets a pair before I make up my mind, post pics!


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## Patrick06790 (Apr 10, 2005)

I got the fishing catalog today. Some nice stuff — i am eyeing the wading boots with a rubber sole they call "Aqua Stealth." I know a guy with the studded version that says they are almost as good as felt, and I am tired of juggling three different sets of boots in order to avoid tracking rock snot around.


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## hockeyinsider (May 8, 2006)

If only L.L. Bean or Lands' End would offer these sorts of offerings more often. I hope the anniversary collection isn't all made in China. I wonder if it's free shipping on the canoe?



hardline_42 said:


> ...looks a lot like what L.L. Bean Signature should have been. A few notable items that will be available as part of LLB's year long celebration:
> 
> Special edition Maine Hunting Shoes
> 
> ...


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## hardline_42 (Jan 20, 2010)

hockeyinsider said:


> If only L.L. Bean or Lands' End would offer these sorts of offerings more often. I hope the anniversary collection isn't all made in China. I wonder if it's free shipping on the canoe?


With the exception of the shotguns (made in Germany by Merkel), I'm pretty sure the rest of the collection is all made in USA. For what it's worth, L.L. Bean does offer quite a few non-clothing products that are traditional and made in USA (or at least a 1st world country) like Green Mountain snow shoes and other Old Town canoe models. By the way, the shipping on the canoe is $300! I could probably drive to Freeport and pick it up for less.


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## Dragoon (Apr 1, 2010)

A shop nearby carries a good selection of Merkel shotguns. They are very nice.


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