Item PDD
This Item was Sold on 9 August
2013 for $199
Other collectable boomerangs for sale can be found on the
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Historical Pricing information for this item and similar collectable boomerangs can be found on the Boomerang Pricing Guide
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This large right handed boomerang is the Sycamore. It was one of Herb Smith's most popular traditional shapes from the 1970s. This one was made out of 9 mm 7 ply Birch plywood and decorated with typical Herb Smith pen art. Herb Smith made this boomerang especially for Max Hoeben and Herb wrote " Best Wishes Max " on the underside. Herb also wrote " Hand Made and Decorated by Herb A. Smith Sussex, England " and with the date " 18th October 1977 ".. This boomerang is obviously from the Max Hoeben collection and Max wrote " Sycamore Herb A. Smith England " on the upper surface of the dingle arm. This boomerang was part of a display that Max exhibited at events and there are remnants of mounting tape on the reverse side (no damage or tape over the writing). Thsi boomerang is in very nice condition. No dings or cracks or damage. It looks almost new, even though it is almost 40 years old.
Herb Smith was one of England's greatest boomerang makers and throwers. Herb started making Birch plywood hooks and traditional boomerangs in the 1960s. He was one of the first suppliers of boomerangs to the Boomerang Man in the early 1970s. Before Al Gerhards started making his S/L hooks, Herb Smith was the only commercial supplier of long distance boomerangs. One of the first boomerangs I ever purchased was a large weighted Sussex Hook with a range of 80+ metres. I became an instant fan. Herb was an early Long Distance World Record holder with a carefully documented throw of 108 yards on 17 June 1972 using a large weighted traditional model called the "Gem". In the 1980s, Herb introduced the world to Paxolin, a dense and hard composite material that expanded the range of his boomerangs beyond that of his plywood models. Herb continued to make plywood models as sporting boomerangs, even after the introduction of Paxolin models. The Paxolin boomerangs were smaller and usually painted in two colors and with simple line art. The wooden models were often decorated with many colorful bands, flowers, birds and occasionally other themes. Herb did most of his own art work, but while he was a prison guard, he employed the skills of a master forger in the prison where he worked to paint a few of his boomerangs. Herb stopped making boomerangs for several years beginning in the late 1980s and began making boomerangs again in 1992, Herb continued to make boomerangs for only a couple additional years. Herb lost his life to bone cancer in 1995. Herb's models are among the finest of collectable boomerangs and the supply continues to diminish. |
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