Item PFT
This Item was Sold on 12 January
2022 for $170
Other collectable boomerangs for sale can be found on the
Collectable Boomerangs link.
Historical Pricing information for this item and similar collectable boomerangs can be found on the Boomerang Pricing Guide
|
This large traditional was made in 1987 out of 6.4 mm Birch plywood. It is painted with geometric art on the tips and a pheasant in flight on the elbow. It is signed and dated on the underside. It is in very good condition with very light wear. There is also a very thin transparent piece of tape on the lift arm that can be felt with a finger nail, but it is difficult to see. The tape wraps around the trailing edge, so I think it was added to prevent the propagation of an edge splinter that you often find on boomerangs made out of Birch plywood. This boomerang was part of the estate of Volker Behrens. Volker and Herb were close friends and Herb passed on his Paxolin model production to Volker at the time of his death.
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. |
How to Order | Back to: Boomerang Catalog | Collectable Boomerangs | Boomerang Pricing Guide | contact: Ted Bailey