Item PS07
This Item was Sold on 31 October
2012 for $57
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 early Herb Smith traditional was made out of 5 ply Baltic Birch plywood. It is signed, and dated7 June 1978. Herb also wrote Rita on the elbow above the date. This one is from Al Gerhards' collection, so this one was most likely a gift for Al's wife - Rita. I have seen everal of this model of traditional boomerang and all were decent flyers, but this one is an exceptional flyer. It has wonderful aerodynamic balance and it is very fun to throw and catch. It is one of the better Smith sport booms I have thrown. Simple ink art on both tips and in excellent condition. Get this one to hang on the wall, but you should also throw it too. Very collectible.
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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John Cryderman (from Chatham, Canada) is well known for making high quality strip laminated and Birch plywood boomerangs. Many of these are John's original designs. However, he occasionally makes replicas of boomerangs made by other famous boom makers, such as the strip laminated hooks and omegas made by Al Gerhards of Downington, Pennsylvania. John usually makes his strip laminated boomerangs out of native Canadian hardwoods, but he will often use exotic woods, such as Mahogany and Ebony. Some of the plywood and strip laminated boomerangs are decorated with inlaid plugs of exotic woods arranged in pseudo-floral patterns. The vast majority of John's boomerangs are large in size and they require a strong thrower in order for the boomerang to make a full return. This large hook with an unusual shape is one of John Cryderman's standard models. It was made out of 10 ply 6.5 mm Aircraft Grade Birch plywood. Each tip has an inlaid flower made from exotic hardwood dowel rods that were inserted into drilled holes. Not signed or dated, but definitely a Cryderman boomerang. This boomerang is in excellent condition. I did not test throw it but the previous owner said that it is a very good flyer with a flight range of 50+ metres. |
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