Pearsall’s Gossamer Silk Thread Collection & Other Lost Treasures

The famous Pearsall's Gossamer Silk tying thread ceased being produced in 2012. Ever since River and Brook Trouting was published in 1916 by Edmunds and Lee, this thread has come to be known as THE essential ingredient of North Country Spider soft-hackle wet flies.

But wait, which silk-producing mill is Norman Lee's father a director of? And how come Pearsall's shades change when that same company closes in the 1970s? All this and more wet fly history revealed as Rob Smith and I sift through Pilkington's wooden chest of fly fishing treasures...

Speculation on Lister's Silk's Relationship to Pearsall's Gossamer Silk Thread

First things first. I need to stress there is no absolutely conclusive "smoking gun", direct evidence that Lister was the manufacturer behind the original Pearsall's silk.

However, Rob found that Lister supplied many silks that were re-branded by sellers; including J.E. Miller (as just one example). If nothing else, it is really interesting to wonder if the closure of Lister's in the 1970s - and the corresponding change in the shades of Pearsall's silks within the same timeframe might indicate that link.

Samuel Cunliffe Lister: Bradford's Wool and Silk Baron

Samuel Cunliffe Lister invented the Lister Nip Comb. This device revolutionised much of the wool industry by reliably automating the straightening and separating of raw wool fibres. It seems that this breakthrough also - eventually after much work - allowed him to create a mechanised method for combing out waste material from the silk industry. That allowed him to create an EXTREMELY profitable method for producing strong silk threads at an industrial scale.

Pearsall's Silk Thread: Not Just Fly Tying Silk

The range of shades of silks - and the different gauge threads produced and sold - meant that Pearsall's were actively selling in a range of markets outside of fly tying. Again, with thanks to Rob, here's an example of the shades and grades of thread sold in addition to the "Pearsall's Gossamer Silk Thread" product line.

Vintage Wet Fly Silks - A Motley Mix

Thanks so much to Rob for letting us sift through the Pilkington family fly fishing chest - and providing his fascinating commentary. It looks like it might take a Lister Nip Comb to disentangle the different silks that were independently produced (versus the multiple re-branded/re-seller silks). Although we may well never know who made what (for whom), the tyers in the North Country Fly Tying tradition employed multiple different brands of silk.