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Willard Bradley 1868 Patent Multiplying Reel

General Robert E. Lee purportedly presented this reel as a gift to his former rival and sitting President Ulysses S. Grant when Lee visited the White House by invitation on May 1, 1869. An engraving on the doughnut-shaped spool reads “To Grant from Lee for Bravery – In Vicksburg Rabbit was your Dish – This Reel for you to Feed on Fish.”

Courtesy of Liz and Bob Bulkley


Yearc. 1868Accession No.L2022.001.001Made byWillard Bradley

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