Vintage Bear Archery Gear : Accessories & Collectibles by Jorge L Coppen

Many Bear Archery enthusiasts and serious collectors share a passion for the equipment produced by Bear Archery, especially vintage items made during, before, and even after the Grayling production years. Covering fifty years of select Bear Archery gear and accessory production took a book. It is amazing to consider what a lucrative aftermarket exists for Bear Archery memorabilia and how many people are on the hunt for such items. The focus of this illustrated reference manual is on select Grayling- and early-Gainesville-era Bear Archery gear, accessories, and merchandise made in the mass-production years (1949 to 1999) even though some had been in production prior to that era. I cover a sampling of rare collectible items not seen in Bear Archery catalogs. These include items that may have been sold at the Fred Bear Museum only, made only for employees, or otherwise promotional items. Such rare to find and promotional items garner much interest in the collector world. Placing a timeline on them can be difficult even for the initiated. This is not an exhaustive coverage of collectibles as that would require a separate book. But the life of Fred Bear was full of creativity that a small sampling is all there is room for.