Greetings, Trad Gang. I stumbled onto your forum while searching for info on a few old bows I recently "re-discovered" in our storage room. These, and a couple vintage tackle boxes are all that remains of my late grandfather's gear. His name was Wayne Thompson - 1946 U.S. National Target Champion.
I have 5 all-wood "stick"? longbows with what appear to be antler tips, and rudimentary suede grips. 1 is marked "Styles 1935", one simply "Styles". The other three are unmarked. But, they're all similar and appear to be from the same bowyer. And, from reading this thread, I gather this would be Cassius Hayward Styles. He was from the SF Bay Area, as was Grandpa Wayne. So, that makes sense. FYI, I grew up in the Bay Area as well, and only relocated to Munich in 2012.
Anyway, I just recently decided to take up shooting again after a nearly 35-year hiatus. I'll be picking up a new custom-built long bow next WED from Berlin bowyer (and ex-Canuck) William Reeve. And, I wanted to see if you folks could tell me anything about these old Styles bows before I shlepp them up to Berlin for Herr Reeve to check out.
Any tidbits would be appreciated. I can post a few photos if anyone is interested. I just need to snap a few, and figure out how to upload them.
Thanks, in advance. This forum appears to be one heck of a resource. Looking forward to exploring further in the time to come.
Cheers,
Scott