Welcome to The Cased Fish Company, having collected fish for many years now I have been aware that there have been few options in buying and selling fish other than through the traditional specialist auctions. If you are searching for a specific case or have any queries whatsoever regarding cases you may hold please contact me.
To those afflicted with the urge to collect cased fish there is little that can beat the thrill of a new addition to the collection or finding a particular fish or long searched for specimen which may have sat hidden for 150 years.
It is always a joy to chat with keen collectors who exude infectious enthusiasm but I also enjoy helping those looking to build a collection from scratch and try to price cases at a realistic affordable level.
I nearly always have cases or paintings due to be posted onto the website so please contact me even if your target fish/case is not listed here.
In addition to the fish I have also collected a number of paintings and prints over the years and there is a separate page where I have a few pictures available for sale.
Over time I have accumulated a significant amount of traditional fishing tackle, paintings and books so these will be listed on the site shortly.
ABOUT J COOPER
The earliest known cases prepared by John Cooper are from around 1840, there are very distinctive labels however these will not be covered here. The earliest cases tended to be very basic, the reeds and groundwork were so simple that they may confuse someone as to whether these are indeed genuine Cooper cases. In addition, the earliest cases tend to be ‘flat fronted’ and most were not gold written with bow fronted cases and ‘wrap around’ glass coming later.
If you have any questions at all relating to this fascinating area I am always happy to have a chat so please feel free to contact me in the meantime a few hints and tips regarding the care and display of cases:
Do not trust the hanging loops alone with any case, these can rot over the years and give way without warning-to be on the safe side any case with more than one loop or any larger cases should also be supported by a shelf to spread the load;
Keep the cases out of direct sunlight, if exposed any colours will fade quickly, it is a crying shame to see some of the beautiful Griggs scale painted fish which have faded badly over the years. The value of the fish reduces dramatically as it loses that original finish;
It may seem common sense but always transport the cases wrapped and safely, if the original glass is broken again the value and desirability of the case reduces dramatically, older glass has an unmistakable ‘waviness’ and usually air ‘seeds’ visible. In addition to the value it is very difficult and expensive to replace a broken bow front or wrap round glass;
Avoid displaying a fish over a radiator or where there maybe large fluctuations in temperature. An attic has long been a favourite resting place for a case when not being shown, there probably is not a worse place to use as a storage area being generally damp and also suffering massive extremes of temperature-if you have a fish stored in such a place bring it down and give me a call!