Dr. Alonzo H. Fowler (1825 – 1903) was a dentist in Ithaca, New York who used the molding technology of his profession to design a reel made almost entirely of hard rubber.
The “Gem” represents one of the earliest reels of hard rubber in the construction of fishing reels, other than for handles. It was extremely light weight but it was very fragile and few have survived. Of the approximately dozen Fowler reels now known most have at least some condition problems such as cracking or chipping.