- TITLE
- Letter from Alexander Grant, 3 Feb 1894, pages 6 & 7
- EXTERNAL ID
- Z_GB1796_GRANT_979_65_PATENT_007_002
- DATE OF IMAGE
- 1894
- PERIOD
- 1890s
- SOURCE
- Inverness Museum and Art Gallery
- ASSET ID
- 6943
- KEYWORDS
- fiddlers
fiddles
fishing rods

Alexander Grant (1856 - 1942) was a native of Battangorm, Carrbridge, which gave rise to his familiar name - 'Battan'. As a boy he was exposed to what were to become his two great passions - fiddling and fishing. He went on to excel in both areas; as an angler by inventing his own unique fishing rod known as the 'Grant Vibration Rod', and as a fiddler by leading the Highland Strathspey and Reel Society for almost forty years and by becoming an expert in fiddle making techniques. He also invented a unique disc-shaped violin known as a 'Rondello'. An example of Grant's fishing rod, fiddle and Rondello can be seen at Inverness Museum and Art Gallery (IMAG).
In May 1887 Grant moved his fishing rod and tackle business from Carrbridge to Inverness, initially at Glenalbyn Buildings, Young Street. He later moved to premises at 7 Baron Taylor's Lane, from where this (draft?) letter was written on 3 February 1894. The intended recipient is unknown but it may be a fellow angler or editor of a contemporary angling publication as Grant invites him to 'alter & amend' the letter as he sees fit. The bulk of the letter is taken up with Grant's opinions on current fly casting competitions which he finds 'unsatisfactory to practical fishers'