You can still get Cellire, Unitit thinner, and Liquid Wax from UK sellers--just ask around a bit. I recently added to my stash so I have enough for the next five years or so.
https://i.postimg.cc/XX6bKRq8/IMG_4861.jpg
Like Dana says, there's Tuleone in Unitit--also methyl acetate in ...
Cellire is varnish and here is the gold standard of varnish.
I'm no chemist, but Cellire and Spar Varnish are as far as I can tell very different things. Man-o-War spar has a mineral spirits base; Cellire has toluene. Perhaps someone which a chemical engineering background can explain this ...
Doug, the box came from Quebec--which as you say does give a context (and which might explain why some patterns seem to have a UK influence and others Catskill....). These look to be size 14.
I always find lots of Frankenflies and quirky stuff in old boxes--but these stopped me in my tracks because they were well tied, consistently tied, and the other flies in the box were likewise very well done--so there was something deliberate about them ...
Those look like older E1A dry fly hooks, circa 1975-80. The pic from Whitetail is a modern hook and isn't anywhere near the original.
Yes, John, agreed: I made the same two points when I replied to Jay's query on the Bamboo Boards, and posted some relevant pics too--we're also in general ...