LAUBYLURES

MARSHFIELD, WISCONSIN · THE LAUBY COLLECTION

Small lures.
A lasting
family story.

Discover the fishing lures, inventive designs, and family history of Anton J. Lauby.

Explore the collection
Three Wonder Spoons with colorful painted bodies and distinctive metal hardware
THE WONDER SPOON Three examples from the collection
“With Lauby Lure a Catch is Sure!”THE WORDS ON THE ORIGINAL BOXES

A CLOSER LOOK

Meet the lures.

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Upper and underside photographs make the construction as interesting as the paint.
Lures

Wonder Spoon

Upper and underside photographs make the construction as interesting as the paint.

A close view of the body, paint and single-hook arrangement.
Lures

Weedless Wonder Spoon

A close view of the body, paint and single-hook arrangement.

A broad, angular body offers a useful comparison with the spoon-shaped examples.
Lures

Surface Lure

A broad, angular body offers a useful comparison with the spoon-shaped examples.

Lauby Bait Company exhibition display with a caption identifying Chicago in August 1938

BEHIND THE NAME

A maker.
A family.
A Wisconsin story.

Anton Lauby’s work survives in painted wood, carefully arranged hardware, patent drawings, and the photographs his family kept.

This collection brings those pieces together, with a clear distinction between what the records tell us and what we’re still learning.

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BEYOND THE TACKLE BOX

More of the story survives.

Packaging preserves language that can be lost when lures are studied on their own.
Packaging

Original packaging

Packaging preserves language that can be lost when lures are studied on their own.

A contemporary advertisement anchors product names, prices and the Marshfield address.
Documents

Lauby in Outdoor Life

A contemporary advertisement anchors product names, prices and the Marshfield address.

A patent provides a dated engineering record, separate from the history of retail production.
Documents

The 1935 lure patent

A patent provides a dated engineering record, separate from the history of retail production.

HELP COMPLETE THE PICTURE

Have a Lauby lure or a piece of its history?

A box, a photograph, an old catalog, or a family recollection can add something important.

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Research your Lauby lure

Compare models and identification details, or explore Lauby’s place in Wisconsin fishing-lure history. Individual records include sources, provenance notes and citations.