ANTON J. LAUBY & THE LAUBY BAIT COMPANY
The story behind
the spoon.
A Wisconsin maker’s work, pieced together through family photographs, period advertising, and the inventions he put on paper.
A legacy you can hold.
For collectors, Lauby’s lures invite a closer look: the shape of the body, the metal attachments, the painted finish, the movement suggested by the construction.
For this family, the connection is personal. Anton Lauby was the site owner’s great-grandfather. The collection keeps his story connected to the objects and documents that survive.
The chronology below begins with dated evidence. Some familiar accounts of the company’s founding, ownership changes, and final production years still need firmer documentation.
DATES WE CAN TRACE
A history in the records.
A design put on paper
Anton J. Lauby filed the application for his artificial fish lure on September 15, 1933. It offers a firm date in the invention record, rather than an assumed founding date for the company.
Read the patent ↗The first patent in this record
US 1,996,477 was granted on April 2, 1935. It describes a buoyant spoon-shaped lure arranged to rotate on a supporting rod.
Explore the document ↗Lauby on display
A surviving photograph is captioned with the Chicago Sports Equipment Exposition, August 7–10, at the Stevens Hotel. A contemporary trade notice corroborates the event and dates; the original photograph’s history is still being traced.
See the photograph ↗In the pages of Outdoor Life
An April advertisement names the Lauby Bait Company in Marshfield, Wisconsin, and advertises lures, patterns, sizes, and a free color catalog. It is a useful contemporary record of what the company offered.
Read the advertising record ↗Two more bait patents
Two applications filed in August 1938 became US 2,187,475 and US 2,215,908 in 1940. They document distinct bait constructions. Matching a patent drawing to a commercial model requires additional evidence.
Read the September patent ↗Tools for making
The lathe-chuck patent, US 2,341,926, describes a wood-turning and drilling arrangement for bait plugs and other small articles. It was granted February 15, 1944.
Read the patent ↗An inventive story that continues
The collapsible artificial bait patent was granted January 8, 1946. Its spring and opposing hooks extend the documented invention record; commercial production of this design has not been established.
Explore the later design ↗