A Wisconsin inventor.
A wider design legacy.

Building a tackle business in Marshfield

The 1938 newspaper extract reproduced by Sanders names Anton as the inventor in charge of production. By February 1939, a further report describes 49 employees and a broader tackle range at 809 S. Central Avenue. The catalog and April 1939 Outdoor Life advertisement document that commercial ambition. Sanders & Sanders, December 1999, p. 24; advertisement record.

Designs that outlasted the original company

The Bates catalog carried Lauby’s product concepts into a new business. Casting Wonder Spoons became Fanny Bates; weedless spoons became Weedy Bates; Surface Lures became Topper Bates; Special Minnows became Minnie Bates. The names changed, but the catalog makes the connection to Lauby visible. 1941 Bates catalog selections.

Slusar’s later account follows Anton’s manufacturing work into minnows for Paul Bunyan and blanks for Marathon. These are attributed historical findings drawn partly from identified witnesses, extending the story beyond the original Marshfield factory. Slusar, pp. 373–374.

Innovation in the workshop

The lure’s body, finish, and hardware are only part of the record. Accounts of custom tooling and the surviving lathe-chuck patent show a maker addressing production itself. Together they place Anton among the inventive practitioners of early Wisconsin tackle manufacture.

Explore Anton’s inventions · Compare lure construction · Read the source distinctions