January 2015
K & K Animated Minnow
K & K Manufacturing Co
Toledo, OH
1907
AND
Michigan Life-Like Minnow
Jacob Hansen (Arnst Sporting Goods)
Muskegon, MI
1908
The “Lure Of The Month” for January features two lures. So, sit back and read the tale of the “Two Jointed Lures”….
About 6 years ago, a gal contacted me through my website. She had some lures that she wanted appraised. She was local, only about 5 miles from me, so I was able to schedule a visit.
When I arrived at the house, I was brought two large tackle boxes. The first box had fairly new and common lures from the 1960s to the present day. Not much collector value, but good baits for fishing.
The second tackle box was older. In it were lots of baits that were jointed including jointed Pikies, jointed Paw Paws, jointed Heddon’s, etc. Some nice lures here and most were made of wood. But still, fairly common lures. Most of these were made from the 1930s to the 1950s. As I was looking at the lures, I made the comment “Wow, somebody liked to fish with jointed lures”.
“Oh yes!” the gal said “My father and grandfather liked jointed lures and that is almost all they bought. In fact, the story was that my great-grandfather only could afford to buy one or two lures many years ago…and only bought jointed lures for they caught fish.”
Just as she said that, a paintless lure caught my eye. Could it be? Yes, it was a K & K “Minnoette”.
The K & K Animated Minnow was patented in 1907 and is credited with being the first jointed artificial bait ever invented. It was advertised as the “live” bait that you could carry in your tackle box. The cost was $1.00, which was a lot in 1907. It was invented by a man named John Kreisser and he stated this lure was so good at catching fish, he “predicted” live bait, spoons, and other lures would be obsoleted due to this “swim bait”.
Before I had time to tell the gal about this lure, another lure caught my eye. It was buried at the bottom of the box, tangled in some old nylon line.
“Oh wow”, I whispered. She could tell that I was excited as I pulled the second jointed and paintless lure from the box.
She looked a little confused and said “Oh, that one. Yea, I was told that one was worthless.”
In my hand was one of my favorite fishing lures in regards to collecting. It was a Michigan Life-Like Minnow, patented in 1908, right after the K & K Minnow. It was invented by a man named Jacob Hansen. It too was advertised as being the most perfect casting and trolling bait ever put on the market as it was the “nearest thing to life”. It looks very complicated to make, and was only around for a short time, making it a very rare lure to find in any condition.
I set these two lures aside, and looked at the remaining lures in the tackle box. After I was done, I told her the value of the lures and gave her a brief history lesson.
Then, I went to the two oldest baits. After I told her about the minnows, her face lit up. “These must have been my great-grandfathers lures that I heard about!”
In my mind I pictured going back to the early 1900s. Fishing lures made out of wood was a very new concept, and here was this jointed lure. Being jointed was a new design, never seen before. A fisherman has only enough money for one lure, so that is what he buys. To his satisfaction, its wiggling action works great for catching fish. He decides to invest in a second similar jointed lure, and does so. Question is, which one did this gentleman buy first, the K & K or the Michigan Minnow? Interesting to ponder how the events took place.
Then, think about it, he shares with his son how great jointed lures work for him…who shares it with his son. The results, two jointed lures turn into many as the next generations buy jointed lures too, long after the K & K and Life-Like are no longer available.
The gal was very appreciative of the history I shared with her and the honesty of my appraisal. She told me that she brought these baits into some lure collectors before, and they all said the tackle was all newer that the 1940s and they did not share any history of the lures. Each offered to buy the baits, but offered nothing for the two oldest minnows, although they were always in the “to buy” pile. Now when she thinks about it, she realizes it was funny that they said they were worthless, but these two baits were always wanted by the collectors. She almost sold them a few times, but they had sentimental value to her. I explained that I rarely buy lures that I appraise and strongly suggested if she wishes to sell, she should get a second appraisal and contact me if she still wished to sell. In my opinion, it is not ethical for an “appraiser” to buy items he looks at. But, if time passes and the person wishes to still sell after thinking about it and doing research, I can be approached to purchase.
The K & K Minnow can cost hundreds of dollars if in great condition, but they seldom are found that way. The paint is known to fall off of these baits over time…and a 100+ years is a lot of time. In a paintless condition, they are worth about $50 - $75. Not a lot, but not worthless.
The Michigan Life-Like Minnow is more rare, and can reach up to $1,000+ in mint condition. But, no paint greatly affects the value of this minnow. In this poor condition, it is worth about $150 - $200.
Considering less than 10% of the old tackle boxes I appraise have a lure worth over $30…that is not too shabby.
Well, after six years since I appraised these lures, the two pre-1910 lures are now mine. I was surprised when the lady decided to part with them and called me after I hadn’t spoken to her at all during this time. I am glad to give them the respect and “rest” they deserve, and to also share some fishing history with the family.
