The Holzwarth "Expert"
Today we go way back to the Field & Stream issue of April 1901 and look at this ad for the Holzwarth "Expert" wooden minnow. Along with this ad I've included a photo (compliments of Joe Stagnetti) of a Holzwarth "Expert" that looks to be an exact match for the one in the ad. Though it is possible that the inventor Charles Shaffer had used the minnow for a few years before, in 1901 he allowed J. C. Holzwarth, an Alliance Ohio hardware owner, to sell it under the Holzwarth name.
Toward the end of 1901, Mr Shaffer (still a silent partner) turned the manufacture and sales of the "Expert" over to F. C. Woods, owner of the Woods Engineering Co. also in Alliance. In 1902 Mr. Holzwarth still sold a bait under his own name but had to call it the "Holzwarth Minnow". The name "Expert" was now reserved for the F. C. Woods & Co product. F.C. Woods made not only the Woods "Expert" but also the Holzwarth Minnow the only difference being that one was now stamped "Holzwarth" on the side and the other stamped "Expert." For a much more detailed account of the early history of the "Expert" Minnow and Charles C. Shaffer see the June 2009 issue of the NFLCC Magazine.
-- Bill Sonnett
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