 Antes opened a shop in 1762 and the shop records show that he created up to seven bowed string instruments.It is not known how Antes learned the craft of instrument making, although it is possible that he learned from Johann Gottlob Klemm, an American organ builder, who spent time in Bethlehem in 1757.Antes's compositional style is often compared to that of Joseph Haydn, since the two were contemporaries.