This is a traditional English Finch trap, made from a wooden frame with wires inserted into the cross pieces to form the cage bars.

There is some damage to one upright and to the trigger platform.

A trap just like this one is pictured in ‘With Nature and a Camera’ by Richard Kearton,published 1897.  I had assumed that many of these were home made but the one in the Kearton photograph appears to be identical so perhaps they were made commercially.

Kearton writes this about the trap he photographed.

“Bullfinches were caught by many cottagers in Kent and Sussex during the winter months with the kind of trap shown.  A call bird is placed in the lower compartment of the cage, and the upper one is baited with privet berries, which can easily be reached by the unwary victim through the open doorway shown in the picture.  The trap is hung up in a tree, and a soon as the bird enters to partake of the good things provided by the benevolent peasant, its weight releases a small door above its head, which instantly closes, and eventually the little prisoner finds its way, along with five or six others, to a bird dealer’s shop in the nearest town.”

Located in Solihull and can be posted for a delivery fee of £10.

This trap has  No Reserve but has a guide opening bid of £20.

The auction has a target end time of midnight August 31st. If a bid is received within 24 hours of the target end date, the end date will be extended to give a clear 24 hours between the last bid update on the listing and the end of the auction.

On completion the winning bidder will be contacted to complete the sale.

Items are sold ‘as seen’ – no refunds given or returns accepted

Before bidding you should check out the rules HERE and to place a bid just add a comment below with the value of your bid.   Comments will visible on the listing so that everyone can see the value of the current highest bid and the nickname of the bidder.  If you want to bid you’ll need to register which you can do in ‘My Account‘. If you want to place a practice bid just to see how it looks, have a go on our EXAMPLE.