Crazy high priced bear trap?

Heard through the grape vine that some bear trap recently sold for close to $50.000. Is that true? If so what was it? I would sure like to see a trap that could bring that kind of money.

No. 6 raised letter Blake and Lamb. $44,850.00 it's the only one I have ever heard of. P.S if anyone has one for sale contact me.

LOL Greg,,, i will give u a call as soon as I fine the ones in my basement,,,haha,,,,one rare trap that's for sure,,,,Bruce sent me the auction page,,I loved the estimate,,,,,,

Any pictures of the pan available? I can't find any info on the raised letter pan on the No. 6. Was this a prototype pan that didn't make it to production? Thanks, Tom

Tom,
The #6 Raised letter pan Blake and Lamb like the #5 Raised letter pan Blake was produced for Blake and Lamb by Oneida Community. Although there are a few examples of the #5, the #6 Raised letter pan has never surfaced. Therefore it was thought that The #6 Raised Letter Blake and Lamb was never produced. This as of now, is the only known example now of this trap.

I will be the first to say that is a lot of money for a trap, but when you consider what Bruce said,,,that it is the only known example of that trap,,,a trap that before now was thot to never have been produced it might not be so crazy,,remember it was an auction so there was at least 2 people bidding on it,,and it was not stated when the other bidders dropped out,,,now consider what waterfowl decoys have sold for and they seem to go up at every major decoy auction,,(some into 7 figures),,,collectible automobiles are the same way,,,I will be the firsts to tell you that trap is out of my price range but if I had the money it MIGHT HAVE WENT FOR MORE,,,but for now I will have to settle for seeing the pictures,,,thanks Bruce

What price has the No 5 raised letter B&L sold for Nhousecatrapper? just for comparison.Was the No 6 in good condition?

There are examples of the #5 raised letter pan out there, and not many of those, where as this model, the #6 raised letter pan Blake was never thought to have been made. So with this being the only example to surface in this model, it is impossible to compare prices in relationship between the two. The #6 Blake that sold at auction was in fairly nice shape, but when you are talking about something of that magnitude of rarity, condition is not the main factor like it would be on other traps. Now the earlier #6 Blake and Lamb with the three circle pan is very rare in itself with somewhere in the area of 5 known examples of it.

Thanks NHC.

After seeing pictures of this trap, I have to say that it raised more questions than they answered. I thought it would be a pristine specimen. Unreadable spring stampings, uneven pan wear that make it look like it was drug down the road or something. Compared to the worn lettering on the one side, the letters on the other side stand so proud that they look like they were glued on. It looked like a gob of weld by the teeth, but hard to tell with the layers of paint or stove black covering it. I am just a beginner at this, just trying to learn what I can, and this trap really has my curiosity up. Is there any history known about where this trap came from?

Where can I see a picture of this trap can someone post a link.Thank You

https://www.mjdtools.com/bear_trap_reduced.pdf

After you click on the link roll up to see all the pictures

Both springs are stamps with the Blake Waterbury stamp. One stamp lighter than the other. It was painted with a brush. Once the trap is cleaned up some, it will be a very nice specimen. The trap was From the Personal Museum of Dr. Roswell Sherman Mills, East Setauket, New York.
Tom on the riveted teeth after the tooth was riveted in they laid brass around them to stabilize them and keep them in place. That might be what you are seeing.

Thank you for posting the link.Very nice piece Dane

very cool. they were just a touch off on the estimate lol!

My guess is that they made more.. The mold for pan wouldn't of been made for just one trap. I will keep looking!! Along with the rest of yas with this horrible disease. LOL

I am sure that they made more and there may still be more out there but as with all bear traps,the scrap drives during WWI and WWII a lot of them got melted down for the war. That is also what makes the traps that are left more special.

WOW, Heck of a trap

For the sake of the buyer, I do hope it cleans up well. Being a one of a kind seems to have earned it special privilege. If it was more common, I think it would be viewed with skepticism. The heavy paint could be hiding pitting and hairline cracks and repairs. It would be nice to see it after cleaning.

While snooping around looking for information on the Blake and Lamb bear traps, the name Sam Hart came up. It was said that he had Everything that was Blake and Lamb. I couldn't find anything on him or his collection. Does any body know anything about him or his collection?

Are there any pictures of this trap after cleaning? It would be nice for everyone to see if available.

Sam Hart was the principle owner and manager of Blake & Lamb for a number of years from the late 1930s until they went out of business. I met Sam at E.J. Dailey's place in the 1960s and visited with him occassionally at the NY State Trapper's Association conventions in Piseco, NY. We did a limited amount of business with him when we ran a trapping supply house in the 1960s, '70s and 1980s. Sam had a lot of B&L stuff, just how complete I can't say for sure, but I would guess his collection was near complete.

Red raider 50, thanks for sharing. Cool little bit of history there.

I guess I'm confused, if the trap wasn't known to exist, why would it be listed in Andreski and Parr's book? Or am I missing something? Thanks.

fiftynine, The trap was listed in an old Blake & Lamb catalog. The #5s had been seen but not the #6 until this one. So, it was a known trap it just had not been seen by the collecting community.

Fiftynine, also in that 1895 Blake and Lamb catalog there is listed a #15, and a #4 Deer trap. Neither of these two have surfaced either, many times in catalogs, items that were intended to be produced were put into catalogs that may or may not have been produced. Before production on anything begins, the marketing and advertising is always finished before the product, whether it ends up being produced or not.
As Dean pointed out, this is the first time a later model Raised letter pan Blake has surfaced, so for many of us advanced collectors we always assumed that it never was produced until now. The earlier model three circle pan #6 is rare in itself as there are I believe only 5 known examples of that one which was produced from around 1884-85 to around 1894-95 after Chambers death, and his son took over. This was the period when Blake produced its first long spring, "The Oneida Pattern". Before that, as Blake and Lamb started production around 1865, all their traps were the double under springs, which included the double under spring #5 and #6 Blake and Lamb Bear Trap.
Another thing I want to point out is that a price guide is just that, just a guide, and in the Blake Bear trap section, the Blake bear traps are extremely undervalued. As the few people that own the #5 Raised letter and the #6 Three circle pan, were never contacted, or consulted with about price when the guide was put out, and all of us gave more for their Blakes than what they are priced for in the guide.

Bruce, I know for a fact that there is a new price guide in the works, the way I understand it is that they were trying to have it ready for the National Convention in New York later this summer. I do know that there were some very knowledgeable collectors, and trap sellers that were consulted, and asked to help make a contribution of knowledge, as far as price and rarity, condition. You know as well as everyone on here, the price of some of this stuff is just going nuts. Some of the traps are bringing a of a lot more than when Tom and Blaise put together the last price guide. Folks that is why they call it a GUIDE, it's not a Bible, Thanks Phil

Sure wish Bruce would post a picture of his BLAKE & LAMB 4 1/2!!!!!!

Dale,
I do not have a #4 & 1/2 Blake & Lamb. The last one that I saw was at the nationals in Lima. It was the later model with stamped pan, and I do not know if it sold or not. I believe Frank De Bolle had it. I have heard that there is an earlier model in a collection in the New England States, but have never seen pictures of it.

Nhousecattrapper and snakecollector, thx for the information. Is the value of these rare traps based on what the owners would accept if they decided to sell? Now that one was sold, is this the new value of these traps? I ask because I attended an auction recently where a Herter's 41 AX was sold for $2200. Several of us trappers in attendance figured the value around 6 to 700 dollars. I know the competitive atmosphere of an auction can cause bidders to overpay on items sometimes, but can it be assumed that because several individuals were willing to pay at least double the printed value in a price guide, that the value of similar traps has doubled?