A Case of Entrapment:
Collection of antique mouse traps nears 400-mark
By Dianne L. Beetler
Dave Huffman says that feeling "trapped" by a hobby is not necessarily a negative emo¬?tion. The Galesburg, III., resident, after all, has collected almost 400 mouse traps in all sizes and shapes.
Dave and his wife, Marian, are avid antiquers. About 13 years ago, she bought him a mouse trap at an antique show. Although Dave is a man and not a mouse, he loved the trap and was pleased when one of his daughters bought him another one. After that, he began trapping the traps himself.
After a while, he ran into an elderly man at an antique show and learned that the man had more than 300 mouse traps.
"A lot of people don't like to think about the gory part," he said.
Dave especially enjoys collecting handmade traps exhibiting fine work¬?manship.
"I like the thought that went into them," he said.
Some wood traps have dovetailed cor¬?ners, wood pegs and square nails. Although his collection includes a large number of fac¬?tory-made traps, he avoids the common flat, springboard traps unless they have good advertising on the board.
He doesn't catalog his collection.
"I can about tell where I got every one, and within $4 to $5 of what I paid for it," he said. He buys a few duplicate traps to trade with other collectors.