1869 Antique NEWHOUSE TRAP TRAPPER'S GUIDE Oneida TRAPPING FUR TRADE Hunting

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THE TRAPPER'S GUIDE A Manual of Instructions For Capturing All Kinds of Fur-Bearing Animals, and Curing Their Skins; With Observations on the Fur-Trade, Hints on Life in the Woods, And Narratives of Trapping and Hunting Excursions. By S. Newhouse, and Other Trappers and Sportsmen. Edited by the Oneida Community. Published in 1869 by Oakley, Mason & Co., New York. 9" x 6" hardcover. Illustrated with engravings. 215 pages.Condition: Fair but rare! This book has seen a lot of use over the past 146 years, with exterior wear as shown in photos. The binding is still okay despite that the inner hinges are a bit tender. The pages have foxing, and some smudging, and some faint moisture blemishes at the gutter, but keep in mind this book was undoubtedly used in the woods and camp - at the back you'll even find handwritten bait recipes. One plate, the Ruffed Grouse, is detached, worn and partially torn from being loose in the book for many years(see photo in main description). Regardless, this book is very rare in any condition.Special Note: I am selling this book as an historical artifact. It hails from an age when killing animals for "fun and profit" was still an accepted practice among men and boys - a time not far removed from America's pioneer period when successful trapping was necessary for survival.Some of the animals identified for trapping in this book have been protected by law in the years since its publication. Wildlife legislation, migratory bird acts, fish and game laws, etc. have set these creatures off-limits to hunters and trappers, or have restricted the taking of them to specified seasons and/or limited quantities.Regardless, this book is not without historic value. It faithfully describes a variety of mechanical techniques used by our ancestors to procure meat and fur for food and commerce. It catalogs a great deal of information about the behavior and habits of wildlife as observed by those whose livelihoods depended on a keen understanding of their quarry. It also imparts what was then expert knowledge in the field of woodcraft and wilderness survival.As a collectible title, it is also quite rare.Description:This is a rare 1869 edition of Sewell Newhouse's TRAPPER'S GUIDE. Newhouse was the inventor of the Oneida Newhouse Trap, the world's best metal animal trap for more than 70 years. The Newhouse trap dominated the industry throughout the 19th century and was adopted as standard equipment by the great Hudson Bay Company.Newhouse was an original member of the Oneida Community, an experimental utopian colony established at Oneida, New York, in 1848. Believing in the possibility of human perfection, this religiously based group of about 250 people lived as one family dedicated to selfless behavior. They had little money at first.A blacksmith by trade, Newhouse learned to hand-forge traps better than anyone else in America. The Oneida Community saw in Newhouse's traps a road to financial independence. It improved Newhouse's design, mechanized the manufacturing process, and began production in 1852. Almost immediately the "Newhouse Trap" gained the reputation of being the world's best.By the early 1860s, the Oneida Community was producing more than 200,000 "Newhouse" traps a year and by the 1870s, over 400,000. Production on that scale demanded hiring scores of employees and building a factory. Completed in 1864, their trap facility was the largest in the country and it put them in the mainstream of American industrial development.Newhouse's expertise in trap-making was said to have been the direct result of his experience as a trapper during his youth. According to the Preface of the book, Oneida customers often sought Newhouse's advice on many aspects of trapping. The public was so hungry for information that Newhouse finally wrote and published everything he knew in THE TRAPPER'S GUIDE, including techniques of wood-craft, life in the woods, curing skins, boat-building and more.The Preface states:Mr. S. Newhouse, a member of the Oneida Community, having become widely known as the maker of an excellent kind of steel-traps, and it being generally understood that the practical perfection of his traps is owing to the wisdom in wood-craft which he gained in early life by actual experience in trapping, he has often been applied to by his customers and others for information in regard to the best methods of capturing various animals.The most convenient way to answer such applications seemed to be to put his wisdom in print, and let it go abroad with his traps.In preparing for publication the material furnished by Mr. Newhouse for this purpose, the editors found new facts, inquiries, and written contributions relating to trapping and kindred pursuits crowding upon them, till the original idea of a small technical pamphlet swelled to the dimensions of the present work. The objects which they have finally aimed at have been, on the one hand, to furnish all the information needed in order to qualify a mere novice in trapping to enter upon the business intelligently and successfully ; and on the other, to make an interesting book for all lovers of wood-craft, and for the reading public at large.The character of the work, however, will be found to be mainly in accordance with its original practical design ; and it might properly be dedicated to poor men who are looking out for pleasant work and ways of making money; and especially to the pioneers of settlement and civilization in all parts of the world.As honesty is always good policy, it is best also to confess here that the author and editors of this work are extensively engaged in the business of making steel-traps, and have an eye to their own interests, as well as to the interests of others, in this effort to help the business of trapping.THE TRAPPER'S GUIDE contains directions for the use of the steel trap in conjunction with the habits and habitats of the game animals of the North American continent (as well as a few beasts you would only meet on an African veldt or in a tropical jungle). It also includes instructions on how to stretch and cure skins and advice on "Life in the Woods," including on trappers' shelter, log huts, bark shanties & wood-land beds and bedding, boat and canoe building and valuable suggestions on trappers' food.This book is illustrated with numerous engraved plates of game animals, as well as pictures of traps, camp shelters, boats, and more. At the back of the book, recorded on one of the blank endpapers are some old handwritten recipes for beaver and otter bait, presumably jotted down by the book's original owner. There is also a large bookseller stamp on the last endpaper (see photo below).THE TRAPPER'S GUIDE is many things - a practical guide to the use of the steel trap for a variety of game, a repository of information on wood-craft and life in the woods, a testament to the ingenuity of a clever blacksmith and the industriousness of the 19th-century utopian community where he lived, and a rare surviving promotional piece from one of America's great 19th-century manufacturing companies.Don't miss this rare opportunity to add this genuine 1869 edition of the TRAPPER'S GUIDE to your outdoorsman bookshelf.Contents and photos follow. I hope you have a moment to take a look.CONTENTS ARE:INTRODUCTION: Connection of Trapping with Other Trades * Observations on the Fur Trade * Season for Trapping * Statistics of the Fur TradePART ONE ~ THE TRAPPER'S ART:Chapter One ~ Preliminaries: The Dead-fall * Poisoning * Shooting * Steel Traps * Requisites of a Good Trap * The Spring-Pole * The Sliding Pole * The Clog * Rule for Baiting * Proper Outfit of Traps * Profits of TrappingChapter Two ~ Capture of Animals: The Muskrat * The Mink * The Marten * The Sable * The Ermine * The Fisher * The Fox * The Otter * The Sea Otter * The Beaver * The Wolf * The Bear * The Raccoon * The Badger * The Wild Cat or Bay Lynx * The Lynx * The Cougar * The Jaguar * The Lion * The Tiger * The Wolverine * The Opossum * The Skunk * The Coypu Rat * The Chinchilla * The Squirrel * The Woodchuck or Marmot * The Gopher * The Rat * The Deer * The MooseChapter Three ~ Curing Skins: General Rules * Stretching Skins * Board Stretcher * Muskrat Stretcher * Bow Stretcher * Hoop StretcherChapter Four ~ Life in the Woods: Outfit for a Campaign on Foot * Outfit for an Excursion by Wagon or Boat * Tent * Stove and Furniture * Bed and Bedding * Camp Chest * Cooking * Jerked Meat * Preparations against Insects * Shanty * Trapping Lines * ConclusionPART TWO ~ THE TRAPPER'S FOOD: The Deer * The Buffalo * The Rocky Mountain Sheep or Bighorn * The Argali * The Prong-horn Antelope * Squirrel Hunting * The Ruffled Grouse * Pinnated Grouse * Sharp-tail Grouse * Cock of the Plains * Dusky Grouse * Canada or Spruce Grouse * White-tailed Ptarmigan * Willow Ptarmigan * European Grouse * Water FowlPART THREE ~ FISHING IN AUTUMN AND WINTER: Spearing Fish * Fishing through the Ice * Net-Fishing in WinterNOTES ON TRAPPING AND WOOD-CRAFTPLAN OF A TRAPPING CAMPAIGN. By Peter M. GunterBOAT BUILDINGSNOW SHOESOIL FOR FIRE-ARMSPART FOUR ~ NARRATIVES:An Evening With an Old TrapperA Young Trapper's ExperienceThe Deer HuntMuskrat HuntingAn Amateur in the North WoodsTravelling in a CircleAn Expedition into the Laurentian HillsAPPENDIX:History of the Newhouse TrapDescription of the Newhouse TrapConclusionRemember folks, this is an 1869 original. This book is 146 years old.Check out all the RARE ANTIQUE BOOKS ABOUT THE INDIAN WARS, CIVIL WAR, REVOLUTIONARY WAR AND THE OLD WEST THAT I'M OFFERING ON EBAY THIS WEEK !Please be sure to add me to your List of Favorite Sellers !Don't miss out on any of my latest listings. !Winner pays for media mail shipping in the United States of America.INTERNATIONAL BIDDERS: All international bidders must© 2015 by eBay seller neetmok. Unauthorized use of Item Description Text or Images is a violation of eBay rules, as posted by eBay: "No Copying Allowed! When you prepare your listings you generally should use only material (text, photographs, etc.) and trademarks/names that you created or own yourself or licensed from the owners." Auction page content (i.e., item description text; lists of contents, lists of illustrations/photos; scanned images, etc.) was written/compiled/formatted by eBay seller neetmok and, as intellectual property, is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use of item description text, lists of illustrations and/or photos, or scanned images is strictly prohibited and will be reported to eBay's VeRO office for immediate action. read more

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