Featured in this lot is an S. Newhouse Oneida Community #5 bear trap circa 1865-1888. The company started production in 1845, Sewell Newhouse - A blacksmith within the community, learned to hand-forge animal traps better than anyone else of the time. Newhouse was part of the Oneida Community, a religious based "family" of approximately 250 members, who believed in a harmonious group living, and striving to reach human perfection through congruous collaboration. By 1852, the community was able to further improve Newhouse's design and mechanized the manufacturing process. By the 1860s, the Oneida Community was making over 200,000 traps a year. Then in 1864, production demanded a new facility and scores of new employees, making their trap facility the largest in the country, as well as putting Oneida Newhouse in the mainstream of American industrial development. By the 1870s, the new factory was producing over 400,000 traps per year. In 1886, The Oneida Community, Ltd. introduced a less expensive line of traps known as the Victor. By the early 1900s, two of every three traps across the globe came from the Oneida factory. This Number 5 is an early and rare trap, manufactured between 1865 and 1888, during the life of Sewell Newhouse, and more than likely, forged by Sewell himself. The trap features a wonderfully and professionally crafted steel construction that shows six retractable teeth and bowed hinges. The tongue reads as follows: Newhouse - Onieda Community - No. 5. The condition of this bear trap is good with no obvious signs of damage. It shows a light patina and a good overall condition. The measurements are 7 1/4" x 13 1/2" x 15" folded up.*