I must confess I am not a collector, but I did manage to find an interesting stretcher in a barn on my hunting ground. I can not read the patent date, but it does have Abingdon Trap Co. Abingdon ILL stamped on it. Just curious if anyone has any info on it. Time frame,,value, etc.
Thanks,
Jim

I don't know anything about the stretcher but I think I have one just like it, on mine I can read the patent date, but nothing else.

A neat find! It was manufactured by the Abingdon Trap Company in Abingdon, Illinois. I have some that are stamped Abingdon Trap Company Abingdon, Ill with the patent date, some with just the patent date, and some with just Abingdon Trap Company Abingdon, Ill. Time frame - early 1900's til ?. Stretchers were made in several sizes - muskrat, mink, coon, etc. They made similar stretchers for some of the fur houses of that time. Stretcher looks to be pretty clean and you read the stamp so value is in the $10 range.

Those stretchers in the muskrat size are relatively common in cetain parts of the country. The larger sizes, like for Raccoon and fox,, are harder to come by.

Thanks for the feedback! The barn was built by an uncle, then owned by my father, so I imagine this stretcher was used by one of them, and will be hanging at the hunting shack.
Jim