hi all, one of the forums i belonged to had a few folks interested in this topic, due to old age and new laptop i can no longer find that particular forum, (believe it was european).
at any rate, i have been trying to find one for several years, and stumbled on one this past weekend, i intend to purchase it, but i was hoping to find someone with more knowledge than myself to help me suss out info on it prior to making the purchase. because while yes i would be buying it, i am also selling it pretty hard to the wife as i dont think she understands the need for it. anyone here have knowledge or able to point me to a place to glean a little. it is listed as "Spanish Man Trap from 1750s" i explained the need to be prepared for the Zombie Apocalypse, but it didnt float as much as i hopes

Photos would help identify the trap as a true man trap, some large traps are listed as man traps but are not.

i knew that was going to be the first reply. i do have one, not a good one, that was all i was able to get. still trying to get it off my phone. slight thunderstorm/phone issue couldnt get it to take pics, now having trouble keeping it powered up. i will keep working on it and try to get it loaded up. i did not have means to get measurements, but im 6' and it would close about knee high on me. it is similar to one that is at the Pitchford Estate

this is the only pic i could get at the time. i plan to go back in the next day or two

I would need to see better photos to tell for sure, but from what I can see it is not a man trap. Yes, it is large and could catch a person but I believe it to be a body grip trap like a gear trap. A man trap would likely have a locking mechanism to prevent a person from letting them self out.

thx for the input. i am going to try and get back down to it, but just got word i have to leave for NY for work, as mentioned couldnt get decent pics. but i wasnt able to really look it over too well either. we ducked into this shop to get out of the weather and i was one of four and was holding up everyone that was ready to leave
this is the one at Pitchford Estate that was similar enough that i thought an iron worker might use a like design