Antique French mechanical lark lure
A rare antique French mechanical lark lure. Used by the turn of the century hunter, lures like these would be used in open fields to attract larks, drawn in by the glistening mirrored dots on a rotating wooden head. Most examples consisted of a spike in the ground with a mirrored head, which would be spun by pulling an attached cord from a concealed hide.
Premium examples like this utilised an encased wind up clockwork mechanism to rotate the spinning wooden mirrored head, and would have been an expensive purchase in their time.
By removing the need to manually spin the lure, they gave the shooter the optimum chance of success when drawing game onto guns, especially as several lures could be used at once whilst keeping the gun ready.
Dimensions:
19.5cm total height
Case 13cm tall x 9.5cm wide x 5.5cm deep
Head 20.5cm wide x 5.3cm tall x 3.7cm deep at base.
Condition:
Tarnish and wear to the brass case but no damage. The head is missing some of the mirrored dots, these could be replaced, but it is currently offered in original as found condition.
International customers and combined shipping
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*Multiple purchases - If you would like to purchase multiple items we can usually combine shipping. It is best to message us first for a shipping quote, but to avoid missing out you can purchase items through the website immediately without paying a shipping fee. Add the desired pieces to your cart, then view your cart and in order summary there is a drop down menu with postage options. Select *Multiple purchases & combined shipping* and the shipping price will be removed. You can now pay for your selected items and we will contact you with a shipping quote to then be paid separately.