Today, this glass contraption is used as a sort of decoration, but in years past, it was used to catch flies. It has been in my family for many, many years-way more than 50 :). I have only seen it in ‘action’ 2-3 times that I can recall. The farmhouse had window screens when I was little but that was not always the case. Even later, the pesky little varmints would find their way inside.
There are two parts to the trap. Honey or sugar water was placed in the amber-colored base and the globe was reseated. Flies would enter the hole in the bottom and become trapped. I remember watching them fly around inside the globe. I have read that some people used some type of poison to kill the flies (mercury or arsenic or other), but I do not remember anything like such added during my lifetime. For the most part the fly catcher sat on the cupboard in the dining room of the old farmhouse, but when in use it sat in the middle of the dining room table.
I do not know the exact age, but I suspect that it belonged to my great-grandparents. They died in the 20s and 30s (1900s). It is pressed glass, and the base rim is marked, “Patent applied for.” The same term is found at the top of the globe, too. A very similar, almost exact trap, except for the colored base, was patented in 1890. Maybe someone knows about when it was made and would like to share. I would love to know.
Today, the fly catcher (I like catcher better than trap) sits on the Welch dresser my father made. The trap may not be the most valuable item I have, but it is very sentimental. Just think of the different inventions that made their way into our ancestors’ lives.
Happy Gardening every day of your life!
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Garden2day 
Wow! I would have never guessed. How neat to have items that have handed down. I will have to keep my eyes open now that I know what to look for…Thank you for that information!
Roberta, it’s nice to have things that I know my family used way back when knowing their children (and their children’s children) kept them safe until they could be handed down to the next generation. So much was lost when the 2 houses were broken into and looted. Almost all that wasn’t taken was destroyed. Take care.
That’s a completely new item to me. I can remember being in my grandmother’s house and all the women taking a dishtowel or picking up their aprons to shoo flies out of the room before eating. This gadget would have solved the problem.
Hi, Lillian. I was hoping you might know more about it than I do. It is definitely not something that one finds every day. Take care.