An inkwell

So… yesterday The Legal Genealogist challenged readers to answer a question beyond this writer’s ken.

What in the world was this item?

Reader Janet Hall Werner of Virginia was trying to figure it out, and I had no clue.

But readers had some ideas.

Some kind of medical device.

A vaporizer.

An oil lamp.

A liquid separator.

A bootscraper.

An early breast pump.

An inkwell.

Specifically, a rotating snail inkwell.

Bing bing bing!

We have a winner.

Reader William E. Christopher was the first to say it was an inkwell. “It was used in many businesses that had customers that needed to sign documents etc. Often found in banks,” he said.

I’ll admit, I was skeptical. I asked for a source.

And reader Robert Raymond fielded that one, even coming up with an offer of one for sale on eBay.

Who’da thunk it?

But there you have it.

With thanks to everyone who pitched in.

Cite/link to this post: Judy G. Russell, “And the device is…,” The Legal Genealogist (https://www.legalgenealogist.com/blog : posted 26 Oct 2019).