John A Manson Hardware Co Hanging Copper Inventory and Repair Lists wood and goat hair and short upturned rope tail

and short upturned rope tail

I believe one or perhaps two legs have been cut away on one end (see detail photos) and there is light wear and aging to the wood plus a few tiny white marks that appear to be paint splatters

I'd call this great old tin and wood toy candlestick telephone a teaching toy--and increasingly so

brown against cream

John A Manson Hardware Co Hanging Copper Inventory and Repair Lists wood and goat hair and short upturned rope tailA little research led me to discover that John A Manson Company at 253 Broadway in Manhattan (stamped on these copper mounts) was a hardware store, established by Manson around 1910, with a citation in the Hardware Dealers Magazine in 1913 noting that price cards like these (sold via catalogue as well as at the store) were Manson's speciality. These two were certainly put to use, with the handwritten card on one detailing the sizes, costs and sale