I found this one at antiques shop in Maine and was struck by what a handy spool holder it would be - with twelve pegs for spools on the rotating wheel, which one could spin like a lazy susan to have the right color immediately at hand. But also I think it is really cool for its completely modular construction, with each of those arms (like spokes) made up of a dowel threaded with a series of turned bits that hold a second dowel--the bobbin holder--in place, with each of those arms able to be rotated or removed from the center wheel entirely. Plus it's pretty wild looking, almost like a piece of tramp art. I have to imagine this was made for use in a textile mill or industrial sewing sort of context, and perhaps it connected to some larger aparatus, but I can't find another quite like it and am not completely sure. I'd keep it by the sewing machine holding 12 different colored spools of thread and feel very organized going into the new year (!), but it seems it would be pretty easy to hang on the wall, too, or maybe use as a tool for something else entirely!
7 5/8" in diameter x 5 1/4" t. Good condition, I would think later 19th c.
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