What is it?

[Woody girl]

This isn't realy bushcraft related, but I know that there is a wealth of knowledge out there. My friend bought this in the local charity shop for his wife but we have no idea what it is.
The coffee cup is for scale.. it had three "draws" that have a metal mesh which you can just about see in the photo. Any ideas?

 

[Robson Valley]

I'd use it for pies, straight out of the oven to cool. Maybe for home-made crumpets?
I built one, just plain plywood, which stands in a corner in my deep freeze for 6 pies.

 

[Woody girl]

They would have to be tiny pies! I'm not sure of measurements but there is only an inch or so between draws. It's a couple of inches taller than the coffee mug. And about 5 or 6 inches deep front to back.

 

[Janne]

Drying rack for something? Fungi, herbs?

What kind of wood is it?

 

[Robson Valley]

With the metal, I still think it's some kind of a hot rack for something to cool.
Methinks air circulation. Maybe somebody had to starch and iron their underwear?

I have a stack of German terra cotta pie plates, each is 2/3 of a 9" Pyrex deep dish pie.
Exactly right for 4 pieces and 6 of them totally uses up one batch of pie crust.
I bought extra large wire mesh racks to cool the whole lot of them.

This is a 9" pie. My wood carving of a frog is coastal yellow cedar.

 

[santaman2000]

I’m also thinking some type of drying rack.

 

[Bishop]

Best guess.... Drying rack for printed artwork maybe, quite possibly photographs Wife thinks it's about the right size for Victorian glass-plate negatives

 

[demographic]

Drying rack for small, high value items.

I'm thinking 50 pound notes
Now wheres that innocent whistling smilie?

 

[Gddd]

Jewellery display?

Sent from my SM-T813 using Tapatalk

 

[daveO]

Drying rack for something? Fungi, herbs?

What kind of wood is it?

Or maybe the opposite, like part of a cigar humidor cabinet or something.

 

[Toddy]

I think Bishop's missus most probably has the right of it.

It's like the racks used to dry watercolours and calligraphy too.

Since the back is closed I don't think it's meant for any real airflow like the ones used to dry seeds or botanical samples or even butterflies.

So, it's very still and protected, but allows drying....sounds like the photographic plates.

M

 

[Woody girl]

I must admit first thought was a herb dryer but it's too small to be able to dry any quantity plus I would have expected it to have holes for better air flow in the cabinetry.
The glass photography plate idea is interesting.

 

[Robson Valley]

I'd be drying all my large format (4" x 5") B&W films on edge with one corner down to drip.
The rack is a simple skeletal frame. Laid flat, the chances of drying rings and spots is huge.

Using a Siemens Elmscop 1a electron microscope, we shot on glass plates in the late 1960's for the dimensional stability for measurements.
They all dried on edge, one corner down.

The metal screen still makes me think something hot.

 

[demographic]

I'd be drying all my large format (4" x 5") B&W films on edge with one corner down to drip.
The rack is a simple skeletal frame. Laid flat, the chances of drying rings and spots is huge.

Using a Siemens Elmscop 1a electron microscope, we shot on glass plates in the late 1960's for the dimensional stability for measurements.
They all dried on edge, one corner down.

The metal screen still makes me think something hot.

Aye, good point.
When I did radiography training* we used to dry the radiographs hung up and yeah dried flat would mess em right up.

*Later on when actually doing it for real in the local boilermakers we just had a machine to develop, stop and dry them.
Just go into a darkroom, put em in the machine then go through next door (the machine went through the wall) and the developed radiographs pop out ready for veiwing.

 

[Janne]

Is the screen stainless?

(trying to put an approximate maximum age)

To small to dry foodstuff. Maybe herbs, the ones you put in food, or the ones being legalized in many countries these days.

 

[Robson Valley]

It's for cooling fried eggs & bacon.

 

[Janne]

Or maybe the opposite, like part of a cigar humidor cabinet or something.

I have a couple of humidors. None have this design, or a rack system like this.
All wood constructions, except the container for the liquid/water.

 

[Toddy]

The old glass plates didn't get hung up to dry, they were encased in wooden frames.
Modern gelatine glass plates are stacked on racks like these, but I'm sure you'll agree that the aesthetic of the modern rack is most unappealing to one with any Victorian sensibilities.
Not quite sure how the collodion (silver) process dried off their plates.

 

[Robson Valley]

It appears that each of the racks can be pulled out, yes?
Maybe loaded with whatever and then replaced in the box?

The only thing better than one plate/sheet drying rack is two of them.

 

[Woody girl]

I've rather gone off the glass photography drying rack idea as I don't think anyone would only process three photos at a time. It's an intriguing mystery box. I'd really like to find out what it was designed for.
Yes RV the drawers can be totaly removed.
I'm not sure what sort of wood it is.
The mesh isn't stainless steel. It seems to have some discolouration in places.
I'm stumped!