I live in Utah and bought this along with a few chairs. It was $10 and I thought I might be able to repurpose it as a window restoration easel. They weren't sure what it was or the origins. They like thrift store shopping and I wasn't able to tell them anything more either. If anyone knows what this was intended for, or the genus of wood even, I appreciate your input. Thanks in advance. 3 dials and a stencil reads SLAVS 1031. The center is intended to move up and down. The screws are mixed, some are flat head others are Phillips. Front view - about 30 inches wide and has a dark oval spot at the center bottom rung where a label may have been. The top rung has a metal rod in a grooved notch underneath the wood running parallel. The top hole may have been drilled later and there may be metal rods missing.
Now that I know what it is, I'm kinda getting into the idea of building a new top and turning it back into a desk. I'd make a stationary top, not a tilting kind though. If I had 2 identical ones, I could even build a summer dining table for our porch.