Antique carpet stretcher, a similar one, with U.S. patent date June 13, 1876 is shown here (scroll all the way to the bottom) http://www.belowstairs.co.uk/acatalog/Online_Catalogue_Tools_28.html
Hi, I almost peed my pants when I saw this. Years ago we had a very similiar one. One of my cousins was getting braces for her teeth and I showed her the stretcher. I told her it was used by the dentist to adjust the braces. She was hysterical and refused to go to the dentist. When my Aunt found out why, she chased me all over the house promising me body harm. When she caught me she was giggling and told me she would have done the same thing. She then asked me to yell like she was hitting me and began to slap the wall. I yelled a couple of times. greg
