Do you know what this object does?
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It’s a musical telephone rest. Rain Noe of Core 77 tells us that in the 1960s and 70s, a Japanese firm named Sankyo made wind-up music boxes that turned on when the user placed a phone receiver on them. This music presumably amused or distracted the caller while waiting to continue the conversation. So think of it as a mechanical form of hold music.
Photo: Gumtree
Source: neatorama