1st Dibs offers for sale this unusual antique. The auction site describes it as an engineer’s model of a fire escape that extends lattice girders.
It’s electrically powered, but can also be manually wound. It’s almost 12 feet long when fully deployed—a measurement that I assume includes the wheeled base that rests on top of a flat surface. The prices is $6,168.90 with shipping from the UK to the US at an astonishing $1,999.
The antique dates back to 1955. Why was it built? I’ll offer a guess that it was made for salesmen to use to sell to prospective customers.
-via Book of Joe