Unusual, Very Precise Hand-stamped Nickel T-Shaped Surface Level threaded wooden box 1850s I believe and found

1850s I believe and found in New England

with a great old well worn matte gray painted surface

and  especially this wonderful black dog at her side with tongue hanging out

and something tells me from Nova Scotia but that's just a hunch

visible in details

Unusual, Very Precise Hand-stamped Nickel T-Shaped Surface Level threaded wooden box 1850s I believe and foundI really don't know the precise function of this one, and neither did the dealer I purchased it from, who used to specialize in old tools! It is clearly a leveling tool, with three legs, so meant to rest on a surface, and the two levels are very very precise, so it was made with exact leveling in mind. (Good for leveling a tabletop for sure.) I like it as an object, and for the impressed type (K & H no less my initials), and LEVEL spelled out at on