Although it says Laundry it appears to involve a bit more than just clothing. On the left there is a cobblers last on its base with another anvil behind it so it seems they repaired footwear too.
Thanks for your verification re the Odontograph prints Mott. Being now in an age when such calculations can be done on Cad-Cam in a fraction of the time taken back then,these prints are rarer than hens teeth. If I ever heard that the contents of the house are to be auctioned I would certainly put in an on line bid for them with a view to having them framed up for display,much the same as collectors do with maps and hand written deeds and documents. Most would regard them as worthless, but to some this is industrial art in its own right and deserves to be preserved. Regards and many thanks to you and Opacity from the UK.
Oh boy...where to start. As an old engineer with 46 years behind me I know what we have here albeit that it is the last thing I would expect to find lying around in an abandoned house. What you are looking at here is a copy of something called Grant's Odontograph and which provides the nomenclature necessary to create accurately meshing gear teeth of various shapes and sizes. It provides all the calculations necessary to ensure that when the teeth of two gears engage each other they sweep together perfectly with little or no backlash. The calculations are complex and...well...you just don't want to go there. I had to blow the dust off my old Machinery's Handbook just to verify that it was what I thought it was. Someone in that house was almost certainly a design engineer for anyone less qualified would have no understanding of the system and the mathematics needed to apply it. The mystery of the old house just gets thicker,doesn't it?
The spike ended item on the floor is known as a shooting stick and was commonly seen at field sporting events such as game fairs and equestrian meetings. It is a device that serves as a walking stick and folding seat. At the top can be seen one of two fold down arms with a leather or canvas webbing strip between them. In the walking stick mode the arms are raised together and form a handle. As a seat the arms are spread and the webbing forms a sort of cradle or hammock. The spike pushes into the soft ground and is limited by the disk, a bit like a ski stick. They are surprisingly comfortable and at one time were an item that no country gentleman over the age of 50 would be seen without.
It's only when I see things like the beater that I realize I'm getting old. You see...I have one just like it and use it pretty regularly....last time just four days ago to whisk together an omelet. Just stick it in a bowl with three eggs and wind the handle for 45 seconds...perfect. I can't even remember when I first bought it, it just seems to have always been in the drawer. Who needs electronic gadgets? Not this old lad that's for damned sure!