What is this (found in an old farm house)?

Timer for a closet light perhaps?   It certainly sounds like a timer switch of some kind.

Definitely.  He said he's going to try to get some pictures this weekend if the house doesn't get sold to someone else.

Eric

Can you trace the wires and see where it goes? A timed closet light seems unlikely

It could be a meter or a relay.

When my friend was touring the house, I don' think he had the chance to trace the wires.  Just seeing this mystery box from Sears circa 1949 located in the closet has really piqued his curiosity.

Eric

It reminds me of a device that used to be pretty common, a coin fed meter for power. However, that'd be a stretch as someone would have to come out to the farm to empty the coin box.

In those days, Sears sold just about anything imaginable. That's why their catalog was so big and was so useful as a source of toilet paper. This is an intriguing subject. I wish there was a photo.

My grand dad had a wind speed station that had a display like that, but it was in the kitchen.

It just seems so strange that it would be located in the closet.  It must have been something that only needed the rare moment of attention;  something to be set (?) and then forgotten about.  Otherwise, if it was a thermostat or something like that, you'd think it would be in a more accessible location.

I think he said that IF the house wasn't sold to someone else, he might be going back today (Friday) or possibly this weekend.  He said if he goes back, he's going to snap a picture.

Eric

Something else to keep in mind re: the location of the box - it is possible that the "old" farmhouse was built in stages. What is now the closet could at one point have been a wall closer to the outside of the house, so the fact that it is now in the closet could mean very little. Easier for "Joe Farmer" to have to deal with the occasional trip into the closet rather than move a switch & its associated wiring.

HI :

This sounds like the timer that was on our furnace back in the fifties .To conserve coal we had this installed . It switched the burner on and off to more totally use the coal .When it turned on , the coal delivery auger to the firebox turned a quarter turn , thus being very judicious with coal usge .

 The only other usage I could think of was to regulate fuel oil usage .