1908 Turnbuckle?

[JimBuck]

Can anyone identify this item and what it was used for?

[gibsontool]

I can see what looks like a patent date but can't clearly make it out. If you go to DATAMP and enter the date it will tell what items were patented on that date.

[JimBuck]

Thank you, Gibsontool!

[JimBuck]

I've Googled images for all items patented Jan. 28, 1908 and none of them resemble mine. Anybody else have any suggestions?

[Bill Houghton]

Is there anything on the underside of the pads with the nuts on them?  I'm thinking that it was intended to draw two components together, but those pads seem kind of thin for the purpose all by themselves.

[JimBuck]

Nothing at all...they're both slick underneath. Both tabs are designated...one has L (left) and the other R (right). It does look as if maybe there were small metal tabs attached to the larger tabs at one time...but if so, they have worn off or removed through time.

[mvwcnews]

After reviewing the images for all 440 patents issued Jan 28, 1908, my best guess is this was the adjuster for a "repair last" (think of shoe tree / shoe stretcher ).  The patent in question (877,519) showed a different form of size adjuster, but the only other patent for the date with a turnbuckle was a reissue patent for a walking beam for southern California style cable tool oil well drilling equipment -- much more robust & larger than the piece you show.
A quick way to scan patents by date is using  www.nonesuchtools.com/patent/shotgun.htm .  It expedites things to have a .tif viewer capability in your browser;  waiting for the U.S. Patent office's .pdf image to generate is a drag.
google patent search (in my opinion) is very flawed & sketchy -- time after time it fails to produce results I know should be shown which is no surprise given the way the product was generated.

[JimBuck]

Thank you all for your help!