I think it looks like a curtain stretcher. If there are little "needles" to hook the hems of the lace curtains onto, then it is certainly that. I have one in my attic. I am 70 yrs. old and helped my Mother years ago do the curtains. She would wash them, starch them in bluing starch to whiten them further, then we would put them on the frame, needle by needle. I think it sets up like a frame, with the legs on the ground behind it to hold it up. Sometimes if it was a windy day and the curtains were not dry, we would move it inside until they were dry. It was a little time consuming but they really looked nice at the windows later on. I was thinking too, you could use it to baste a quilt, but I believe you woud have to put a person on both sides of it. It would be better then getting on the floor to baste a quilt. I think I am done basting them on the floor. Try to put it together. It will look like an easel. Have fun.