What a great find on the cabinet! Cleaned up it will be a nice addition to your corner in the living room. The shoe stretcher things are used on leather shoes. Put the bigger end in the toe part of the shoe.

The cabinet is called a Martha Washington according to my mother and grandmother. I inherited mine from them and love it.

My thought also, shoe stretchers

I still use these in my shoes.

I guess shoe stretchers is misleading. I use something more modern to keep the shape of some of my leather shoes. Of course is your shoes become wet, you would use these to keep the shoes from shrinking providing they are made of leather. I would say they are from the 40's or early 50's.
Once cleaned up, your cabinet will be quite useful by your easy chair or ???

They are definitely shoe trees/stretchers, to keep your shoes from curling up or "wrinkling" with creases near the toes.

I still have a couple pair and treasure them! Can't find them anymore, at least in my area of No. OH. They came in pairs, so obviously you're missing 1/2 a pair. but still worthwhile to hang on to.

Lucky you! the sewing cabinet is a treasure also!

those contraption looks like you're afraid to make a guess !! lol
never seen anything like this so i hope you can get an solid answer....so they're shoe trees????

I do know that your cabinet is called a Martha Washington . My grandmother had one and it disappeared. IF you ever want to sell it please comtact me PLEASE.

I think they are old shoe stretchers.

I think they lookk like shoe stretchers also -- but how long are they?