name and purpose of this piece of EPNS?

What is the name and purpose of this piece of EPNS?

Jessica V....

My guess is that it's intended to hold cookies or crackers for serving.

ntantiques...

I think we have a winner!

richwrigREMOVE...

A visitor says she thinks she remembers helping herself to drinking
straws from this sort of storage device. They sat on milkbar counters
before the current (more hygenic?) tall glass jars with dome-shaped
lids.

alagos...

A manger for an upmarket Christmas display.

Lee...

I think it is a British toast rack. British, because only the Brits eat
cold toast.
Lee

vk2ua-spamout...

Its certainly NOT a toast rack, you would be unable to stand a slice
of toast in that object. A toast rask is usually wirework with
vertical divisions to separate the slices. Gee, HOT toast melts all
the butter and topping, but it is warm when the waiter brings it.

Its more likely to be a pen tray on a desk - at least that design
would work! Why else would it have a pen lying besdie it?

Lee...

Simon...... the Brits don't butter their toast until AFTER it gets cold
and I have seen toast racks much like this one. Not all were made of
wire rack. I've even seen porcelain toast racks!
As for the pen, it was placed in the picture to provide scale.
You store the toast on its corner with a number of slices much like some
book racks. And in England, toast is served COLD!

Lee in Toronto

vk2ua-spamout...

As an ex Brit, I agree there are porcelain toast racks as well as
"silver" ones, but again they have a division between each slice. If
not there would be an untidy mess unless the whole width was full of
toast. This object is certainly not an English style toast rack.
American maybe, or even Canadian as they have odd ideas on eating.
Brits at tea time have hot buttered toast sometimes with raisins, but
at breakfast it is usually cold and buttered and marmaladed thus
following egg and bacon dish.