what was this thing?

[Squirrel322]

At one time it had two pins holding the parts together, 1 pin still remains. As I was cleaning it I found a couple pieces of glass (actually probably plastic) sandwiched in dirt that was between the two parts. The round piece is a lens which magnifies slightly. I assume the lens corresponds to the round hole on one of the parts. There is obviously a lot of this thing missing.

The last two photos show the object after I bent it back into shape (and broke a piece of...opps).

The small hole and lens make me think of something like a peep-hole or meter...

 

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[mrs.oroblanco]

It appears to be a small magnifier. My father gave me one when I was young, from where he worked. They made fabric for parachutes, and they would examine the product by running it through that. (apparently, the armed services did not want imperfect material.

 

[Squirrel322]

Thats an interesting idea but I have doubts thats how it functioned. The hole and lens are very small and would appear to function for seeing in-to the device.

I imagine something like a keychain viewer but the opposite side of those from the lens is a window that lets in light. The device I found appears to not have had a window opposite the lens.


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[A2coins]

Interseting but I think your onto what it is