Paper cutter

While it measures only 6 inches square, this small Milton Bradley papercutter is sharp enough to take off a finger. I'm not sure if Milton Bradley ever made anything besides toys, but this would be sure to raise a cry of alarm if it were found in a toy store today. I've no guess as to when it was made - does anyone have a history of the company?

We keep this on the small in the corner mostly because it's the right kind of wood. It looks nice, in a knick-knacky kind of way.

If it's not a toy, maybe it's for photographers - the old style kind that used to trim their photo paper by hand, in the dark, before printing. My paternal grandfather used to work at Kodak, as an emulsion engineer or chemist (or something; he had a frustrating lack of clarity on some subjects, and all I ever got was that everyone at Kodak "called him 'Doctor' even though he didn't have a doctorate" like his son, Jim), and got a job for his son (my Dad) one summer. I think it was the summer before Senior year. Maybe my dad was saving up for an engagement ring.

My Dad described the Kodak factory as being pretty surreal. Something about the unusual shifts (you moved between night and day shifts through the week) all spent in the dark, or under some sort of safe-light -- depending on the part of the factory you were in the light would be a different color, red, amber, yellow, and for some reason I think maybe green. He moved stuff around on carts, and saw quite a bit of the factory. Mentioned that he'd run into people sleeping fairly regularly, and that it made sense; if it's completely dark, and no one can see you, how long could you stay awake? He had another job once in a printing plant, where they printed soup labels. His job was to check the registration, and yell "Stop the Presses!" if it was out of whack. He got in trouble for suggesting the workers should have gloves when cleaning the rollers at the end of the day, scrubbing elbow deep in bestine.

Update - Thanks to Pamela Musgrove I now know that the founder of the Milton Bradley company (Milton Bradley, naturally) invented the first paper cutter, as well as "The Checkered Game of Life" (a precursor to the "Game of Life" still being manufactured today).

It makes more sense when you know that he started out as a lithographer -- printer -> needs to cut paper -> might as well print games...