This is an example of an old-fashioned wooden rat (or mouse) trap from an unknown time period. Obviously, the purpose of this device was to lure in and kill those pesky rodents who have from time immemorial been the bane of country and city folk alike. Unlike the spring-loaded bar trap design that we might be more familiar with today, this particular device utilizes the older jaw design. While this type of rat trap was first patented in 1879, it is clear that the design predates this by centuries. One of the earliest historical references to the mousetrap appears in the early 16th-century, however, again, it is certain that they must have long predated this period.
Indeed, it seems likely that rodent traps have existed in some form or another for nearly as long as humans have been farming. The ancient Egyptians employed the services of cats to keep rodents away from their granaries. Medieval European farmers made use of poisonous herbal mixtures or magical incantations to ward off the critters. The modern, mechanical mass-produced mousetrap, however, is a product of American ingenuity and inventiveness during the 19th century.