The towel rack base is made to hold the ends of the rods in those little
scalloped 'cups'.  The wood rods (with metal ends) hang from the cup
when not in use, and are supported by the cup when horizontal and in
use.  It's hard to describe, but I have a floor version that is very
practical.
There's a very bad small drawing of a single wall unit at the top of
page 141 in the 1897 Sears Roebuck catalog, reprinted by Chelsea House
Publishers, 1968.
"No. 16818.  Eureka Adjustable Clothes Bar, intended to fasten to the
wall.  When not in use takes the space of an ordinary broom.  The bars
are 3 feet in length, with gilt tips; a very convenient household
article; weight, 4 lbs.  Each....... 39c".
It appears that this version has 10 bars, a 6 bar version was 25cents.
I've seen the double version (like the scan in question) and I think it
had shorter rods in the top section, longer rods in the lower section.




Susan Houghton
Laboratory Supervisor
Cultural Resources
Burns & McDonnell
9400 Ward Parkway
Kansas City, Missouri  64114
Tel: 816-333-9400 x2264
Fax: 816-822-3515
[log in to unmask]