bearisgray

maybe a place to park smokes?

or a paper weight?

jljack

I think maybe a business card holder.

Quilt Mom

What a wonderful dog! I thought it might be a calling card holder.
My dad has a castiron dog that was a doorstop in his home growing up. But that one is the entire dog.

I hope you can find out what it was for.

kwhite

pens pencils

DA Mayer

I thought bone right away like the post before, so maybe scraps to save to make soup- or matches. whatever he sure is cute.

Shemjo

Being so small, it is a puzzle. Let us know when you find out his TRUE purpose. He is a cutey!

sandpat

Why its for whatever you decide its for silly girl! Actually I don't really know but...the long match idea would be a pretty good one. When you find out tell us though...inquiring minds and all.... :wink:

Moonpi

Matches! The rough texture of the "fur" was used to create friction to strike the matches. Before modern safety matches, there used to be a white (phosphorous?) tip that would ignite easily enough to get the red match portion going. I suspect his nose was used, too, considering the shine.

I have an antique sterling match safe used for even earlier matches, when they were so costly that the lady of the house would keep them on her person, so they would stay safe and dry.

Before electricity, we relied on flame for heat, light, and cooking, so it was a very important element of daily life.

bebe

A door holder or maybe a match holder for the long matches used in fireplaces.

Tink's Mom

I would guess that it is for the newspaper. Then the cute little dog could deliver it to it's master!