Before the holidays I was up in Mid Coast Maine for a show and made a few other stops--I purchased this and a couple of old handmade saws from a dealer who always has interesting things, and I'm pretty sure they all came from one tool collection as they all showed up together. (I resisted coming home with more....but never could I leave this one behind!) It is is an antique hand-forged quilting clamp, which would I believe have been used on a quilting frames to hold fabric layers taut and straight. There is a whole genre of these called "heart clamps," for the hearts at the ends of the screws, as here. I of course would like to think this quilter's husband was a metalsmith, who made this (and probably one or three more) himself just for her as a token of his love, with the screw just the right length to fit her frame.  Hand-forged, and with a charmingly imperfect shape to that heart, really a wonderful folk object, 19th century.

Screw 3" l. Clamp 3 1/8" x 2 1/4" . Very good condition, cleaned up at some point--as found, screw turns easily and holds tight. It will stand up balanced on its own.