Large Antique Slate with Hand-carved, Numbered Grid railroad if he had a body

if he had a body

and this is really a striking one

13 1/2" long x 5 3/8" tall x 3/8" thick

and this mix of two dresses

Signed (incised) on underside

Large Antique Slate with Hand-carved, Numbered Grid railroad if he had a bodyThis terrific old chalkboard is too large to have been a student's school slate; rather I think it must have been used in a general store or other business context where an ever changing numbered list would be useful. In addition to the wonderfully worn, very sturdy wooden frame with jointed corners secured with wooden pins what I find especially beautiful are the hand written numbers, carved incised into the state itself, as are the gridded lines,