Unusual and Beautiful Old Handmade Ruler (?) animal blocks perfectly resolved

perfectly resolved

upon the coaxing of his family

I believe these date between 1870-1890

The sails are gone

(Info below

Unusual and Beautiful Old Handmade Ruler (?) animal blocks perfectly resolvedI really don't know anything about this one, but found it at Brimfield and couldn't put it down. I presume a ruler or guide of some sort, with the increments along one side approximately one inch and the shorter ones about half an inch. For me the angled lines really make it. lending a sense of movement and three dimensionality to the whole thing, and the wood, which I think may be boxwood, is lovely. With what looks to be some faint handwritten text