History Mystery #11: A strange apparatus with a giant roll of paper

Here’s the latest EasyGenie History Mystery! This specimen was found in a local historical museum, but would have been produced around the world as well. You can see a video of it here.

Size: The apparatus is approximately 12 feet long, and about 5 feet high at its highest point. There is a roll of paper at one end, and a shelf at the other. 

Hint: Patented after the Civil War, this machine only required a single operator and supposedly replaced the manual labor of 30 people. 

SOLUTION: Here's what the device does, as well as the fascinating history of its inventor.

Also, if you are interested in earlier history mysteries, check out the following on the EasyGenie blog: 

• History Mystery #10: A device with a lens? (blog) (solution)
  
• History mystery #8: A perforated cube made of wood and tin (blog) (solution)
• History Mystery #6: Mysterious Viking artifact stumps the experts (blog) (solution)