It was a common misconception at the time that you could shake the fat loose and the body would expel it. In a place like this Patients who were thinner would have been easier to care for.
It's an early form of a label printer the company that made them stil exists to day.More accurately it would be a stamping machine you could probably use it on anything from files to patients robes.
morte rabbit
Location: Fuller State School and Hospital Gallery: Disturbed