The photos show nearly everything.  I am not sure how old this is, it is definitely quite old, vintage. Probably antique. And, I have absolutely no idea what it is for. The best I could think of was a warning light for an alarm of some type, possibly for a fire alarm? Perhaps a burglar alarm? I have no idea. I do not see any words on it anywhere to help me figure it out. I just know it is a very cool looking piece. You can see that the wire that is coiled inside of it pulls out of the little hole on the bottom and retracts, manually. You must turn the glass globe to release it and to retract it. I pulled out some of the wire, there is a lot more wire inside that is able to be pulled out, but it became quite difficult to pull, and I did not want to force it. I have no doubt that someone can adjust it in some way, and make it work fine, but I cannot guarantee it, as I was unable to do so. There is a toggle switch which most likely allows it to turn on and off. Again, I have absolutely no idea what this is other than a very cool looking piece. Most likely a very nice collectible. I have never seen anything remotely like it. I cannot guarantee anything about it, as far as if or how it works. All I can say is it is a very nice looking piece. You are buying it AS IS. No returns. I don't have anything else to add, the photos are the best description and they show the condition. Please use the zoom feature and ask any questions you may have.