I found this at a yard sale but had no idea what it was

Why?

Because technology replaced them.

Electric mixers replaced hand-crank mixers.
Blenders replaced mills.
Food processors replaced manual presses.
Microwaves replaced stovetop-only cooking.

Convenience erased familiarity.

And when convenience wins, manual tools slowly disappear.

The Value of Old Objects
Finding something unfamiliar at a yard sale raises two big questions:

Is it valuable?
Is it meaningful?
These aren’t always the same thing.

In my case, the food mill wasn’t worth a fortune. Similar models sold for modest prices online.

But its value wasn’t financial.

It represented:

Self-sufficiency
Home cooking traditions
Pre-electric kitchen ingenuity
A slower pace of life