Doing What Mommy Does

nutcracker

It is a warmer. Put some coals in the beasties back and place it by your seat, or warm your bed sheets before going to bed.

Early stapler. Big, big fail.

Oil lamp?

A "joke item" that you hide in your garden and scare the daylights out of your wife when she goes to work in it.

Boot scraper?

That's got to be an instrument of torture.

Going for two in a row: Match Holder also once called a Vesta.

Me thinks it's a door stopper, to keep a door open against the wind.

Very good Edward. I think you're right.

The Grinning Alligator was a cast iron medieval torture device. Rocking it back and forth a few feet in front of a restrained prisoner's face, a Vatican-appointed Inquisitor would use a hidden switch (not visible) to raise and lower the upper piece, all the while chanting, "[I]nterior crocodile alligator, I drive a Chevrolet movie theater." This was often accompanied by a small choir and/or Papal dance troupe. Invariably, the victim would eventually be induced into a near-catatonic state, and with no further urging, confess to any number of alleged crimes.

This little guy is a mold for cooking cornbread.

nutcracker, or boot wiper

I'm going with nutcracker.

a cast iron humidifier? like the ones you usually see shaped as dragons....

Incense sticks holder

I think it's a shoehorn; my mom had something very similar when I was little, and I think I remember it was a shoehorn.

Knife sharpener?

It's one of those things you put in water and it grows in size. Might be one that came in a plastic egg from a vending machine but doesn't look curled up enough.

A bank (I was going to say piggy bank... but 'gator bank?)

The primary functions of an alligator are to eat water buffalo and wrestle with creepy TV show hosts.

Holy socks, we have one of those in the dining room!

Wait, actually, the one in the dining room IS a nutcracker, but this one's different. They look to be part of a set... This must be the turkey baster.

It's a boot remover you keep outside your door, to pry off your togs from the ankle, like if your shoes are muddy or stuck on, or if you cannot bend over to take them off yourself. You angle the ankle of your footwear against his upper "lip" and pull backwards, thus tugging off your shoe with ease.

Shirt size large, please :)

This may sound odd, but I think my family had one of these. It is a covered ash tray.

hey that one i think i know (my grandpa is a pharmacist)
and he has one of those

if im not wrong they use this thing to press medicine into pills

(but i actually never asked so i could be really wrong)

Ashtray!

It's a pocket gator. You put them in your pockets to prevent people from reaching in and stealing your things. Someone tries to steal your wallet and, presto! you now have a wallet and some fingers in your pocket.

A coffin from some region near Togo in Africa.

you can see a seem to open it up
i bet its a nut cracker or an ashtray

it also looks like you store matches inside then strike them on its back

iono, but it looks like you can put your weed in there.

my mother told it is a Cork maker (but the photos make it look like something else entirely)

CHA CHA CHA CHIA!!

I think it's a musical instrument. There should be a stick that goes with it, and you rub the stick along the ridges on the back of the gator

nutcracker, at least thats where my grandma uses it for.

it's a nutcracker

match holder... for fireplace matches.

i think the teeth hold cigarettes

It's a cast iron door stop.

A truly useful item, a vesta (match holder), ashtray and match striker all in one beautifully presented crocodile form, I would say circa 1860 English design.

It's a cookie jar!

It's a cork press. These were used in a recent past in pharmacies to make cork stopper fit the medicine bottles.

spittoon?

Is it one of those little musical things? Like the wooden frogs where you run the stick over it's back and it makes a croaking sound? Looks like the stick would sit in it's mouth.

Boot Jack

Boot Jack

A clothes pin

ancient money, coin

its a butter holder, specifically for roling corn on the cob in.

it's a cast-iron piggy bank!

nutcracker

I'm guessing it's a match holder. Matches can be struck on the gators mouth.

Ashtray

It's a boot scraper to get mud/dirt/snow off your boots before coming inside.

It's a candle snuffer.

pecan cracker

Cigar rest, because alligators love a good Cuban.

it's an ashtray

That is an instrument of torture known as "The Alligator".

Maybe you keep a lit cigar in it, and the smoke would come out of his mouth all spooky like.

I had one of these as a child. It is a nutcracker which doubles as a doorstop.

Mud Butler!

An alligator extermination grenade. You place it by a pond, the vicious alligators take it in a s a child, then when they open its mouth to feed it... BAM!

It's a device used to remove Boy Scouts from horse's hooves

It is a cast iron nutcracker.

Boot scraper?

To me, it looks vaguely like some sort of covered box-- a hinged covered box.

I believe it is just an old school mail holder. Or just a paper holder. At least thats what my Grams used it for. She had it on her desk with envelopes and paper clamped in its mouth. So that's my guess.

A musical instrument that makes a noise similar to an alligator when you rub a stick on its back ;) (I think so)

the top flips up and it becomes an ashtray!

Match Keeper

Jake.w.B beat me to it. Yum corn on the cob

Not a cigar rest, but rather a cigar saver. Yoo place your unfinished stogie into the beastie and close the back. When you are ready to finish your smoke, you just open the back and relight.

His body is a paperweight and the top half is a letter opener

It's used to hold or hid a key.

My oh my, it's an alligator. Du-uh!

No, seriously, I think it's a pine nut opener. You know, when you cook them and you just don't want to open it with your teeth. Handy.

an aquarium decoration? hooks up to an air hose & closes & opens?

It a serving dish for dog food

Is it an Ink well??

Corn-cob holder.

Door stop. However it could be, no it's a door stop.

Steampunk Pez? Actually I think it's one of those covered ashtrays.

a novelty ashtray

Is it an paper embosser? A candy mold?

Does it hold toothpicks and you press down on the mouth to reveal the cache beneath its back?

It's a foot warmer, put some coals inside warm your tootsies while you sit in your chair

I already made my guess above (match holder), but I hope I get extra credit for naming it properly it's a "match safe".

It's part of an early Chinese time telling mechanism and with drop marbles from it's mouth with regular intervals which would indicate the passed time

I already made my guess above (match holder), but I hope I get extra credit for naming it properly: it's a "match safe".

It's a Croco-file. You just place your digits in the mouth for clean, presentable nails.

It's a Steve Irwin Manta Ray Barb Puller ™

Key-hider?

Incense holder.

It is only supposed to be used on "alligator" boots. Boot horn.

Doorstop and boot scraper.

It's actually an alligator call for hunters... you rest your finger in its mouth, and have your buddy stomp on the mouth, crushing your finger.
The sound of you screaming like a wounded gazelle draws the alligator out of the jungle for you to take a shot at.

It's a door knocker

Nutcracker

It's a cast-iron nutcracker!