My gran had something similar that she used to use for churning butter or was it for mnaking bread? Sorry but I can't really remember. :-?
Reading the instructions it looks like Barb is correct. it mixes dough for bread. Nice antique conversation piece!! 60 years ago I read in a geography book that children in the mid west would gather hail stones after a thunderstorm and because rural electrification was not yet popular, they used the ice a in similar machine to make ice cream. The machine crushed ice and you added cream and flavoring like strawberries, blueberries or vanilla extract. Jerry
It is a bread maker. It says on side of pail. NO.4 "UNIVERSAL" BREAD MAKER, AWARDED GOLD MEDAL. ST. LOUIS EXPOSITION.1904. MADE BY LONDERS . FRARY &CLARK. NEW BRITAIN. CONN. U.S. Look for new topic in about 20 minutes.
The first thing that came to my mind was ice cream maker. But then I thought maybe butter. So I was completely wrong when I read the lettering on top. Very cool dough mixer indeed!