A backgeared and screwcutting American lathe, circa 1860 to 1890, with a number of unusual features--not least being most distinctive apron with its "scalloped" sides. Exhibiting all the features that would become common on engine lathes during the next 50 years, one clue to the lathe's age is the use of very light castings - though not so light that the carbon turning tools of the time would have been restricted in their rate of metal removal. The use of balanced handles on each feed screw is interesting - lathes of this vintage normally being fitted with the inconvenient and awkward-to-operate crank type. Is the reduction gearing to the rack-driven carriage feed original ? It may well be (as it was on German Weisser lathes of the period) and would have provided the lucky operator with chance to experience an easy way to take long cuts using a steady rate of hand feed.