Braun Knecht Heimann Co San Francisco Vintage Electrical Resistance Thing (ST1). I cannot figure out exactly what this thing is. I even took the top off to see if I could fibd enlightenment. It's some sort of vintage electronic device, I'm guessing a rudimentary form of resistance, or maybe some kind of router. I don't know, but it's kind of cool.
Update: from a fellow eBay user: it's a decade resistance box used for experiments and circuit modification. I figured resistance of... some sort. Thank you.