Unusual and Beautiful Old Handmade Ruler (?) animal blocks (Info below

(Info below

and place him on a slight incline with a little push and he's a great little walker

I believe these date between 1870-1890

with perhaps a bit of fading to the colored paper

Unusual and Beautiful Old Handmade Ruler (?) animal blocks (Info belowI really don't know anything about this one, but found it at Brimfield and couldn't put it down. I presume a ruler or guide of some sort, with the increments along one side approximately one inch and the shorter ones about half an inch. For me the angled lines really make it. lending a sense of movement and three dimensionality to the whole thing, and the wood, which I think may be boxwood, is lovely. With what looks to be some faint handwritten text