Looks like a central oiler. Those little levers let oil flow when they are lifted. The three lines under the canister probably go to something that needs to be oiled frequently. One company that manufactured systems like this was Called Bijour. ( not sure of the spelling). Some Bijour systems had a dozen or more lines and with one push of a lever all points got lubricated.
My guess is that they oil the main bearings. Many early cars ran a full loss system, like an early Harley. Bob
The Jalopy Journal
