Very cool.  I am almost as interested in the device as the I am about George I. Herrick.  A quick search only found graves and obituaries with that name in the the Northeast.  With hand lettering that neat (and a tool like that), my guess is he was a draftsman, engineer or architect.  

--Nathan, TX. Hire the lazy man. He may not do as much work but that's because he will find a better way.