That old machine certainly deserves saving , I also would guess circa 1840 era for its build period, I rally like the design of the headstock, with its peculiar arched construction,most elegant remember in its day it was built for tools which pre-dated high speed steel by many years , Old carbon steel tools were the "in thing "then , Thus we would have slow cutting speeds, & tools with a steep rake angle, steels by and large would be softer (certainly no E N Exotic steels in those days !) The form of the gear teeth intrigue me also , almost square in form, certainly pre dates the involute gear pattern, In those far off days calculating your tooth numbers was by circular pitch, not Diametrical pitch, (a method still used for large gears on occasions,
The production of those old gears would be by casting the tooth form, By the use of green sand moulding , a lovely gear could be obtained, this required a lot of skill on the part of the moulder , now by and large sadly vanished , by the advent of the dreadful resin bonded modern chemical sands The pattern maker also would have a high degree of hand skills in the pattern production for this old girl
I wonder what equally ancient old machine tools were used in her production, & the nature of the old fitters & turners who built her & where ? She certainly ain't for saying