What is this? Is it a telephone insulator?

[davidbholcomb]

I found this on ebay and was wondering if it was a telephone insulator and if it is how was it used. Here is the link CLICK HERE
I have included pictures from the posting for when ebay takes them down in the future. Any and all help would be appreciated.

[cello973]

It looks like some sort of Vacuum Tube  socket If I counted correctly there are 8 connection points and that would be consistent with a tube.

[Weco355aman]

It's used in railroad signaling systems. It's a resistor.