Thanks for commenting, folks. This is the backside of a very large, early 1900s, steam powered generator used in mining. The twirly things coming out of the background are coil windings, much like you might see in a much smaller generator that is done with wire windings. Those "wires" are about 1/2" in diameter. Here's a small pic of a larger view:
"Nut'n Much" is a close-up of the nut at the lower right in this shot.
