How old is old?
I used to have an OLD (1960's) 4-light Phototgenic rig that used a set of Octal shorting plugs to distribute power amongst the 4-heads in various ratios: 1:1:1:1, 4:2:1:1, 3:3:1:1, etc.
I used a Poloroid back (for my 2-1/4 camera) and a Wein flash meter to set exposure for lighting setups.
Very quaint, very dangerous (the plugs had bare wires - the tripping voltage was 400 - keep kids away).
If you think you have anything like that there are clues - no modeling lamps, power unit covered in turquoise vinyl, shorting plug socket looks like you could plug an old radio tube into it (but don't).
Interesting collectors item. Safe to say it would not be UL approved. I can smell those oil-filled capacitors charging already. Ahh - the good old days.