Old rod tiptop guide

[Jimbo]

Not sure if there might be some expertise on old rods in this forum. I found an older rod at a barn sale. It has a wood ribbed handle, the rod itself is wood (looks like a hardwoood, not cane or bamboo). The thing I'm curious about is the tiptop. It's not like you see now, where the guide itself is aligned with the other guides. In this rod it sits directly above and perpendiculat to the tip of the rod. Almost like a halo on two posts above the rod tip. I had seen one not on a rod once before, and seeing this was curious if anyone knew anything about the style? Was it just a predecessor to the modern day tiptop or was there some other purpose. The guy who sold it to me said that with that type of guide you didn't need any others and somethig about it not allowing the line to tangle. But that didn't really make sense. There is evidence that there was one other guide about halfway down. I thought maybe the unique guide allowed an angler to use a different reel on eiother side of the rod, but the reel seat is fixed and could only accommodate a reel in one spot. There's a decal that says "Superior Tackle" on the rod. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Curiosity is killing this cat.