what is it for?

wife got it at a garage sale, i think its for some type of soldering,
but what type?

…. Obviously a male Canadian tampon applicator

Looks more like something for de-soldering.
The soldering iron to get the solder liquid (melted) and the bulb to vacuum it away. Used in disassembly to repair.

Yup ... A solder sucker.

X 2

Desoldering iron.

a really painfull pig castrator

And they work great!

What Cotton said

for electronics work? never seen one as a plumber!

Yes