Type holder (bookbinder)

identifier
ID 689
morphology
craft
holotype
MOT V 98.0323 L=19cm WD=14cm WT=300gr
alias
letter holder (syn.) (SALAMAN 1986:11)
alias
lettering pallet (syn.) ( CONROY: XVII)

alias
bar lettering pallet (syn.) ( SELLENS: 60)

description

Tool the bookbinder uses to decorate and gild leather-bound books. It consists of a metal - often copper - elongated (approx. 10-12 cm long; approx. 1 cm wide) holder, fixed in a wooden handle. Blocks with letters can be placed in the holder, which can be clamped by a screw. After heating, the letters are stamped into the (gilded) leather, in order to obtain the desired word.

Some models are adjustable for different letter heights (1).

See also the bookbinder's pallet. [MOT]

(1) This is because letters for the letterpress are not always of the same height as handprint type (KIEL & LOBLER: 105).