A Marvellous & Substantial Mixed Three Tray Set of Antique & Vintage Letterpress Wooden Printing Blocks
SOLD
Origin: British
Period Late Nineteenth to Mid Twentieth Century
Provenance: W.Huggins
Date: c.1890-1960
32.5 X 14.5 inches (Each Tray)
Details of individual blocks on request
Spanning over at least half a century and in various styles, typefaces and sizes, from circus font to gothic, from numbers and letters to other grammatical symbols, the mixed collection numbering approximately four hundred and sixty hard wood and part hand cut printing blocks, are presented in their original wooden stained trays from the print house of W.Huggins.
The condition of the blocks varies with different amounts of uses and thus the patination and ink residues vary but all are in good solid operable order. Many of the blocks are marked ‘W. Huggins’ though we cannot find any information about this printer.
As an art, block printing has been important in many nations, beginning in Asia about 750 A.D., and in Europe about 1350. Many blocks of this kind would have been destroyed when the new techniques were introduced.
Aside from being superbly decorative, displayed on shelves or mantelpieces, these well-crafted blocks also offer a multitude of uses from letterpress printing itself to personalising anything from stationary to entire walls. At an average of less than £2 per block these make for a very good investment.