Mystery letterpress objects

The letterpress shop I work at acquired these objects as part of a larger lot of miscellaneous old printing equipment somebody was getting rid of, and we’d sure like to know what they are.

http://i429.photobucket.com/albums/qq11/_milk_bucket/mystery_objects.jpg

They’re made out of metal. They range in length from about two to about seven inches. Some have little pegs sticking out of the ends (like the two on the far left), others have little indentations with holes (like the two at the bottom center), and the male and female pieces can hook together to make a sort of frame, as shown. Each one of these objects has a little spring in the center and can extend about an inch beyond its original length.

Our best theory is that maybe you could use these to tie a type form together, rather than using string? It’s about the right size, but seems impractical. If you have any ideas about what these things are, or can point us in the right direction, please let us know! And thanks!

Log in to reply   3 replies so far

They hook together and build a frame around set type, they there common in shops with large amounts of standing type.

You didn’t needed to use string and they were seen as a time saver.

Wow, thanks for the fast response! That’s really interesting. Do you know what they’re called?

These are great tools. If you have a thick reglet or a thin piece of furniture in the end of your form you mount the male parts first. Afterwards it’s very easy to mount the female part. Be sure that the springs are in a decent order :-) The best thing is that the thickness of the frame is one pica – so you can lock up the tied up form directly in the press.
In Denmark these tools are called: Norske satsbindere – directly translated to English: Norwegian form binder. Maybe a hint of their origin?
Gott grüß die Kunst
Jens