What are these?

Hi everyone, I didn’t grow up in a print shop (but I went to press checks in footy pajamas with my father) so I have no idea what these are or what they’re used for. Could someone please identify?

Thanks!
Matt

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Hardwood Planing blocks, for planing down type formes during lock up, usually leather backed, and accompanied with a fairly small mallet.

When you have setup all your type etc in the chase. You lay these planing blocks on top and tap with a mallet to make sure it’s all seated flat and level. That’s my layman’s explanation

In the book “Printing on the Iron Handpress”, Author, Richard-Gabriel Rummonds describes making a blind or dry proof by laying the paper onto the un-inked type and gently pressing the paper onto the type by using a leather backed type-plane and a small leather mallet. I am paraphrasing
here, but you get the idea. A quick proof without ink, impression only. A thick sheet with high moisture content would help.