Letterpress printing has always been about the cycle of use and reuse. Traditionally, metal type is set from cases into forms. Live forms sit in galleys awaiting their turn in the press.
After the prints are wrought off they become dead forms and are again placed in the galleys to wait for the time that they are laid back into their case.
Once back in the case, type is ready to be set once more into another job.
If the type has been damaged somewhere in the process then it is sent to Hell.
The metal type in this photo sits in the Hell can, waiting in Purgatory as it were, for the fire of the furnace to re-cast it. For its rebirth as another face.
At The Nomadic Press we hope that this last year has not been too Hellish for you, and that January brings you a fresh outlook on life, recast and standing with shoulders squared, ready to leave your impression on another year.