Can't resist

A printers "hellbox" is where old type goes to die. Thrown into a convenient receptacle because it's worn or damaged, hellbox type finds new life only by being traded to the typefounder, who melts it down to make brand new type.

After the Wayzgoose in Phoenix, we traveled to Skyline Type Foundry in Prescott. I had a reasonably full hellbox to trade in-- but this pic shows the granddaddy hellbox of them all. It's from the International Printing Museum, where I volunteer once a month.

Even after the feeding frenzy of the Goose, and our new purchases at Sky's, could any of us resist pawing through it? Might there be good sorts? There were a few still-wrapped fonts in there!

Thanks to Tom Parsons for this shot.