what is this old thing for

[citroenbx]

I just got it for £9

 

[vacuumlover]

Cool but weird

Huh for once something that has baffled me lol. No idea what it is

 

[tolivac]

Printers plates for printing images of Hoover vacuums?

 

[rugsucker]

printing blocks

Probably from Hoover for a dealer to lay out ads in local newspaper.Some companies would pay part of ad fees based on number of vacs a dealer purchased.Similar blocks are sometimes seen at flea mkt/antique shows.Could be used for custom stationary.

 

[sebo_fan]

Well, apart from printing, you can now make your own "Hoover vacuum" soap tablets by pressing soap into the metal and it leaves an imprint of the design behind. Of course it depends on the size of course.

 

[human]

Definitely printing 'slugs' from the long ago lead type era, which went by the wayside about 40 years ago. These days, offset printing plates are thin sheets of aluminum, coated with a photographic emulsion. The standard for the past 20 years or so has been 'direct to plate', which means the page is laid out on the computer in a desktop publishing program like QuarkXPress or InDesign and then printed to the plate that goes on the press. It's a pretty cool artifact, though.

 

[citroenbx]

thanks guys