Antique Miller & Richard Wooden Printers Type Case Letterpress Tray Edinburgh

This is a lovely one — a genuine old letterpress printer’s type case / printers’ tray, and the mark appears to read MILLER & RICHARD, which gives it a much stronger story than a generic decorative tray.

83 cm wide

36 cm depth

4 cm tall

98 compartments

We have three letter press trays which may sell together - contact us for pricing etc see pictures

Some age related wear further cleaning may enhance item

Antique Miller & Richard Wooden Printers’ Type Case / Letterpress Tray – Edinburgh Type Foundry Display Shelf

A wonderfully atmospheric antique wooden printers’ type case, marked Miller & Richard, the celebrated Edinburgh type foundry. Once part of the working world of letterpress printing, this compartmented tray would originally have held individual pieces of metal type — the letters, numbers and punctuation marks used by compositors to set pages by hand.

The tray has a beautiful timeworn industrial look, with numerous small compartments, deep dark wood, old surface marks, knocks, scuffs, small historic holes and signs of genuine workshop use. The back is solid and simply finished, with visible old nail heads and age-related marking, while the front retains that irresistible “printer’s drawer” character now so sought after for interiors.

The Miller & Richard name is a particularly nice feature. William Miller established his Edinburgh type foundry in 1809, having previously worked with Alexander Wilson’s Glasgow foundry. Walter Richard later joined the business, and the firm became known as Miller & Richard in the 1830s. It went on to become one of Scotland’s most important type foundries, supplying printing type far beyond Edinburgh and helping shape notable nineteenth-century typefaces, including influential “Old Style” and Scotch Roman designs. The firm remained in business until 1952.

Today this piece works beautifully as a curio display shelf, miniature collection cabinet, haberdashery display, jewellery organiser, studio prop or decorative wall piece. It would look superb filled with tiny treasures, vintage toy figures, thimbles, shells, fossils, type blocks, medals, buttons or other small collectables.

Condition is exactly as you would hope for a genuine working piece: aged, marked, worn and full of patina, with knocks, scuffs, scratches, small holes, dusty recesses and historic wear throughout. This is not a modern reproduction or a polished decorative copy — it is a salvaged piece of printing history with all the character that brings.

Short condition note

Antique used condition with age-related wear throughout, including scuffs, knocks, marks, old holes, dust residue and surface wear. Please study the photographs carefully as they form part of the description.