Identification
Photo reference
3 uploaded photos
Overview
The two elongated blocks have fine engraved or etched illustrations on metal faces secured to wooden bases, characteristic of relief printing blocks used for catalogs or advertising. The illustrations appear to depict long ornamental casket handles or related hardware.
Story
The blocks appear to be commercial illustration artifacts from approximately 1850–1950, depicting ornamental casket handles or related hardware. Their maker and original user are unknown. The photographed Miller Casket Company correspondence supports the general trade context but does not establish that these exact blocks belonged to or were used by that company. The supplied sales suggest a modest, fragmented market for anonymous commercial printing blocks, with mixed lots often selling for relatively little.
Maker / Origin
Unattributed
Condition & Value
The supplied photographic description identifies two elongated metal faces attached to wooden mounts with visible fasteners, with the illustrated designs still discernible. It does not establish plate flatness, printing-surface wear, mount stability, or underside condition.
Full Research
Sold comps, value drivers, and venue guidance pulled from recent auction results.
The supplied sales suggest a modest, fragmented market for anonymous commercial printing blocks, with mixed lots often selling for relatively little. Buyers include letterpress collectors, graphic-design enthusiasts, and collectors of funeral-industry history. Recognizable imagery and coherent subject groups are easier to market individually than miscellaneous text or unidentified plates. These examples do not establish a current price trend or a consistent premium for funerary subjects.
▲ Two related blocks form a coherent subject group rather than an unrelated assortment.
▲ Casket-hardware imagery offers appeal beyond the general letterpress collecting market.
▲ Wood-mounted metal faces and visible fasteners support identification as commercial printing artifacts.
▲ Discernible ornamental illustrations provide display and graphic-history interest.
▼ Plate attachment and mount stability remain unverified; confirmed looseness or splitting would reduce value.
▼ Printing-surface condition is incompletely documented; substantial corrosion or image loss would weaken collector appeal.
▼ Company association is unverified, so the estimate includes no Miller Casket Company provenance premium.
▼ Thin direct sales evidence leaves the specialist premium uncertain; general bulk-lot demand could place a sale near the low end.
Best Venue
Offer the pair together on eBay under antique letterpress printing blocks and funeral-trade collectibles, with an initial asking price around USD 85 and offers enabled. A practical faster-sale target is approximately USD 30–45 for the pair. Add dimensions, sharp end-on and underside photographs, and any documented acquisition history; avoid polishing the metal or claiming Miller Casket Company ownership without evidence.
Upside Potential
Clear, undamaged printing surfaces and a documented connection to a specific funeral-industry catalog or company could support the high end or warrant specialist reassessment. The provenance-bearing Montana Post pair suggests that attribution can matter, but its unconfirmed currency prevents a defensible numerical premium here.