Hand-printing block, lighthouse design

Hand printing stamp, the wooden block is inset with metal blades arranged so that they form the image of a lighthouse. It is thought to be the Bell Rock Lighthouse, off Scotland’s east coast, popularly known was as Stevenson’s Lighthouse. This stamp was used to manually print images on a jute product to identify the maker. It would have been used before the mechanised printing of jute sacks. The idea of using a logo instead of lettering dates back to a time when people couldn’t read or for when goods were taken overseas. The image therefore acts as a more accessible way to get a message across or identify a maker.