Object: Type Sort in the Shape of a Donkey 

This piece of metal type sort represents an illustrated donkey. It was found among other decorative ornaments in the University of Connecticut's Merlin D. Bishop Center's letterpress shop. Although its exact purpose is unknown, ornaments were typically used to decorate margins and text in letter pressed materials when letterpress was still widely used in the 1500s. This metal sort could also have been a printer's mark, ornament, or seal informing the viewer who created it, like the written signature we use today. This could potentially be the predecessor of dingbats or icons.