This is a tray of lead type. Type is heavy and was frequently thrown about the junior high classroom. It hurt.

You might notice that there are no labels telling the user where all the letters are. You had to memorize the layout...and it was not in alphabetical order. There was a separate tray for each font and size. Type is set in a hand unit upside-down and backwards. Lines are justified with little spacers. Also, in most fonts, combinations like "fl" are one piece of type.