Before desktop computers became prevalent, artwork was prepared by hand with 2 ways to do lettering — hand-written or transfered from pre-printed sheets (usually by rubbing the letters off the sheet onto the artwork). The generic name for these sheets is “letraset,” although it’s also the name of a company in England that still makes the sheets. There were other companies, like Mecanorma, that also made dry-transfer lettering (see these photos of vintage lettreset sheets on Flickr.)
Karin Röling, who runs stiksel and is a graphic designer in the Netherlands, makes tea towels with Mecanorma sheets screen printed on them, as well as other type-infused things like pillows and dolls.
These are really startling, in a way…they make me imagine wiping the dishes and wondering if the black ink will rub off on my dinnerware! I really enjoy the repetitive numbers. They remind me of playing w/my dad’s old Corona typewriter as a kid and how I would pound on a single letter or number curious to see what kind of pattern it would create!
My dad was a graphic artist, and letraset sheets were my favorite toys when I was little. I spent hours happily transferring characters to every available flat surface–thanks for bringing that memory back to me!