Rare, Unusual Early Rubber Alphabet Blocks antique paper sampler and the box too has

and the box too has lost one top edge and features a hairline split along one side of the lid

darker on one side toward the tail

And with a pretty fabulous drawing of a horse on reverse

yellow and pinkish birds -- one on each side of the vase -- at first seem more like abstract passages than figurative forms

come to dust

Rare, Unusual Early Rubber Alphabet Blocks antique paper sampler and the box too hasI think these are way cool, and great looking, and I have never seen, and can't find, another set like them. They're made of rubber, which is pretty firm but a little squishy too, with embossed letters and numbers on all sides. I love the bleed on the green especially, and the crusty surface of the rubber all over and they sit in a great old box holder made of wood from old crates, joined with fat nails and I'm sure made for them long ago. Definitely