I bought this old brass printing block when I saw it on eBay, but I was puzzled. Everybody has surely heard of the Peabody Hotel in Memphis, home of the famous “Duck March” and lobby fountain and all sorts of other attractions.
But this is for someplace called the Peabody House, and I just don't know what to make of it.
Now, let’s keep in mind that our city isn’t the only “Memphis” in the United States; in fact, my colleague Alex Greene recently embarked on a series of adventures, published in this magazine, exploring some of the other cities and towns in America named Memphis. So I suppose it’s possible this came from a different place with the same name — but it would be quite a coincidence indeed if that other Memphis also had a hotel, even a small one, named Peabody.
The other mystery is: I don’t even know what this IS, exactly. I presume it’s a printing block, but what image would it produce? If stamped on paper, cardboard, or even leather, the result would be a two-inch-square with rounded corners. The wording would obviously read “PEABODY HOUSE” and “MEMPHIS” and I’m only guessing that “9” refers to a room number.
But what to make of that slot at the top? That would show up as an oblong blank against the printed background. For what purpose?
Perhaps one of my half-dozen readers can solve this mystery for me. Until they do, I'm using it as a paperweight.
