This photo depicts "Typographical Union members of Winnipeg, 1905".
Photo credit: Manitoba Archives
The individuals holding the banners are "printers' devils" (apprentices). All type was laboriously handset at this time, with a formal apprenticeship taking years to complete . The lead pieces of individual type were combined into words, then into lines. This was no easy task considering one must place the letters backwards to spell out words. Lead slugs were used for line space. In modern times in the industry, "leading" is still the term used for line space. The lines were put into columns, and then the columns were put into a coyne, which was a wooden rectangular vice-type apparatus that would hold the type in place. This coyne would then be put onto the letterpress, and the impression of the lead letters would print onto the paper. The process was painstaking, with a lot of exposure to the hazards of lead and other toxic substances.