What Is it?? Any ideas?

[Dave Beauchesne]

Thought I would post a couple pics of this mahogany box containing about 50 brass strips.
They are all the same width and thickness ( .920" wide x .040" thick ) with varying lengths.
The strips are all marked with a different number from a single number to double numerals. They are gummy with oil so I didn't look at them too close in that regard.
Looks like owner ' SPROUL ' was proud of these things; every strip I looked at was stamped at least once, and the box stamped at least three times.
There is an identical nib and slight radius on one end of each strip. Other end is square.
The box is about 10.5" long and 2.5" wide. No makers mark that I could see other than what I noted.
Any ideas??

[Jim Matthews]

What follows is a SWAG -

I wonder if the number correspond to a given radius?
Are they all cut on the same curve, or do they vary?

I'm guessing these are for layout, and offer a standard for drawing the pattern.

[Dave Beauchesne]

The numbers ascend with the length of each strip.
The radius and nib appear to be the same on each strip.
The mystery continues.

[Jessica Pierce-LaRose]

Maybe some sort of go/no-go gauges?

[Mel Miller]

They remind me of spacers used in letterpress printing.

[Dave Beauchesne]

Thanks Mel, that is a start.

[Dave Beauchesne]

Mel:

When I told my buddy what you had posted, he told me his father apprenticed as a printer / typesetter in England in the sixties.

He forwarded the pics, and his Dad replied.
" They were used for accurate page measurements in a Hand Composing Stick (a
metal hand held frame that a Compositor puts metal type into a line of text)"

Mystery solved, I say.

Thanks for the help.