My aunt was a linotype operator in the 1950s. One day I visited her at work and she typed my name into a slug. The machine was amazing. It was something like

My aunt was a linotype operator in the 1950s. One day I visited her at work and she typed my name into a slug. The machine was amazing. It was something like 8 feet tall, maybe more, with a gazillion moving parts. Typing was fairly slow compared to a typewriter, but every time a letter was pressed, I could hear the cast being selected and moving down to its place in the line. Finally she pressed a lever and the line went off to be case in lead. A few seconds (cant remember the speed) later the lead slug with my name on it appeared.