ROTRING LETTERING STENCIL TEMPLATE, DIN 17 - 1.8 MM

These drawing tools were used by Jurgen Gossman in the 1980s and 1990s when he was a town planner and later a member of the planning department in the City of Armadale. These tools were used to create hand drawn technical plans for subdivisions, drainage systems, roads and other engineering tasks. In the mid to late 1990s the need to use these tools was slowly replaced by computer programs. Staff would have been trained in how to use these tools as they were gaining their engineering degrees.
The art of stencilling dates back to at least 37 thousand years! From prehistoric cave paintings, the use of stencils was widespread in the ancient world. The Chinese were the first to develop a paper-based stencil around 105 AD. This style of stencilling gradually spread to Europe, where it became crucial to the development of the printing press and fonts. In the 20th century, technical lettering was still largely done by freehand and there was demand for such templates. Rotring named this stencil template after the DINgraph, which was a pantographic lettering tool. In 1976, DIN 6776 replaced the DIN 16 (inclined letter forms) and DIN 17 (upright letter forms) to harmonise with various national standards. This is characterised by its square letter forms. These days, stencilling has become more of a decorative art but their legacy continues to provide inspiration for new, digital typeface designs.
Since the establishment of local governments across Western Australian in 1871, they have been responsible for the designing and construction of local roads and drains. They also quickly became responsible for town planning, meaning staff with the skills to create accurate drawings have always been needed. The tool represents a manual skill that was essential for council staff who worked in the planning department that has now been replaced by computer programs.