At its heart, the the Monarch Junior Model J marking machine functions like a miniature mechanical printing press. A rectangular grid acts as a frame into which metal stamping dies embossed with letters and numbers can be placed, allowing the text and layout of a label to be set as needed by the user. This particular machine has a J-85 head installed, which can carry up to four 10-character lines of text. A bakelite drawer in the bottom of the machine stores dies when not in use. This particular machine had 283 small dies in it's storage drawer, consisting of capital letters, numbers, symbols and punctuation marks that would be commonly used on a retail ticket. The use of a metal die is a feature which ensures that the machine can still be used today. Newer marking machines, such as the Monarch 23 Dial-A-Pricer pictured below, use rubber wheels or stamps which are much less robust after 30 or more years of aging.
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