(printing) the receptacle in which a compositor has his type, which is divided into compartments for the different letters, spaces, or numbers WordNet 3.0 & Open English WordNet

A type case is a compartmentalized wooden box used to store movable type used in letterpress printing. Wikipedia

A compartmentalized wooden box for letterpress typesetting Wikipedia Disambiguation

A box that contains or can contain a number of identical items of manufacture. OmegaWiki

A shallow tray divided into compartments or "boxes" for holding type, traditionally arranged in sets of two, the "upper case" (containing capitals, small capitals, accented) and "lower case" (small letters, figures, punctuation marks, quadrats, and spaces). Wiktionary

(printing, historical) a shallow tray divided into compartments or "boxes" for holding type. Wiktionary (translation)