This little carving demonstrates the reason why it's such a good idea to visit York early or late
in the day, as it would be so easy to miss when negotiating a crowded and busy street full of peak-time tourists.
It is thought to date from the eighteenth century and to mark the entrance into the Coffee Yard,
where the earliest York newspaper, the 'York Mercury', was printed from 1719.
The 'printers devil' traditionally refers to the boys apprenticed to the printing trade, who helped
set the type and other jobs. They were known as 'devils' because they became black with ink. Any mistakes
with the type or misspelt words were traditionally blamed on the 'devils'.