Nah, I think it refers to the fact that popular printing items, like the Bible or popular books that stayed in print more or less indefinitely would be stereotyped, that is an imprint of the pages would be taken, then a used as a mold to cast a plate that could be used while the type slugs could be re-used for something else.
A large part of the printing business was to print fill-in-the-blank business stationary, like orders, invoices, etc.
So a stereotype came to mean a standard form that you could adapt to whatever context by just changing a few details.
A large part of the printing business was to print fill-in-the-blank business stationary, like orders, invoices, etc.
So a stereotype came to mean a standard form that you could adapt to whatever context by just changing a few details.