Any idea about the age or origin of this type? Is it sort of stencil-like?

- Mike Yanega

Sadly, none. This was an eBay auction, and the seller did not know anything about the face he was selling.
Even more sadly I have lost the bid so now I will never know I suppose:)

It looks like Gill Sans Light with an effect similar to Umbra applied to it.

- Lex

http://new.myfonts.com/fonts/agfa/gill-sans-mt/gill-sans-shadowed-mt-light/

- Lex

In the Jaspert Encyclopaedia that typeface was called Gill Shadow. It would have been much easier to see that if there had been an impression made from the type. Great job of visualizing Lex!

- Mike Yanega

Ritmo?

I think if you look closely at all the letters it's clear that Ritmo is similar, but not a match. Look at the V, for example. Ritmo has no gap anywhere in that letter, but this type does.

It's admittedly hard to visualize this, because the solid (raised) part is the shadow, not the letter itself, which is actually the voids outlined by the shadow. I think Lex got it right.

- Mike Yanega