The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection: A History and Catalog 9781477327739

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The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection A History and Catalog

David Shields

University of Texas Press, Austin

The publication of this book was made possible in part by the Mattsson McHale Foundation, the Stillwater Foundation, Frannie Dittmer, Jeanne and Michael Klein, and Jean and Dan Rather.

Copyright © 2022 by David Shields All rights reserved Printed in China First edition, 2022 Requests for permission to reproduce material from this work should be sent to: Permissions University of Texas Press P.O. Box 7819 Austin, TX 78713-7819 utpress.utexas.edu/rp-form ∞ The paper used in this book meets the minimum requirements of � ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992 (R1997) (Permanence of Paper). Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Shields, David (Graphic artist), author. Title: The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection : a history and catalog / David Shields. Description: First edition. | Austin : University of Texas Press, 2022. | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2020051261 | ISBN 978-1-4773-2368-7 (cloth) Subjects: LCSH: Kelly, Rob Roy, 1925–2004, former owner, collector. | Wood types (Printing)—United States—19th century—Catalogs. | Wood types (Printing)—United States—History—19th century. | Wood types (Printing)— 19th century—Collectors and collecting. Classification: LCC Z250.5.W65 S55 2021 | DDC 686.2097309/034—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020051261 doi:10.7560/323687

Contents

vi

Acknowledgments

01

I An Introduction

05

II

23 27 33 37 40 44 46 50 60 64 69 321 355 379 383 388 390 393 394 396

Rob Roy Kelly—“Midwestern Pluralist and Pragmatist” Stephen O. Saxe, “Reflections on American Wood Type 1828–1900” Tracy Honn, “Rob Roy Kelly, a Remembrance” The Collection after Kelly

III A Time Line of American Manufacturers Production Methods Planing Patterns Manufacturer’s Stamps in Collection Hand-List of Known American Wood Type Specimen Catalogs to 1901 IV Classification System Style Descriptions V

Type Specimens — 001–123 specimen pages Type Specimens from Other Collections and Three Unaccounted Faces — 001–016 specimen pages Borders, Ornaments, and Cuts — 001–019 specimen pages Adobe Wood Type, Adobe Originals, 1988–1994



Appendix A. Appendix B. Appendix C. Appendix D.

Hand List of 1964 Folio Bibliography of Kelly Texts and Collected Papers Bibliography of Kelly’s Donations, with Current Locations Rob Roy Kelly’s Teaching Appointments

Reference Bibliography Index

Acknowledgments

( Acknowledgments )

In this volume, I illuminate the far-reaching support that Kelly enjoyed while engaged in his project, and I too have been the lucky recipient of help, support, and encouragement from a rich network of generous folks. I believe that libraries and archives are a cornerstone to our collective cultural democracy; not only do they physically maintain our shared memory, but they also safeguard the materials that will interest future generations of scholars and students, often enabling the curious to stumble upon treasure troves just when they need it most. It is for this reason that I must begin by thanking all the librarians and archivists in the collections I have visited, for I have directly benefited from their generosity and curiosity. First and foremost is certainly Jane Siegel, librarian for Rare Books and Bibliographic Services at Columbia University’s Butler Rare Books and Manuscripts Library. Her indefatigable patience and joyful exuberance helped move this project along during its nascent development. Many thanks as well to Jennifer Lee, Joanna Rios, and Vianca Victor, also at the Butler Rare Books and Manuscripts Library. Warm thanks to Jim Moran, Stephanie Carpenter, and Bill Moran for opening the doors at the Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum in Two Rivers, Wisconsin (and their diligence in keeping those doors open). Many thanks as well to Amelia Hugill-Fontanel, associate curator, and Steven Galbraith, curator, Cary Graphic Arts Collection, Rochester Institute of Technology; Paul Gehl, curator emeritus, Jill Gage, custodian of the John M. Wing Foundation on the History of Printing, and Maggie Cusick, general collections services librarian, Newberry Library, Chicago; Kyle Triplett, librarian, Brooke Russell Astor Reading Room for Rare Books and Manuscripts, New York Public Library; Amanda Bahr-Evola, head of special collections, St. Louis Public Library; Cassie Brand, curator of rare books, Julian Edison Department of Special Collections, Washington University Libraries, St. Louis; Eva Hyvarinen, visual resource assistant, Minneapolis College of Art and Design Library; Liz Davis, visual and archival resources specialist, and M. J. Poehler, library director, Jannes Library, Kansas City Art Institute; Jill Vuchetich, archivist, head of archives and library, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; Stephen Coles, editorial director and associate curator, and Amelia

Acknowledgments

Grounds, librarian, Letterform Archive, San Francisco; Alexander

Former colleagues at the University of Texas provided support

Tochilovsky, curator of the Herb Lubalin Study Center of Design

and critical feedback on my work in the early stages: Gloria Lee,

and Typography, New York; Andrea Grimes, special collections

Dan Olsen, Chris Taylor, Peter Hall, Riley Triggs, Mio Mitrašinović,

librarian, Robert Grabhorn Collection on the History of Printing

Kate Catterall, and Linda Henderson. Thanks also to all of my

and the Development of the Book, San Francisco Public Library;

students who were curious enough to listen and engaged enough

Jaime Henderson, archivist/digital archivist, Debra Kaufman,

to test ideas about working with the collection with their own rich

collections rights and imaging coordinator, and Mary Morganti,

and rigorous approaches, with extra scoops of thanks to Rachel

former director of library and collections, Kemble Collection on

Tepper, Josh Gamma, Mala Kumar, Christine Wu, Lauren Dickens,

Western Printing and Publishing, California Historical Society,

Javier Viramontes, and Ayham Ghraowi.

San Francisco; Mark Barbour, founding curator and executive

Henry Smith, the current custodian of the collection in his role

director, International Printing Museum, Carson, California;

as lab manager, should receive a special award for his patience

Stephen Tabor, curator of rare books, Huntington Library, San

and ready help in the last stages of the research and for providing

Marino, California; Leonard Seastone, custodian of the Elrie Rob-

effortless access to the collection during the production of the

inson–Pforzheimer Typographical Collection, Center for Editions

book. Gratitude as well to Julia Haas in their work as lab assistant.

at the School of Art+Design, Purchase College, SUNY; Amanda Ste-

Thanks to my current academic home, VCUArts, for the

venson, former curator, Printing Museum, Houston; Matt Kelsey,

support provided in time and subvention to finalize the project.

Liber Apertus Press, Saratoga, California; Steve Mielke, archivist

Early support for the bibliographic portion of this project was

and collections librarian, and Rich Oram, former associate director

received through a General Bibliographic Fellowship with the

and Hobby Foundation librarian, Harry Ransom Center, Univer-

Bibliographical Society of America and as a Mark Samuels Lasner

sity of Texas at Austin.

Fellow in Printing History at the American Printing History Asso-

The manifestation of the book itself is due in no small part to the

ciation. I have also enjoyed the support of the broader letterpress

belief and support of Dave Hamrick, retired director of University

community, which provides a place to make this history into a

of Texas Press, who luckily never tossed out the folder of notes from

dynamic living thing.

our first conversation all those years ago. The text of this book has

I would be remiss to not thank, in alphabetical order (natch):

been made readable by the thoughtful work of Robert Kimzey,

Caroline Archer, Celene Aubry, Catherine Dixon, John Downer,

managing editor, Cindy Buck, copy editor, Luke Torn, proofreader,

Cara Di Edwardo, Jen Farrell, Rick Griffith, Rich Kegler, Ben Kiel,

and Scott Smiley indexer. Gratitude as well to Casey Kittrell, senior

Nicole Killian, Dafi Kühne, Indra Kupferschmid, Gerry Leonidas,

acquisitions editor, Derek George, freelance design coordinator,

the late Sandy Lowrance, Kathy McCoy, Nontsikelelo Mutiti, Dan

and Cassandra Flores Cisneros, designer and production coordi-

Reynolds, Nick Sherman, and Laura Thoms. This project has been

nator. Special thanks to Erin Mayes for her deft attention to the

a long time in the making, so the comprehensiveness of this list

minutia as unexpected “design doula” to this project.

will fall victim to the passing of time and an impolite dimming of

My thanks also to Romy Suskin and Britton Orrange for all of

memory. My thanks also to everyone that I have unintentionally,

the excellent photography, and Peter Cochrane and Alexis Court-

but nonetheless inelegantly, left off this list.

ney for the skillful retouching. Tracy Honn and the late Stephen

Finally, all my heart—loving thanks to my mom, who didn’t

Saxe readily provided their voices to this project, for which I will

make it to see this publication finished, and to my dad, who did, and

be forever grateful. Bob Mullen and Doug Clouse, whose own typo-

in my most inner-orbit, everything to my best-beloveds Jennifer

graphic research I greatly admire, provided generous feedback that

and Sam for their boundless support, keen recommendations,

helped make this book much better.

unwavering humor, and great ears and great eyes—I’m the luckiest.

Poster for exhibition at Wallace Library, Rochester Institute of Technology of plates from Kelly’s 1964 folio, in Kelly’s personal correspondence held at the HRC at The University of Texas at Austin.

“Now showing! Plates from the portfolio…” 1972. Rob Roy Kelly Collection, Z 250.5 W65 N68 1972 HZF. Harry Ransom Center, The University of Texas at Austin.

An Introduction

I

An Introduction

The Rob Roy Kelly Wood Type Collection is a comprehensive assemblage of wood type manufactured and used for printing in the United States during the nineteenth century, gathered from the late 1950s to the mid-1960s by the noted design educator, collector, and historian Rob Roy Kelly (1925–2004). No collection can be complete, but this one, with its nearly 150 faces, does provide an excellent overview of the most popular printing types used in the nineteenth century. While the objects in the physical collection are indispensable, this book approaches the Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection as more than simply the 18,829 pieces of wood type acquired by Kelly (a count that does not include borders, ornaments, and cuts also acquired by Kelly). Here the collection is dynamically defined in broader terms as a range of objects, publications, research papers, and attendant activities in a number of archives around the United States. Viewing the collection broadly also provides the opportunity to look past Kelly as the sole instigator and investigator and perceive him as a link in the broader network of relationships that led to the success of his research project. Kelly worked on his wood type research for twelve years, and in that time the help and generosity he received from a number of influential librarians, book dealers, type historians, and fellow collectors added immensely to the success of the project. They bolstered Kelly’s confidence, enabling him to persevere through obstacles encountered during the work and delivered critical feedback that strengthened his research. In addition, many of them provided a robust platform from which he could broadly promulgate his findings. Kelly was able to reciprocate the support. As an established expert following the publication of American Wood Type 1828–1900, Kelly helped facilitate the acquisition of a number of important private collections by institutions that could provide better accessibility and security. Kelly also brought his engagement with the history of American typography into the classroom and nurtured a passion in his students, a number of whom carried on collecting and researching this history. Kelly’s research as reported in his publications fostered a broader acceptance of this important, though largely ignored, facet of American visual culture and industrial history, laying the foundation for the wide popularity still enjoyed by these materials, which continue to be a vital influence. His astute delineation of the broad outlines of wood type history in nineteenth-century America remains substantially accurate, as well as the starting point for all current scholarly 1 Nick Sherman, “Long Live Rob Roy Kelly: A Dedication and Mission Statement,” Woodtyper, April 8, 2009, http://woodtyper.com/1.

inquiry by researchers and practitioners inspired “to pick up where he left off.”1 The book is organized into five primary sections and appendices. The first introductory section is followed by a narrative of Kelly’s process of collecting type and organizing research, the publication of his book, and then his work afterward through to the end of his career. This section also includes an accounting of the collection after Kelly’s direct involvement ended as well as two essays that further describe the impact of Kelly and his work, written by Tracy Honn

01

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

02

and the late Stephen Saxe. The third section presents research that has illuminated the historical parameters of the commercial wood type industry in the United States with a time line of American manufacturers and a list of the surviving printed record of specimen catalogs published in the nineteenth century. Part of the work of investigating the collection has been to approach the items of the collection as primary physical objects with a material history and to develop methods to systematically analyze and identify all of their physical components. This section also includes descriptions of wood type production methods and details the process of identifying artifacts and remnants of the production process. The fourth section describes the organization of the existing collection, using a new classification system to make the collection navigable. The final section provides a detailed description of all the typographic and ornamental material that defines the physical collection, with specimen proofs and historical images documenting the origin of the designs. It also documents the ornamental and border material that Kelly did not include in American Wood Type 1828–1900. The appendices provide more detailed information about locations of copies of Kelly’s 1964 folio, a compiled list of Kelly’s writings on the subject of wood type, and the materials Kelly donated to libraries and archives during his research. I have tried, in the writing of the book, to update and clarify the histories of the type designs that Kelly uncovered; by providing more definitive citations to bring greater specificity to the dates of origination, I hope to facilitate a more complex understanding of the histories of the type designs. Any definitive assertion of dates should be conditioned by the understanding that dates are based only on documents that have survived, as well as by an acknowledgment that the surviving historical record is horribly incomplete for this period. The ongoing discovery of new documents continues to bring a higher resolution to the period and to clarify the activities of individuals and their collective work for industrial manufacturers. This book attempts to aggregate the full range of materials and primary sources that Kelly accessed during his research. My intention is to demystify his process and illuminate the full breadth of the collective labor of Kelly’s wood type project. I hope that this book will make the Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection more broadly accessible to the curious, students and scholars alike.

Letter from newspaper publisher in Wabasso, Minnesota, indicating cost of wood type owned by the The Wabasso Standard, in Kelly’s personal correspondence held at the HRC at The University of Texas at Austin.

Letter from Ewald Kintzi to Kelly, January 24, 1958. Rob Roy Kelly Collection, MS-02257. Harry Ransom Center, The University of Texas at Austin.

Rob Roy Kelly—“Midwestern Pluralist and Pragmatist”

II

Rob Roy Kelly—“Midwestern Pluralist and Pragmatist”¹

1 I am borrowing Kathy McCoy’s elegantly succinct description of Rob Roy Kelly in her article “Bits and Pieces of Basel,” Print (March/April 2005).

Robert Roy Kelly was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, on Sunday, March 15, 1925, and was adopted by Roy and Alta Kelly when he was six months old. After spending his childhood moving around northeast Texas and east-central Nebraska with his parents and two younger siblings, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in 1943, at age eighteen. Kelly served for three years, two of those years in the central Pacific, and was honorably discharged as a corporal in mid-1946. After his military service, he started his studies in the fall of 1946 under the GI Bill in geology and advertising design at the University of Nebraska, where both of his parents studied and his father earned a degree in geology. In 1948, he transferred to the Minneapolis School of the Arts (MSA) to focus on studies in the visual arts. In September 1950, he married Cherry Barthel of Mandon, North Dakota. He was called back into military service in 1950–1951 during the Korean War and was stationed at Camp Pendleton in southern California, managing the base’s screen-printing shop. After he completed his service, Kelly returned to Minneapolis to finish his last year of studies, graduated in 1952, and then stayed on at MSA to teach screen printing. He attended Yale University from 1953 to 1955, studying in the graphic design master’s program under Joseph Albers, Alvin Lustig, Her2 Eisenman was the founding head of the graphic design master’s program. When started in 1951, it was the first—and at the time the only—program of study in graphic design in the United States. Eisenman taught at the Yale School of Art for forty years, from 1951 to 1991.

bert Matter, Lester Beall, and Alvin Eisenman.2 His master’s thesis was focused on the visual outcomes of material and process experiments utilizing commercial printing plates and hand-operated proofing machines. After graduating from Yale University with an MFA in graphic design in 1955, Kelly returned to Minneapolis that summer and was asked by the MSA’s director, Dr. Wilhelmus Bryan, to establish an undergraduate printmaking program and

3 MSA and Kelly had reached an agreement that in return for financial assistance to defray the cost of his graduate studies, Kelly would return to teach for two years after completing graduate school.

head the second-year foundations program.3 Following this success, Kelly was asked to develop an undergraduate graphic design program. Launched in 1957— with seven students and Kelly as the lone faculty during the first year—this was the first undergraduate graphic design program in the United States. Kelly would go on to establish two other influential undergraduate graphic design

4 See a list of all of Kelly’s teaching appointments in appendix D, “Rob Roy Kelly’s Teaching Appointments.”

programs during his long teaching career.4 The Start of the Collection

Kelly’s initial contact with wood type came during his studies at Yale. The graphic design program at Yale had a collection of both metal and wood type that was used for teaching typography hands-on as it related to visualizing language. The wood type was engaged pedagogically as a means of exploring abstraction and engaging the flexible nature of figure-ground relationships. When Kelly founded the graphic design program in Minneapolis, he wanted to replicate processes that he had found effective during his own studies—working with wood type in particular. Kelly had no institutional budget to purchase new type for the program. Even though a number of American manufacturing companies were still producing wood type commercially in the mid-1950s (including

05

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

the Hamilton Manufacturing Company in Two Rivers, Wisconsin, and American Wood Type Manufacturing Company), a colleague told him that wood type could be found in old print shops, “where sometimes the owner would give it away or sell it very cheaply.”5 He purchased his first wood type during a visit in mid-1957

nervous-looking types and the clean … san serifs” that he had used at Yale.6 He

5 Rob Roy Kelly, American Wood Type 1828–1900: Notes on the Evolution of Decorated and Large Types and Comments on Related Trades of the Period (New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1969), p. 7.

took these newly acquired types to school for use by students in his classes. The

6

Ibid.

7

Ibid.

to a dusty storage loft full of disused printer’s equipment. There he found cases of wood type, but “saw little resemblance between these curved, pointed, and

students’ engaged curiosity helped bolster Kelly’s own interest in expanding his collection. Though at first he started acquiring wood type merely to collect it for 06

collecting’s sake, the interaction between Kelly and his students in the classroom also motivated him to search for answers. He would later write that he “was provoked into action by his students’ questions regarding the names of the faces, how they were made, how old they were, etc.”7 His collection of wood type grew slowly font by font, and by late 1957 Kelly decided to start documenting what he was collecting. The printed specimen sheets initially grew out of the simple, pragmatic need to proof the collected type. He procured sheets of 17˝ × 22½˝, 100-pound wove-finish Hammermill paper from the “dog pile” at Leslie Paper in Minneapolis “and committed $200 to the cause of a specimen book.”8 At MSA, Kelly had access to a reciprocal-bed Hacker proof press, and then later a Vandercook proof press. He began printing

8 Rob Roy Kelly, “American Wood Types,” Innovations in Paper 2, no. 1 (January 1970): 2.

in early 1958. A set of early proofs held at the Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum in Two Rivers, Wisconsin, shows that Kelly had completed a number of specimen sheets at least as early as June 1958.9 The specimen sheets held at the museum date from mid-1958 to the early 1960s and show early versions of experimentation with page composition. These early prints would provide the basis for the American Wood Types folio that Kelly would eventually complete in 1964. Kelly designed the specimen sheets on press. He described the immense amount of labor required to pull quality proofs: “Without much finesse but with

9 An early set of Kelly’s specimen sheets came to light in 2010 when Wendy Weden generously donated nearly fifty prints to the Hamilton Wood Type and Printing Museum that she had acquired at the estate sale of John W. Twiggs (1935–2009) of Minneapolis.

a, I may say, great deal of patience, I shimmed, filled nicks and dents with wax, packed the cylinder and persisted until 50 good sheets were accomplished. On many occasions, makeready might involve six or seven hours of trial and error in arriving at a satisfactory imprint.”10 Kelly purchased a font of 72-point Perpetua foundry type for numbering the specimen sheets.11 “Most of my [wood] type was purchased for $5 a font, many were given to me just to get rid of them, and for others, I paid up to $25 a font. Being a teacher of

10 Rob Roy Kelly, “Collecting Wood Type,” Publishers’ Weekly 196, no. 18 (1969): 65. 11 RIT, unprocessed material from Bruce Meader donation (“Wood Type”), p. 2.

Graphic Design, and a new one at that I did not have much money to purchase wood type.”12 While Kelly did not receive direct financial support from the school for his research project, MSA was able to help by extending a $500 credit to him and letting him write purchase orders through the business office of the Minneapolis Society of Fine Arts (later to become the Minneapolis Institute of Art). Kelly recalled that $40 was deducted from each paycheck to repay the credit. As he added to his collection, he cleaned and organized the type and stored it in converted map cabinets repurposed from the school library. In the early years of his collecting, Kelly would gather all the wood type he could find and reserve any duplicates to trade for other faces. This approach provided a number of benefits. On one occasion when I was scouting the prairie, I under-estimated distance plus being lost and was about to run out of gasoline and had no money or credit cards—I was traveling on dirt roads and had not seen pavement since morning. As the gas gauge went lower and lower, I sought hills as a vantage point to look for grain elevators—the tallest structures in a midwestern town. I finally coasted

12 Kelly, “Collecting Wood Type,” p. 65.

Rob Roy Kelly—“Midwestern Pluralist and Pragmatist”

into a small town and ended up selling the local newspaper half of the type I had 13 Publishers’ Weekly draft, August 25, 1969, pp. 3–4, Rob Roy Kelly Collection, Series I: Personal Papers, box 7, folder 11, RIT (hereafter “Publishers’ Weekly draft”).

collected that day to obtain enough money for gasoline to get back home.¹³

While Kelly acquired much of his collection through face-to-face contacts at print shops in small towns in the Upper Midwest, a portion of the collection was acquired through phone calls and written correspondence. Some of Kelly’s early type acquisitions can be traced through correspondence that is now held at the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin. In late 1957, he purchased $225 worth of wood type from H. D. Farwell, a printing equipment reseller based in Omaha, Nebraska. He then purchased two additional cases from the same reseller in January 1959, and another other 5-inch font in November

14 Though there is not enough information to be conclusive, only one 5-inch (30line) font is held in the collection. A set of French Clarendon made up of uppercase, lowercase, and numerals is shown in section V-A, “Type Specimens,” no. 46 (French Clarendon). 15 F. J. Froesdhle, letter to Kelly, January 17, 1959, MS02257, Rob Roy Kelly Collection, Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas at Austin. 16 Kelly, “Collecting Wood Type,” p. 65. 17 Invoice from John W. Matthys & Co., July 23, 1959, MS-02257, Rob Roy Kelly Collection, Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas at Austin. 18 Publishers’ Weekly draft, pp. 3–4.

1962.14 On January 24, 1958, Kelly purchased a font of ninety “evidently quite ancient” characters from Wabasso Standard Printing & Publishing, the newspaper of Wabasso, Minnesota, to this day. A letter dated January 17, 1959, from F. J. Froesdhle of the Ransom County Gazette in Lisbon, North Dakota, informed Kelly that eleven fonts of wood type would be hand-delivered to him by January 30 and would be happily traded for a “fifth of good Scotch … not as old as the type.”15 “Perhaps the most frustrating situation,” Kelly noted, “was to find a generally good alphabet with damaged or missing letters.”16 To solve this problem, Kelly eventually made contact with John W. Matthys & Company, an engraver in Chicago, and began ordering replacement letters to complete his fonts of wood type.17 Kelly wrote that he “always sent a good letter from the same font as the drawing so they [Matthys] could duplicate body size and height … in time they got into the proper spirit of the venture and took considerable pain to match as closely as possible shoulder heights and surfaces, and with usage, you could barely discern the replacement from the original.”18 In Kelly’s search for physical wood type he also uncovered rare type specimen catalogs published by wood type manufacturers in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In mid-1959, Kelly shared photographs he had taken of two nineteenth-century specimen catalogs with the New York Public Library (NYPL)

19 See list of donated materials in appendix C, “Bibliography of Kelly’s Donations, with Current Locations.”

to convert to microfilm for their collection.19 Then, in early 1960, Kelly facilitated the donation of a “large wood type catalog” by a Mr. Thompson of the Minneapolis-based American Printing Company to the NYPL’s Rare Book Division. The most substantial donation of specimen catalogs came in late 1960 through the Hamilton Manufacturing Company. Kelly had contacted Howard Nack, head of Hamilton’s Graphic Arts Division, and Al Pupeter, supervisor of Technical Publications, to examine the company’s archives for any historical material. The two uncovered twenty-five specimen catalogs and a number of promotional broadsides “in cardboard and wooden boxes pushed back under the metal files in the

20 Publishers’ Weekly draft, p. 8.

records room.”20 Nack shared the material with Kelly to photo-document for his research records. Kelly was then able to persuade Nack that the catalogs would be more useful housed and protected at a library where they would be accessible to researchers and students. In January 1961, the catalogs from the Hamilton Manufacturing Company were donated, and Kelly delivered them by hand to Special Collections at the Butler Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Columbia University. A few of these that were duplicates of catalogs already held by Columbia were passed on to the Rare Book Division at the NYPL. This substantial donation nearly doubled the holdings of the Butler Library’s already preeminent wood type specimen catalog collection. At the time the library’s collection was made up primarily of portions of the American Type Founders (ATF) Library Collection, compiled by Henry Bullen, which itself included the collection, mostly compiled by Theodore DeVinne, of the Typothetae of the City of New York, a printers’ association.

07

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

Between July and November 1961, Kelly would also donate catalogs to Columbia that he had personally acquired. The Start of the Historical Research

Kelly’s initial interest in wood type was primarily visual—collecting type and photo-documenting specimen catalogs—but as he commenced trying to answer questions about wood type, he quickly realized that nothing substantive had been written about the subject. This discovery led him to his important decision to fully engage in research into nineteenth-century American typographic form. 08

His collecting of the type had provided “the desire to identify, describe, and catalog what I had collected that channeled me into the search for information.”21 In early spring 1958, Kelly first contacted the Americana Institute, a research service in New York City, seeking any information available about wood type history or production. While the institute was unable to provide any information, it did

21 Rob Roy Kelly, “Search and Research,” in Silver Buckle Press, Specimen Book of Wood Type: From the Collection of the Silver Buckle Press (Madison, WI: Silver Buckle Press, 1999), p. 6.

point Kelly to the Special Collections Library at Columbia University and the Rare Books Division of the New York Public Library. Much of Kelly’s incremental progress on the project in the late 1950s and early 1960s can be tracked through his correspondence with the organizations he contacted in search of external funding for his research work. In June 1958, Kelly wrote to the Library of Congress, inquiring about any wood type specimen catalogs or historical texts held in its collection. In the letter he also presented a research trajectory that included three areas of work that he proposed undertaking. “1. The collection and identification of wood type. 2. The printing of the type in complete fonts. 3. A written, comprehensive history of the development, manufacture and design of wood type.”22 His early ideas for the printed specimens would be bound books in editions of forty, in multiple volumes each containing up to one hundred faces. This idea of printed specimen

22 Rob Roy Kelly, letter to Library of Congress, June 17, 1958, MS-02257, Rob Roy Kelly Collection, Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas at Austin.

books in particular would greatly transform over the next six years of work and culminate with his publishing one volume of the folio American Wood Types in 1964. Produced in an edition of forty-five, the completed folio was contained in a clamshell box with a twelve-page bound introduction, index, and ninety-seven loose plates of hand-printed type specimens from the collection. In August 1960, Kelly wrote to John Cowles Jr., a Walker Art Center trustee and vice president of the Minneapolis Star and Tribune, requesting financial support from the philanthropic Cowles Foundation for his continued research work. In the letter Kelly estimated that his personal financial outlay to that point of the collecting and research had been nearly $2,000. He indicated that he had printed seventy pages of fifty folios showing about 100 faces collected to date, and that he had written about 100 pages of manuscript detailing his research. He also said that he had collected nearly 160 faces at the time of his writing.23 In a February 1961 letter to Gordon Monsen of Monsen Typographers of Chicago, just eight months after detailing his progress to the Cowles Foundation,

23 Rob Roy Kelly, letter to John Cowles Jr., August 18, 1960, MS-02257, Rob Roy Kelly Collection, Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas at Austin.

Kelly estimated $2,500 in out-of-pocket expenses to that point in his research work. He told Monsen that he had printed eighty pages of fifty folios “so that they could be easily reproduced by offset.” He also conveyed his intention at that point to print two volumes of the folio on the subject of American wood type. Kelly provided a glimpse of his workflow in this letter as well. “I work on the wood type when I can in the winter and in the summer, I can usually get in several consecutive weeks compiling notes and other information gathered during the winter months.”24

24 Rob Roy Kelly, letter to Gordon Monsen, February 25, 1961, MS-02257, Rob Roy Kelly Collection, Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas at Austin.

Rob Roy Kelly—“Midwestern Pluralist and Pragmatist”

Over a three-year period between late 1958 and early 1961, Kelly made connections with a number of individuals who would prove critical to his research, and he began building a network of support that would bolster the success of his work. This network was made up of librarians, rare book sellers, type historians, curators, fellow collectors, and editors and included Roland Baughman, head of Special Collections, Butler Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University; Dr. Bernard Karpel, head librarian at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA); Herman Cohen, owner of the Chiswick Book Shop in New York City; Dr. James Eckman, a professor of medical history, the director of Mayo Clinic publications, and a noted historian of printing and typography; Martin Friedman, the museum director at the Walker Art Center; and Georgia (Beaverson) O’Connor, an associate member of the Walker Art Center’s Design Quarterly. Kelly would later write that this “area of personal contact was by far the most rewarding 25 Publishers’ Weekly draft, p. 8.

aspect of the entire project for me.”25 Roland Baughman—Toward the end of 1958, Kelly wrote to Roland Baughman (1902–1967), head of Special Collections at the Butler Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Columbia University, with a request for any written history of the American wood type industry. Baughman replied on December 5, 1958: “The entire matter of American wooden type sorely needs someone like you to give it whole-souled attention, and when you have completed your study you should

26 Roland Baughman, letter to Rob Roy Kelly, December 5, 1958, MS-02257, Rob Roy Kelly Collection, Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas at Austin.

find widespread gratitude awaiting you.”26 Baughman continued a regular correspondence with Kelly throughout the progress of the wood type project. He would remain a solid and enthusiastic supporter of Kelly’s work and provided assistance through connections to a number of people, including important introductions to Dr. James Eckman, the noted type historian, and Herman Cohen, proprietor of the Chiswick Book Shop. Baughman also facilitated Kelly’s ongoing access to the Special Collections library, in particular to the American Type Founders Library Collection. In early 1962, Baughman pointed Kelly to Lawrence Romaine’s A Guide to American Trade Catalogs, 1744–1900. Published in 1960, the volume included a list of twenty-three wood type specimen catalogs held in six archives around the country. This list would provide Kelly with the information to access specimen catalogs at the Newberry Library in Chicago; the Huntington Library in San Marino, California; the American Antiquarian Society in Worcester, Massachusetts; and the Connecticut Historical Society in Hartford. This introduction would also enable Kelly to initiate correspondence with Carey Bliss, curator of rare books at the Huntington Library, and with James Wells, custodian of the John M. Wing Foundation on the History of Printing at the Newberry Library. Bernard Karpel—Another important figure in Kelly’s research project was Dr. Bernard Karpel (1911–1986), head librarian at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Karpel was an influential scholar. One of his major contributions to the field of librarianship was the introduction of substantial bibliographies into exhibition catalogs. He is best known for editing the four-volume Arts in America: A Bibliography (1979). Kelly is likely to have first met Karpel in Minneapolis in February 1959, when Karpel visited the Minneapolis School of Art (MSA). Karpel was engaged in a project to develop and implement a visual library with MSA through a grant from the Ford Foundation over the period 1958 to 1963. He would visit the campus a number of times over the course of the project. Karpel was working to substantiate his theories of a visual library using the large collection of materials at MSA

09

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

as a site to develop a prototype system. He was interested in the potentialities of pictorial resources in art libraries, with reference to experiments that could guide the future museum library he was trying to construct at MoMA. Karpel and Kelly developed a friendship during this period and maintained a warm correspondence. Kelly advocated for the visual library project with Martin Friedman, director of the Walker Art Center, who proposed that an issue of Design Quarterly be focused on the visual library project, and that Karpel work closely with Kelly as the issue’s designer. By January 1963, the issue was agreed upon and was slated to be published late that fall to coincide with a proposed exhibition dedicated to the culmination of the Ford Foundation project. 10

Ultimately neither the exhibition nor the journal issue came to fruition, owing to complications that arose from the change in administrative leadership at MSA. Their shared experience of the complications of the unrealized project, however, strengthened the friendly bonds between Kelly and Karpel. In early 1966, Kelly would turn to Karpel for help in securing a permanent home for his wood type collection. Herman Cohen—Herman Cohen (1905–1997) was the storied proprietor of the Chiswick Book Shop in New York City. Roland Baughman introduced Kelly to Cohen, most likely in the early 1960s. Kelly would regularly visit Cohen on his trips to New York. In addition to collecting wood type, Kelly also collected books related to his research. “It is painful to admit this, but because I was so ill at ease in finding my way around a library … I never did understand the Dewey System or feel comfortable with library card indexes. I began to acquire the necessary references through Herman Cohen at Chiswick Book Shop.”27 Kelly also worked with Museum Books and H. P. Krause Rare Books in New York City, Margaret’s Book Shop in Detroit, and Dawson’s Book Shop in Los Angeles. All specialized in rare and out-of-print books. Over the years of his collecting, Kelly amassed nearly

27 Rob Roy Kelly, “The Teaching Years” (undated draft), p. 21, Rob Roy Kelly Collection, Series I: Personal Papers, box 2, folder 6, Cary Graphic Arts Collection, Rochester Institute of Technology.

500 volumes in his personal research library. Cohen was a vocal advocate for Kelly’s research work and agreed to distribute the folio when the project was completed in 1964. Cohen’s deep network of collectors ensured the success of the project. He would ultimately also provide the personal introduction to Jean Koefoed, the director of trade publications at Reinhold Book Publishing Company. This introduction would lead to the publication of American Wood Type 1828–1900 in 1969. James Eckman—Kelly started a productive correspondence with the notable type historian Dr. James Eckman (1908–1987) of Rochester, Minnesota, in mid1960. A professor of medical history and director of Mayo Clinic publications, Eckman was also a well-regarded printer through his Doomsday Press. He was a noted historian of printing and typography and the author of a number of histories of American type foundries, such as the Inland Type Foundry, Barnhart Brothers & Spindler, and Marder, Luce & Company.28 During their correspondence, Eckman shared historical information he had gathered about the American wood type industry, and Kelly would update Eckman with his own findings and ask further questions. Eckman also assisted Kelly by illuminating

28 Eckman is probably best known today for the book The Heritage of the Printer (Hinsdale, IL: North American Publishing, 1965), which he wrote in collaboration with Alexander Lawson.

norms of textual scholarship. In a December 1960 letter, Eckman admonished Kelly for not providing bibliographic citations and not preparing better reference notations. Kelly took this advice to heart, and several years later he would write, “Dr. Eckman has been a great service to me, more than he knows! – – – he shamed me into keeping more accurate records of my sources.”29 The two continued their written correspondence through the completion of Kelly’s American Wood Type 1828–1900 in 1969.

29 Rob Roy Kelly, letter to James Wells, February 6, 1962, NL Archives 03/21/01/01, James Wells Papers, box 5, folder 132, Newberry Library, Chicago.

Rob Roy Kelly—“Midwestern Pluralist and Pragmatist”

Martin Friedman—Martin Friedman (1925–2016) was a curator at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, starting in 1958, and was named museum director in January 1961. Friedman was aware of Kelly’s burgeoning research through his involvement in designing exhibitions and publications for the Walker, and he invited Kelly to publish his work in an issue of Design Quarterly devoted to American wood type. Kelly, as designer of the Design Quarterly, enthusiastically took up the offer. To that point in time Kelly’s research had been confined to collecting type and specimen catalogs, expanding his list of working notes, and microfilming secondary source material. He had never written anything of substance, but that would change with Friedman’s offer to dedicate an entire issue of the journal to his research. Georgia (Beaverson) O’Connor—Kelly met Georgia Beaverson when they both started their involvement with the Walker Art Center’s journal Design Quarterly in late 1960. Kelly was hired as the publication’s designer, replacing John Sutherland, and would design eight issues of the journal through 1964. Georgia Beaverson was hired as a member of the publications staff; she worked closely with the editor, Meg Torbert, and would work on four issues through 1963. Beaverson handled the task of editing Kelly’s American wood type issue. The February 1961 letter Kelly wrote to Gordon Monsen included a very rough initial draft of the text he was slowly working on for Design Quarterly. In the letter, a self-deprecating Kelly confessed that he was “not a writer and never will be so I apologize for an amateurish job. I do however have a publication editor at the Walker Art Center editing my copy, so am assured the final copy will be profes30 Rob Roy Kelly, letter to Gordon Monsen, February 25, 1961, MS-02257, Rob Roy Kelly Collection, Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas at Austin.

sional.”30 This editor was Georgia Beaverson. Kelly would later write, “I learned a great deal working with editors, especially Georgia … because I was so busy, she came to my studio to do the editing [for DQ]. It seemed like every five minutes she was saying, ‘For heaven’s sake Rob. What are you trying to say here?’ I would explain and she would say, ‘Well, why did you not write that?’ Georgia was a good

31 Kelly, “The Teaching Years” (undated draft), p. 28.

teacher.”31 The two worked closely as Kelly expanded his research. Beaverson was instrumental in crafting his writing and helping him finish the text. This first collaboration concluded with the publication in early 1963 of Design Quarterly, No. 56. Kelly later wrote that he felt “it was apparent that the editor

32 Publishers’ Weekly draft, p. 12.

had done an excellent job.”32 Georgia Beaverson was credited as the editor in that issue of Design Quarterly. She left the Walker sometime shortly after the journal’s publication in 1963 and later that year married William O’Connor. In early 1964, Kelly asked for her help in preparing the text that would be included with his planned folio. Beaverson (now O’Connor) worked with Kelly throughout the first half of the year to expand and finalize the text. Subsequently, Georgia O’Connor was listed as editor of the 1964 publication. Design Quarterly, No. 56

The Walker Art Center began publication of Everyday Art Quarterly in 1946. It was the first journal issued by a museum dedicated to exploring a broad definition of design. In 1954, the publication was renamed Design Quarterly and providing in-depth explorations of single topics. The general planning for issue number 56 started shortly after Martin Friedman was appointed director and asked Kelly to publish his research work. The preceding issue, number 55, was completed by mid-1962, and the design for Kelly’s issue started in earnest that fall. The finished Design Quarterly, No. 56 was forty pages of uncoated off-white stock, saddle-stitched and two-color printed. It was published early in 1963. Kelly, listed as both author and designer, brought together all of the visual and

11

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

historical research work he had compiled to that point. Georgia Beaverson was credited as editor. Leah Corbin (listed as “Mrs. Peter Corbin”) was credited with editing the bibliography included in the issue, which comprised “consulted references” as well as a bibliographic list of fifty-eight nineteenth-century type specimen catalogs. Alan Lundberg was credited as Kelly’s design assistant. By all accounts, this issue was well received. Kelly saw to it that copies were sent to many of the people who had supported and facilitated his research. He also donated copies of the issue to a number of collecting institutions and libraries to be housed in their permanent archives. In a letter to Kelly dated June 26, 1963, the calligrapher, historian of typogra12

phy, and teacher Alexander Nesbitt (1901–1995), known for his classic text The History and Technique of Lettering as Design (Prentice-Hall, 1950), provided four handwritten pages of thoughtful, detailed critique of the Design Quarterly issue. Kelly had met Nesbitt during a visit to Rhode Island School of Design in the early 1960s. Nesbitt wrote, “I enjoyed this issue and will think about it some more.”33 Kelly studied the feedback and incorporated most of the suggestions into the revised text that he included in the folio published the following year.

33 Alexander Nesbitt, letter to Rob Roy Kelly, June 26, 1963, MS-02257, Rob Roy Kelly Collection, Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas at Austin.

Kelly continued collecting type and type specimen catalogs and continued his research work after the publication of issue number 56. The work on the publication helped clarify for him the areas of research that needed further work. “I found it rewarding to save every scrap of mystery information,” he would write, “because almost always it became meaningful at some point in the future.”34

34 Kelly, “Search and Research,” p. 12.

Completion of the Folio

In the early 1960s, Kelly had been offered a position at the Kansas City Art Institute (KCAI) but turned it down owing to his personal loyalty to Dr. Wilhelmus Bryan, MSA’s director. But in mid-1962, MSA’s board of trustees removed Bryan as director and subsequently named Arnold Herstand to the position at the start of the 1963–1964 academic year. Herstand and Kelly were at odds from their first meeting that fall. Abruptly at the start of the spring semester, Kelly was fired by Herstand, effective at the end of that academic year. As MSA did not offer faculty tenure, Kelly had no job protection beyond an annual contract.35 Auspiciously, later the same day Kelly received a renewed offer from Andrew Morgan to join KCAI and start a graphic design program. Kelly accepted this second offer with-

35 Kelly wrote that he later learned that by the next academic year all of the graphic design faculty had quit the school in protest.

out further deliberation. This abrupt change “forced a decision to immediately complete the portfolio. With considerably more purpose, the portfolio was increased to 95 pages showing approximately 120 type designs, borders, ornaments and engravings. I honestly believe that if moving to Kansas City had not forced the issue, the portfolio would still be ‘in progress.’”36 The move to Kansas City also necessitated transporting two and a half tons of material, including all the wood type, notebooks, negatives, and micro-files, all accumulated working notes, and a research library of over 500 volumes.37 “My subsequent decisions were both calm and forthright—I packed the library and wood type and hoped for a large moving allowance from my new job, and proceeded to complete the specimen book.”38 Kelly completed forty-five sets of the folio with ninety-seven plates late that spring, then designed a catalog to accompany the folio and finished writing the introduction, with editing help from Georgia O’Connor, by reworking and expanding portions of the text that had been published a year earlier in Design Quarterly, No. 56. The editing was completed by early that summer. The document was typeset by Dahl & Curry Typesetting Company of Minneapolis and

36 Innovations in Paper (draft), January 5, 1970, p. 2, Rob Roy Kelly Collection, Series I: Personal Papers, box 7, folder 11, Cary Graphic Arts Collection, Rochester Institute of Technology. 37 Kelly, “Collecting Wood Type,” p. 66. 38 Publishers’ Weekly draft, p. 11.

Rob Roy Kelly—“Midwestern Pluralist and Pragmatist”

printed offset by Colwell Press. The twelve-page booklet was finished with black plastic coil binding. A. J. Dahl Bookbinding Company made up solander boxes using a buckram covering with a two-color printed label for the type speci39 Unprocessed material from Bruce Meader donation, “Wood Type,” pp. 2–3, Rochester Institute of Technology.

mens.39 Kelly titled the finished folio American Wood Types 1828–1900, Volume One. In a July 1, 1964, letter from Herman Cohen to James Wells, Cohen wrote: “Kelly was in with the first almost printed copy of his American Wood Types [the folio]. For which I am the sole distributor. … We have decided to mark it $100.00, and at that he will hardly recapture his cost, let alone his labor of almost 8 years.

40 Herman Cohen, letter to James Wells, July 1, 1964, NL Archives 03/21/01/01, James Wells Papers, box 2, folder 49, Newberry Library, Chicago.

It looks magnificent.”40 Response to the publication of the folio was emphatically positive. Cohen sold all thirty-five copies distributed by the Chiswick Book Shop within forty-five days of the volume’s first offering. He was able to quickly sell the folio to institutions and serious private collectors in his network of long-standing customers, while staying clear of numerous requests from adver-

41 See the full list of known locations of the folio in appendix A, “Hand List of 1964 Folio.”

tising agencies clamoring to get a copy.41 A letter to Kelly from Robert Runser of the Detroit Public Library, dated September 3, 1964, complimented Kelly on the folio (copy number 40) that had just arrived in their collection from the Chiswick Book Shop: “Needless to say, I am

42 Robert Runser, letter to Rob Roy Kelly, September 3, 1964, MS02257, Rob Roy Kelly Collection, Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas at Austin. 43 Roland Baughman, “A Bygone Era in American Typography,” Columbia Library Columns (Friends of the Columbia Libraries) 14, no. 2 (February 1965): 44. 44 “Rob Roy Kelly’s Wood Letters,” Motif: A Journal of the Visual Arts 13 (1967): 93. Issue 13 of Motif was completed and originally planned to be published in early 1965, but was unexpectedly delayed until 1967. No subsequent issues of the magazine were published. 45 Ruari McLean, “19th Century American Wood Type,” The Connoisseur: An Illustrated Magazine for Collectors (ed. L.G.G. Ramsey) 159, no. 642 (August 1965): 265. 46 Rob Roy Kelly, American Wood Types 1828–1900, Volume One, ed. Georgia O’Connor (Kansas City: Rob Roy Kelly, August 1964), p. 2.

overwhelmed, excited, and delighted.”42 Roland Baughman wrote in Columbia’s February 1965 issue of Library Columns: “Mr. Kelly’s work, then, has rescued from oblivion an important bit of Americana.”43 James Mosley, head librarian at the St. Bride Library in London, showed samples of the specimen pages and recapped Kelly’s valuable work in the heralded Motif magazine.44 Ruari McLean, the respected and influential type historian, lauded the folio in a review published in the August 1965 issue of the English magazine The Connoisseur: “It is to be hoped that the success of this pilot edition will lead the author to publish his material, and more of his Collection, in a more accessible form.” McLean added, in typical reserved fashion, “The machining of these large sheets, and the density of the black ink, are all that could be desired.”45 Kelly initially intended to publish a second volume of the folio to show more faces from his collection with a more focused emphasis on the script faces. In the text of the folio, Kelly wrote: “Not included in this book are German wood type faces which made their appearance around 1850, coinciding with the German migrations to this country.… The Author’s Collection of these will be shown in a future publication.”46 This planned second volume never came to fruition. The 1964 folio would prove to be the last time Kelly printed directly with the types in his collection. It is not entirely clear whether Kelly continued to collect wood type after moving to Kansas City. Beyond the German scripts that he acknowledged were not included in the folio, there are thirty-six other faces in the collection that also were not shown in the folio. It is not clear whether these faces were intentionally left out, owing to the rushed completion of the folio, or were acquired after the folio was finished. A Gathering Success

Kelly was hired by KCAI at an increased salary with more support for his administrative work as well as his research. These benefits alleviated some of the stress that had burdened him in Minneapolis. Following the resounding success of the folio, Herman Cohen arranged for Kelly to meet Jean Koefoed, the director of trade publications at Reinhold Book Publishing Company. From this discussion, 47 Unprocessed material from Bruce Meader donation, “Wood Type,” pp. 2–3, Rochester Institute of Technology.

Koefoed offered Kelly a book contract and said, “This book is not going to make any money but it deserves to be published.”47

13

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

In late 1964, a $1,000 advance on royalties was arranged, and Reinhold provided a $600 research grant. With the support of KCAI, the Kansas City Regional Council for Higher Education awarded Kelly a $1,000 research grant as well. With the grants and the book advance, Kelly was finally able to engage in what he had long desired: focused research on location in the former centers of wood type production—Norwich, Connecticut, and New York City. Kelly, his wife, and their four children spent the summer of 1965 in Old Saybrook, Connecticut. His family enjoyed access to the ocean, and he was able to visit relevant sites in Norwich, Willimantic, and South Windham and work intensively at the Connecticut Historical Society and town libraries. “It was probably the 14

best family vacation we had ever known. I can say that forthrightly as my own research work was both rewarding and productive.”48 Kelly’s family returned

real comedown from Old Saybrook.”49 Roland Baughman provided space for

48 “Wood Types, Research & Rewards” (draft), August 25, 1969, p. 14, Rob Roy Kelly Collection, Series I: Personal Papers, box 7, folder 11, Cary Graphic Arts Collection, Rochester Institute of Technology.

Kelly to work in the Special Collections Library at Columbia, “doing the kind of

49 Ibid.

study that I could only dream of previously.”50

50 Ibid.

home after vacation, and Kelly spent the last several weeks of that summer alone in New York City “in a $25 a week across from Columbia University … a

At the end of the summer, Kelly returned to Kansas City to prepare for the school year. It took him several months to get his summer’s worth of notes in order, but then he began to work on the manuscript in earnest. “I was pecking away on the typewriter putting together a manuscript. Periodically I would cut the manuscript into sections to insert new or rewritten materials or move sections around into more logical order. I would then retype the manuscript— it was a lengthy and painful process.”51 At the beginning of 1966, Reinhold assigned an editor to work with Kelly on the project. Unfortunately, the identity of this editor is not known. Kelly only wrote that the editor was “a young lady

51 Unprocessed material from Bruce Meader donation, “Wood Type,” pp. 4–5, Rochester Institute of Technology.

from Ohio” and that the book “was her first job in the big city and my manuscript was one of her first major projects.”52 From the original agreement with

52 Ibid., p. 3.

Reinhold, the book was to be published in the fall of 1966. While 1965 was an important year for Kelly in the support he received for his continued research, it was also a productive year for him in the promulgation of the research. Both the issue of Design Quarterly and his folio continued to be well received and recognized for their important impact. There were three gallery exhibitions in Europe of the plates from the folio and samples from the type collection: one in Hilversum, Netherlands, from January 24 to March 4, 1965; an exhibition in England during the summer; and a third in Frankfurt, (West) Germany, from October 14 to November 12, 1965. The galleries in the Netherlands and Germany each published catalogs for their respective exhibitions. Kelly was also invited to share his research in an issue of Matrix: An Experiment in Visual Communication, a “publication concerned with images of the contemporary scene.”53 Kelly focused on the contemporary use of nineteenth-century faces and the future of the visual form. The experimental publication was a unique collaboration at Rochester Institute of Technology between RIT’s College of Fine and Applied Art, College of Graphic Arts and Photography, and the Graphic Arts Research Department. It was designed by Roger Remington, the head of the graphic design program. Remington had initiated a correspondence with Kelly two years earlier, during the summer of 1963, while he was an assistant professor in Bozeman, Montana. Remington asked for help identifying types in the collection held at Montana State College (which became Montana State University in the summer of 1965). This correspondence would initiate a lifelong connection between the two designers.

53 Rob Roy Kelly, “Wood Letters in the 20th Century,” Matrix (Office of Educational Research, Rochester Institute of Technology) 7 (January 1965).

Rob Roy Kelly—“Midwestern Pluralist and Pragmatist”

Selling the Collection

As Kelly collected wood type and accumulated historical information, he began thinking about the long-term condition of his collection and the need to secure a permanent home. Initially he believed that he would wrap up his wood type research project by the early 1960s. In January 1962, Kelly contacted James Wells, custodian of the John M. Wing Foundation on the History of Printing at the Newberry Library in Chicago, to inquire about making microfilm copies of the specimen catalogs held at the Newberry. In that letter, Kelly also initiated a conversation about the possibility of donating all of his research materials to an institution that would be able to provide long-term stability and security, as well as access to researchers and students. In early February, Wells responded, “I’m afraid we wouldn’t be able to handle type, alluring as it is, here—a combination 54 Rob Roy Kelly, letter to James Wells, February 6, 1962, NL Archives 03/21/01/01, James Wells Papers, box 5, folder 132, Newberry Library, Chicago.

of storage problems, and the fact that it would get no use.”54 Wells suggested that Kelly contact the Elrie Robinson–Pforzheimer Typographic Collection at the New York Public Library, or a school such as the Carnegie Institute of Technology (which would become Carnegie Mellon University in 1967). Kelly took up the issue of finding a permanent home for his collection again, but more earnestly, in early 1966. The type had remained mostly unused since arriving in Kansas City in 1964. He became alarmed that he could not keep the collection safe and intact and was adamant that it not be turned over to commercial concerns. He turned to his friend Dr. Karpel to help him in the task. In mid-1966, Karpel purchased from Kelly the collection of wood type, borders, and ornaments, Kelly’s personal copy of the 1964 folio (number 32), and a selection of research materials, which included ortho negatives, microfilm copies, and photostats of specimen catalogs, as well as six years of research data. Kelly asked for and received $5,000. In November 1966, Karpel worked out the sale of the collection to the University of Texas at Austin through his long-standing friendship with Dr. Donald Goodall, the chair of the Department of Art. In Karpel’s letter to Goodall, he was straightforward and direct: “I believe the collection has extraordinary impor-

55 Bernard Karpel, letter to Donald Goodall, November 6, 1966, HRC Archives 373.15, Bernard Karpel Papers, Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas at Austin.

tance.”55 He asserted that the only other collection comparable to Kelly’s was owned by Morgan Press, but that collection, unfortunately, was “now converted to commercial use.” Through Dr. Goodall’s advocacy, the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center on the UT campus agreed to the purchase of the materials from Karpel for $10,000. The final agreement was signed on November 23, 1966. The collection was shipped from New York and delivered to the University of Texas by Allied Van Lines on March 1, 1967, in three wooden shipping crates and one smaller wooden box with a combined shipping weight of 1,105 pounds. The American Wood Type Book

Kelly’s first year in Kansas City was hectic. He arrived in August 1964 to start the new graphic design program at the Kansas City Art Institute. During his first year in the program there were no new hires, so he relied mostly on faculty from the existing advertising and illustration programs. Against the backdrop of his research work, Kelly was again frantically busy building a new graphic design program and introducing these faculty members to his thinking, while also working to implement the successes he had tested and developed in Minneapolis. New hires over the summer of 1965 provided the program with five new full-time faculty, enabling Kelly to implement the new program in graphic design. He broke new ground by hiring Swiss-trained graphic design-

15

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

ers to teach in the US program. Inge Druckery, the first of these ambitious hires, arrived to teach during the 1966–1967 academic year. These bold hires and Kelly’s rigorous curriculum transformations began to bring national attention to the new program at KCAI, and under Kelly’s leadership the reputation of the program grew. In another indicator of his burgeoning stature in the field of design and typography, Kelly was named to the advisory board of the Journal of Typographic Research. Other members of the distinguished international advisory group included John Dreyfus of Monotype Corporation, R. Hunter Middleton of the Ludlow Typography Company, Alexander Lawson of RIT, and Hermann Zapf, the German calligrapher and type designer. 16

When Reinhold assigned an editor to the book project in early 1966, work began in earnest. Kelly finished the first draft of the manuscript by that summer, but the back-and-forth cadence of editing and writing slowed to a crawl. The expected publishing date was shifted from the fall of 1966 to the fall of 1967. The publishing company went through a series of restructuring mergers and acquisitions during this period. Reinhold merged with a competing publishing house to form Chapman-Reinhold, Inc., by the end of 1966; then Litton Industries acquired the merged company in 1968 and combined it with D. Van Nostrand Company to form Van Nostrand Reinhold Company.56 Through all of these changes, Jean Koefoed remained director of trade publications and championed the publishing of Kelly’s book through each step of the publishing process. Kelly

56 Elin B. Christianson, “Mergers in the Publishing Industry, 1958–1970,” Journal of Library History (1966–1972) 7, no. 1 (1972): 30.

himself, from late 1966 through 1968, was focused primarily on strengthening and expanding the fledgling design curriculum at KCAI. The expected publishing date was set back incrementally throughout 1967 and 1968. Sometime during 1967–1968 (and possibly as late as early 1969), Kelly began finalizing the curation of the 106 full character specimens that he would include in the last section of his book (pages 229–335) dedicated to wood type character specimens. “With the exception of a few specimens, which are noted in the captions, these were collected and proofed by the author,” he wrote.57 Kelly engaged with three other wood type collections to generate specimen proofs of faces that

57 Kelly, American Wood Type, p. 229.

were not in his personal collection but that he felt bolstered the stylistic range of the book’s specimen section. William Thurman, superintendent of the Printing Office and Bindery of the New York Public Library, supplied proofs from the Elrie Robinson–Pforzheimer Typographic Collection held at NYPL; Roger Remington supplied proofs from his personal collection and from the collection held at RIT; and a proof of type came from the wood type collection held at Yale University. The slow progress of the book project would abruptly change at the start of 1969. The newly reorganized company Van Nostrand Reinhold established a firm publishing date of fall 1969. Kelly recounted that the pace of the project shifted markedly at that point, written correspondence changed increasingly to phone calls, and a “terrifying awareness of just how many illustrations had not been prepared or copied, how many negatives were misplaced, and how stupidly some of the manuscript had translated from typewritten copy properly embellished with hen-scratches to pristine type—all shortcomings became so much more clearly revealed to me than at any time before.”58 By the early spring of 1969, “type was set and actual designing commenced.”59 The manuscript and hand-pasted mechanicals for the 350-page book were frantically mailed back and forth, “always with postage, insurance, and a prayer that nothing was lost” in transit.60 Jackson Burke, former director of type development for MergenthalerLinotype (and credited with designing the typeface Trade Gothic), acted as one of the reviewers during the editing process, providing constructive feedback on a number of details he encountered while reading the manuscript. One import-

58 Publishers’ Weekly draft, p. 15. 59 Ibid. 60 Ibid.

Rob Roy Kelly—“Midwestern Pluralist and Pragmatist”

ant recommendation he made was incorporated into the final text: addressing Burke’s concern that the specimen catalog bibliography lacked any “indication of where the books may be found or what material they offer”; the final version 61 Jackson Burke, letter to Jean Koefoed (n.d.), MS-02257, Rob Roy Kelly Collection, Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas at Austin.

of the book included locations of the archives that held each of the catalogs.61 By the end of the summer of 1969, Kelly had signed off on all design and text changes and the book had gone to press. American Wood Type 1828–1900: Notes on the Evolution of Decorated and Large Types and Comments on Related Trades of the Period was officially published on October 13, 1969. Compliments and congratulations poured in by mail from admirers of the book. Jackson Burke wrote, “I believe it is a complement [sic] to the book that I want to read it again. You have done a fine job

62 Jackson Burke, letter to Rob Roy Kelly, September 29, 1969, MS-02257, Rob Roy Kelly Collection, Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas at Austin. 63 Alvin Eisenman, letter to Rob Roy Kelly, October 8, 1969, MS-02257, Rob Roy Kelly Collection, Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas at Austin. 64 James Eckman, letter to Rob Roy Kelly, October 9, 1969, MS-02257, Rob Roy Kelly Collection, Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas at Austin. 65 Jean Koefoed, Western Union telegram to Rob Roy Kelly, October 13, 1969, MS-02257, Rob Roy Kelly Collection, Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas at Austin.

which is a real contribution to the Art.”62 Alvin Eisenman wrote, “I want to congratulate you on an excellent piece of work … everybody that has a typographic library will need it.”63 James Eckman shared that he felt the book “is unique because it has no predecessor and, it seems to me now, no possibility of emulation in the future. The publishers have done handsomely indeed by you.”64 Jean Koefoed telegrammed: “Congratulations on a handsome and stimulating book.”65 With the publication of the book, Kelly was asked to lecture at a number of schools and professional societies across North America through the early 1970s, including the University of Cincinnati, the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, the California College of Arts and Crafts, and the Society of Printers in Boston. In 1970, Weimer Typesetting Company of Indianapolis produced a fortyeight-page promotional booklet that featured twenty-nine of the faces Kelly included in American Wood Type 1828–1900. Plates from Kelly’s folio were exhibited again in January and February 1972 at the Wallace Library of the Rochester Institute of Technology, along with wood type and printed material from RIT’s Cary Graphic Arts Collection and from Roger Remington’s personal collection. Kelly wrote two articles about his many years of collecting and his process of research: “Collecting Wood Type,” published November 3, 1969, in Publishers’ Weekly, and “American Wood Type,” published in the January 1970 issue of Innovations in Paper. With those publications completed, Kelly was substantially done with his work in wood type collecting and research. Although he would return to the subject a handful of times, he never added new scholarship to the field. Kelly would, however, remain an outsized influence on the world of wood type and nineteenth-century typographic and printing history for the rest of his life. Wood Type after American Wood Type

In 1970, a change in administration at KCAI marked the start of a tumultuous period in Kelly’s life. The newly installed president of the school looked to reorganizing academic departments in response to declining admissions. Kelly was vocal about his resistance to the changes. In February 1972, he was abruptly dismissed from his administrative position and then spent the 1972–1973 academic year on sabbatical leave “studying organization, governance, and practices of 66 Rob Roy Kelly résumé, 1989, p. 1, Rob Roy Kelly Collection, Series I: Personal Papers, box 1, folder 9, Cary Graphic Arts Collection, Rochester Institute of Technology.

visual education.”66 He returned for a final year of teaching as a faculty member in 1973–1974, at which time he started to look for other teaching opportunities. He left Kansas City for good when he accepted a one-year position as Kern Institute Professor of Communication at the Rochester Institute of Technology for 1974–1975. In mid-1975, Kelly and his first wife decided to divorce, and in this process, his entire collection of more than five hundred research books was sold. Kelly wrote that he believed that “most of my books ended up in the library at

67 Unprocessed material from Bruce Meader donation, “Wood Type,” p. 5, Rochester Institute of Technology.

the University of Kansas.”67

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The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

At the age of fifty, and after nearly twenty years of teaching and pioneering the development and implementation of undergraduate graphic design curricula— building two premier graphic design programs from scratch—Kelly moved to Michigan and took a complete hiatus from teaching and research. This hiatus would last until mid-1977. Da Capo Press of Boston published the paperback version on American Wood Type 1828–1900 on June 1, 1977, having been granted a license from Van Nostrand Reinhold for the paperback edition covering a period of seven years starting in 1976. At the same time, Dover Publications, of New York City, published Wood Type Alphabets, 100 Fonts. Acting as editor, Kelly selected one hundred specimens 18

of faces from the collection for reproduction. While the Da Capo paperback fell out of print, the Dover publication remains available to this day. Starting in the fall of 1977, Kelly joined the faculty of the Department of Design at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) as an Andrew Mellon Fellow. The following academic year he joined the faculty in a full-time position as an associate professor of design. Kelly and Mary Helen Prine met in Pittsburgh and married in the early 1980s. He taught at CMU until 1983, when he was hired by Arizona State University to start and chair a new graphic design program. That same year he joined the inaugural advisory board of Design Issues, a quarterly American academic journal focused on design history, theory, and criticism. Appraisals

While Kelly added no further scholarship to the subject of wood type, he would play an important and pivotal role as an expert appraiser for three important American printing collections. His rigorous historical contextualization, concise and detailed audits of the contents, and structured and methodical process for establishing the value of the items appraised facilitated the successful acquisition of all three major collections he worked with over a twenty-five-year period. Morgan Press Collection—Starting in 1974, then again in 1978, and in one final update in 1981, Kelly appraised the Morgan collection at the request of the Morgan family. Kelly was familiar with the collection from having met Willard Morgan (1900–1967), the noted photographer and publisher of the 1940s who originally started it, in the early 1960s.68 After his death, the collection continued to grow as it was taken over by his two sons, Douglas (1932–2007) and Lloyd (1935–2011), who started the Morgan Press in 1958. Kelly, with whom the two brothers maintained the familiar correspondence of dedicated collectors, believed the Morgan collection to be the largest and most comprehensive collection of wood and metal type in America. When Headliners International of New York City offered the Morgan collection types commercially as phototype, their ready availability played a pivotal role in the revival of Victorian visual styles during the mid-1960s. Pushpin Studios was an important customer of the Morgan brothers’ collection, which contained nearly 3,000 fonts of foundry type and over 700 fonts of wood type. The collection, which Kelly valued at $600,000, was sold by Morgan Press to the Smithsonian Institution in the early 1980s. The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History used the Morgan Press Collection to stage a major exhibition celebrating American typographic history, “The Fat and the Lean: American Wood Type in the 19th Century,” in the Hall of Printing and Graphic Arts from June 17, 1983, to March 31, 1986. Elizabeth Harris curated the exhibition and wrote the thirty-two-page exhibition catalog published in June 1983. The collection, now known as the Morgan Press Collection, is held in the Graphic Arts Collection of the National Museum of American History in Washington, DC.

68 Willard Morgan’s far-ranging accomplishments included being named the first director of photography at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Also, with his connection to Leica, he is credited with being instrumental in introducing the 35mm camera to the United States.

Rob Roy Kelly—“Midwestern Pluralist and Pragmatist”

Dr. J. Ben Lieberman (1914–1984), founder and first president of the American Printing History Association, brokered the sale of the Morgan Press Collection to the Smithsonian. He started a correspondence with Kelly in 1982 to compliment him on his system for valuing the type and his type classification system. In the March 1982 letter, he also brought up the possibility of developing an edition of the then out-of-print American Wood Type 1828–1900 through his own Myriade Press. Nothing ever came of this proposal, but in 1983 Kelly visited Lieberman at his home in New Rochelle, New York, and printed a keepsake on the Liebermans’ Albion Press, now known as the Kelmscott/Goudy Press and held in the Cary 69 Ben Lieberman, letter to Rob Roy Kelly, March 25, 1982, Rob Roy Kelly Collection, Series I: Personal Papers, box 7, folder 14, Cary Graphic Arts Collection, Rochester Institute of Technology.

Graphic Arts Collection at Rochester Institute of Technology.69 GramLee Collection—In 1980, and with minor updates in 1989 and 1991, Kelly appraised the GramLee Collection. The collection originated as the inventory of the S. George Company, a bag manufacturing and printing company based in Wellsburg, West Virginia, that opened for business in 1873. Robert Graham and Patrick Lee acquired the collection in 1978 after the company declared bankruptcy in 1977. The substantial collection had two important components, commercial wood engravings and wood type, and was the subject of the book Before Rosebud Was a Sled by Cliff Harvey (1937–2013), who published it through

70 Harvey was an alumnus of the first class that graduated from the Graphic Design Department that Kelly established at the Minneapolis School of Art.

his own Permutation Press in 1998.70 Kelly valued the engravings portion of the

71 “The GramLee Collection of Late 19th Century and Early 20th Century Bag Printing Materials: Appraisal,” July 1, 1991, p. 19, Rob Roy Kelly Collection, Series I: Personal Papers, box 7, folder 15, Cary Graphic Arts Collection, Rochester Institute of Technology.

Collection of Historic Wood Type became the foundational collection used to

collection at $390,000, and the wood type portion at $42,000.71 The GramLee Collection of Early American Commercial Wood Engravings is today housed in the College of Creative Arts at West Virginia University. In 1999, the GramLee establish the Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum in Two Rivers, Wisconsin, where it remains today. Phillips Old-Fashioned Types Collection—In 1983, through the recommendation of Ben Lieberman, Kelly was asked to appraise the Phillips Old-Fashioned Types Collection by its owner, Don Davidson. Frederic Nelson Phillips had established a typographic trade house in New York City in 1919. By the 1930s, it was one of the major typesetting houses in the country. Phillips was also an avid collector of historical type, and he published Phillips’ Old-Fashioned Type Book in 1945. Tri-Arts Press, Inc., of New York City acquired Frederic Nelson Phillips, Inc., in 1965 and published a specimen of the latter’s large collection of nineteenth-century types. Olde Type Faces at Tri-Arts Press, Inc.: From the Frederic Nelson Phillips Collection of Antique Exotic Ancient Typefaces was published in January 1971. The collection of historic type that Tri-Arts Press acquired from the acquisition included over 1,000 fonts of type from the nineteenth century and a library of over sixty American and European type specimen catalogs from the late nine-

72 “The Frederic Nelson Phillips Collection, Summary of Appraised Value,” June 21, 1983, p. g, Rob Roy Kelly Collection, Series I: Personal Papers, box 7, folder 16, Cary Graphic Arts Collection, Rochester Institute of Technology.

teenth and early twentieth centuries. Kelly valued the collection at $60,000.72 Tri-Arts Press sold the collection soon after Kelly’s appraisal. The Frederic Nelson Phillips/Tri-Arts Press Collection is today held in the historic printing collection of the South Street Seaport Museum in Lower Manhattan. A Turn to the Digital

In October 1988, Fred Brady, the manager of type development for Adobe Systems, contacted Kelly to request that he consult on a proposed digital wood type revival project to be part of the newly formed Adobe Originals program initiated by Sumner Stone, the type director at Adobe. Brady asked Kelly to participate in the project as a consultant and contributor who would recommend faces to be revived, provide source specimens for digitization, share historical information

19

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

and context through a presentation to the type design team, and write an essay for the printed specimen brochure accompanying the release of the digital font package. Kelly agreed and traveled to Adobe’s headquarters in Mountain View, California, in March 1989. The team’s primary obstacle was locating full character specimens for the project. Kelly had retained a sizable collection of the photostats and films he amassed from his research. By July of that year, he provided this visual material that would serve as the basis for the five typefaces and one font of ornaments that were being worked on for the first Adobe wood type font package. The Smithsonian provided proofs from the Morgan Press Collection for additional visual 20

reference material. Initially the faces were going to be given names adopted from the nomenclature Kelly developed for the classification system he presented in American Wood Type. Adobe eventually opted for an alternative system of names, based on tree species, that would enable it to legally protect the digital fonts. Carol Twombly acted as design director of the project for the Adobe team of Joy Redick, Barbara Lind, and Kim Buker Chansler. Twombly’s intention for the Adobe wood type project was to have the consultant and in-house designers develop a focused revival of the wood types selected “without straying from the models, and then [design] extra glyphs based on the alphabets shapes to fill out the minimum character set.”73 In July 1989, Brady sent printouts to Kelly of the nearly finished type designs but indicated that the ornaments planned for the first release were not complete

73 Nancy Stock-Allen, Carol Twombly: Her Brief but Brilliant Career in Type Design (New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll Press, 2016), p. 159.

enough to show. Later that summer Kelly provided the design team with a first draft of his essay for the brochure. In early 1990, the font package Adobe Wood Type 1 was released commercially, and the specimen brochure was printed and distributed. Brady wrote to Kelly in March informing him that the early response was “very positive” and that work on the second package of digital fonts was well under way.74 Smithsonian proofs would again be used to supplement the visual material provided by Kelly. Wood type specimen catalogs from the Kemble Collection on Western Printing and Publishing at the California Historical Society in San Francisco were also consulted.

74 Fred Brady, letter to Rob Roy Kelly, March 5, 1990, Rob Roy Kelly Collection, Series I: Personal Papers, box 8, folder 5, Cary Graphic Arts Collection, Rochester Institute of Technology.

By November of that year, the second font package, Adobe Wood Type 2, had been completed and was commercially available. Kelly again provided text for the printed specimen brochure that accompanied the digital font files. Brady notified Kelly in his follow-up letter in late 1990 that work had started on the third and final font package, this one focused on chromatic wood types. Adobe Wood Type 3, released in 1994, was designed by Kim Buker Chansler, Carl Crossgrove, and Carol Twombly, with Twombly also continuing as design director for the project. In 1989, “Graphic Design in America: A Visual Language History” was organized by Mildred Friedman, design curator of the Walker Art Center in collaboration with the American Institute of Graphic Arts. An ambitious overview of the history of graphic design, the exhibition originated at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis in 1989 and then traveled to New York City, Phoenix, and, finally, London by late 1990. Two of Kelly’s published works—Design Quarterly, No. 56 (1963) and American Wood Type 1828–1900 (1969)—were included in the traveling exhibition. In January 1990, Kelly wrote a positive, if terse, review of Claire Bolton’s DeLittle 1888–1988: The First Years in a Century of Wood Letter Manufacture, 1888–1895 for Fine Print magazine. Echoing the compliment given to him by Alvin Eisenman in 1969, Kelly ended the review by stating that Bolton’s volume “makes a nice addition to the library of any true devotee of wood type.”75 Kelly formally retired in the spring of 1989 from Arizona State University, though starting in the fall of 1990, he would teach at Western Michigan Univer-

75 Rob Roy Kelly, review of DeLittle 1888–1988: The First Years in a Century of Wood Letter Manufacture, 1888–1895, by Claire Bolton, Fine Print (San Francisco: Pro Arte Libri) 16, no. 2 (Summer 1990): 76.

Rob Roy Kelly—“Midwestern Pluralist and Pragmatist”

sity for one year as a consultant and faculty member in the graphic design program. He ended up teaching there for the 1991–1992 academic year as well. Kelly then returned to Tempe and taught again at Arizona State University, this time for two full academic years, from 1998 to 2000, concluding an academic career that spanned over forty-five years. Silver Buckle Press

Kelly’s last direct engagement with the subject of wood type was his work with Tracy Honn and Rachel Davis at Silver Buckle Press, which celebrated its twenty-fifth anniversary at the University of Wisconsin at Madison by publishing a specimen book documenting its wood type collection. The two approached Kelly in February 1998 to write an essay and help clarify the identification of a few unknown faces in their collection. Kelly completed his essay, “Search and Research,” that summer, and Specimen Book of Wood Type: From the Collection of the Silver Buckle Press was published in an edition of 200 in the spring of 1999. During the last years of his life, Kelly continued work on his burgeoning collection of American kitchen tinware. From processes he established with his wood type collecting, Kelly embraced collecting and researching kitchen utensils, which he started doing while living in Pittsburgh. This culminated in his writing (with James Ellwood) and designing A Collector’s Guide to Trivets and Stands, published in August 1990. In 1999, again seeking to protect the important materials he had gathered, he started gifting his kitchenware collection to the Arizona Historical Museum in Tempe. The Rob Roy Kelly Kitchenware Study Collection is now archived at the Arizona Historical Society in Tempe. Rob Roy Kelly passed away on January 23, 2004, dying of complications from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. His book American Wood Type 1828–1900 had been out of print since the late 1970s, and while it remained an invaluable resource, the scarce copies of both the hardcover and paperback versions commanded high prices. Matt Kelsey of Liber Apertus Press stepped in to remove this barrier by reissuing a paperback edition of American Wood Type 1828–1900, which also included a reprint of Kelly’s Silver Buckle Press “Search and Research” essay in April 2010. This edition continues to be available as a print-on-demand volume, guaranteeing that Kelly’s pioneering text will remain available into the foreseeable future. The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection remains, as Kelly intended, an active study collection for students and researchers held by the Department of Design at the University of Texas at Austin.

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Rob Roy Kelly—“Midwestern Pluralist and Pragmatist”

II

Reflections on American Wood Type 1828–1900 by Stephen O. Saxe

I was thrilled that Stephen Saxe agreed to participate as a contributor when I first approached him about this project in 2011. Because his scholarship had (and continues to have) such an impact on my own research, I was incredibly nervous about asking him to contribute, and then having to ask him again after a seven-year lull in the project. The long period without correspondence was graciously forgotten when in 2018

Wood type is a thoroughly American contribution to the art and trade of printing. The first large-scale maker and dealer in wood type, Darius Wells, brought wood type to the market in 1828. It was his invention of the high-speed router, followed in 1834 by William Leavenworth’s application of the pantograph, that made possible the mass production of wood type, as well as the profusion of wood type styles.

Steve agreed to pick back up as if no time had The history of America in the nineteenth century was printed in wood type— passed. Stephen Saxe unexpectedly passed for example, lottery advertisements, on Homestead Act 1862 land sale posters away on April 28, 2019. This version of his

essay was the first draft he sent me in early 2019 as I was preparing the manuscript. Through the generosity of his estate, I’m including it here with minimal editing. It is a testament to his consummate knowledge and expertise on the subject and his easy approach to conveying that history.

and transcontinental railroad 1869 posters, steamship sailings, political posters, Civil War recruitment posters, John Wilkes Booth wanted poster, and newspaper headlines. The widespread use of wood type on posters and billboards in the public streets meant that most Americans saw it every day. In spite of this, or perhaps because of it, no nineteenth-century writer on typography considered it as a subject for study. It was usually treated only in short articles in printing trade publications. By the middle of the twentieth century, wood type was either scorned as irredeemably ugly (Updike) or seen as nostalgic, generating associations with the old West of years past. It was not until 1969 when Rob Roy Kelly published his landmark American Wood Type 1828–1900: Notes on the Evolution of Decorated and Large Types that a serious book on the subject finally appeared. In its 350 pages, Kelly covered every aspect of wood type: its history, manufacture, uses, aesthetics, and chronological development. In addition, he illustrated many specimens of wood type, most from his own collection. It would be gratifying to be able to say that the book was immediately popular, but I have a strong recollection of the book lingering on bookstore shelves until it was eventually marked down. My own copy, originally priced at about $25.50, was marked down to $10.95. After publication in 1969, it began a slow rise in the public’s consciousness. For anyone interested in any aspect of wood type, this was the only place to go— there was no other. Eventually the original edition sold out. But then its price in the out-of-print and rare book market slowly began to rise to over $300. In the 1970s letterpress printing had become an obsolete technology. As printing companies divested themselves of type and presses, amateurs and hobbyists eagerly acquired them, and letterpress courses and workshops began to spring up in colleges across the country. For those who had found and purchased wood type, Rob Roy Kelly’s book was a vital reference. With the book now in demand and hard to find, Da Capo Press published a large-format paperback edition in 1977. (Another more recent reprint by Liber Apertus Press was published in 2010.) In describing the origins of his book, Kelly has written: After a period of time, I had acquired numerous boxes of wood type and printed a quantity of specimen pages, but I did not know the names of designs and where, when, or who had made them. In short, I was printing a book regarding a subject that I knew absolutely nothing about.

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The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

24

This is a situation that anyone who had worked with wood type will understand. Other collectors—and there were some—faced the same lack of information. Wood type, unlike cast metal type, is much more difficult to identify, and its origin more difficult to discover. Some—but by no means all—wood type has the maker’s name stamped on the side of one letter of the alphabet. There are no other markings on these blocks of hardwood. Rob Roy Kelly began the hard work of checking trade publications like The Inland Printer and wood type specimen books at Columbia University and the Hamilton Manufacturing Company. “All in all, I spent about nine years preparing for publication, and it was another three years or so for the manuscript to go through editing and publication.” In spite of disappointing early sales, it is safe to say that the 1969 publication spurred interest in wood type across the country. One of the earliest and largest collections of wood type was that of the Morgan family. It was started in the 1940s by Willard Morgan and his two sons, Douglas and Lloyd. In time it became the largest such collection in the country. From 1964 on, the Morgan wood types had been available for photocomposition through the Morgans’ “Headliners International” catalog. The types were notably used by Pushpin Studios in New York, a leading graphic design company whose work was seen nationwide. The studio pioneered the use of reinvigorated historical styles, including the Victorian. A Pushpin Studios designer, John Alcorn, designed specimen books of the Morgan wood and metal types. Eventually the wood and metal type collection was appraised by Rob Roy Kelly and sold to the Smithsonian Institution for $250,000. Dr. Elizabeth Harris, then the curator of graphic arts, made the necessary arrangements for the acquisition. Several years later, in 1983, she mounted an exhibition at the Smithsonian based on the collection, with a catalog titled “The Fat and the Lean: American Wood Type in the 19th Century.” At the time Rob Roy Kelly and the Morgans were collecting wood type, there were others doing it as well, though on a smaller scale. In 1986, when I was editing the Newsletter of the American Printing History Association (APHA), I made a rough estimate of the size of various collections of metal and wood types. Among them, the largest collections of wood type were these: T. J. Lyons, Boston (c. 260 fonts) Frederic Nelson Phillips/TriArts Typographers, New York (180 fonts)

The Lyons collection was bought in 1974 by Compugraphic Corporation for use with its photosetting system. Compugraphic returned the type to Lyons in 1983, and then it was sold to David Greer. In 2015 David Greer donated the collection to the Massachusetts College of Art and Design.

Rob Roy Kelly—“Midwestern Pluralist and Pragmatist”

Another early collector of wood type was Frederic Nelson Phillips. In 1945, the year World War II ended, he published Phillips’ Old-Fashioned Type Book. He sold repro proofs of the types, as did the collection’s successor owner, Tri-Arts Typographers in New York City. After some years in storage, the collection was sold to Bowne & Company, Stationers, at the South Street Seaport Museum in New York. These collections, especially those that became available for advertising through photocomposition, greatly increased the visibility of the old types. In addition to these large collections, there were many individual collectors across the country. I was acquainted with about a dozen of them. The one thing that was indispensable to all was American Wood Type 1828–1900. I speak from personal experience. In 1985 I was asked to edit A Specimen Book of Nineteenth-Century Printing Types, to be published by Bowne & Company, Stationers, at the South Street Seaport Museum in New York. The book contained a section showing specimens of 175 wood types. Only a few of the wooden types were stamped with the maker’s name. For almost all the others, I found the information I sought in Rob Roy Kelly’s book. The same will be true for anyone seeking information about wood type. In 1999 Rachel Davis, in Specimen Book of Wood Type from the Collection of the Silver Buckle Press at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, wrote about her earlier efforts: I identified type specimens largely by sitting in front of cases of type with an edition of Rob Roy Kelly’s American Wood Type: 1828–1900, the Specimen Book of Nineteenth-Century Printing Types, Borders, Ornaments, & Cuts from Bowne & Co., and a binder of SBP proofs. These two books were valuable sources for identification: Kelly’s text has the advantage of showing whole alphabets, and Bowne’s book shows a wide range of type styles.

It’s amusing to note that almost all of the identifications in the Bowne book came from Kelly—so, in reality, that was the one and only source of Rachel Davis’s information. Anyone who collects, prints, or works with wood type cannot get very far without a copy of Kelly’s book at hand. With a little effort by the reader, it transforms a mass of attractive but bewilderingly nameless wood types into specific fonts, with known origins, makers, names, and approximate dates. American Wood Type 1828–1900 gave form and substance to what had been an undefined area of Americana, and now, fifty years after its publication, it is still a vital resource. — Stephen O. Saxe

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Rob Roy Kelly—“Midwestern Pluralist and Pragmatist”

II

Rob Roy Kelly, a Remembrance by Tracy Honn

David Shields invited me to write about working with Rob Roy Kelly on the wood type specimen book published by Silver Buckle Press in 1999. I am honored to contribute to David’s book—as someone who attempted to catalog wood type before David Shields came along, I fully appreciate his contributions to the field of wood type research, and his efforts to supplement Kelly’s monumental work. My interactions with Rob Roy Kelly were short and sweet. Thinking about the experience makes me realize (not for the first time) my good fortune. A minor challenge is that few artifacts remain to aid my memory. The Silver Buckle Press archive for the project has only two typed letters and a handwritten note from Kelly and lacks our letters to him. I have a copy of American Wood Type: 1828–1990: Notes on the Evolution of Decorated and Large Types and Comments on Related Trades of the Period that Kelly inscribed for me. The significant evidence of the work, of course, is the introduction Kelly wrote for our book. In 1998 I was running Silver Buckle Press at the University of Wisconsin at Madison and wanted to produce a catalog of the wood type in the collection. I was inspired by Bowne & Company’s elegant catalog of its metal and wood type. That 1985 publication had been overseen by Barbara Henry and edited by Stephen O. Saxe. I asked Steve, whom I’d met online through the LetPress listserv he monitored, if he’d advise us and help identify unknown types, and he kindly agreed. I hired Rachel Davis, a former student worker at the Silver Buckle Press who had just completed an MFA in printmaking, as a project manager. Neither of us knew much about the history of wood type, but we shared a passion for it, having used and loved it. Rachel and I began our research, as anyone does, paging through Rob Roy Kelly’s American Wood Type: 1828–1990. That book was on the reference shelf at Silver Buckle Press, along with other useful printing history items, including original Hamilton type catalogs. We were happily located in a research library with access to additional collections, interlibrary loan services, and excellent librarians. As I talked about the project with Walter Hamady (1940–2019, professor emeritus, Department of Art, University of Wisconsin at Madison), he suggested that I write and ask Rob Roy Kelly for help. I remember being confounded by the idea: until that moment I’d never imagined Kelly was a living mortal, much less a man who was teaching design at Arizona State University. After gathering some proofs, sample queries, and printed gifts, Rachel and I wrote and asked Kelly if he would look over our work and give his blessing to the project. In early February 1998, Kelly wrote to say: “I would be pleased to work with you on your proposed publication, and will do what I can for you.” Through the spring of 1998, Rachel handled every piece of type, examining it for maker’s marks, noting its condition, and describing each font’s components. Our days were filled with wood type shop talk, like the mysteries of type

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The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

28

classifications. We kept a running list of questions—things we’d tried, but just couldn’t answer on our own—set aside for asking first Saxe and then, if necessary, Kelly. Though we primarily corresponded with Saxe, Kelly was generous with his help, as is clear from the first letter he wrote (regarding the unidentified specimens we’d sent him): My best guess is that this is not a particularly significant variation. The design was cut by so many companies over a long period of time that you could expect to find some aberrant deviations among the different cuttings. On the Gothic Tuscan Condensed—check your specimen against the one shown on page 317 and I think you will find them similar if not identical. I am not sure who cut that last design, but it is from that period from the 1880s through the 1890s—a period of horrible designs. In my opinion, the finest designs from a typographical standpoint were cut before 1870.

Once we had types identified, we designed the layout for the book, which included essays by both Kelly and Saxe. I remember rekeying Kelly’s since it came by post—Saxe’s was submitted by email. Both manuscripts were proofread and lightly copyedited on our end before being sent back for approval. When the manuscript was complete, it was faxed to the Bixlers for monotype composition. Rachel edition-printed all the wood type specimens, and I finished printing the book in early 1999. The pertinent folio pages of the front matter were then separately sent through the post to Saxe and Kelly for signing. (In his return note Kelly wrote: “I lost a couple of sheets in the signing—pen slipped, ink on my hand.”) Once returned, these were gathered with all the sheets, collated, and shipped to Campbell-Logan Bindery with book cloth that Rachel had printed using wood border ornaments. The final edition was two hundred copies. Two fortuitous events bracketed our work. The first was the plan by the Two Rivers Historical Society in Wisconsin to open a museum devoted to Hamilton’s wood type production. In the fall of 1998, Rachel and I drove up and met the museum’s founder, Jim Van Lanen, who gave us a behind-the-scenes tour of the newly installed collections housed in one of Hamilton’s original buildings. (The Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum opened on Memorial Day the following year.) The second event was learning that the Southern Graphics Council Conference was to be held at ASU in Tempe, Arizona, in the spring of 1999. Rachel and I both made plans to attend since it would give us the opportunity to meet Rob Roy Kelly in person. I called Kelly beforehand and invited him and his wife Mary Helen to join Rachel and me for dinner. (Kelly was not involved in the conference in any way. I remember asking around and learning that he wasn’t on anyone’s radar. This surprised me then and astonishes me today.)

Rob Roy Kelly—“Midwestern Pluralist and Pragmatist”

The plan was that I would telephone on the day of our date, and Kelly would direct us to a restaurant near campus. I remember wondering what kind of place he would choose. When I called, Kelly said he’d decided on the restaurant Ruby Tuesday. He told me it was important to eat at this particular restaurant because they served something we had to have called a “blooming onion.” He explained that it was a dish he liked very much, and he was sure we would as well. It was early for dinner, and still sunny out in March; the place was busy, and the Kellys met us inside the entrance. Kelly had a large physical presence—big hands, nose, and ears, a ready smile, and alert, somewhat hawkish eyes. He used a rolling oxygen tank with a cannula tube in his nostril, and he was mildly impatient with the tank cart, which Mary Helen quietly helped him square away. After pleasantries and ordering—we shared the blooming onion—he began to talk. Kelly was a man who liked to talk and had a lot to say. He held the floor. He spoke without bombast and didn’t strike me as someone who just enjoyed the sound of his own voice. Kelly was a communicator, and he took that role seriously, even at our casual celebratory dinner. He showed interest in his fellow conversationalists, but Rachel (as she reminded me recently) was too shy then to talk much, and I was enthralled by his stories and happy to listen. Part of the difficulty in remembering exactly what Kelly said was that he started in medias res, that is, he was already galloping along on his course and I was listening intently, trying to catch up the whole time. His geographic locations ranged from Kansas to Minneapolis, and he spent a good part of the time telling us about the founding of the Walker Art Center. Among the names he mentioned (many I didn’t recognize) were those of his friends Joan and Walter Mondale. I think Hubert Humphrey was in the mix. It is to my shame that I made no notes immediately afterwards, though I’m sure it was because I was exhausted. Long after we published our specimen book, I came to understand that Kelly’s introduction to it, “Search and Research,” was the one place where he wrote in detail about both his collecting and his research methods. In 1959 Kelly began collecting wood type to use as a teaching tool for graphic design students. As he acquired more type and began to print specimens, he realized how little he knew (or could readily find) about the history of wood type. With his specimens accumulating, Kelly realized that the book he wanted to read about wood type was beginning to take shape by his own hand. He was in the weeds before he knew it: “In short, I was printing a book regarding a subject that I knew absolutely nothing about.” Searching and collecting led to identifying and recording, and for me, that was the foundation for research and everything else became elaboration. —Rob Roy Kelly, introduction to Specimen Book of Wood Type from the Collection of the Silver Buckle Press

29

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

30

Rob Roy Kelly’s American Wood Type: 1828–1990 is still considered the bible of its subject. It’s a thick, dense, and organizationally challenging book. The common need of most readers using American Wood Type: 1828–1990 is type identification, and the full specimen reproductions that conclude chapter 8, “Epilogue to the Wood Types,” are supremely useful. However, an enticing abundance of shorter specimens illustrate earlier chapters, particularly chapter 6, which is arranged chronologically to support Kelly’s discussion of the evolution of type styles. Pursuing a type ID necessitates a rapid flipping back and forth between sections, accompanied by head scratching and the bewildering feeling (having accidentally entered chapter 7, “Competition among the Related Trades”) that you are lost. Kelly loved the search, and he loved learning about his subject and then documenting the heck out of it. Besides wood type, Kelly collected cast trivets and wrote and published (with James Ellwood) A Collector’s Guide to Trivets and Stands. The book’s layout and scope are strikingly similar to his wood type book, and it includes a visual “Trivet Feet and Leg Chart” illustration that at first glance could be mistaken for the letter style charts he made for American Wood Type: 1828–1990. I’ve puzzled over Rob Roy Kelly’s various pursuits—wood type, cast trivets, desert gardening, and wood burls (these are just the ones I know about)—to understand what they have in common that might explain how they captured his imagination. Wood type and trivets are the most alike: each is a form of Americana, and both are the abundant fruits of nearly defunct industries. As subjects, wood type and trivets also have a lot of similarities: their utility, ephemerality, and ubiquity, as well as the history of their designs being freely copied and remade by their producers over time (with heydays in the nineteenth century). They are examples of easily overlooked artifacts that could catch an artist’s eye and, until Kelly, lacked formal study. All of Kelly’s interests share the elemental graphic qualities of firm lines and distinct shapes that repeat in countless variations within a narrow set of features. They are intricate in detail, formally arresting, and essentially vigorous. From cactus flower to printer’s fist, they all have visual gusto. Rob Roy Kelly was a force of nature. I am grateful to have known him, even a little. The opportunity to reflect on a twenty-year-old memory makes me more fully aware of the depth of impression the experience left on me. Though it was not wholly a conscious selection process, I recognize that from the period of first meeting Kelly, wood type–related activities have made up a hefty component of my own professional interests.

Rob Roy Kelly—“Midwestern Pluralist and Pragmatist”

In the final paragraph of Kelly’s introduction to American Wood Type: 1828–1990, he tells us that a book is an author’s effort to seek the truth, and that through the corrective force of persuasive facts the work will be improved: Through a book facts and opinions may be presented which readers may challenge. This process can bring us nearer the truth and, at some later date, provide the documentation that makes accurate history possible.

I read this as a hearty encouragement to David Shields, who has followed in Kelly’s footsteps and brought the work further along and “nearer the truth.” — Tracy Honn

31

Rob Roy Kelly—“Midwestern Pluralist and Pragmatist”

II

The Collection after Kelly

After the sale of the collection was finalized in late 1966, it was shipped from New York and arrived at the University of Texas campus in early 1967. All materials were placed in the archives at the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center (HRC), where they remained for nearly twenty years as an unprocessed, uncataloged collection. Sometime in early 1986, a cursory review of the collection was performed and a manifest listing its contents was produced. The impetus for the audit seemed to be connected to the annual Wayzgoose gathering of the Amalgamated Printers’ Association being held that year in Austin. Printing workshops with access to items from the collection were run in HRC’s Press Room. In the early 1990s, the HRC began exploring options to relocate the printing presses housed in the Center’s Press Room. Randy Swearer, then head of the Design Division, and Gloria Lee, then a newly hired assistant professor, learned of this interest in moving the presses and at the same time learned that the Rob Roy Kelly Collection was being considered for relocation as well. Lee, a recent graduate of the MFA program in design at Yale University, was well aware of the importance of Kelly’s work. She was able to secure the transfer of all printing material along with the copy of the folio to the Design Division of the Department of Art and Art History. The collection was installed for use as a study collection for students in the program. The transfer agreement was completed with Rich Oram, the public services librarian at the HRC, in April 1993, and the Design Division’s faculty moved the collection out of the HRC shortly thereafter. The presses moved out of the HRC were shared with professor Michael Winship 76 Michael Winship is an influential scholar focused on the nineteenth-century American book and publishing trades. He also edited and contributed to the five-volume A History of the Book in America.

of the English Department.76 In 1994 and 1995, work was undertaken to alter and secure the physical space housing the collection in the program’s Type Lab. By the end of 1996, Lee, joined by a newly hired assistant professor, Katie Salen, secured the delivery of a Vandercook No. 4 proofing press for use with the collection through Jace Graf of Cloverleaf Studio. With the addition of the proofing press to the Type Lab, the study collection was activated for use. Salen started a project counting all components of the known typefaces in the collection. This project was cut short when Salen departed the University of Texas in 2001. In the fall of 2004, I was hired as an assistant professor at the University of Texas and began to work with the collection, which was fully unpacked and physically organized. All objects were printed to facilitate a comprehensive audit and counting of all individual pieces of each font of type. Two undergraduate research assistants from the Design Division, Rachel Tepper (BFA ’09) and Josh Gamma (BFA ’09), worked with me during the summer of 2007 to complete printed proofs of the entire collection. These prints were scanned, all type blocks were photographed, and this documentation was aggregated into a digital database. The information previously compiled in Kelly’s publications was cross-referenced with data uncovered through my own historical research, and the updated information was added to

33

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

34

the database. Starting the following year, Meredith Miller, the lab manager for the Type Lab, printed proofs of the planing patterns located on the foot of the type block, from selections of each font of type. This documentation was also added to the database. The aggregated information stored in the database was used to build the first website for the collection, launched during the summer of 2009. The first version of the website focused on all of the types included in the collection. An update that added information about all borders and ornaments in the collection was completed the next summer. The website received periodic updates over the following two years. The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection’s first website was shuttered by the university in 2014. The current version of the website was relaunched after a significant redesign and rewrite by Jac Juengst (BFA ’17) in the spring of 2017. After Meredith Miller’s departure from the university, Michele Beyer and then Kathie Sever served in succession as lab managers of the Type Lab, and each was a thoughtful steward of the collection. Kevin Auer, as lab manager, and Colin Frazer, a visiting faculty member, worked in the collection starting in the spring of 2014. Frazer departed the university in the spring of 2015, at the end of his one-year appointment, and Auer continued as lab manager until early 2019. Henry Smith, the current lab manager for the Design Lab, took over in the spring of 2019. Students have acted as research assistants, and many have also engaged directly in their own research projects, using the collection as their primary frame of inquiry. Among them were Jimmy Luu (MFA ’06), Rachel Tepper (BFA ’09), Josh Gamma (BFA ’09), Wes Wooddell (BFA ’09), Ayham Ghraowi (BFA ’11), Lauren Dickens (BFA ’11), Javier Viramontes (BFA ’11), Mala Kumar (BFA ’11), Emily Sawtelle (BFA ’11), and Christine Wu (BFA ’12)—to name only students I worked with directly before departing the university in the summer of 2012. The Design Division was reorganized as the Department of Design. Since then, it has continued to maintain the Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection as Kelly intended, an active study collection, and to welcome scholars and practitioners who wish to engage with the collection.

35

Invoice from engraver in Chicago that Kelly worked with to cut replacement characters for pieces missing from his collection.

Invoice from John W. Matthys & Co, July 23, 1959. Rob Roy Kelly Collection, MS-02257. Harry Ransom Center, The University of Texas at Austin.

A Time Line of American Manufacturers

III

A Time Line of American Manufacturers

Over the course of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in America, wood type production was carried out by a small number of manufacturers. Throughout the nineteenth century, no more than three or four manufacturers were ever successfully operating at any one time. The 1880s were the high point for competition, with six manufacturers in operation simultaneously. The major companies that drove the industry during the nineteenth century included: Darius Wells & Company (then Wells & Webb, E. R. Webb & Company, Vanderburgh, Wells & Company, and finally Heber Wells); William Leavenworth & J. M. Debow; Edwin Allen (supplying wood type exclusively to George Nesbitt’s company); J. G. Cooley & Company; Bill, Stark & Company; William H. Page & Company (later William H. Page Wood Type Company); David Knox & Company; William & Samuel Day; American Wood Type Company (later Tubbs & Company, then Tubbs Manufacturing Company); Morgans & Young (later Morgans & Wilcox Manufacturing Company); and James Hamilton’s Holly Wood Type Company (later Hamilton & Katz, then Hamilton & Baker, then Hamilton Manufacturing Company). Connecticut and New York City were centers of wood type production all through the nineteenth century. This center shifted as the Hamilton Manufacturing Company, based in Two Rivers, Wisconsin, acquired the industry’s major competitors at the end of the century. While several minor manufacturers, including the Empire Wood Type Company, American Wood Type Manufacturing Company, and Eastern Brass & Wood Type, remained in New York City during the first decades of the twentieth century, the center of wood type manufacturing had moved west. In 1904, Tubbs Manufacturing Company, the Hamilton Manufacturing Company’s remaining major competitor and the last Connecticut-based manufacturer, moved to Ludington, Michigan (directly across Lake Michigan from Two Rivers, Wisconsin), after Charles Tubbs sold all interests in the company to four employees. The Hamilton Manufacturing Company gained an economic advantage over its competitors in the 1880s and 1890s by selling holly wood types—produced using the veneer method—at half the cost of the competition and by developing a business model that fed a national (and international) network of distributors rather than solely relying on selling directly to printers. This advantage allowed the Hamilton Manufacturing Company to acquire all of its major competitors. The William H. Page Wood Type Company was acquired in 1891, Morgans & Wilcox Manufacturing Company in 1897, and Heber Wells (successor to Vanderburgh, Wells & Company) in late 1899. The Hamilton Manufacturing Company acquired Tubbs Manufacturing Company, its last major competitor from the nineteenth century, in 1909 after a contentious industrial espionage case argued in federal district court in late 1908. The wood type industry went into decline starting in the 1920s, though some small manufacturing concerns that began in New York City in the 1930s and 1940s were flourishing. Most specimen catalogs were reduced to offering a limited range of styles dominated by Gothics throughout the rest of the twentieth century. The remaining manufacturers shut down one by one. Empire Type Foundry, which produced wood type at its Delevan, New York, factory, seems to have ceased production in 1970. The Hamilton Manufacturing Company ceased production in 1985. Rube Mandel’s American Wood Type Manufacturing Company, which had opened in 1932 out of New York City and moved later to Long Island, quit manufacturing wood type in late 2001.

37

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

Illustrated Time Line of American Manufacturers

38

A Time Line of American Manufacturers

39

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

III

40

Production Methods

Wood was an effective substrate for making type at larger sizes for display or poster purposes because it was readily available, cost-effective, lightweight, and durable. Before Wells’s invention of the lateral router, large poster type was cut in wood only by hand, and typically by printers for their own shops. Three methods were developed that provided for the mechanical production of wood type and enabled the commercial expansion of the industry in the nineteenth century— router-cut1, die-cut, and veneer. Of these three methods, the router-cut method was used to produce most of the wood type in circulation. The majority of type in the collection was produced with this method, but it also includes some examples of veneer and die-cut types. Kelly described the enameled wood type process in American Wood Type as well, though the collection lacks any examples. In addition to the invention of the lateral router as a cutting tool, Wells also introduced the use of patterns to provide consistent reproducibility of the original form when cutting type. Over the course of wood type’s commercial history, patterns were used in all production methods. Pattern usage can be organized into three general approaches: (1) a stepped approach in which the pattern is first traced to the substrate, then the shape is cut using the trace as a visual guide, as in the veneer method; (2) a simultaneous approach in which the pattern is traced and the shape is cut at the same time, as with the router-pantograph method; and (3) a direct approach in which the pattern itself is used to cut the type directly into a substrate, as in the die-cut method.

1 Kelly used the term “endcut” rather than “router-cut” in American Wood Type 1828–1900, acknowledging the fact that the end-grain of the wood was typically used as the prepared printing surface, a technique borrowed from wood engraving. Side-grain was also used, however, as cuts were less expensive to produce; these tended to be used for the largest sizes of wood type. Early manufacturers like William Leavenworth and John Lomax both used the side-grain, and in the twentieth century, American Wood Type Manufacturing Company cut all of its type on the side-grain.

A Time Line of American Manufacturers

41

The Router-Cut Method

2 Sterling P. Rounds, “Wood Type,” Rounds’ Monthly Printer’s Cabinet (Chicago), May 1, 1857, no. 4.

All manufacturers used the router-cut

of type cutting templates. “Instead of the

method in the production of wood type.

grooved pattern of the former [Leaven-

The method consisted of spinning a metal

worth], Mr. Allen adopted a raised pattern,

cutting bit at high speeds to remove (or

being of easier execution.”3 Both Leaven-

rout) material from the face of a type-high

worth and Wells had used grooved type

block of hardwood, while tracing around a

patterns that were more expensive to make

positive printing shape (a letter’s contour) to

and more difficult to use.

produce the negative nonprinting area. Dar-

The combination of the router and the

ius Wells, while in partnership with David

pantograph allowed for the mechanical

Bruce Jr. in New York City in 1826, devel-

mass production of wood type. The router,

oped the mechanism that would become the

moved in coordination with the tracing

basis for his invention of the lateral router

arm of the pantograph, followed a raised

in 1827. This invention made the economi-

template to simultaneously cut a dupli-

cal production of wood type possible. This

cate copy of the pattern. It allowed for the

same basic machine, a router, is still used

exact cutting of any size of type, scaled

today to mill and shape a range of materials

uniformly or non-uniformly, from the

and is no longer limited just to wood.

original template.4 The router spun a steel

In 1834, William Leavenworth and A. R.

cutting bit at high speeds to quickly remove

Gilmore in Syracuse, New York, adapted

superfluous material and leave a rounded

the pantograph—a sixteenth-century

cut as an artifact of the tool shape, while the

device used to mechanically duplicate line

pantograph afforded the exact duplication

drawings—combined it with Wells’s lateral

of the original pattern. The removal of the

router, and created “a machine for cutting

router’s artifacts required skilled hand-

wood type, changing their forms from full

finishing using traditional wood engraving

face to what is known by printers as con-

tools to create sharp angles where the

densed, extra condensed, and double extra

router left rounded corners when cutting at

condensed.”2 This is referred to simply as

a non-reflex angle. The router-pantograph

the router-pantograph method.

was originally powered by a foot treadle

In late 1836, Edwin Allen in Norwich,

but was quickly adapted to steam power,

Connecticut, developed his own version

and then eventually to electrical power,

of the router-pantograph, though it was

further accelerating wood type production.

very similar to Leavenworth and Gilmore’s

This efficiency provided through the use

invention. Allen entered into a business

of the router-pantograph made it possible

agreement with George Nesbitt of New

to develop and produce new wood type

York and successfully manufactured wood

designs more quickly and easily than it

type for him from 1837 until 1852. An April

took a type founder to develop and produce

1866 article in The Printer indicated that

metal type, and at a fraction of the cost. The

in addition to his independent invention

combined router-pantograph was used to

of combining the router and pantograph,

produce wood type across the entire dura-

Allen also innovated the configuration

tion of the industry.

3 John Greason and D. J. Ward, “Metal and Wood Type Making,” The Printer (New York City) 6, no. 11 (April 1866).

4 This use of a universal master drawing predated the adoption of this technique by type foundries later in the nineteenth century and by photo-typesetters in the twentieth century.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

42

The Die-Cut Method In the die-cut method, a brass or steel

and 1889. The company used this process to

pattern matching the letter’s contour was

produce wood type, decorative borders, and

pressed or punched directly into the print-

stamped wood rule.6

ing side of a type-high block of hardwood.

T. L. DeVinne documented the improve-

Early versions of this method required

ments to the tools originally developed

the resulting punched type to be finished

and used by Darius Wells in conjunction

by hand or router, as it was necessary to

with his lateral router, including the use

remove the remaining wood left in the

of patterns made of brass sheet rather

nonprinting area outside the contour. This

than of hand-cut cardboard patterns and

rudimentary form of the die-cut method

“cast-brass patterns, with elevated edges,

had been used as early as 1828. Later in the

which when pressed in the wood, both

nineteenth century, refinements allowed

marked and engraved the outlines of each

the entire letter to be finished with one

type.”7 This seems to describe the basic

stamping. William Page and George

components of the die-cut method. In 1852,

Setchell of the William H. Page Wood Type

John McCreary filed for a patent on a die-

Company patented a number of improve-

cut process.8 The patent described many

ments to the die-cut process between 1887

facets of the method later used by Page and Setchell, who patented improvements to the die-cut method between 1887 and 1889.9 After acquiring the William H. Page Wood Type Company in 1891, the Hamilton Manufacturing Company, driven in large part by the price competition from Hamilton’s holly wood type, gained the machinery to produce type with the die-cut method, which the company continued using until around 1906.

6 Daniel Schneider, “Wood Type Archaeology: An Inquiry into Worker Skill in Wood Printing Type Manufacture,” master’s thesis, Michigan Technological University, 2015. 7 Theodore Low DeVinne, Plain Printing Types: The Practice of Typography (New York: Century Co., 1900), p. 348. 8 John McCreary, Manufacturing Wooden Type, US letters patent 9,454, issued December 7, 1852. 9 George Setchell began his employment at William H. Page & Company in 1868, after returning from his service in the Union Army during the Civil War. By 1872, Setchell had worked his way up to foreman of the type shop; he became president of the company in 1881. Together, Page and Setchell patented improvements to the die-cut production method. These patents included patent 237,054 (January 25, 1881), patents 374,993 and 375,008 (December 20, 1887), patents 389,112 and 389,113 (September 4, 1888), and patents 402,850, 402,851, 402,852, and 402,863 (May 7, 1889). In 1889, Setchell sold his interest in the William H. Page Wood Type Company to Samuel Dauchy. Dauchy became president of the company and managed its acquisition by the Hamilton Manufacturing Company in 1891. Of interesting note, Dauchy had been John Cooley’s partner from 1866 to 1869 and had purchased Cooley’s portions of the business, including the printers’ warehouse and advertising agency in 1869 when the wood type concern of Cooley & Dauchy was acquired by William H. Page.

A Time Line of American Manufacturers

Enameled Wood Type A range of materials—including leather, glass, elastic, and rubber—were experimented with in the United States throughout the nineteenth century to find alternatives to wood for producing large poster types. Any number of processes were patented, but only celluloid proved successful enough to be commercially viable for the production of printing type.10 “When used as a substitute for wood in the production of large printing type, it is found to be much preferable to wood. It has a fine surface, possesses great durability, can be readily worked, is light, and can stand all the rough usage of job press.”11 The celluloid or enameled wood type

The Veneer Method

production method involved coating a wood block with a thin sheet of celluloid to

The veneer method was a stepped process

produce a more durable printing surface.

that consisted of a positive shape manually

11 James Nichols, W. J. Rolfe, and Austin Nichols, “Celluloid Printing-plates,” Popular Science News and Boston Journal of Chemistry (Boston: Popular Science News Co.) 17, no. 9 (September 1883): 105.

Celluloid or enameled type was produced

traced from a pattern onto a thin substrate.

by either (1) fusing the wood block with

The traced shape was then cut out of the

celluloid on the printing side, then rout-

thin material and affixed to a cheaper,

ing through the coated surface and wood

thicker material that was used as a base to

together to produce the printable form, or

produce a printable block.

(2) stereotyping a form in celluloid and then

J. E. Hamilton invented this process in

affixing this to a block of wood. This tech-

1880 in Two Rivers, Wisconsin. Hamilton’s

nique began in the early 1880s and would

companies were the only ones known to use

reach its peak in the mid-1890s. It does not

the process commercially. After the letter

appear to have been used after the first

design was cut from a thin piece of holly

decade of the twentieth century. There were

wood, it was affixed to a cheaper wood block,

no more than a few companies in the United

typically pine. The side opposite the printing

States that produced poster type with this

face was planed to bring the block down to

material—New York Celluloid Stereotype

type-high (or height to paper from the foot

Company, National Printing Materials Com-

of the block). At the time, this was a major

pany, Empire Wood Type Company, and

innovation in wood type production, and

Advertisers’ Cellutype Company.

it enabled Hamilton to sell his holly wood

The use of celluloid for poster type did

types at half the cost of his competition,

not appear to have been commercially

who were producing wood type with the

established in Europe. There was a resur-

traditional router-pantograph. Hamilton

gence of experiments into alternative

& Baker added the router-cut method to its

materials focused primarily on synthetics

production in mid-1888, then phased out the

after the First World War that lasted until

use of the veneer method “in favor of more traditional router-cut type around 1890.”5

10 Celluloid is a chemical compound produced primarily from nitrocellulose and camphor. It was first developed in the mid-nineteenth century in England and brought to the United States in the 1860s. Though marketed under a number of names, Celluloid was the commercial name primarily used starting in the 1870s.

the industry’s waning days in the late twen5 Bill Moran et al., Hamilton Wood Type: A History in Headlines (Minneapolis: Blinc Publishing, 2004), p. 23.

tieth century.12 After about 1910 and through the decline of the industry by the last quarter of the twentieth century, all remaining wood type manufacturers in the United States produced wood type with the router-cut method.

12 Dafi Kühne, “Alternatives to Wood Type in the Twentieth Century,” master’s thesis, University of Reading, 2019.

43

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

III

Planing Patterns

44

Selection of finished planing patterns of known manufacturers, including J. G. Cooley & Company, Vanderburgh, Wells & Company,

Part of the work of investigating the collection has been developing methods to systematically analyze and identify all of its physical components. This effort has required that the origins of each object be clarified to provide a definitive history of its production and, when possible, an understanding of its provenance. While locating the manufacturing stamp has provided a useful technique for identifying the 57 percent of the collection that includes such a stamp, techniques for identifying the other 43 percent that lack a stamp were needed. Identification of types unattributed to manufacturers and the clarification of their histories began by physically examining the superfluous artifacts left unintentionally in the material during the production process. The Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum in Twin Rivers, Wisconsin, is a unique repository of the machinery used to finish the raw end wood of type blocks. The museum houses everything from end-grain wood sanders to pantograph patterns and finishing tools. A visit to this prodigious collection Print of foot of type block. Artifact of planing tool indicated with overlay of solid lines, and natural grain of wood indicated with overlay of dotted line.

of production equipment provided the impetus for developing the following hypothesis to help determine the manufacturer of a type block without relying solely on the manufacturer’s stamp: that the origin of specific type blocks might be traced through examining the rough planing pattern that remained on the foot (the portion of the block that rests on the press bed) of the finished types. The idea was that the visual differences in planing patterns were likely to reflect the variety of finishing machinery utilized by different manufacturers, and that

A Time Line of American Manufacturers

45

William H. Page & Company,

American Wood Type Company,

Comparison of five manufacturers’ planing patterns, using type blocks with the manufacturer’s stamp:

Hamilton Manufacturing Company

the differences in equipment performance would be made evident in the unique planing patterns that remained on the foot of each manufacturer’s type blocks.

Vanderburgh, Wells & Company, with stamp used 1867–1890

The initial findings indicated that there was no single planing pattern but rather a set of patterns that could be identified as those of a particular manufacturer. This lack of regularity in patterns from a single manufacturer is most likely a measure of the efficiency and quality of the company’s physical tool, and

Hamilton Manufacturing Company, with stamp used from the 1910s to the 1950s

points to why the equipment would have required regular maintenance during normal production. The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection provided an excellent data

J. G. Cooley & Company, with stamp used from around 1859 or 1863 until 1866

set for testing this hypothesis, with its many fonts produced by a range of identified manufacturers. The pattern on the foot of every block from the entire collection was precisely recorded in print. These prints were annotated to identify the manufacturer of the known types and then scanned to produce digital files so

William H. Page & Company, with stamp used 1867–1876

that they could be easily overlaid to compare for similarities and differences. This technique is an initial method of analysis that may help resolve the identities of type manufacturers for blocks that lack production stamps and provide the tools

American Wood Type Company, with stamp used 1879–1883

to expand the existing historical description of the collection. Although this technique has not yet been perfected, it was effective in conditionally identifying a number of possible manufacturers of type in the collection. Patterns are enlarged 200 percent of original.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

III

Manufacturer’s Stamps in Collection

During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, wood type manufacturers stamped marks into the type block to advertise and authenticate the original manufacturer of the wood type. It was not uncommon for manufacturers to try to pass off a competitor’s design as their own. William H. Page & Company explained the custom of marking type in the introduction to its May 1860 Supple46

mentary Specimens of Wood Type: Rules, Borders, &c.: “Parties have supposed they were buying our type, and got other manufacturers instead. Be sure to look at the A’s of each font, which are all marked, and any article so stamped will be warranted to give the utmost satisfaction to the purchaser.” These stamped marks are referred to as manufacturer’s stamps (also often informally called “maker’s marks”). Though not dissimilar from type founders’ pin marks in their effect, the manufacturer’s stamps were not a by-product of the manufacturing process; instead, they were intentionally created as a separate step in production by striking a steel punch to the side of the wooden type block to distinguish the manufacturer’s products from those of its competitors.13 This strike was performed manually after the type block had been finished, as the final step in the manufacturing process. While type foundries were able to build the pin mark into the type mold for each letter marking every piece of type cast, American wood type manufacturers would typically only stamp the side of the block of the capital « A ». Though the stamp was initially located on different parts of the block—on the foot, the side, the shoulder—by the mid-1850s most manufacturers were

13 In certain type casting machines, a particular component of the type mold would leave a depression (usually circular in shape) on the side of the printing type. This depression was referred to as the “pin mark” and was a place where type founders would engrave an identifying trademark.

placing the stamp on the side of the type block. Many manufacturers made use of a stamped mark, but it was not consistently used across all manufacturers. A number of manufacturers instead applied paper labels to the side of the type block. Unfortunately, these paper labels did not withstand the test of time, nor even the regular wear-and-tear of the printing office; once removed, they left no indication of the original manufacturer. In providing physical evidence to connect a specific manufacturer to a particular font of type, the manufacturer’s stamp continues to serve a useful purpose today by also narrowing the date range when a type block could have been produced. Rob Roy Kelly pointed out that dating type blocks by relying solely on the surviving printed catalog record to indicate a manufacturer’s stamp configuration “is not entirely reliable.”14 Reconstructing the record of wood type manufacturers not just through specimen catalogs but also from business records, trade journals, city directories, employment records, and fire insurance maps provides a more complete, if not absolutely definitive, indicator of dates of use of manufacturer’s stamps. In his 1964 folio, Rob Roy Kelly identified fifteen manufacturer’s stamps and included an explanation of the stamping process. Five years later, in his book American Wood Type 1828–1900, he would use this explanation to accompany sixteen identified manufacturer’s stamps. Analysis of the collection based on the prevalence of these manufacturer’s stamps has revealed that nearly half the collection is made up of types produced by companies owned by William H. Page (25.9 percent) and J. E. Hamilton (23.4 percent). The collection also includes examples of types made by other major American manufacturers: Vanderburgh, Wells & Company, Tubbs Manufactur-

14 Kelly, American Wood Type 1828–1900, p. 61.

A Time Line of American Manufacturers

ing Company, and J. G. Cooley & Company. The types present in the collection of these five manufacturers provide examples of fourteen stamp configurations. Although the majority of the type in the collection is identified, 43 percent of its types are unstamped and their manufacturers remain unidentified. The following list of stamps found in the collection provides standardized analytical descriptions that, to date, include stamp name/text (in quasi-facsimile transcription), stamp configuration, and dates of use. This configuration is proposed as a standardized system of transcribing type block information as precisely (and reasonably invariably) as possible, so as to develop an accurate method for describing type blocks as physical objects and comparing them for mark variation. Further development of this method would also include stamp measure and orientation and location on the type block.

13 stamped fonts in collection

9 stamped fonts in collection

PAGE & Co | GREENVILLE | CT

Wm H. PAGE & Co

Three lines, top line curved. Likely in use 1857–1859 and the 1870s.

One line. In use 1867–1876.

Rob Roy Kelly believed that this stamp was used 1857–1859. While this seems entirely plausible, there is as yet no supporting evidence to verify his assertion. In October 1857, the company Page & Basset moved from South Windham to Greenville, Connecticut. It is not clear that the company name was actually changed during this time. This stamp has also been found on some type designs that were not first shown until the late 1860s and early 1870s. 1 stamped font in collection PAGE & Co | GREENVILLE | CT | PATENTED

Four lines, top line curved. Could have been used as early as 1863. This configuration is made of two separate stamps. PAGE & Co | GREENVILLE | CT matched the stamp likely in use 1857–1859 and the 1870s. PATENTED was stamped separately and could have been used as early as 1863. 7 stamped fonts in collection Wm H. PAGE & Co | GREENVILLE, Ct

Two lines. In use 1859–1867. In 1859, Samuel Mowry bought out James Bassett’s shares and the name of the company was changed to William H. Page & Company. The company’s October 1859 specimen catalog confirmed this stamp was first used in 1859.

The company’s April 1867 specimen catalog stated that the stamp Wm H. PAGE & Co was first used that year. The 1872 and 1874 specimen catalogs also indicated the use of this stamp configuration. This stamp was used until the company changed its name in 1876, coinciding with the retirement of Samuel Mowry. 2 stamped fonts in collection PAGE W. T. Co

One line, curved. In use 1876–1891. In 1876 Samuel Mowry retired and the company name was changed to the William H. Page Wood Type Company. In 1878 the company was moved half a mile to Norwich, Connecticut. By January 1891, the acquisition of the company by the Hamilton Manufacturing Company of Two Rivers, Wisconsin, was finalized and all assets of the company were moved west. 9 stamped fonts in collection PATENTED | DEC. 20 1887

Two lines. Die-stamped, on shoulder. In use 1887–1891.

47

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

1 paper label in collection J. E. HAMILTON TWO | RIVERS WIS

Paper label with six lines of text. In use 1880–1881.

48

James Edward Hamilton founded the Hamilton Holly Wood Type Company in Two Rivers, Wisconsin, in August 1880. In October of that year, he sent samples of the type to his younger brothers, who published The Detroit Record of Beeker County, Minnesota. Henry Hamilton, the youngest brother, printed the paper labels that would be affixed to fonts of holly wood type—of which this is a surviving example. 10 stamped fonts in collection THE HAMILTON MFG CO | TWO | RIVERS | & | CHICAGO

Five lines, top and bottom lines curved. In use 1889–1891. The Hamilton Manufacturing Company was incorporated on January 1, 1889, and by August 1889 had opened a Chicago office. On January 4, 1891, the acquisition of the William H. Page Wood Type Company was finalized. In October of that year, the company established a New York office, which precipitated a change to the manufacturer’s stamp. 1 stamped font in collection THE HAMILTON MFG CO | TWO RIVERS, WIS

Two lines. In use 1891–c. 1927. This stamp was used as early as 1891, but not after 1927, when the company reincorporated to become publicly traded and removed the definite article from the start of its corporate name. 22 stamped fonts in collection HAMILTON | TWO | RIVERS, WIS.

Three lines. In use c. 1910s–c. 1950s. There is evidence that this stamp may have been used as early as the 1910s, and possibly even earlier, though currently not enough corroborating evidence has been uncovered to establish a definitive start date. Anecdotal evidence points to the stamp not being used after the mid-1950s, when the company phased out its Printer’s Composing Room Equipment Division. The stamp would not have been used after April 1968, when American Hospital Supply Corporation bought the company and changed the name Hamilton Manufacturing Company to American Hamilton. 7 fonts in collection with no label or stamp but produced with the veneer method, which was used only by Hamilton companies.

A Time Line of American Manufacturers

1 stamped font in collection

1 stamped font in collection

AMERICAN W. T. Co.

V. W & Co | 18 | DUTCH St | N. Y.

One line. In use 1879–1883.

Four lines, top line curved. In use 1864–1867.

In 1879, Charles Tubbs, John Martin, and George Kies left the employ of the William H. Page Wood Type Company to start the American Wood Type Company in South Windham, Connecticut. They set the company up in the buildings used forty years earlier by Edwin Allen to manufacture wood type for George Nesbitt, and then by J. G. Cooley from 1852 to 1859.

Heber Wells (Darius Wells’s youngest son), Alexander Vanderburgh, and Henry Low purchased the wood type manufacturing concern E. R. Webb & Company from the estate of Ebenezer Webb (Darius Wells’s partner and successor) after Webb’s death in June 1864. The company operated as Vanderburgh, Wells & Company at 18 Dutch Street in New York City.

2 stamped fonts in collection

4 stamped fonts in collection

AMERICAN W. T. Co. | SO. WINDHAM CT

VANDERBURGH WELLS & CO | NEW YORK

Two lines, top line curved. In use 1883–1902.

Two lines, top line curved. In use 1867–1890.

In May 1883, Charles Tubbs bought out the interests of his two partners and took sole ownership of the American Wood Type Company. While the name remained the same, the January 1883 specimen catalog indicated that the stamp configuration was altered to include SO. WINDHAM CT. This stamp was used until 1902, when the company’s name was changed to Tubbs & Company.

The alteration to the manufacturer’s stamp coincided with the relocation of the company’s production facilities to New York City in 1867 after the destruction of the manufacturing warehouse in Patterson, New Jersey.

3 stamped fonts in collection AMERICAN | WOOD TYP CO.

Two lines, top line larger size. Dates of use unknown. This stamp was likely used by Charles Tubbs’s American Wood Type Company of South Windham, Connecticut, sometime after 1879 and before 1902. The missing “E” from “TYP” is a curious detail.

1 stamped font in collection J.G. COOLEY | NEW YORK

Two lines, curved. In use 1859 (or 1863)–1866. J. G. Cooley purchased the wood type concern of Edwin Allen in South Windham, Connecticut, in 1852. In 1859, Cooley partnered with Robert Lindsay, opening offices in New York City. In 1863, all production was moved from Connecticut to New York. In 1864 Cooley ended his partnership with Lindsay, and in 1866 he partnered with Samuel Dauchy, changing the name of the company to Cooley & Dauchy.

49

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

III

Hand-List of Known American Wood Type Specimen Catalogs to 1901

Type specimen catalogs were produced and distributed as a way to promote and sell the products of type foundries and wood type manufacturers. These sales catalogs were typically produced as economically as possible—cheaply and quickly. Because they were created to promote a regularly expanding line of product offerings, the contents were typically made obsolete with the publishing of the 50

next version of the catalog. Their disposable nature makes the catalogs that remain exceedingly rare. A document originally printed in the thousands may be known today through only a handful of copies, and very often only a single copy. This ephemerality creates gaps in the continuity of available information. One can only speculate on what is missing from a complete specimen record. Existing catalogs can be used as primary source material for dating the introduction of particular styles and are critical to linking these type designs to specific manufacturers. Although sales catalogs provide unique information, there are also limits on what they contribute. Wood type manufacturers’ sales catalogs typically enticed buyers with samples of only a few characters of each design rather than full character sets that competitors could easily copy. To afford users the most flexibility, as well as to prolong the shelf life of the products, catalogs were not usually printed with specific publishing dates. A close reading, however, can reveal a number of details that provide information critical to establishing reasonably accurate dates of publication. Rob Roy Kelly compiled the first enumerative bibliography of specimen catalogs focused solely on American wood type manufacturers. His text in Design Quarterly, No. 56 (1964) included a hand-list of fifty-eight American manufacturers’ specimen catalogs published in the nineteenth century. He expanded this list to include a total of seventy-five catalogs in American Wood Type (1969). Before Kelly’s list, there were only two other bibliographies of type catalogs that also included American wood type manufacturers’ catalogs. Henry Lewis Bullen’s Duplicates of Type Specimen Books (1934) included three titles in his list of duplicate catalogs for sale by the Typographic Library and Museum of the American Type Founders Company, and Lawrence Romaine’s American Trade Catalogs 1744–1900 (1960) included twenty-one titles. For over fifty years, Kelly’s list has remained the most comprehensive bibliography compiled. The updated hand-list supplied here includes nearly one hundred catalogs from sixteen archives in the United States. To maintain focus, this hand-list is limited to catalogs published directly by manufacturers before 1901 and does not contain catalogs published by wood type distributors. Each entry provides published date, manufacturer name, catalog title, document collation, size, archive location, and indicates which catalogs were previously listed by Bullen, Kelly, or Romaine. Document collation is indicated in simplified form, using pages (p) to indicate printing on both sides, and leaves (ℓ ) to indicate printing on only one side. Brackets [ ] are used to indicate when there is no printed pagination or foliation. Numbers inside brackets indicate inferred pagination or foliation.

A Time Line of American Manufacturers

AAS

American Antiquarian Society

CHS

Connecticut Historical Society

CU

American Type Founders Library Collection,



Columbia University

GRO

Grolier Club Library

HAM

Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum

HUNT

Huntington Library

HVD

Houghton Library, Harvard University

KEMB

Kemble Collection, California Historical Society

NL

John M. Wing Foundation, Newberry Library

NYHS

New-York Historical Society

NYPL

New York Public Library

RIT

Cary Graphic Arts Collection,



Rochester Institute of Technology

March 1828 / K Darius Wells

D. Wells, Letter Cutter, 161 Broadway (Rear of George Long’s Book Store) [13]ℓ : 8 × 13˝ : CU July 1838 / K George F. Nesbitt (Edwin Allen)

First Premium Wood Types, Cut by Machinery [258]ℓ : 7 × 10˝ : CU c. 1836–1838 / K J. M. Debow (William Leavenworth)

Specimen of Leavenworth’s Patent Wood Type, Manufactured by J. M. Debow, Allentown, N. J. [37]ℓ : 7.675 × 12.79˝ : NYPL

RMS

Rochester Museum & Science Center Library

SFPL

Robert Grabhorn Collection, San Francisco Public Library

STPL

Nicholas Werner Collection, St. Louis Public Library

1840 / K

UCSB

University of California at Santa Barbara Library

Wells & Webb

B Duplicates of Type Specimen Books (1934) by Henry Lewis Bullen K American Wood Type 1828–1900 (1969) by Rob Roy Kelly R American Trade Catalogs 1744–1900 (1960) by Lawrence B. Romaine

Specimen of Plain and Ornamental Wood Type, Cut by Machinery, by Wells & Webb (Late D. Wells & Co.) [144]ℓ : 7.25 × 11˝ : CU 1841 / K George F. Nesbitt (Edwin Allen)

Nesbitt’s Fourth Specimen of Machinery Cut Wood Type [9]ℓ : 7.75 × 8.75˝ : CU April 1849 / K Wells & Webb

Specimen of Wood Type, “Cut by Machinery” by Wells & Webb [96]ℓ : 9.25 × 12˝ : AAS | CU April 1853 / K Bill, Stark & Co.

Specimens of Machinery Cut Wood Type, Manufactured by Bill, Stark & Co, Willimantic, Conn. [17]ℓ : 9.75 × 12.25˝ : CU 1854 / B K R Wells & Webb

Specimens of Wood Type, Manufactured by Wells & Webb [141]ℓ : 10 × 12˝ : AAS | CU | NL | HUNT After 1854 / K E. R. Webb & Co.

Specimens of Wood Type, Manufactured by E. R. Webb & Co. [142]ℓ : 10 × 12˝ : CU Wells & Webb catalog with a new company name and a tipped-in extra leaf.

51

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

52

1858 / K R

[July 1, 1865]

D. Knox & Co.

William H. Page & Co.

Specimens of Wood Type, Manufactured by D. Knox & Co., Fredericksburg, Ohio [143]ℓ : 9.625 × 12.5˝ : NL

Specimens of Wood Borders Manufactured by Wm. H. Page & Co., Greenville, Conn. 1 broadside : 28.125 × 40.5˝ : CU

October 1, 1859 / K

April 1, 1867

William H. Page & Co.

William H. Page & Co.

Specimens of Wood Type, Borders, Rules, &c. Manufactured by Wm. H. Page & Co. Greenville, Conn. [165]ℓ : 11 × 14˝ : AAS | CHS | CU | NL

Wm. H. Page & Co.’s Specimens of Wood Type, Manufactured at Greenville, Conn. [98]ℓ : 11.5 × 14.375˝ : KEMB

c. 1859 / K R

July 1, 1870

J. G. Cooley & Co.

William H. Page & Co.

J. G. Cooley & Co’s Specimens of Wood Type [110]ℓ : 12.375 × 16.5˝ : NL

Specimens of Wood Type Manufactured by Wm. H. Page & Co., Greenville, Conn. [68]ℓ : 10 × 13˝ : NYPL

Kelly and Romaine both record an incorrect date of 1850 in their bibliography. The NL copy includes parts of two smaller, undated specimens collated into library binding: twenty-one leaves of J. G. Cooley & Company, Cooley’s Wood Letter, likely published around 1863, and eleven leaves of Vanderburgh, Wells & Company, likely published sometime after 1872.

October 1, 1870 / K William H. Page & Co.

[German] Specimens of Wood Type Manufactured by Wm. H. Page & Co., Greenville, Conn. [54]ℓ : 9.875 × 12.875˝ : CU | HAM | STPL

c. 1859–1863

August 1, 1872 / K R

J. G. Cooley & Co.

William H. Page & Co.

Cooley’s Wood Letter [17]ℓ, [3]ℓ, [1]ℓ : 11.5 × 15.75˝ : NL

Specimens of Wood Type Manufactured by Wm. H. Page & Co., Greenville, Conn. [176]ℓ : 10 × 13˝ : AAS | CHS | CU | HUNT | HVD | KEMB | NL | NYPL | SFPL

Twenty-one leaves of Cooley’s Wood Letter are included at the back of the NL binding of J. G. Cooley & Company’s Specimens of Wood Type (c. 1859). Three distinct collations are included, separated by two collations of specimen leaves (undated) from Vanderburgh, Wells & Company.

May 1, 1860 William H. Page & Co.

Supplementary Specimens of Wood Type, Rules, Borders, &c. Manufactured by Wm. H. Page & Co., Greenville, Conn. [31]ℓ : 8.5 × 11.5˝ : NL January 1, 1865 William H. Page & Co.

Price List for Wood Type, Borders, Reglet, &c. Manufactured by Wm. H. Page & Co. Greenville, Conn. [1]ℓ : 11 × 14˝ : CU Two copies are affixed to each CU copy of William H. Page & Company, Specimens of Wood Type (1859).

1872 Vanderburgh, Wells & Co.

Specimens of Vanderburgh, Wells & Co’s Wood Type, Borders, Rules, &c. [43]ℓ : 10.25 × 13.5˝ : HVD July 1, 1873 / K William H. Page & Co.

Specimens of Wood Type Manufactured by Wm. H. Page & Co., Greenville, Conn. [58]p : 10 × 13˝ : CU

A Time Line of American Manufacturers

c. 1873 Vanderburgh, Wells & Co.

untitled specimen collations [8]ℓ, [3]ℓ : 10.375 × 13.5˝ : NL Eleven specimen leaves are included at the back of Newberry’s library binding of J. G. Cooley & Company’s Specimens of Wood Type. Two distinct collations of Vanderburgh, Wells & Co. specimens are included, separated by specimen leaves from Cooley & Company’s Cooley’s Wood Type. It is not entirely clear if they are organized into separate collations for a reason.

April 1879 / K The William H. Page Wood Type Co.

Page’s Wood Type Album, vol. 1, no. 1 14ℓ : 9.75 × 12.5˝ : CU | KEMB July 1879 / K R The William H. Page Wood Type Co.

Page’s Wood Type Album, vol. 1, no. 2 18ℓ : 9.75 × 12.5˝ : CU | HUNT | KEMB October 1879 / K R The William H. Page Wood Type Co.

1874 / B K R William H. Page & Co.

Specimens of Chromatic Wood Type, Borders, &c. Manufactured by Wm. H. Page & Co., Greenville, Conn. [98]ℓ : 14 × 18.5˝ : AAS | CHS | CU | NL | HVD | HUNT | RIT September 1, 1876 / K The William H. Page Wood Type Co.

Poster Specimens from The Wm. H. Page Wood Type Co., Greenville, Norwich, Conn. [188]ℓ : 13.75 × 19˝ : CU | NL 1877 / K Vanderburgh, Wells & Co.

Specimens of Vanderburgh, Wells & Co’s Wood Type, Borders, Rules, &c. [4]p, [147]ℓ : 10.875 × 13˝ : CU 1878 Vanderburgh, Wells & Co.

Specimens of Vanderburgh, Wells & Co’s Wood Type, Borders, Rules, &c. [150]ℓ : 11 × 13.75˝ : HVD April 1, 1878 / K R The William H. Page Wood Type Co.

Specimens of Wood Type Manufactured by The Wm. H. Page Wood Type Co., Norwich, Conn. [39]ℓ : 9.625 × 12.375˝ : CU | HUNT | NYPL

Page’s Wood Type Album, vol. 1, no. 3 14ℓ : 9.75 × 12.5˝ : NL | HUNT | KEMB After April 1879 The William H. Page Wood Type Co.

The New York Wood Type Mfg. Co., 44 Ann St. N.Y. 1 broadside : [size missing] : HUNT After April 1879 The William H. Page Wood Type Co.

Manufactured by The Wm. H. Page Wood Type Co., Norwich, Conn. 1 broadside : [size missing] : HUNT After April 1879 The William H. Page Wood Type Co.

Manufactured by The Wm. H. Page Wood Type Co., Norwich, Conn. 1 broadside : [size missing] : HUNT 1879 Vanderburgh, Wells & Co.

Specimens of Vanderburgh, Wells & Co’s Wood Type, Borders, Rules, &c. [61]ℓ: 10.8125 × 13.3125˝ : NL c. 1879 / K R American Wood Type Co.

A digital copy of this catalog is available at Robert Lee’s online Museum of Wood Types and Ornaments.

Specimens of Wood Type Manufactured by the American Wood Type Co., South Windham, Conn. [30]ℓ : 10.125 × 13˝ : HUNT

April 1, 1878

January 1880 / K R

The William H. Page Wood Type Co.

[Flour Meal] Specimens of Wood Type Manufactured by The Wm. H. Page Wood Type Co., Norwich, Conn. [14]ℓ : 9.625 × 12.8125˝ : HAM

The William H. Page Wood Type Co.

Page’s Wood Type Album, vol. 1, no. 4 16ℓ : 9.875 × 12.5˝ : HUNT | KEMB

53

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

54

Before July 1880

1882

The William H. Page Wood Type Co.

Vanderburgh, Wells & Co.

Specimens of Wood Type Manufactured by The Wm. H. Page Wood Type Co., Norwich, Conn. 36p : 9.625 × 12.375˝ : NYPL

Specimens of Vanderburgh, Wells & Co’s Wood Type, Borders, Rules, &c. [70]ℓ : 10.75 × 13.75˝ : HVD

The NYPL copy is bound together with the William H. Page Wood Type Company’s April 1878 catalog.

January 1, 1883 / K R American Wood Type Co.

July–November 1880 The William H. Page Wood Type Co.

Five Line Combination Border Manufactured by The Wm. H. Page Wood Type Co., Norwich, Conn., U. S. A. 1 broadside : [size missing] : HUNT

Specimens of Wood Type Manufactured by American Wood Type Co., South Windham, Conn. [70]p : 9.5 × 12.5˝ : HVD | NL 1883 Vanderburgh, Wells & Co.

July–November 1880 The William H. Page Wood Type Co.

Four Line Combination Border No 2 Manufactured by The Wm. H. Page Wood Type Co., Norwich, Conn., U. S. A. 1 broadside : [size missing] : HUNT c. 1880 The William H. Page Wood Type Co.

Manufactured by The Wm. H. Page Wood Type Co., Norwich, Conn. 1 folded sheet : 17.75 × 28.25˝ : RIT September 1881 / K

Vanderburgh, Wells & Co.’s New Styles Wood Letter [4]p : 11.125 × 14.25˝ : CU This three-color brochure was tucked into the CU copy of the 1890 Heber Wells specimen catalog.

April 1, 1884 / K R Hamilton & Katz

Specimens of Holly Wood Type Manufactured by Hamilton & Katz, Two Rivers, Wis. 56p : 9.125 × 11.9375˝ : NL c. 1884 The William H. Page Wood Type Co.

Specimen Book of Wood Type, Printing Material, Etc., Etc. [64]ℓ : 9 × 11.75˝ : CU

Combination Border No. 20 (Patent pending.) Manufactured by The Wm. H. Page Wood Type Co. 2 broadsides : 15 × 20.125˝ : HVD | RIT

May 1882 / K

Published no earlier than May 1882 and no later than December 1885.

Morgans & Wilcox Mfg. Co.

The William H. Page Wood Type Co.

Specimens of Wood Type & Borders, Manufactured by The Wm. H. Page Wood Type Co., Norwich, Conn. 82p : 9.875 × 12.75˝ : CU | HVD

c. 1884

1882 / K

Published no earlier than May 1882 and no later than December 1885.

Hamilton & Katz

Specimens of Holly Wood Type [13]ℓ : 8.2675 × 11.4175˝ : CU

The William H. Page Wood Type Co.

Wood Type, Manufactured by The Wm. H. Page Wood Type Co. 2 broadsides : 15 × 20.5˝ : HVD | RIT

1884–1885 Hamilton & Katz

1882 Morgans & Wilcox Mfg. Co.

Specimen Book of Wood Type, Paper Cutters, Printing Materials, &c.., Manufactured by Morgans & Wilcox Man’f ’g. Co. [3]ℓ, [8]p, [64]ℓ : 9 × 11.5˝ : RIT

Specimens of Holly Wood Type, Borders, Reglets and Furniture Manufactured by Hamilton & Katz, Two Rivers, Wis. 16p : 5.25 × 7.625 ˝ : RIT

A Time Line of American Manufacturers

January 1885

January 1, 1887

The William H. Page Wood Type Co.

The William H. Page Wood Type Co.

Specimens of Wood Type, Borders, &c. Manufactured by The Wm. H. Page Wood Type Co. [24]p : 9 × 12.5˝ : HAM

The Wm. H. Page Wood Type Co. Designers and Engravers, Flour Sack Brands and Cuts of All Kinds for Bag Printing Made to Order. Manufacturers of Wood Type, Borders, Rule, Reglet, Quoins, Furniture &c. [136]p : 9.25 × 12.5˝ : NL

1885 / K R American Wood Type Co.

Specimens of Wood Type Manufactured by American Wood Type Co., South Windham, Conn. [126]p : 9.5 × 11.75˝ : CHS | HVD | RMS

May 1, 1887 / K Hamilton & Baker

This was recorded as an 1886 Tubbs & Company catalog by both Kelly and Romaine.

Specimens of Holly Wood Type, Manufactured by Hamilton & Baker, Two Rivers, Wis. [60]p : 10 × 13.375˝ : CU

1885–1886 / K R

1887 / K R

Morgans & Wilcox Mfg. Co.

National Printers’ Materials Co.

Condensed Specimen Book of Wood Type Manufactured by Morgans & Wilcox Mfg. Co., Middletown, N.Y. 60p : 8.75 × 11.75˝ : NL

Specimens of Enameled Wood Type Manufactured by the National Printers’ Materials Co. 72p : 10.63 × 13.75˝ : NL

1885–1886

c. 1887 / K

Morgans & Wilcox Mfg. Co.

Vanderburgh, Wells & Co.

Price List of Printers’ Material and Condensed Specimen Book of Wood Type Manufactured by Morgans & Wilcox Mfg. Co., Middletown, N.Y. 62p : 7.875 × 9.3125˝ : CU | RMS

Specimens of Vanderburgh, Wells & Co’s Wood Type, Borders, Rules, & c. [82]ℓ : 10.5 × 13.75˝ : NL

January 1886 The William H. Page Wood Type Co.

Specimens of Wood Type Manufactured by Wm. H. Page Wood Type Co., Greenville, Conn. [88]p : 9.375 × 12.5˝ : STPL

September 1, 1888 / K Hamilton & Baker

Specimens of Wood Type & Borders 62p : 10.25 × 13.75˝ : CU | RMS 1888 / K

The STPL copy is bound together with William H. Page & Company’s October 1870 German script specimen catalog.

The William H. Page Wood Type Co.

November 1, 1886

A facsimile of this catalog was printed by the Pioneer Press in 2002.

Hamilton & Baker

Specimens of Holly Wood Type Manufactured by Hamilton & Baker, Two Rivers, Wis. 32p : 10.375 × 6.75˝ : NL 1886 Vanderburgh, Wells & Co.

Specimens of Vanderburgh, Wells & Co’s Wood Type, Borders, Rules, &c. [90]ℓ : 10.5 × 13.75˝ : HVD

Specimens of Machine Cut Wood Type! 220p : 5 × 7.25˝ : CU

Late 1888 Hamilton & Baker

Calendar Sets Manufactured by Hamilton & Baker, Two Rivers, Wis. 1 broadside : 8.625 × 25.5˝ : CU | RMS c. 1888 Hamilton & Baker

Specimens of German Holly Wood Type Manufactured by Hamilton & Baker, Two Rivers, Wis. 12p : 10.25 × 13.6875” : HAM

55

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

56

March 1, 1889 / K

April 1891

The Hamilton Mfg. Co.

The Hamilton Mfg. Co.

Specimens of Wood Type & Borders Reglet, Quoins, Tint Block, Furniture, Labor-Saving Reglet, Engravers’ Wood, Cutting Sticks, Wood Type Cases, Wood Job Sticks, Manufactured by Hamilton Mfg. Co., Two Rivers, Wis. 64p : 10.125 × 13.75˝ : CU | HAM

Page’s wood type, book no. 10 222p: 4.75 × 7.25˝ : HAM | Letterform Archive

August 1, 1889 / K

The Hamilton Manufacturing Company affixed a new cover to the William H. Page Wood Type Company’s existing end-cut specimen catalog of May 1, 1890, to indicate its acquisition of Page’s wood type business. All interior pages remained the same.

The Hamilton Mfg. Co.

Specimens of Wood Type and Borders, Reglet, Quoins, Tint Block, Furniture, Labor-Saving Reglet, Engravers’ Wood, Cutting Sticks, Wood Type Cases, Wood Job Sticks, Manufactured by Hamilton Mfg. Co., Two Rivers, Wis. 110p : 10 × 13.625˝ : CU

April 1891

1889 / R

August 1891 / K R

Vanderburgh, Wells & Co.

Heber Wells

Specimens of Vanderburgh, Wells & Co’s Wood Type, Borders, Rules, &c. [42]ℓ : 10.375 × 13.375˝ : NL

Specimens of Wood Type Manufactured by Heber Wells, New York. 132p : 7.5 × 10.625˝ : NL

January 1890 / K

September 1, 1891 / K R

The William H. Page Wood Type Co.

The Hamilton Mfg. Co.

Specimens of New Process Wood Type! [8]p, 94p : 4.625 × 7.25˝ : CU | NL | RIT

Specimens of Wood Type and Borders, Reglet, Quoins, Tint Block, Furniture, Labor-Saving Reglet, Engravers’ Wood, Cutting Sticks, Wood Type Cases, Wood Job Sticks, Manufactured by Hamilton Mfg. Co., Two Rivers, Wis. 208p : 10.375 × 13.125˝ : AAS | HAM

A digital copy of this catalog is available at Robert Lee’s online Museum of Wood Types and Ornaments. A facsimile of the catalog was printed by American Life Foundation in 1983.

May 1, 1890 / K The William H. Page Wood Type Co.

Specimens of Machine Cut Wood Type! 222p : 4.75 × 7.25˝ : GROL | RIT

The Hamilton Mfg. Co.

Specimens of New Process Wood Type Manufactured by The Hamilton Mfg. Co., Two Rivers, Wis. 110p : 5.25 × 7˝ : CU | HAM

1891 The Hamilton Mfg. Co.

Page’s Wood Type Album 62ℓ : 9.25 × 12.25˝ : RIT Collation of vol 1., nos. 1–4

1890 / K

January 1, 1892 / K

Morgans & Wilcox Mfg. Co.

The Hamilton Mfg. Co.

Condensed Specimen Book of Wood Type Manufactured by Morgans & Wilcox Mfg. Co., Middletown, N.Y. 64p : 8.75 × 11.5˝ : CU

Specimens of Wood Type & Borders 104p : 10.5 × 13.75˝ : CU

A digital copy of this catalog is available at Robert Lee’s online Museum of Wood Types and Ornaments.

Late 1890 / K Heber Wells

Specimens of Wood Type Manufactured by Heber Wells, New York 130p : 7.75 × 11˝ : CU

January 1892 / K The Hamilton Mfg. Co.

[Poster] Specimens of Wood Type Manufactured by The Hamilton Mfg Co., Two Rivers, Wis. 266p : 14.5 × 20˝ : CU | HAM | NYPL | RIT The NYPL copy is split into two library-bound volumes.

A Time Line of American Manufacturers

January 1892

July 1, 1896

Heber Wells

The Hamilton Mfg. Co.

Price List, 1892. Heber Wells, Successor to Vanderburgh, Wells & Co., Manufacturer of Wood Type, Cabinet, Cases, Stands, etc., and Dealer in Printers’ Materials. 52p : [size missing] : CU

Hamilton’s Wood Type, Catalogue No 13 112p : 10.25 × 13.375˝ : HAM | RMS

December 1893 / K

1897

The Hamilton Mfg. Co.

The Hamilton Mfg. Co.

Specimens of Wood Pointers Manufactured by The Hamilton Mfg. Co., Two Rivers, Wis. 1 broadside : 9.762 × 15.75˝ : CU

New Designs in End Wood Type 5 loose pages : 10.875 × 17.5˝ : HAM

January 1, 1894 The Hamilton Mfg. Co.

Hamilton’s Wood Type 108p : 10 × 13.25˝ : STPL The STPL copy is bound together with a copy of the 1899 Hamilton Manufacturing Company catalog.

1894 The Hamilton Mfg. Co.

Perpetual Calendar Sets Manufactured by The Hamilton Manufacturing Co. 1 broadside, [2]p : 11.4375 × 19.3125˝ : CU June 1, 1895 / K The Hamilton Mfg. Co.

A Series of De Vinne Faces 12p : 10.4375 × 13.75˝ : CU November 1895 / K Heber Wells

Specimens of Wood Type 128p : 8 × 11.25˝ : CU A facsimile of this catalog was printed by the Pioneer Press in 2015.

c. September 1895–December 1897

The HAM copy is missing covers and the first two pages, and some interior pages are mutilated.

1899 / K The Hamilton Mfg. Co.

Hamilton’s Wood Type, Catalogue No 14 120p : 10.25 × 13.3125˝ : CU | HAM | RIT | STB | STPL A digital copy of this catalog is available at Robert Lee’s online Museum of Wood Types and Ornaments.

1899 The Hamilton Mfg. Co.

Specimens of Wood Border Manufactured by The Hamilton Mfg. Co. [4]p : 9.8125 × 10.5˝ : HAM c. 1899–1900 The Hamilton Mfg. Co.

Campaigner Series and New Designs in Wood Type [4]p : 10.875 × 17.5˝ : HAM | St. Bride Library 1899 The Hamilton Mfg. Co.

Specimens of New Faces of Wood Type [4]p : 9.5 × 13˝ : HAM | St. Bride Library 1900 The Hamilton Mfg. Co.

Post Old Style Series in Wood Type 1 broadside, [2]p : 8.25 × 11.75˝ : St. Bride Library

Morgans & Wilcox Mfg. Co.

New Specimens of Wood Type [6]p : 7.75 × 11.875˝ : HAM 1896 The Hamilton Mfg. Co.

Perpetual Calendar Sets 1 broadside, [2]p : 11.5 × 18.625˝ : RMS

1901 / K The Hamilton Mfg. Co.

Hamilton’s Wood Type, Catalogue No 15 124p : 10.25 × 13.3125˝ : CU | HAM

57

Type tray composed by Kelly displayed as a wall hanging and part of his personal collection donated to the Cary Graphic Arts Collection. Prints of a number of cuts and type blocks were included in the folio. Composed type tray (n.d.); Rob Roy Kelly Collection, Series I: Personal Papers, Map case: 5.1; Cary Graphic Arts Collection, Rochester Institute of Technology.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

IV

Classification System

There is no universally accepted taxonomy for classifying Latin-script-based typefaces. The most commonly known systems, all developed in the twentieth century, include the Thibaudeau classification,1 Vox-ATypI,2 and the British Standards Classification of Typefaces.3 That each of these systems privileges textual types over display types limits their ability to deal with the range of 60

ornamented and semi-ornamented types produced during the nineteenth century. While these accepted systems tend to narrowly frame the range of classified types, more recent systems, including the PANOSE system,4 strive dauntlessly toward universality. Catherine Dixon, who developed a system for classifying the typographic holdings of the Central Lettering Record at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London,5 observed that “part of the general malaise affecting classificatory discussion can be attributed to the temptation to think about the subject universally. Criteria for the scope of the ideal system are too often set out with suggestions based on a perceived need to always be [universally] inclusive.”6 The process of organizing—a twentieth-century concept—the multivariate styles of the nineteenth century is complicated by the widespread pirating of type designs during this period. The pantograph, while fundamental to the mass production of wood type, also made it easy to copy a competitor’s designs simply by using the type itself as a pattern, then subtly modifying the copies to sell as “originals.” This practice led to a great proliferation of wood type designs, but it also blurred the distinct visual characteristics inherent to a particular style. To gain a comprehensive understanding of the actual composition of the Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection, a systematic process to organize it for analysis was required. Rather than operate under the burden of a theoretically universal system, the collection, in its role as a working study collection of types, needed to be organized into a pragmatic system that would allow for unencumbered physical accessibility and ease of navigation without excluding any of the pedagogical aspects provided by the comprehensive historical data. This required a fresh approach. Kelly’s American Wood Type 1828–1900, published in 1969, and Nineteenth Century Ornamented Typefaces by the noted type historian Nicolete Gray, first published in 1938 and revised in 1976, are the two primary texts detailing the history of

1 The Thibaudeau classification system groups type into four general families, according to shape and serif character. The system was invented in 1921 by the French typographer Francis Thibaudeau and was a major influence on Maximilien Vox. 2 Devised by Maximilien Vox in the 1930s and published in 1954, the Vox system was adopted in 1962 by the Association Typographique Internationale (ATypI). Originally a ten-part classification, Vox revised the system to a more compact nine-part scheme. 3 Based on the Vox-ATypI system as adopted in Britain in 1967, the British type classification system comprised twelve classification categories and was known as British Standards Classification of Typefaces (British Standards Institution, Typeface Nomenclature and Classification, vol. 2961 [London, 1967]). 4 First published in A Manual of Comparative Typography by Benjamin Bauermeister in 1988, the initial version of the PANOSE system comprised seven classification categories and was based on visual parameters. It was revised in 1993 as a classification system based on actual measurement data taken from the typefaces. 5 Catherine Dixon, “Systematizing the Platypus,” in Typeform Dialogues, 2nd ed., ed. Eric Kindel (London: Hyphen Press, 2018). 6 Catherine Dixon, “Describing Type Forms: A Designer’s Response,” InfoDesign: Brazilian Journal of Information Design 5, no. 2 (December 2008).

nineteenth-century typographic form. Both Kelly and Gray constructed narratives that related type-form progression chronologically during the nineteenth century, but they approached the styles of the time period in different ways. Gray divided types based on the “essential nature of these type faces” into three categories: Ornamented, Semi-ornamented, and Plain Face.7 Plain Face was further divided into four families: Fat Face, Sans Serif, Egyptian, and Clarendon. Kelly believed the progression to be an endless series of derivations from three

7 Nicolete Gray, Nineteenth Century Ornamented Typefaces (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1976), p. 5.

primary styles—Roman, Antique, and Gothic—that showed “rather than a mass of unrelated designs … more of an evolutionary continuity to the development of styles than has been supposed.”8 A pragmatic approach to organizing the collection entailed borrowing from both Kelly and Gray to develop a new hybrid, layered system. This new system started with Kelly’s three primary categories of Roman, Antique, and Gothic,

8 Kelly, American Wood Type 1828–1900, p. 90.

Classification System

then added a fourth category—Scripts. The system then goes further by adding secondary and tertiary sets of described attributes based on the approach taken by Nicolete Gray: finding the “essential nature” of the visual form. Secondary categories derived from the three primary styles are used to further differentiate the overall visual form. Roman is subdivided into low contrast (Old Style) and high contrast (Fat Face); Antique is subdivided into unbracketed (Egyptian), bracketed (Clarendon), and semi-ornamented (Tuscan); and Gothic is subdivided into uniform stroke contrast (Lineal), non-uniform stroke contrast (Modulated), and semi-ornamented (Tuscan). It was the discovery while organizing the collection of a range of previously undocumented Blackletter and a single Brush Script that necessitated adding a fourth category to this hybrid system.9 Organized under the primary category of Script, these styles were then subdivided into secondary categories of less structured, brush-written forms (Brush) and more structured, pen-written forms (Blackletter). Blackletter is further broken down into 9 Kelly had planned to print a second volume of the folio of American Wood Types, dedicated to the Blackletter types in the collection and detailing the importance of German-language printing in nineteenth-century America.

three categories represented by types in the collection—Fraktur, Textura, and Midolline/Neudeutsch. Three distinct sets of tertiary categories, derived from either the primary or secondary styles, are used to describe specific visual attributes of the body, the terminals, and the ornaments. Body attributes describe overall conditions of the type body contour and the stroke ratios and are divided into Plain Face, Inverse, Light Weight, Condensed, Extended, and Concave. Terminal attributes describe derivations of the end stroke (or the serif if present) and are divided into Bi- or Tri-furcated, Pointed, Wedge, Bevel, and Rounded. The third tertiary set describes ornamentation. Attributes of the ornament describe the nature of the elements added to or removed from the basic letterform structure; they are divided into Medial and Polar Ornament, Chromatic, Historiated, Outline, Tooled, Shaded, Reverse, and Streamer. Organizing in this new way created a need for a visual matrix to better tabulate the stylistic composition of the collection. The matrix provides a convenient visual tool to determine what is present in—and as importantly, what is absent from—the collection. Although the matrix was developed as a way to deal with existing types, it has also proved surprisingly useful as a tool for mapping the speculative creation of new forms. This conceptual method for “programming” new type designs enables a user to select characteristics from the matrix and combine them to “assemble” a new letterform with a unique set of attributes.

61

Illustrated Matrix of Visual Parameters

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

IV

64

Style Descriptions

Roman Old Style

Roman Fat Face

Antique Egyptian

The nineteenth-century Old Style was

By the end of the eighteenth century, text

English sign painters in the late eighteenth

derived from traditional serif types that

types had been developed into their most

and early nineteenth centuries developed

date back to the 1540s. As a reaction to

constructed form. The classical Modern

a bold lettering style used on signboards

the higher contrast and more mechanical

style face was an upright Roman with

and other announcements. This style of

Modern style letter so predominant in the

hairline serifs, defined by a strong contrast

lettering was the precursor to the Antique

nineteenth century, the traditional style

of strokes and a precise geometric con-

style. Vincent Figgins showed the first

was first revived in the 1840s, when the

struction. Developed from this style, the

typographic Antique in his foundry’s

Chiswick Press in England published books

extra bold types known as Fat Face were

1815 Specimen of Printing Type. Egyptian,

using original cuts of Caslon’s Romans.

distinguished by the addition of an exag-

another name used to describe this style,

James Mosley wrote of the revived use of

gerated stroke contrast. The thick strokes

was coined by William Thorowgood in his

Caslon’s Roman that “the types achieved

were made dramatically fatter and the thin

foundry’s 1820 Thorowgood, (late Thorne,)

a discreet success as a choice for the pub-

strokes remained hairline.

Letter Founder. These types had blocklike

lishing of nostalgic evocations of historical

The introduction of the Fat Face is

rectangular or slab serifs with unbracketed

texts.”10 The Old Style types appeared in

typically attributed to Robert Thorne

(abrupt right-angled) joints and a heavy,

the United States in the 1857 specimen of

in England after 1803, while the earliest

uniform stroke lacking significant contrast.

the Cortelyou & Giffing foundry of New

recorded showing was in the 1816 spec-

The Antique, which was also referred to as

York, and later in Lawrence Johnson’s 1859

imens of the English foundry Bower &

Egyptian, was widely used and immensely

Typographic Advertiser. This style would

Bacon & Bower. This style is considered the

popular during the first half of the nine-

enjoy a broad popularity as a text face into

first type designed specifically for display

teenth century and was quickly elaborated

the twentieth century.

or jobbing rather than for book work.

into a wide range of designs, including

Traditional text faces enlarged for use as

The first instance of Fat Face in wood type

French Antique, Grecian, and Latin.

display type began appearing as wood type

was in the first-known wood type specimen

The first instance of the Antique in wood

with David Knox & Company’s inclusion

catalog ever produced: Darius Wells’s 1828

type was in the first-known wood type spec-

of a Modern style Roman Light Face in the

Darius Wells, Letter Cutter. Of the thirteen

imen catalog ever produced, Darius Wells’s

1858 Specimens of Wood Type, Manufactured by

pages in the specimen catalog, nine pages

1828 Darius Wells, Letter Cutter. All manu-

D. Knox & Co., Fredericksburg, Ohio. Shortly

show Fat Face style types. The style was pro-

facturers of wood type produced a range of

thereafter, J. G. Cooley & Company showed

duced by all wood type manufacturers and

Antiques throughout the nineteenth century.

an Old Style as wood type in the c. 1859 Spec-

would remain a dominant display style until

imens of Wood Type, and the William H. Page

the last quarter of the nineteenth century.

& Company showed an Old Style as early

Modifications to the Fat Face Roman

as April 1867 in the company’s Specimens of

first emerged as engraved and lithographed

Wood Type, Manufactured at Greenville, Conn.

letterforms in the United States in the early

By the 1880s, Old Styles were consistently

1860s. William H. Page & Company intro-

shown by all wood type manufacturers and

duced the design Aetna as a sturdier display

would continue to be popular as a display

Roman; it was awarded US design patent

face into the twentieth century.

4,820 on April 18, 1871. This sturdier design

10 James Mosley, “Recasting Caslon Old Face,” Typefoundry (blog), January 4, 2009, http://typefoundry. blogspot.com/2009/01/recasting-caslon-old-face.html (accessed July 23, 2019).

was adopted by most other wood type manufacturers and would overtake the earlier Fat Face Romans in popularity.

Classification System

Antique Clarendon

Antique Tuscan

The Clarendons are a variation of the

Tuscan is a general term —“presumably

Antique style in which the serifs are brack-

invented by the type-founders”11 — for an

eted with a soft transition at the stroke

eclectic style characterized by contrasted

joints. This style tends to exhibit higher

strokes and rounded or pointed terminals,

contrast between thick and thin strokes.

with bi- or trifurcated serifs (the serifs

The English foundry Blake & Stephenson

divided into branches or “fish tails”) and

was first to show a bracketed Antique typo-

often a medial (midstem) or polar (top and

graphically, in 1833 in a style named Ionic.

bottom) decoration.

The name Ionic would be used for this

This style dates back to inscriptional let-

bracketed style until 1845, when Robert

ters designed by Furius Dionysius Philocalus

Besley registered a heavier design, with

in the mid-fourth century.12 Often perceived

higher stroke contrast, that he named Clar-

as subordinate to the dominant classical

endon. The Clarendon style was immensely

style, Tuscan persisted as an inscriptional

popular during the second half of the

and calligraphic letter into the eighteenth

nineteenth century, and it was quickly

century. Sometime between 1815 and 1817,

elaborated into a wide range of designs.

Vincent Figgins, the English type founder,

One popular variation was the French Clar-

showed the first typographic Tuscan in Speci-

endon, which shared inverted stroke stress

men of Printing Types, by Vincent Figgins, Letter

with French Antiques and Italians.

Founder. Named simply Ornamented No. 2,

The first instance of Clarendon in wood

it was offered in a 4-line size.

type was Clarendon Condensed, produced

The first Tuscans produced as wood

by Bill, Stark & Company in 1853. Wells &

type were Edwin Allen’s, shown in George

Webb showed both Clarendon and Claren-

Nesbitt’s 1838 First Premium Wood Types, Cut

don Condensed in its 1854 Specimens of Wood

by Machinery. Allen’s designs followed the

Type Manufactured by Wells & Webb. William

ornamental European Tuscan model. The

H. Page & Company first showed a French

European Tuscan would remain popular in

Clarendon as wood type in James Conner’s

Europe throughout the nineteenth century,

Sons’ Typographic Messenger in November

but by the 1850s the European Tuscans were

1865. All manufacturers of wood type pro-

being supplanted in the United States by

duced a range of Clarendons throughout the nineteenth century, with French Claren-

domestic variants derived from Antique

don being the dominant style.

namental letterform.

and Gothic styles categorized as a semi-or In the 1849 Specimen of Wood Type, “Cut by Machinery” by Wells & Webb, Wells & Webb introduced Tuscan Antique, a semi-ornamental Tuscan that broke from the European model. This style originated as wood type and would stay popular into the 1890s. These semi-ornamental Tuscans, which became

65

known as American Tuscans, tended to be undecorated letters that, as Kelly described them in American Wood Type 1828–1900, “obtain a decorative quality from an active contour and that generally include some visual ambiguity between letterform and counter.”

11 Gray, Nineteenth Century Ornamented Typefaces, p. 14. 12 Philocalus (or Filocalus) was the official scribe and engraver to Pope Damasus (c. 305–384), who commissioned a series of inscriptions, Epigrammata Damasiana, for which the letterforms were designed. The inscriptional letterform is referred to as the Filocalian letter or Damasian letter.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

66

Gothic Lineal

Gothic Tuscan

Stylistically, sanserif letters have no serifs, as

in William Leavenworth and J. M. Debow,

Tuscan is an eclectic decorative style

the name suggests, and tend to have simple,

Specimen of Leavenworth’s Patent Wood Type

characterized by contrasted strokes, with

low- to no-contrast strokes. In the United

Manufactured by J. M. Debow, Allentown, NJ,

mannered terminations that are often bi-

States, the term used for sanserifs was Gothic.

which was published c. 1836–1838.

or trifurcated (divided into branches); they

In the late eighteenth and early nine-

The Gothic would be an important and

can also be pointed, rounded, concaved,

teenth centuries, a group of English

popular style produced by all wood type

chiseled, or wedged. Tuscan has an active,

architects and sign writers employed

manufacturers for the rest of the nineteenth

energetic contour and a medial (midstem)

sanserif letters, revived from earlier Roman

century. Gothics gained importance in the

or polar (top and bottom) decoration.

inscriptional models, for inscriptions and

twentieth century, becoming the dominant,

Tuscans can also be additively ornamented,

signboards. These sanserifs were typically

and sometimes exclusive, style produced by

with shaded, shadowed, filled, or patterned

referred to as “Egyptian letters” but should

wood type manufacturers.

interiors. The designs of the broad variety

not be confused with the term “Egyptian,”

of Gothic Tuscans were strongly influenced

used simultaneously by some type founders to refer to the slab serifed Antique style.

by the Antique Tuscan letterform.

Gothic Modulated

The sanserif was first shown typograph-

The majority of Gothic Tuscans produced in the second half of the nineteenth century

ically by William Caslon IV in 1816 in a style

As the popularity of Gothics grew in the

originated as wood type in the United States

he named Egyptian. Vincent Figgins used

second half of the nineteenth century, a

and were subsequently adopted by the type

the term Sans-serif when first showing

variation on the mono-line Gothic was

founders. The first Gothic Tuscan appeared

the style in 1830. William Thorowgood

developed: a sanserif style with higher

in Wells & Webb’s 1849 Specimen of Wood

introduced the term Grotesque when first

stroke contrast. The style gained popular-

Type, “Cut by Machinery.” Another important

showing the style in 1832.

ity after the late 1860s, and more elaborate

derivation of the Gothic Tuscan style was a

The first sanserif produced as wood

designs were developed over the rest of the

design first shown by Bill, Stark & Company

type was named Gothic by Edwin Allen, in

century.

in 1853, named Tuscan Extra Condensed.

George Nesbitt’s 1838 First Premium Wood

The first modulated style of Gothic pro-

Rather than using Bill, Stark & Company’s

Types, Cut by Machinery. Nesbitt’s catalog

duced as wood type, named Gothic Italian,

name for this style, Rob Roy Kelly avoided

also showed an extensive range of Allen’s

was shown by Wells & Webb in its 1840

confusion by adopting the name used in

ornamental Gothics, several of which were

Specimen of Plain and Ornamental Wood Type, unique to wood type. While 1838 is the earli- Cut by Machinery. This design was unique to est showing of Gothic cut as wood type with wood type and was only produced by Wells

David Knox’s 1858 Specimens of Wood Type:

a confirmed date, it was likely first shown

& Webb until the Hamilton Manufacturing

determine if the letterform was derived

earlier. Darius Wells & Company may have

Company produced a design with similar

from Antique or Gothic styles, since reduc-

shown it as early as 1835, and Leavenworth

characteristics in 1889 named Gothic Bold.

ing from, or adding to, the visual form can

& Debow may have shown it as early as

William H. Page & Company would pro-

produce similar results. A number of the

1836. Specimens showing a range of Gothic

duce a number of designs, the first of which

types that have been categorized as Gothic

designs were included in the 1840 Wells &

was listed in 1865, and all wood type manu-

Tuscans in the collection could just as arbi-

Webb specimen catalog on leaves imprinted

facturers showed a number of variations of

trarily be categorized as Antique Tuscans.

with “D. Wells & Co, New-York.,” indicating

the modulated style in specimen catalogs

a publication date between 1835 and 1839. A

after 1875.

range of Gothic designs were also included

Concave Tuscan. It is difficult with many Tuscans to clearly

Classification System

Script Blackletter

Script Brush

Blackletter is a general name used to

The first Blackletters in wood type were

Brush style script types are based on cursive

describe the broad-pen handwriting devel-

two designs in the Textura style named

handwriting created with a brush rather

oped in the medieval and early Renaissance:

Black and Open Black, which appeared in

than a flexible steel nib or a broad-edged

the darkness of the letters overpowers the

George Nesbitt’s 1838 First Premium Wood

pen. The particular instrument used imparts

lightness of the page. The several distinct

Types, Cut by Machinery. Wells & Webb

a specific contrast and flowing contour to

varieties of Blackletter include Textura,

showed a Fraktur style named German in

the letter’s strokes. Brush Scripts tend to

Rotunda, Schwabacher, Fraktur, and

its 1854 Specimens of Wood Type. This Fraktur

be informal designs and often realistically

Midolline/Neudeutsch. Because of the prev-

design would remain prevalent through-

resemble a style of sign-painter’s lettering.

alence of these types in Germany and the

out the 1850s and 1860s. William H. Page

The first Brush style script to appear as

central European region, they were typically

& Company patented Blackletter types

wood type was J. G. Cooley & Company’s

referred to typographically as Germans.

starting in 1863, and all fifty-four pages of

Brush Script, first shown in the company’s

Textura was a Script style common to

the company’s October 1870 Specimens of

c. 1859 Specimens of Wood Type. Even after the

northern Europe during the fifteenth

Wood Type Manufactured by Wm. H. Page & Co.,

style’s first appearance, Scripts continued

century, typified by upright, narrow letters

Greenville, Conn. were dedicated to Black-

to be only a minor presence in wood type

formed by sharp, angular lines. This style

letter types, including several intricate

catalogs. The seven styles that appeared in

was the basis for the typographic letter-

chromatic designs.

the William H. Page Wood Type Company’s

forms developed by Gutenberg’s workshop.

The Blackletter types held in the collec-

May 1882 Specimens of Wood Type & Borders

Rotunda was a Script style common to

tion are predominantly Fraktur style.

presented the broadest range of Scripts

southern Europe during the fifteenth cen-

shown by one manufacturer. Even in the

tury. Less angular than the Textura, it was

Hamilton Manufacturing Company’s ency-

typified by open, rounded strokes with gen-

clopedic 1906 reference catalog Specimens

erous counters. Schwabacher was the most

of Wood Type, only six of its 240 pages are

visually flowing of the Blackletter Scripts.

dedicated to Scripts.

The style, a derivation of the earlier Bastarda, was developed and popularized by early German printers. Fraktur, developed early in the sixteenth century, was named for its distinctive broken (fractured) strokes. The style was typified by higher contrast between thick and thin strokes, with accentuated transition points between written strokes. It became the most common German Blackletter style by the midsixteenth century. After its introduction in the mid-nineteenth century, what became called the Midolline style was considered a typographic category unto itself—a hybrid mix of Roman and Blackletter. By the early twentieth century, this style became known as Neudeutsch.

67

Broadside printed in 1842 in Kelly’s personal collection donated to the Cary Graphic Arts Collection. The broadside was reproduced to scale on page 186 of American Wood Type 1828–1900.

Temperance poster, October 6, 1842, Rob Roy Kelly Collection, Series I: Personal Papers, box: 47+; Cary Graphic Arts Collection, Rochester Institute of Technology.

Type Specimens

V

Type Specimens

All of the wood type in the Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection was organized by style and size and separated into archival storage boxes—totaling 168 boxes of type and 21 boxes of borders and ornaments—then shelved and labeled. Each label for each box includes the name of the manufacturer, the production method, the type size, and the name of the particular type. Determining the names to identify each type proved a particular challenge. As Kelly explains: “New styles were pirated and given different names to create 1 Kelly, American Wood Type 1828–1900, p. 90.

an illusion of bringing out new designs.”1 The resulting range of names would prove an obstacle to any researcher trying to provide precise information for the wood types. Thus, criteria were established for deciding which name was to be used to identify the type in the collection. First, if the block could be conclusively connected to a particular manufacturer, the name used by that manufacturer was applied. If a manufacturer was not identified but the face could be matched to a particular cut based on its appearance in a wood type specimen catalog, the name in that catalog was applied. If neither a manufacturer nor type cut could be decisively identified, the name used for the original appearance of the design was applied. Finally, if none of the criteria could be met, a much more subjective method was applied: the most evocative name was used over any catalog number. During this process of clarifying the names to be used for each type, a running list of all the names used by all discernible manufacturers for any one design was produced. Because the listing made it possible to record the dates on which the types were first shown by each manufacturer, the amount of time it took for a manufacturer’s new type design to be adopted by competitors could be measured. In American Wood Type 1828–1900, Kelly provided a sense of the range of names used for a number of types in the collection; with this running list of names and dates, I have expanded upon his cataloged information. The Hamilton Manufacturing Company acquired its main competitors in the final years of the nineteenth century: the William H. Page Wood Type Company in January 1891, Morgans & Willcox Manufacturing Company in December 1897, Heber Wells in August 1899, and Tubbs Manufacturing Company in June 1909. With each acquisition, the Hamilton Manufacturing Company applied its own catalog numbers to the newly added types. To avoid organizational—and purchasing—confusion, Hamilton applied new catalog numbers to the types produced by acquired competitors rather than retaining the existing names of the types. The William H. Page Wood Type Company types were assigned numbers in the 200–299, 300–399, 400–499, or 600–699 range, and were assigned 4000–4999 if they matched an existing Hamilton style. Morgans & Wilcox Manufacturing Company types were assigned numbers 3000–3999. Heber Wells types were assigned numbers 5000–5999. Tubbs Manufacturing Company used its own numbering system, 2000–2999; because it fit comfortably into Hamilton’s numbering scheme, it was retained after the acquisition. Hamilton introduced new faces with catalog numbers 700–799 after 1906, 6000–6999 after 1908, and 800–899 after about 1920. These catalog numbers have been recorded and cross-referenced with the running list of all type names and thus provide a mechanism to track particular cuts of type into the twentieth century.

69

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

70

Caslon

Kelly used the name Caslon to identify

eral pattern of the Old Style letterform were

this design. The collection has a full set

shown at least as early as 1853 in the United

of uppercase, lowercase, and numerals in

States. The popularity of the style would

both 10-line and 20-line, produced with the

grow during the last quarter of the nine-

router-cut method. Both sizes are stamped

teenth century, and many of the American

HAMILTON | TWO | RIVERS, WIS., a stamp

wood type manufacturers offered at least

that was used between c. 1910 and the 1950s.

one variation of the style.

Kelly showed a specimen of Caslon in uppercase and numerals on page 238 of

The Hamilton Manufacturing Compa-

American Wood Type 1828–1900 and on page

ny’s design, No. 6065, was never explicitly

6 in Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets. It was not

named Caslon in any Hamilton publica-

shown in the folio.

tions, though Hamilton did offer faces named Heavy Caslon and Caslon Bold. This

This face was first shown as wood type by

cut appears distinct in detail from the range

William H. Page & Company in the July

of Caslon versions released by American

1879 Page’s Wood Type Album.

foundries near the turn of the twentieth

sCuts of wood type that followed the gen-

century, including Inland, Keystone, BB&S, Hansen, and ATF. The Hamilton Manufacturing Company’s No. 6065 was shown at least as early as the 1906 Catalog No. 16, Specimens of Wood Type.

Manufacturers that offered this face: Hamilton / Special or No. 6065 / 1906 Morgans & Wilcox / Old Style No. 1 (Hamilton No. 3150) / c. 1885 Page / No. 119 (Hamilton No. 282) / 1879 Tubbs·AWT / Old Style No. 1 or No. 2096 / 1883

Type Specimens

71

Specimens of Wood Type, Wood Ornaments, Flourishes, Dashes, Silhouettes, Catchwords, Corners, Fractions, Calendars and Borders Manufactured by The Hamilton Mfg. Co. (1906); Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

72

Caslon Bold

The collection has a full set of uppercase, lowercase, and numerals that measure 10-line in size, produced with the router-cut method. The type block is stamped HAMILTON | TWO | RIVERS, WIS., which was used between c. 1910 and the 1950s. Kelly did not show a specimen of Caslon Bold in either American Wood Type 1828–1900 or the folio. This face was first shown as wood type by Tubbs Manufacturing Company in its eight-page circular Eight New Wood Type Faces, published c. 1908 (no earlier than late 1906 and no later than early 1909). The face was named No. 2298, Tubbs Bold Caslon. The Hamilton Manufacturing Company also produced a version of Caslon Bold and first showed it at least as early as c. 1915 (1915–1927)—after it acquired the Tubbs Manufacturing Company in June 1909. The Hamilton Manufacturing Company’s cut, named No. 730, is distinct from the Tubbs Manufacturing Company’s cut, and there is no published indication that the Hamilton Manufacturing Company ever made the Tubbs cut available after the acquisition. In American Metal Typefaces of the Twentieth Century, Mac McGrew states, “The most popular Caslon Bold was introduced by Keystone Type Foundry in 1905.”2 In a number of ways, the Hamilton Manufacturing Company cut was visually similar to the Keystone design, though with notable deviations in the « Q » and « a ».

2 Mac McGrew, American Metal Typefaces of the Twentieth Century (New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll Press, 1993), p. 71.

Type Specimens

73

New Faces in Wood Type Being Mostly Reproductions of Popular Faces Cast in Metal (1915); Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

74

DeVinne

Hamilton’s Wood Type (1894); Nicholas J. Werner Typographic Collection, St. Louis Public Library.

Type Specimens

The collection has a full set of uppercase,

In American Metal Typefaces of the Twentieth

lowercase, and numerals that measure

Century, Mac McGrew states: “DeVinne,

8-line in size, produced with the router-cut

the display face, is credited with bringing

method. The type block is stamped HAMIL-

an end to the period of overly ornate and

TON | TWO | RIVERS, WIS., which was used

fanciful display faces of the nineteenth

between c. 1910 and the 1950s.

century.”3 William Berkson writes that

Kelly showed this cut of DeVinne as a

the design was intended as a display type

specimen in American Wood Type 1828–1900

as a “blacker version of the ‘Elsevir’ or

on page 239, in the folio on plate 25, and in

‘French Old Style’ begun by [Louis] Perrin

Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets on page 8.

[in 1846].”4 Robert Mullen in his Recasting a Craft indicates that the design for this

This face was first shown as wood type by

face originally grew out of correspondence

the Hamilton Manufacturing Company in

between Theodore L. DeVinne of New York

its specimen catalog Hamilton’s Wood Type,

and James St. John of the Central Type

dated January 1, 1894. The catalog stated that

Foundry of St. Louis, concerning the need

“This Series in Metal Type is well known as

for plainer display types. Gustav Schroeder5

‘De Vinne.’ Made in wood by permission of

of the Central Type Foundry designed

The Central Type Foundry, of St. Louis, Mo.”

and cut DeVinne in 1890 and was awarded

75

3 Mac McGrew, American Metal Typefaces of the Twentieth Century (New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll Press, 1993), p. 119.

4 William Berkson, “Readability and Revival: The Case of Caslon,” Printing History, new series, no. 9 (2011): 9.

5 T. L. DeVinne erroneously attributed the design to Nicholas J. Werner, who corrected the error.

US design patent 22,263 for it on March 7, 1893.6 The patent was filed January 16, 1893, and assigned to V.J.A. Rey of the Palmer & Rey Type Foundry, San Francisco (which

6 Robert A. Mullen, Recasting a Craft (Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 2005), p. 143.

had joined ATF in 1892).

Manufacturers that offered this face: Hamilton / DeVinne or No. 627 / 1895 Morgans & Wilcox / DeVinne (Hamilton No. 3177) / 1895–1897 Tubbs·AWT / DeVinne or No. 2183 / c. 1903 Wells / Old Style No. 3 or No. 124 (Hamilton No. 5159) / 1895

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

76

DeVinne Italic

The collection has a full set of uppercase,

The Hamilton Manufacturing Company

lowercase, and numerals that measure

also used the name No. 632 for DeVinne

4-line in size, produced with the router-cut

Italic. Its June 1, 1895, DeVinne Series Wood

method. The type block does not have a

Type Specimens displayed eleven styles in the

manufacturer’s stamp.

DeVinne series, including Regular (No. 627),

This cut of DeVinne Italic was not shown

Italic (No. 632), Shadowed (No. 631), Shadowed

in either American Wood Type 1828–1900 or

Italic (No. 633), Condensed (No. 634), Shadow

the folio.

Condensed (No. 635), Condensed Italic (No. 636), Shadow Condensed Italic (No. 637), X

This face was first shown as wood type by

Condensed (No. 638), Shadow X Condensed

the Hamilton Manufacturing Company in

(No. 639), and XX Condensed (No. 640).

its twelve-page A Series of De Vinne Faces on June 1, 1895. In American Metal Typefaces of the Twentieth Century, Mac McGrew states that DeVinne Italic was drawn by Nicholas J. Werner and cut by Gustav Schroeder in 1892.7

7 McGrew, American Metal Typefaces of the Twentieth Century, p. 119.

Type Specimens

77

A Series of De Vinne Faces (1895); Book Arts Collection, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

78

No. 203

W. H. Page Co End Wood Machine Cut Wood Type, Sole Agents for Australasia, Alex. Cowan & Sons, Limited, Melbourne, Sydney, and Adelaide. (c. 1887); Book Arts Collection, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

Type Specimens

79

Kelly used the name Unique to identify

Wood Type, Sole Agents for Australasia, Alex.

this design.8 The collection has a full set

Cowan & Sons, Limited. The catalog utilized

of uppercase and numerals that measure

Cowan & Sons’ own numbering system,

3-line in size, produced with the router-cut

so it does not clarify the name used by the

method. The type block does not have a

William H. Page Wood Type Company.

manufacturer’s stamp.

William Loy, in Nineteenth-Century Ameri-

Kelly showed this cut of No. 203 as a

can Designers and Engravers of Type, indicates

specimen in American Wood Type 1828–1900

that Old Style Bold was a “well-known

on page 240, in the folio on plate 46, and in

style” in the period and that it was designed

Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets on page 9.

and cut by Gustav F. Schroeder for Central Type Foundry.9 The face was granted

This face, named Old Style Bold by the

US design patent 16,988 on November 16,

foundries, was first definitively shown as

1886 (filed February 10, 1886). There is no

wood type by the Hamilton Manufacturing

indication in the Hamilton Manufactur-

Company in the August 1889 Specimens of

ing Company’s specimen catalogs that the

Wood Type and Borders. The face could have

design was licensed from the foundry.

been cut as wood type as early as 1887 by

As is also the case with the display of

the William H. Page Wood Type Company,

the Hamilton Manufacturing Company’s

though none of that company’s surviving

No. 202 (Artistic), No. 203 provides some

specimen catalogs show this face. It was

clear evidence that the company showed

displayed in the undated (though likely

faces of the William H. Page Wood Type

published between 1887 and 1890) specimen

Company before the corporate acquisition,

catalog W. H. Page Co End Wood Machine Cut

which was started in 1887, and was fully completed in January 1891.

8 While Kelly named this Unique on the specimen page in the book (and said it was “sometimes referred to as Unique” in the folio), there is no indication that the Hamilton Manufacturing Company actually ever named this particular face Unique.

9 William Edward Loy, Nineteenth-Century American Designers and Engravers of Type, ed. Alastair M. Johnston and Stephen O. Saxe (New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll Press, 2009), p. 73.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

80

Jenson Old Style

The collection has a full set of uppercase, lowercase, and numerals that measure 6-line in size, produced with the router-cut method. The type block is stamped HAMILTON | TWO | RIVERS, WIS., which was used between c. 1910 and the 1950s. Kelly showed this cut of Jenson Old Style as a specimen in American Wood Type 1828– 1900 on page 242, in the folio on plate 48, and in Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets on page 11. This face was first shown as wood type by the Hamilton Manufacturing Company in its July 1896 Catalog No. 13, Hamilton’s Wood Type, which noted: “This series is known in metal as the “Jenson Old Style.” … Made by permission of the American Type Founders Company.” In American Metal Typefaces of the Twentieth Century, Mac McGrew writes of the foundry cut of Jenson Old Style: “Designed by Joseph Warren Phinney of the Dickinson Type Foundry (ATF/Boston) and cut by John F. Cumming in 1893, it was based on the Golden Type of William Morris for the Kelmscott Press in 1890; that in turn was based on the 1470–76 types of Nicolas Jenson.”10 Cumming was granted US design patent 29,480 for Jenson Italic on October

10 McGrew, American Metal Typefaces of the Twentieth Century, pp. 188–89.

11, 1898, and Phinney was granted US design patent 30,826 for Jenson Heavyface on May 16, 1899. David Consuegra, in American Type: Design and Designers, states that while Phinney was at the Dickinson Type Foundry, he “had tried to issue William Morris’ Golden Type (1890) commercially. On Morris’ refusal, he went to produce his own version under the name Jenson Old Style.”11

11 David Consuegra, American Type: Design and Designers (New York: Allworth Communications, 2004), p. 216.

Type Specimens

81

Hamilton’s Wood Type, Catalog No. 13 (1896); Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum. This image is reduced by an additional 65% from the 75% reduction of specimen catalog images shown in the book.

Manufacturers that offered this face: Hamilton / Jenson Old Style or No. 642 / 1896 Morgans & Wilcox / Jenson (Hamilton No. 3147) / Hamilton, 1906 Tubbs·AWT / Jenson Old Style or No. 2199 / c. 1903

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

82

No. 676

The collection has a full set of uppercase and numerals that measure 10-line in size, produced with the router-cut method. The type block is stamped HAMILTON | TWO | RIVERS, WIS., which was used between c. 1910 and the 1950s. Kelly did not show a specimen of No. 676 in either American Wood Type 1828–1900 or the folio. This face was first shown as wood type by the Hamilton Manufacturing Company at least as early as 1905 in the eight-page circular Specimens of Hamilton’s Wood Type Cut on End-Grain Rock Maple. The Hamilton Manufacturing Company apparently was the only manufacturer to produce this design. The face was designed and patented by George L. Marsh of Detroit, Michigan. US design patent 37,348 was awarded on February 14, 1905 (filed November 17, 1904). This face was labeled “original design” and marked “Patent Pending” in the Hamilton Manufacturing Company’s Specimens of Hamilton’s Wood Type circular from early 1905, and it was marked “Patented” in the company’s 1908 Catalog No. 17, Specimens of Wood Type.

Type Specimens

83

Specimens of Hamilton’s Wood Type Cut on End-Grain Rock Maple (1905); Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

84

Runic

The collection has a full set of uppercase

This face was first shown as wood type by

and numerals in 5-line and uppercase in

William H. Page & Company in the 1859

7-line. Both sizes were produced with the

Specimens of Wood Type, Borders, Rules, &c.

router-cut method. The 5-line type block is stamped PAGE & Co | GREENVILLE | CT,

Willem Ovink described the Runic style

which was used between 1857 and 1859,

as “a Latin with low stroke contrast and

and again in the 1870s. The 7-line type block

heavily bracketed serifs flowing gradually

does not have a manufacturer’s stamp but

from biconcave stems.”12 He established

appears to match the Morgans & Wilcox

that the style was first shown by the Pari-

Manufacturing Company’s cut.

sian foundry Laurent & Deberny on an 1854

Kelly showed a specimen of Runic upper-

specimen sheet and was named Latines

case and numerals on page 327 of American

Grasses (Fat Latins). The New York City–

Wood Type 1828–1900. The 5-line cut was

based Cortelyou & Giffing showed a shaded

shown in the folio on plate 77.

Runic with lowercase in the foundry’s 1857

12 G. Willem Ovink, “Nineteenth-Century Reactions against the Didone Type Model—III.” Quaerendo 2, no. 2 (1972): 122–29.

specimen catalog.

Manufacturers that offered this face: Cooley / Runic / c. 1859–1863 Hamilton / Runic or No. 41 / 1882 Morgans & Wilcox / Runic (Hamilton No. 3134) / 1881 National Printers’ Materials / Runic / 1887 Page / Runic (Hamilton No. 4041) / 1859 Tubbs·AWT / Runic or No. 2143 / 1885 Wells / Runic or No. 520 (Hamilton No. 5127) / 1860

Type Specimens

85

Specimens of Wood Type, Borders, Rules, &c. Manufactured by Wm. H. Page & Co. Greenville, Conn. (1859); ATF Library Collection, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

86

Ben Franklin

The collection has a full set of uppercase,

Tubbs & Company showed a regular version

lowercase, numerals, and matching catch-

of this face, named Rugged or No. 2247, and

words that measure 8-line in size, produced

a condensed version in the c. 1904 Tubbs

with the router-cut method. The type block

Wood Type.

is stamped HAMILTON | TWO | RIVERS,

This design represents a style of serifed

WIS., which was used between c. 1910 and

letter drawn with irregular-edged contours

the 1950s.

to affect an “aged” appearance. This style,

Kelly showed this cut of Ben Franklin as

produced in a range of variations, was

a specimen in American Wood Type 1828–1900

developed from advertising and magazine

on page 241, in the folio on plate 35, and in

lettering that was highly popular at the

Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets on page 10.

turn of the century. Foundry type in this style was also cut as wood type, including

This face was first shown as wood type by

Blanchard, Buffalo, Roycroft, Post Old Style,

the Hamilton Manufacturing Company in

and Plymouth. In American Metal Typefaces

its 1901 Catalog No. 15, Hamilton’s Wood Type,

of the Twentieth Century, Mac McGrew states

which stated that the “Ben Franklin Series

that Ben Franklin types (Regular and Open)

is made in wood by permission of Keystone

originated in 1899 as foundry type with

Type Foundry, Philadelphia.” The Hamil-

the Keystone Type Foundry, which added

ton Manufacturing Company also used the

Condensed in 1904.13

name No. 656 for this face.

13 McGrew, American Metal Typefaces of the Twentieth Century, p. 29.

Type Specimens

87

Specimens of Hamilton’s Wood Type Cut on End-Grain Rock Maple (1904); Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

88

No. 622

The collection has a full set of uppercase,

When first released, the face was named

lowercase, and numerals that measure

Primitive. The earliest known showing of

4-line in size, produced with the router-cut

the face seems to have been by H. W. Caslon

method. The type block does not have a

& Company of London, in Caslon’s Circular

manufacturer’s stamp.

(Winter 1887), where it is curiously stated:

Kelly did not show a specimen of No. 622

“One of the best designs for old-fashioned

in American Wood Type 1828–1900, but did

printing that has been invented is the series

show a specimen of the face on plate 47 of

called “Primitive” … This design is of Amer-

the folio. Kelly listed it as “No Name” in the

ican origin, and we have purchased the

folio and stated that the style was a “typical

right of reproducing it.”14 The first show-

Caxton design associated with William

ing of the face in the United States seems to

Morris.” He also noted that in his font of

have been in the 1891 specimen catalog of

type the capital « M » was missing, with an

Golding & Company. A. D. Farmer & Com-

upside down « W » substituted in its place.

pany showed the face in the foundry’s 1892 specimen catalog and marked its showing

This face was first shown as wood type

of Primitive as “Patent Pending.” The actual

in the January 1894 Hamilton’s Wood Type.

originating date, the name of the designer,

There is no indication, based on the surviv-

and the country of origin have yet to be

ing specimen record, that any other wood

definitively identified.

type manufacturer produced this design.

14 Caslon’s Circular, series XII, no. 45 (Winter 1887).

Type Specimens

89

Hamilton’s Wood Type (1894); Nicholas J. Werner Typographic Collection, St. Louis Public Library.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

90

Roman Extended

The collection has a full set of uppercase

have been first shown in the United States

one of at least four configurations of “D.

that measure 6-line in size, produced with

at least as early as 1837 by the type foundry

Wells & Co, New-York” on the page footer.

the router-cut method. The type block is

George Bruce & Company.

D. Wells & Company was the name used for

stamped PAGE & Co | GREENVILLE | CT,

While 1838 is the earliest showing of the

Darius Wells’s wood type concern from 1835

which was used between 1857 and 1859, and

face cut as wood type with a confirmed date,

to 1839. In 1839, E. R. Webb joined Wells as

again in the 1870s.

it may have been shown earlier by Darius

a business partner to form Wells & Webb,

Kelly showed this cut of Roman

Wells, sometime between 1835 and 1839,

which was the name of the company until

Extended as a specimen in American Wood

and probably after it was first shown as

1856, when Darius Wells retired from the

Type 1828–1900 on page 231, in the folio on

foundry type. The only known copy of the

company and the name was changed to

plate 23, and in Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets

first Wells & Webb specimen catalog is held

E. R. Webb & Company.

on page 2.

in the American Type Founders Library

In American Wood Type 1828–1900, Kelly

Collection in the Rare Book and Manuscript

noted that this particular font of type came

This face was first shown as wood type by

Library at Columbia University. The catalog

from a country newspaper office in central

Edwin Allen in George Nesbitt’s July 1838

is a bound volume with printed date of

Nebraska. The owner remembered being

First Premium Wood, Types Cut by Machinery.

1840 on the title page. It is a collation of

told by his father that he had purchased the

both original material, as indicated by the

type from the salvage of a well-established

Nicolette Gray credited the English foundry

imprint “Wells & Webb New-York” on the

South Dakota newspaper shop that burned

Caslon & Livermore with first showing

footer of the specimen pages, and older

in 1885. This face was acquired from the

an extended fat face in 1825. It appears to

material, distinguished by the printing of

same location as the font of Grecian X Condensed in the collection.

Manufacturers that offered this face: Allen {Nesbitt} / Roman Extended / 1838 Bill, Stark / Roman Extended / 1853 Cooley / Roman Extended / c.  1859–1863 Knox / Extended Roman / 1858

Morgans & Wilcox / Roman Extended / c. 1885 Page / Roman Extended (Hamilton No. 239) / 1859 Tubbs·AWT / Roman Extended or No. 2028 / 1879 Wells / Roman Extended or No. 153 (Hamilton No. 5151) / c. 1835–1839

Type Specimens

91

First Premium Wood Types, Cut by Machinery (1838); Book Arts Collection, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

92

Roman X Condensed

The collection has a full set of uppercase,

This face was first shown as wood type by

on the page footer. D. Wells & Company

lowercase, and numerals that measure

Edwin Allen in George Nesbitt’s July 1838

was the name used for Darius Wells’s

6-line in size, produced with the router-cut

First Premium Wood, Types Cut by Machinery.

wood type concern between 1835 and

method. The type block does not have a

1839, before it was renamed Wells & Webb

manufacturer’s stamp, but matches the

While July 1838 is the earliest showing of

when E. R. Webb joined the company

Vanderburgh, Wells & Company cut.

the face as wood type with a confirmed

as a business partner. Specimens of the

Kelly showed this cut of Roman X Con-

date, it may have been shown earlier by

design were also included in William

densed as a specimen in American Wood Type

Darius Wells, sometime between 1835 and

Leavenworth and J. M. Debow’s Specimen

1828–1900 on page 234, in the folio on plate 83,

1839, or by William Leavenworth some-

of Leavenworth’s Patent Wood Type Manufac-

and in Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets on page 5.

time between 1836 and 1838. Specimens of

tured by J. M. Debow, Allentown, NJ, which

Roman X Condensed were printed on leaves

was published c. 1836–1838.

imprinted with “D. Wells & Co, New-York”

Manufacturers that offered this face: Allen {Nesbitt} / Roman Extra Condensed / 1838 Bill, Stark / Roman Extra Condensed / 1853 Cooley / Roman Extra Condensed / c. 1859–1863 Knox / Roman Extra Condensed / 1858 Leavenworth {Debow} / Close Condensed Roman /

c. 1836–1838

Morgans & Wilcox / Roman Extra Condensed (Hamilton No. 3168) / 1881 National Printers’ Materials / Roman Extra Condensed / 1887 Page / Roman Extra Condensed (Hamilton No. 244) / 1859 Tubbs·AWT / Roman X Condensed or No. 2017 / 1879 Wells / Roman Extra Condensed (Hamilton No. 5146) / 1835–1839

Type Specimens

93

First Premium Wood Types, Cut by Machinery (1838); Book Arts Collection, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

94

Aetna

Typographic Messenger, vol. 7, no. 3 (July 1872); Graphic Arts Collection, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

Type Specimens

95

The collection has a full set of uppercase

first emerged as engraved and lithographed

and numerals in both 6-line and 12-line,

letterforms in the United States in the early

produced with the router-cut method. Nei-

1860s, and it was adopted for use on US

ther set has a manufacturer’s stamp.

banknotes at least as early as 1862. Never-

Kelly showed a specimen of Aetna in

theless, Fat Face Roman would remain a

uppercase and numerals on page 235 of

dominant display style until the last quar-

American Wood Type 1828–1900 and in the

ter of the nineteenth century.

folio on plate 50.

William H. Page & Company’s Aetna had squared proportions with a slight reduc-

This face originated as wood type and was

tion in stroke contrast in comparison to

first shown by William H. Page & Company

the Fat Face Roman, and it included the

in James Conner’s Sons’ Typographic Messen-

addition of exaggerated bracketing at the

ger, vol. 7, no. 3 (July 1872). It was patented

serif joint. The termination of the extended

by William H. Page and assigned to William

serifs was trapezoidal rather than rectangu-

H. Page & Company as US design patent

lar in what was typically referred to as the

4,820 on April 18, 1871.

Mansard Serif,15 or Detroit Serif.16

15 “Mansard” is an architectural term for a roof with two distinct slopes, with the lower portion creating a steeper angle than the upper portion. Used as early as the mid-sixteenth century in Europe, the roof structure was named for the French architect François Mansart, who used it extensively in Paris in the seventeenth century. The Mansard roof became popular in America in the latter half of the nineteenth century, following the European style known as Second Empire. 16 American sign painter and type designer John Downer notes that “Detroit Serif” is the name used in American sign painting manuals for the trapezoidal serif detail. The name may derive in part from the serif’s popularity among Detroit-based sign painters at the turn of the twentieth century.

Describing Aetna as an innovative reaction against the perceived fragility of the long popular Fat Face Roman, Kelly said it was developed to “withstand rough handling, be highly legible, and be heavy enough for display.” Modifications to Fat Face Roman

Manufacturers that offered this face: Hamilton / Aetna or No. 62 / 1882 Morgans & Wilcox / Doric (Hamilton No. 3146) / 1881 or earlier National Printers’ Materials / Painters’ Roman / 1887 Page / Aetna (Hamilton No. 4062) / 1872 Tubbs·AWT / Aetna or No. 2101 / 1879 Wells / Painters’ Roman or No. 166 (Hamilton No. 5135) / 1877 or earlier

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

96

Antique Light Face Extended

The collection has a full set of uppercase that measure 8-line in size, produced with the router-cut method. The type block is stamped HAMILTON | TWO | RIVERS, WIS., which was used between c. 1910 and the 1950s. Kelly showed this cut of Antique Light Face Extended as a specimen in American Wood Type 1828–1900 on page 251, in the folio on plate 24, and in Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets on page 20. This face was first shown as wood type by William H. Page & Company in the 1859 Specimens of Wood Type, Borders, Rules, &c. The origin of this face was misattributed in American Wood Type 1828–1900 to Wells & Webb’s 1854 specimen catalog. Width was not the only axis of variation in the exploration of the flexibility of the Antique/Egyptian pattern. A range of weight variations were also developed as wood type during the 1850s. The typographic origins of the extended and lightweight Antique/Egyptian letterform can be traced to a set of curious reversed letters shown on a specimen broadside dated August 1829 by Alexandre de Berny and Jean-François Laurent of the Parisian La Fonderie de Laurent et de Berny.

Manufacturers that offered this face: Cooley / Antique Light Face Extended / c. 1859–1863 Hamilton / Antique Light Face Extended or No. 42 / 1882 Morgans & Wilcox / Antique Extended Light Face / c. 1886 Page / Antique Light Face Extended (Hamilton No. 4042) / 1859 Wells / Antique Light Face Extended / 1872

Type Specimens

97

Specimens of Wood Type, Borders, Rules, &c. Manufactured by Wm. H. Page & Co. Greenville, Conn. (1859); ATF Library Collection, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

98

Antique Light Face Extended Reversed

Specimens of Holly Wood Type Manufactured by Hamilton & Baker, Two Rivers, Wis. (1886); John M. Wing Foundation, Newberry Library, Chicago.

Type Specimens

The collection has a full set of uppercase,

The technique of forming a negative let-

lowercase, and numerals that measure 4-line

ter by cutting it out of a solid or decorative

in size, produced with the router-cut method.

background was introduced typographi-

The type block is stamped THE HAMILTON

cally in England in the mid-1820s. Nicolete

MFG CO | TWO | RIVERS | & | CHICAGO,

Gray, in Nineteenth Century Ornamented Type-

which was used between 1889 and 1891.

faces, shows an example of a reversed face

Kelly did not show a specimen of Antique

from as early as 1826 by the English foundry

Light Face Extended Reversed in either

Bower & Bacon.17 She postulates that the

American Wood Type 1828–1900 or the folio.

design began as an architectural idea, suggesting that it “originated with the archi-

This face was shown as wood type by

tects and sign-writers who designed the

Hamilton & Baker in the November 1886

cartouche terrace names (inscribed tablets

Specimens of Holly Wood Type.

used to indicate the names of rowhouses

It is unlikely that this face was produced

common in England).” The first wood type

only by Hamilton, as all manufacturers

Reverses were shown in 1838 by Edwin

offered a reverse or streamer version of

Allen in George Nesbitt’s First Premium

their types, but the Hamilton & Baker cata-

Wood Types, Cut by Machinery.

log of 1886 was the first to show a specimen of this type. Hamilton also referred to this design as No. 133.

99

17 Gray, Nineteenth Century Ornamented Typefaces, p. 31.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

100

Antique Light Face

The collection has a full set of uppercase, lowercase, and numerals that measure 4-line in size, produced with the router-cut method. The type block does not have a manufacturer’s stamp. Kelly did not show a specimen of this cut of Antique Light Face in either American Wood Type 1828–1900 or the folio. This face was first shown as wood type in the 1854 Specimens of Wood Type, Manufactured by Wells & Webb. Manufacturers that offered this face: Hamilton / Antique Light Face or No. 174 / 1889 Knox / Light Face Antique / 1858 National Printers’ Materials / Antique Light Face / 1887 Page / Antique Light Face (Hamilton No. 4174) / 1865 Wells / Antique Light Face or No. 315 (Hamilton No. 5012) / 1854

Type Specimens

101

Specimens of Wood Type, Manufactured by Wells & Webb (1854); ATF Library Collection, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

102

Antique Light Face

The inconsistency in the hand work can be seen clearly when different cuts of the same character are compared. Note the hand carving on the foot of the type block, shown on the left.

The collection has a full set of uppercase, lowercase, and numerals that measure 8½-line in size and appear to have been cut by hand. The type block does not have a manufacturer’s stamp. Kelly showed this cut of Antique Light Face as a specimen in American Wood Type 1828–1900 on page 250, in the folio on plate 88, and in Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets on page 19. Although this face was first shown as wood type in the 1854 Specimens of Wood Type, Manufactured by Wells & Webb, the unique peculiarities of this design, as well as its odd sizing and the rough quality of the finish, substantiate Kelly’s assertion that it was entirely handmade. This particular cut appears to have been modeled on Light Face Antique, shown as wood type in the 1858 Specimens of Wood Type, Manufactured by D. Knox & Co., Fredericksburg, Ohio.

Type Specimens

103

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

104

Antique Extended

Full size prints of the « Q » in each of the three sizes — 2-line (top), 5-line (middle), 10-line (bottom)— held in the collection show the distinct differences between each of the designs.

The collection has three sets of Antique

Kelly showed the 5-line design for the

George D. Hamilton was the owner and

Extended. One full set of uppercase in

specimen of Antique Extended in American

publisher, and Henry P. Hamilton worked

2-line were produced with the router-cut

Wood Type 1828–1900 on page 245 and in

as the printer of the paper. In December

method, one full set of uppercase and

Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets on page 14. In

1880, the brothers began running regular

numerals in 5-line were produced with the

the folio, the 2-line was shown on plate 46,

advertisements for their older brother’s

veneer method, and one full set of upper-

the 5-line was shown on plate 7, and the

wood type concern in the Record. Henry

case and numerals in 10-line were produced

10-line was shown on plates 21 and 22.

Hamilton designed and printed paper

with the router-cut method. The 2-line is

identification labels for J. E. Hamilton to

stamped PAGE & Co | GREENVILLE | CT,

This face was first shown as wood type by

affix to his type (an example of which can

which was used between 1857 and 1859, and

Edwin Allen in George Nesbitt’s 1838 First

be seen on the collection’s font of Antique

again in the 1870s. The 5-line does not have

Premium Wood Types, Cut by Machinery.

Tuscan Expanded). Hamilton & Katz’s first

a manufacturer’s stamp, but it is known

specimen catalog included a testimonial by

that it was produced by Hamilton Holly

Kelly noted in the folio that the 5-line font

George Hamilton, praising the type.

Wood Company in late 1880. The 10-line is

of Antique Extended was found at the

In Nineteenth Century Ornamented Type-

stamped HAMILTON | TWO | RIVERS, WIS.,

Beeker County Record in Detroit, Minnesota.

faces, Nicolette Gray states her belief that

which was used c. 1910 to 1950s and pro-

This particular font of type was one of J. E.

this design was American in origin. Kelly

duced with the router-cut method.

Hamilton’s early prototypes of veneer type

believed that the Antique Extended was

and was sent to his brothers at the Detroit

a wood type design that preceded the

Record in late 1880 for commercial testing.

foundry version by at least a decade.

Manufacturers that offered this face: Allen {Nesbitt} / Antique Extended / 1838 Bill, Stark / Antique Extended / 1853 Cooley / Antique Extended / c. 1859–1863 Hamilton / No. 77 / 1880–1881 Knox / Extended Antique / 1858

Morgans & Wilcox / Antique Extended (Hamilton No. 3016) / 1884 National Printers’ Materials / Antique Extended / 1887 Page / Antique Extended (Hamilton No. 254) / 1859 Tubbs·AWT / Antique Extended or No. 2050 / 1883 Wells / Antique Extended or No. 346 (Hamilton No. 5016) / 1840

Type Specimens

105

First Premium Wood Types, Cut by Machinery (1838); Book Arts Collection, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

106

Antique

Hand-carved replacement characters found on the foot of the type blocks in the collection’s 12-line font. Carving needed characters was a common practice by jobbing printers in the nineteenth century. Though labor intensive, this was quicker and more economical than ordering new characters from the manufacturer.

The collection has three sets of this design:

Vincent Figgins, the English type founder,

one full set of uppercase in 5-line and

showed the first typographic Antique in

16-line, and one full set of uppercase and

1817 in four sizes of capital letters from

numerals in 12-line, all produced with the

~14-point to 5-line pica.18 Egyptian,

router-cut method. The 5-line and 16-line

another name used to describe this style,

are stamped PAGE & Co | GREENVILLE | CT,

was coined by William Thorowgood in the

which was used between 1857 and 1859, and

1820 Thorowgood, (late Thorne,) Letter Founder,

again in the 1870s. The 12-line is stamped

Fann-Street. The Antique, or Egyptian, was

Wm H. PAGE & Co | GREENVILLE, Ct, which

widely used and immensely popular during

was used between 1859 and 1867.

the first half of the nineteenth century and

Kelly showed a specimen of Antique in

was quickly elaborated into a wide range

American Wood Type 1828–1900 on page 244

of variations. Phyllis Handover describes

and in Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets on page

the revolutionary nature of this style’s

13. The 5-line was shown on plate 1 and the

introduction through specimen catalogs

12-line on plate 56 in the folio, which did

in England: “These letters had no tradi-

not show the 16-line.

tional function; often they were available only in upper-case; they were intended for

This face was first shown as wood type by

displayed jobbing that lacked all precedent.

Darius Wells in the March 1828 specimen

Therefore, they had to be shown in appro-

catalog titled simply D. Wells, Letter Cutter.

priate and novel settings, … ; the customer

This was the first known specimen catalog

was shown how to use the type.”19 Nicolete

of wood type ever produced.

Gray believes the design to be “the most brilliant typographic invention of the nineteenth century, and perhaps the most complete and concise expression of the dominant culture of its brief period.”20

Manufacturers that offered this face: Allen {Nesbitt} / Antique / 1838 Bill, Stark / Antique / 1853 Cooley / Antique / c. 1859–1863 Hamilton / Antique or No. 51 / 1884 Knox / Antique / 1858

18 Nicolete Gray and Berthold Wolpe both contend that while the specimens of Antique/Egyptian are bound in surviving copies of Figgins’s 1815 Specimen of Printing Type, the sheets with printed samples of Antique/Egyptian are definitively watermarked 1817. The date of the first showing by Figgins given here adheres to this contention. The Caslon & Catherwood specimen catalog of 1821 showed eleven sizes, five that also included lowercase designs, as well as italic and open italic variants. Unfortunately, there is a gap (1808–1821) in the surviving specimen catalogs from Caslon & Catherwood. The lack of surviving catalogs from that thirteen-year period and the large number of sizes offered in the 1821 catalog led Gray to believe that some were very likely produced before 1821, and that there was a reasonable possibility that they predated Figgins’s first design. 19 P. M. Handover, “Black Serif: The Career of the Nineteenth-Century’s Versatile Invention—the Slab-Serifed Letter Design,” Motif: A Journal of the Visual Arts (ed. Ruari McLean) 12 (January 1964): 81. 20 Gray, Nineteenth Century Ornamented Typefaces, p. 23.

Leavenworth {Debow} / Antique / c. 1836–1838 Morgans & Wilcox / Antique (Hamilton No. 3014) / 1882 Page / Antique (Hamilton No. 4051) / 1859 Tubbs·AWT / Antique or No. 2042 / 1879 Wells / Antique or No. 338 (Hamilton No. 5013) / 1828

Type Specimens

107

D. Wells, Letter Cutter (1828); Book Arts Collection, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

108

Antique Condensed

That the characters « g », « i », « j », « k », « m », « o », and « y » are missing from the collection is most likely why Kelly didn’t include a proof of the lowercase letters in American Wood Type 1828–1900. Note the broken « Q » not included in Kelly’s specimen.

The collection has a selection of uppercase

In the nineteenth century, the concept of

were prototypical harbingers of the more

and lowercase characters that measure

condensed and expanded variations of let-

refined type families available today as digi-

4-line in size, produced with the router-cut

terform design was not new or original, as

tal fonts with dynamically variable weights

method. The type block is stamped PAGE

there had always been a flexibility toward

and widths.

& Co | GREENVILLE | CT, which was used

the natural width of a letterform. The pan-

July 1838 is the earliest showing of the

between 1857 and 1859, and again in the 1870s.

tograph-router proved to be a particularly

face as wood type with a confirmed date,

Kelly showed this cut of Antique Con-

useful tool: it could scale letterforms asym-

but it may have been shown earlier by

densed as a specimen of uppercase charac-

metrically as easily as it scaled them sym-

Darius Wells, sometime between 1835 and

ters in American Wood Type 1828–1900 on page

metrically. The wood type manufacturers

1839, or by William Leavenworth some-

246, in the folio on plate 46, and in Dover’s

were the first to begin to systematize this

time between 1836 and 1838. Specimens of

Wood Type Alphabets on page 15. Curiously,

flexibility into design “series” of interre-

Antique Condensed were printed on leaves

Kelly noted in both the folio and American

lated widths. Before the type founders, the

that were imprinted with “D. Wells & Co,

Wood Type 1828–1900 that lowercase and

wood type manufacturers began to work on

New-York” on the page footer. D. Wells &

figures are missing from this font of type.

visual solutions to, as James Mosley writes,

Company was the name used for Darius

“the typographical problems posed by the

Wells’s wood type concern between 1835

This face was first shown as wood type by

systematic distortion through one dimen-

and 1839 before it was renamed Wells &

Edwin Allen in George Nesbitt’s July 1838

sion of a design.”21 The variation in width

Webb when E. R. Webb joined the com-

First Premium Wood Types, Cut by Machinery.

that began in the 1840s had been fully

pany as a business partner. Specimens of

developed by the 1880s to present design

the design were also included in William

“series” in robust ranges of XXX Condensed

Leavenworth and J. M. Debow’s Specimen of

through to Expanded and Extended, often

Leavenworth’s Patent Wood Type Manufactured

also in multiple weight variations. These

by J. M. Debow, Allentown, NJ, which was pub-

design “series” developed by wood type

lished c. 1836–1838.

manufacturers in the nineteenth century 21 James Mosley, “Egyptian Expanded,” Motif: A Journal of the Visual Arts (ed. Ruari McLean) 3 (September 1959): 102.

Type Specimens

109

First Premium Wood Types, Cut by Machinery (1838); Book Arts Collection, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

110

Antique X Condensed No. 3

The collection has a full set of uppercase,

a first showing by Wells & Webb in 1840.

Specimens of Wood Type. It was first shown as

lowercase, and numerals that measure

The uppercase, lowercase, and numerals of

wood type by William H. Page & Company

24-line in size, produced with the rout-

this cut were shown in the folio on plates

at least as early as the August 1872 Specimens

er-cut method. The type block is stamped

92, 93, and 94, but labeled Antique XX

of Wood Type.

VANDERBURGH WELLS & CO | NEW YORK,

Condensed, without a manufacturer’s

which was used from 1867 to 1890.

stamp. The cut was also included in Dover’s

Antique X Condensed No. 3 is a design

Kelly showed a specimen of Antique X

Wood Type Alphabets on page 16, labeled

slightly more condensed than Antique X

Condensed No. 3 in uppercase and low-

Antique X Condensed.

Condensed, though less condensed than

ercase on page 247 of American Wood Type

Antique XX Condensed. The design also

1828–1900, though it was incorrectly labeled

This face was first listed for sale by Wil-

shows a more consistent monotone stroke

simply Antique X Condensed and included

liam H. Page & Company in the July 1870

weight throughout the face.

Manufacturers that offered this face: Morgans & Wilcox / Antique X Condensed No. 3 (Hamilton No. 3005) / 1890 National Printers’ Materials / Antique Extra Condensed No. 3 / 1887 Page / Antique Extra Condensed No. 3 (Hamilton No. 255) / 1870 Tubbs·AWT / Antique X Condensed No. 3 or No. 2049 / 1885 Wells / Antique X Condensed No. 3 (Hamilton No. 5006) / Hamilton, 1906

Type Specimens

111

Specimens of Wood Type Manufactured by Wm. H. Page & Co., Greenville, Conn. (1872); ATF Library Collection, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

112

Antique XX Condensed No. 1

The collection has a full set of uppercase, lowercase, and numerals that measure 8-line in size, produced with the router-cut method. The type block does not have a manufacturer’s stamp. Kelly did not show a specimen of Antique XX Condensed No. 1 in American Wood Type 1828–1900, but did show uppercase, lowercase, and numerals in the folio on plate 89. This face was first shown as wood type in the Wells & Webb 1854 Specimen of Wood Type.

Manufacturers that offered this face: Hamilton / Antique XX Condensed No. 1 or No. 128 / 1889 Morgans & Wilcox / Antique XX Condensed No. 1 (Hamilton No. 3004) / c. 1886 Page / Antique Double Extra Condensed No. 1 (Hamilton No. 4128) / 1872 Wells / Antique Double Extra Condensed No. 1 or No. 330 (Hamilton No. 5004) / 1854

Type Specimens

113

Specimens of Wood Type, Manufactured by Wells & Webb (1854); ATF Library Collection, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

114

Antique XX Condensed

The collection has a full set of uppercase, lowercase, and numerals in 6-line and uppercase and numerals in 40-line, produced with the router-cut method. Neither size has a manufacturer’s stamp. Kelly showed this cut of Antique XX Condensed as a specimen in American Wood Type 1828–1900 on page 248, in the folio on plates 18, 19, and 20, and in Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets on page 17. Kelly did not show the 6-line cut in any of his publications. The 40-line cut is the largest face in the collection. This face was first listed as wood type by Wells & Webb in the 1854 Specimen of Wood Type and was first shown in William H. Page & Company’s 1860 Supplementary Specimens of Wood Type, Rules, Borders, &c. Antique XX Condensed is slightly more condensed than Antique XX Condensed No. 1.

Manufacturers that offered this face: Cooley / Antique Double Extra Condensed / c. 1859–1863 Knox / Double Extra Condensed Antique / 1858 Morgans & Wilcox / Antique XX Condensed (Hamilton No. 3003) / 1881 Page / Antique Double Extra Condensed (Hamilton No. 256) / 1859 Wells / Antique Double Extra Condensed No. 2 (Hamilton No. 5003) / 1854

Type Specimens

115

Supplementary Specimens of Wood Type, Rules, Borders, &c. (1860); John M. Wing Foundation, Newberry Library, Chicago.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

116

Antique XXX Condensed

The collection has a full set of uppercase and

This face was first shown as wood type by

numerals that measure 12-line in size, pro-

William H. Page & Company in the 1859

duced with the router-cut method. The type

Specimens of Wood Type, Borders, Rules, &c.

block does not have a manufacturer’s stamp. Kelly showed this cut of Antique XXX

The XXX in the name was also configured as

Condensed as a specimen in American Wood

“Treble Extra” or “Triple” during the early

Type 1828–1900 on page 249, in the folio on

introduction of the condensed style. The

plate 71, and in Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets

Antique XXX Condensed was the narrowest

on page 18.

variation of the Antique/Egyptian pattern developed in the nineteenth century.

Manufacturers that offered this face: Hamilton / Antique XXX Condensed or No. 56 / 1887 Morgans & Wilcox / Antique XXX Condensed (Hamilton No. 3002) / 1882 Page / Antique Treble Extra Condensed (Hamilton No. 4056) / 1859 Tubbs·AWT / Antique XXX Condensed or No. 2046 / 1885 Wells / Antique Treble Extra Condensed or No. 323 (Hamilton No. 5002) / 1872

Type Specimens

117

Specimens of Wood Type, Borders, Rules, &c. Manufactured by Wm. H. Page & Co. Greenville, Conn. (1859); ATF Library Collection, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

118

Egyptian No. 2

The collection has a full set of uppercase,

This face was first shown as wood type by

lowercase, and numerals that measure

Vanderburgh, Wells & Company at least as

6-line in size, produced with the router-cut

early as the 1872 Specimens of Vanderburgh,

method. The type block does not have a

Wells & Co’s Wood Type, Borders, Rules, &c.

manufacturer’s stamp. Kelly showed this cut of Egyptian No. 2 as

A further stylistic variation of the French

a specimen in American Wood Type 1828–1900

Antique pattern, Egyptian No. 2 was a

on page 253, in the folio on plate 30, and in

wider, more fully systematized letterform.

Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets on page 22.

This design was one of the many variations on the French Antique pattern introduced as wood type during the 1870s.

Manufacturers that offered this face: Hamilton / Egyptian No. 2 or No. 159 / 1889 Morgans & Wilcox / Egyptian Antique No. 2 / 1884 National Printers’ Materials / Egyptian No. 2 / 1887 Page / Egyptian No. 2 (Hamilton No. 4159) / 1874 Tubbs·AWT / Antique Condensed or No. 2043 / 1883 Wells / Egyptian No. 2 (Hamilton No. 5017) / 1872

Type Specimens

119

Specimens of Vanderburgh, Wells & Co’s Wood Type, Borders, Rules, &c. (1872); TypTS 870.72.865, Houghton Library, Harvard University. Of note is the capital « O » in the last line of the specimen turned at 90 degrees.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

120

French Antique

The collection has a full set of uppercase,

4-, 6-, and 8-line in the company’s 1854 A

lowercase, and numerals that measure

General Specimen of Printing Types. Nicolette

10-line in size, produced with the router-cut

Gray wrote that the Italian, first shown

method. The type block does not have a

typographically by Caslon & Catherwood

manufacturer’s stamp.

of England in 1821, was “the prototype

Kelly showed this cut of French Antique

for the French Antique with the oddities

as a specimen in American Wood Type 1828–

ironed out and the dynamism lost.”22 The

1900 on page 255, in the folio on plate 8, and

refinement to the inverted stress style of

in Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets on page 24.

letter, with strong horizontal visual stress,

22 Gray, Nineteenth Century Ornamented Typefaces, p. 34.

became the dominant display style from the This face was first shown as wood type by

mid-1860s to the end of the 1880s, with an

William H. Page & Company in James Con-

expansive range of stylistic variation. Above

ner’s Sons’ Typographic Messenger, vol. 4, no.

all other typographic styles, this style today

4 (July 1869).

is seen as visually signifying the American frontier at the end of the nineteenth century.

Robert Besley & Company, the English type

Kelly noted that this is a peculiarly Ameri-

foundry, first showed samples of French

can interpretation of French Antique, more

Antique in capitals and numerals sized at

condensed and with a different serif-body ratio than European variants.

Manufacturers that offered this face: Hamilton / French Antique or No. 55 / 1884 Morgans & Wilcox / French Antique (Hamilton No. 3000) / 1881 National Printers’ Materials / French Clarendon Condensed / 1887 Page / French Antique (Hamilton No. 4055) / 1869 Tubbs·AWT / French Antique or No. 2031 / 1879 Wells / French Antique or No. 467 (Hamilton No. 5000) / 1872

Type Specimens

121

Typographic Messenger, vol. 4, no. 4 (July 1869); Graphic Arts Collection, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

122

French Antique No. 1

The collection has a full set of uppercase and numerals in both 24-line and uppercase in 8-line. The 24-line is stamped PAGE W. T. Co., which was used by the William H. Page Wood Type Company between 1876 and 1891. The 8-line does not have a manufacturer’s stamp. Kelly did not show a specimen of French Antique No. 1 in American Wood Type 1828– 1900, but did show the 8-line on plate 37 and the 24-line on plate 9 of the folio. This face was first shown by the William H. Page Wood Type Company in the May 1882 Specimens of Wood Type and Borders. This design, first introduced in the early 1880s, was a subtle refinement to the established French Antique pattern. The condensed form of the French Antique was slightly expanded, and stroke contrast reduced by increasing the weight of the verticals, to provide a more unified visual tone that still retained the horizontal visual emphasis of the original.

Manufacturers that offered this face: Hamilton / No. 180 / 1889 Morgans & Wilcox / French Antique No. 1 (Hamilton No. 3001) / c. 1885 National Printers’ Materials / French Antique / 1887 Page / No. 143 (Hamilton No. 257) / 1882 Tubbs·AWT / Tubbs Antique Extra Condensed or No. 2107 / 1884 Wells / French Antique No. 2 or No. 469 (Hamilton No. 5002) / 1891

Type Specimens

123

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

124

Grecian

Kelly used the name Full Faced Grecian to

1867 Wm. H. Page & Co.’s Specimens of Wood

Edwin Allen, for George Nesbitt’s 1838 First

identify this design. The collection has a

Type, Manufactured at Greenville, Conn.

Premium Wood Types, Cut by Machinery, cut

full set of uppercase that measure 7-line in

an Antique Condensed, Cornered, which, as

size, produced with the router-cut method.

Grecian was developed as a condensed

the name implied, was simply a Condensed

The type block is stamped Wm H. PAGE

Antique/Egyptian with straight lines sub-

Antique with corners cut at angles.

& Co | GREENVILLE, Ct, which was used

stituted for curved lines, squared counters,

The first fully formed Grecians were

between 1859 and 1867.

and chamfered (diagonally cut) corners.

shown in the United States in the 1844 Spec-

Kelly showed this cut of Grecian as a

The Grecian originated as English foundry

imen of Printing Types and Ornaments cast by L.

specimen in American Wood Type 1828–1900

type in the late 1830 and was shown at

Johnson, successor to Johnson & Smith, Philadel-

on page 275, in the folio on plate 7, and in

least as early as the January 1838 Wood

phia. A range of condensed and decorated

Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets on page 44.

& Sharwoods specimen catalog. These

variations were developed throughout the

straightened curved lines and chamfered

1840s and 1850s. Full Face, which originated

This face was first listed for sale in the 1858

corners were first shown in wood type at

as wood type in America, was the last vari-

Specimens of Wood Type, Manufactured by D.

least as early as 1836–1838 in Specimen of

ation added to the style. Though listed as

Knox & Co., Fredericksburg, Ohio, and was first

Leavenworth’s Patent Wood Type, Manufactured

early as 1858, the earliest surviving speci-

shown as wood type at least as early as the

by J. M. Debow, Allentown, N. J., as a single

men catalog to show Full Faced Grecian is

four-letter sample of 12-line Gothic No. 2.

William H. Page & Company’s 1867 catalog.

Manufacturers that offered this face: Cooley / Grecian / c. 1859–1863 Knox / Grecian / 1858 Morgans & Wilcox / Grecian (Hamilton No. 3150) / 1884 National Printers’ Materials / Grecian / 1887 Page / Grecian (Hamilton No. 285) / 1867 Wells / Grecian (Hamilton No. 5125) / 1872

Type Specimens

125

Specimens of Wood Type Manufactured by Wm. H. Page & Co. Greenville, Conn. (1872); John M. Wing Foundation, Newberry Library, Chicago.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

126

Grecian Condensed

The collection has a full set of uppercase

This face was first shown as wood type by

that measure 15-line in size, produced with

Wells & Webb in the 1849 Specimen of Wood

the router-cut method. The type block is

Type, “Cut by Machinery” by Wells & Webb, and

stamped THE HAMILTON MFG CO | TWO

for sale at their Printers’ Warehouse.

| RIVERS | & | CHICAGO, which was used between 1889 and 1891.

Wells & Webb’s design is titled Condensed

Kelly showed this cut of Grecian Con-

Grecian in the 1849 Specimen of Wood Type,

densed as a specimen in American Wood Type

“Cut by Machinery.” The 1854 specimen cata-

1828–1900 on page 272, in the folio on plate

log showed the name in the configuration

29, and in Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets on

Grecian Condensed that would be used for

page 41.

the rest of the nineteenth century.

Manufacturers that offered this face: Cooley / Grecian Condensed / c. 1859–1863 Hamilton / Grecian Condensed or No. 65 / 1882 Knox / Condensed Grecian / 1858 Morgans & Wilcox / Grecian Condensed / 1881

National Printers’ Materials / Grecian Condensed / 1887 Page / Grecian Condensed (Hamilton No. 287) / 1859 Tubbs·AWT / Grecian Condensed or No. 2155 / 1885 Wells / Grecian Condensed (Hamilton No. 5123) / 1849

Type Specimens

127

Specimen of Wood Type, “Cut by Machinery” by Wells & Webb (1849); ATF Library Collection, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

128

Grecian X Condensed

The collection has a full set of uppercase

This face was first shown as wood type at

Both Wells & Webb’s and Edwin Allen’s

and numerals that measure 10-line in size,

least as early as 1846 by two wood type man-

condensed designs were titled simply Gre-

produced with the router-cut method. The

ufacturers. From the published dates of the

cian. Wells & Webb adjusted the name in

type block does not have a manufacturer’s

catalogs it is unclear which manufacturer

subsequent catalogs. The name was shifted

stamp. The single « A » type block in the

might have been first to market the face.

to Extra Condensed Grecian in the compa-

font appears to be a replacement cut, which

Wells & Webb showed this cut in L. Johnson

ny’s 1849 Specimen of Wood Type. In the 1854

could account for the lack of a manufactur-

& Company’s 1846 Specimen of Wood Letter,

specimen catalog, the name was changed

er’s stamp. This cut appears to match Wells

for sale at the Type & Stereotype Foundry of L.

again, to Grecian Extra Condensed, which

& Webb’s design.

Johnson & Co. Edwin Allen cut this width for

would be used for the rest of the nineteenth

Kelly showed this cut of Grecian X

George Nesbitt and showed it in Supplement

century. J. G. Cooley & Company’s c. 1859–

Condensed as a specimen in American Wood

to the Specimen Book of Modern Printing Types,

1863 specimen of Grecian Extra Condensed

Type 1828–1900 on page 276, in the folio on

Ornaments, and Combination Borders, from

showed a variation in the design at differ-

plate 89, and in Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets

the New England Type and Stereotype Foundry,

ent sizes—a serif was present on the cross-

on page 45.

George A. Curtis, Boston.

bar of the « E » shown at 24-line and 16-line, but was not present on the 20-line; all sizes were shown with upper- and lowercase.

Manufacturers that offered this face: Allen {Nesbitt} / Grecian / 1846 Cooley / Grecian Extra Condensed / c. 1859–1863 Hamilton / Grecian Extra Condensed or No. 40 / 1887 Knox / Extra Condensed Grecian / 1858

Morgans & Wilcox / Grecian Extra Condensed (Hamilton No. 3130) / 1890 National Printers’ Materials / Grecian Extra Condensed / 1887 Page / Grecian Extra Condensed (Hamilton No. 4040) / 1859 Tubbs·AWT / Grecian Extra Condensed / 1883 Wells / Grecian Extra Condensed or No. 350 (Hamilton No. 5121) / 1846

Type Specimens

129

Specimen of Wood Letter, for sale at the Type & Stereotype Foundry of L. Johnson & Co. (1846); ATF Library Collection, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

130

Grecian X Condensed

The consistency of the cuts, and the rounded corners found on the foot of these type blocks, seem to indicate the use of a pantograph. The circular impression on the left block may have been created by a coin, though it is not a distinct enough impression to be definitive.

The collection has a full set of uppercase

rough quality of the finish, substantiate

that measure 19½-line in size and appear to

Kelly’s assertion that this face was entirely

have been cut by hand. The type block does

handmade.

not have a manufacturer’s stamp.

In American Wood Type 1828–1900, Kelly

Kelly showed this cut of Grecian X Con-

noted that this font of type came from

densed as a specimen in American Wood Type

a country newspaper office in central

1828–1900 on page 273, in the folio on plate

Nebraska (western Nebraska in the folio

79, and in Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets on

notes). The owner remembered his father

page 42.

telling of purchasing the type from the salvage of a well-established South Dakota

This particular cut was modeled on a face

newspaper shop that burned in 1885. The

shown as wood type by Wells & Webb in

type appears to have been entirely cut by

L. Johnson & Company’s 1846 Specimen of

hand. Also note the odd sizing. This face

Wood Letter. The unique peculiarities of this

was acquired from the same location as the

design, as well as its odd sizing and the

font of Roman Extended in the collection.

Type Specimens

131

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

132

Grecian XX Condensed

The collection has a full set of uppercase in

This face was first shown as wood type in a

The Grecian XX Condensed was the narrow-

both 16-line and 23-line, produced with the

specimen catalog with a definitive date by

est variation of the Grecian pattern devel-

router-cut method. The 16-line is stamped

William H. Page & Company in the May 1860

oped in the nineteenth century.

J.G. COOLEY | NEW YORK, which was used

Supplementary Specimens of Wood Type, Rule,

Kelly attributed the first showing of the

from 1859 (or 1863) until 1866. The 23-line

Borders, &c. E. R. Webb & Company showed

design to J. G. Cooley & Company’s speci-

does not have a manufacturer’s stamp.

this face in a September 1860 advertisement

men catalog, which he misdated to 1850 in

Kelly showed Grecian XX Condensed as a

in Henry & Greason’s monthly newspaper

the folio and changed to 1859 in American

specimen in American Wood Type 1828–1900 on

The Printer. J. G. Cooley & Company also

Wood Type 1828–1900. J. G. Cooley & Compa-

page 277 and in Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets

showed this face around the same time, but

ny’s Specimens of Wood Type catalog cannot be

on page 46. The 23-line was shown on plate

the specimen catalog in which the samples

definitively dated, but the business address

26 of the folio, and the 16-line cut on plate 1.

were shown cannot yet be definitively dated

labels printed in the catalog provide clear

more accurately than 1859–1863.

evidence that it was produced sometime between 1859 and 1863.

Manufacturers that offered this face: Cooley / Grecian Double Extra Condensed / c. 1859–1863 Morgans & Wilcox / Grecian Double Extra Condensed (Hamilton No. 3129) / 1884 Page / Grecian Double Extra Condensed (Hamilton No. 288) / May 1860 Wells / Grecian Double Extra Condensed (Hamilton No. 5120) / September 1860

Type Specimens

133

Supplementary Specimens of Wood Type, Rule, Borders, &c (1860); John M. Wing Foundation, Newberry Library, Chicago.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

134

Latin Extended

Type Specimens

135

Specimens of Holly Wood Type Manufactured by Hamilton & Baker, Two Rivers, Wis. (1886); John M. Wing Foundation, Newberry Library, Chicago.

The collection has a full set of uppercase

The Morgans & Wilcox Manufacturing

in 3-line and uppercase and numerals in

Company also offered this design as Latin

5-line. The 3-line was produced with the

Extended at least as early as 1890. The name

router-cut method, and the 5-line is a mixed

was changed to No. 3127 after the Hamilton

set of blocks produced with the router-cut

Manufacturing Company acquired Mor-

and veneer methods. Both sizes are stamped

gans & Wilcox in December 1897.

HAMILTON | TWO | RIVERS, WIS., which was

Nicolete Gray wrote of the Latins that

used between c. 1910 and the 1950s.

upon initial introduction, they were

Kelly showed Latin Extended as a spec-

“normally compressed, sometimes slightly

imen in American Wood Type 1828–1900 on

expanded, but never square. Their intro-

page 284 and in Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets

duction was much more revolutionary in

on page 53. The 3-line was shown on plate

England than on the Continent.”23 Kelly

47 of the folio, and the 5-line on plate 24.

wrote that variations in Latin styles followed

23 Gray, Nineteenth Century Ornamented Typefaces, p. 80.

in a relatively short amount of time after the This face was first shown as wood type by

style’s initial introduction and included “XX

Hamilton & Baker in the November 1886

Condensed, X Condensed, Condensed, Full

Specimens of Holly Wood Type. Hamilton &

Face, Extended, and Expanded, with some

Baker referred to this design as No. 96.

designs in several weights.”24

24 Kelly, American Wood Type 1828–1900, p. 147.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

136

No. 131

The collection has a full set of uppercase, lowercase, and numerals in 4-line and uppercase and numerals in 12-line, produced with the router-cut method. Neither set of type blocks has a manufacturer’s stamp. Kelly showed No. 131 as a specimen in American Wood Type 1828–1900 on page 285 and in Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets on page 54. The 4-line was shown on plate 45 of the folio, and the 12-line on plate 10. This face was first shown as wood type by the William H. Page Wood Type Company in Page’s Wood Type Album, vol. 1, no. 4 (January 1880). The Latin style letter can be quickly identified by the triangular serifs—the defining characteristic of the style. The type historian Willem Ovink writes that the style was developed in Europe from the “traits already apparent in the book types of the years around 1850.”25 Ovink credited the first showing of the triangular serifs to the

25 Ovink, “NineteenthCentury Reactions against the Didone Type Model,” p. 23.

Parisian publisher Pierre Jannet in 1856, in his Spécimen des nouveaux caractères destinés à l’impression de la Bibliothèque Elzévirienne, a volume that shows it as a specimen of historic French literary texts with titling capitals cut by the typecutter Gouet in 7-, 9-, 14-, and 20-point size. The Latin style was introduced into Britain by Miller & Richard around 1865; it began to appear in American specimen catalogs by the late 1860s and early 1870s.

Manufacturers that offered this face: Hamilton / No. 94 / 1887 Morgans & Wilcox / Peerless (Hamilton No. 3126) / 1884 National Printers’ Materials / No. 131 / 1887 Page / No. 131 (Hamilton No. 4094) / 1880 Tubbs·AWT / Peerless or No. 2087 / 1883 Wells / Old Style Antique No. 2 (Hamilton No. 5118) / 1889

Type Specimens

137

Page’s Wood Type Album, vol. 1, no. 4 (1880); Cary Graphic Arts Collection, Rochester Institute of Technology.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

138

No. 129

The collection has a full set of uppercase that measure 20-line in size, produced with the router-cut method. The type block does not have a manufacturer’s stamp. Kelly showed this cut of No. 129 as a specimen in American Wood Type 1828–1900 on page 286, in the folio on plate 72, and in Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets on page 55. This face was first shown as wood type by the William H. Page Wood Type Company’s Page’s Wood Type Album, vol. 1, no. 4 (January 1880). The Latin style was introduced into Britain by Miller & Richard around 1865; it began to appear in American specimen catalogs by the late 1860s and early 1870s. The William H. Page Wood Type Company released a series of three widths—a regular, a condensed, and an extra condensed—of Latin in the fourth and final issue of its house organ, Page’s Wood Type Album. Within two years, the company had added an expanded variant as well as a double extra condensed variant that also included a more modulated contrast in the body strokes.

Manufacturers that offered this face: Hamilton / No. 93 / 1886 Morgans & Wilcox / Latin X Condensed (Hamilton No. 3124) / c. 1885 National Printers’ Materials / Antique Extra Condensed / 1887 Page / No. 129 (Hamilton No. 4093) / 1880 Tubbs·AWT / Peerless Extra Condensed or No. 2089 / 1883 Wells / Old Style Antique X Condensed or No. 302 (Hamilton No. 5116) / 1882

Type Specimens

139

Page’s Wood Type Album, vol. 1, no. 4 (1880); Cary Graphic Arts Collection, Rochester Institute of Technology.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

140

Ionic

The collection has a full set of uppercase

between stroke and serif.”26 The typo-

in 12-line and 20-line, produced with the

graphic origins of the bracketed slab serif

router-cut method. Both sizes are stamped

began to emerge as early as 1817 with the

Wm H. PAGE & Co | GREENVILLE, Ct, which

design of a shaded Egyptian by Vincent

was used between 1859 and 1867.

Figgins. The first solid-faced Ionic was not

Kelly showed a specimen of Ionic in

shown until 1842, in Henry Caslon’s Speci-

American Wood Type 1828–1900 on page 269

men of Printing Types.

and in Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets on page

A heavier variation of the Ionic was

38. The 12-line was shown on plate 58 of

introduced as Clarendon and was registered

the folio.

in October 1845 under the English Non-

26 Ruari McLean, “An Examination of Egyptians,” Alphabet and Image (ed. Robert Harling) 1 (April 1946): 43.

ornamental (“Useful”) Designs Act of 1843 as This face was first shown as wood type by

Useful Registered Design Number 572. This

William H. Page & Company in the 1859

protected the design from being copied by

Specimens of Wood Type, Borders, Rules, &c.

competitors for three years. The design of the face is typically attributed to Robert Bes-

The Ionic/Clarendon style can be differen-

ley, a partner of William Thorowgood at the

tiated from the Antique/Egyptian by the

Fann Street Foundry, with the strong assis-

softening or curving of the angular joint

tance of Benjamin Fox, the punch cutter

between strokes, typically referred to as

who engraved the face for casting. Claren-

“bracketing.” The style “introduced by

don is often credited as the first type design

Blake & Stephenson in 1833, bore certain

to be protected under patent in England.27

resemblances to the earlier Egyptian types,

Kelly put forward the possibility that

although there was much greater contrast

“Clarendons evolved from two separate origins, one being the smaller Ionics—which in

27 In the United States, George Bruce was awarded US Design patent 1 on November 9, 1842, for his submission of four typeface designs and a number of border designs.

turn had probably grown out of some modification of Roman or the smaller sizes of Antique. The other may be traced to modification in the larger display sizes of Antique, such as the Antique Outlined by Figgins.”28 Clarendon was more broadly offered by

28 Kelly, American Wood Type 1828–1900, p. 110.

wood type manufacturers in the United States and, though introduced within roughly the same time frame, overshadowed Ionic, which seemed to have only ever been shown in two stylistic variations.

Manufacturers that offered this face: Cooley / Ionic / c. 1859–1863 Hamilton / Ionic or No. 47 / 1884 Morgans & Wilcox / Ionic (Hamilton No. 3044) / 1882 National Printers’ Materials / Ionic / 1887 Page / Ionic (Hamilton No. 4047) / 1859 Tubbs·AWT / Ionic / 1883 Wells / Ionic or No. 448 (Hamilton No. 5041) / 1860

Type Specimens

141

Specimens of Wood Type, Borders, Rules, &c. Manufactured by Wm. H. Page & Co. Greenville, Conn. (1859); ATF Library Collection, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

142

Ionic Condensed

The collection has a full set of uppercase

This face was first listed as wood type by

that measure 5-line in size, produced with

William H. Page & Company in the 1865

the router-cut method. The type block is

Price List of Wood Type, Borders, Reglet, &c. and

stamped PAGE & Co | GREENVILLE | CT,

shown at least as early as 1867 in Wm. H. Page

which was used between 1857 and 1859, and

& Co.’s Specimens of Wood Type, Manufactured

again in the 1870s.

at Greenville, Conn.

Kelly showed this cut of Ionic Condensed as a specimen in American Wood Type 1828–

In the 1884 Hamilton & Katz Specimens of

1900 on page 271, in the folio on plate 90, and

Holly Wood Type, multiple numbers—No. 12

in Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets on page 40.

and No. 13—are listed for what seem to be the same design of Ionic Condensed. These multiple numbers were replaced with the single No. 182 in the 1889 Specimens of Wood Type and Borders. No. 182 is used here, as it was the only number for this cut used by Hamilton in specimen catalogs after 1889.

Manufacturers that offered this face: Hamilton / Ionic Condensed or No. 182 / 1884 Morgans & Wilcox / Ionic Condensed (Hamilton No. 3043) / c. 1885 National Printers’ Materials / Ionic Condensed / 1887 Page / Ionic Condensed (Hamilton No. 4182) / 1865 Tubbs·AWT / Ionic Condensed / 1883 Wells / Ionic Condensed or No. 445 (Hamilton No. 5040) / 1872

Type Specimens

143

Wm. H. Page & Co.’s Specimens of Wood Type, Manufactured at Greenville, Conn. (1867); Kemble Collection, Kemble Z250 P2; California Historical Society

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

144

Clarendon Light Face

The collection has a full set of uppercase,

This face was first shown as wood type by

lowercase, and numerals that measure

William H. Page & Company in the 1859

4-line in size, produced with the router-cut

Specimens of Wood Type, Rules, Border, &c.

method. The type block is stamped HAMILTON | TWO | RIVERS, WIS., which was used

J. G. Cooley & Company showed a version

between c. 1910 and the 1950s.

of Clarendon Light Face between 1859

Kelly did not show a specimen of Clar-

and 1863 in Specimens of Wood Type, but

endon Light Face in American Wood Type

the design was more expanded than the

1828–1900, but did show this cut in the folio

William H. Page & Company cut. Cooley’s

on plate 45.

design named Clarendon Condensed Light Face, also shown in the same specimen catalog, matches this cut of Clarendon Light Face more closely.

Manufacturers that offered this face: Cooley / Clarendon Cond. Light Face / c. 1859–1863 Hamilton / Clarendon Light Face or No. 22 / 1884 Knox / Light Face Clarendon / 1858 Morgans & Wilcox / Clarendon Light Face (Hamilton No. 3042) / 1881 National Printers’ Materials / Clarendon Light Face / 1887 Page / Clarendon Light Face (Hamilton No. 4022) / 1859 Tubbs·AWT / Clarendon Light Face or No. 2038 / 1883 Wells / Clarendon Condensed Light Face or No. 405 (Hamilton No. 5039) / 1872

Type Specimens

145

Specimens of Wood Type, Borders, Rules, &c. Manufactured by Wm. H. Page & Co. Greenville, Conn. (1859); ATF Library Collection, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

146

Clarendon Light Face XX Condensed

Kelly used the name Clarendon XX Con-

manufacturer to show Clarendon, when it

densed to identify this design in American

included Clarendon Condensed and Clar-

Wood Type 1828–1900 and Dover’s Wood Type

endon X Condensed in the 1853 Specimens

Alphabets. The collection has a full set of

of Machinery Cut Wood Type, Manufactured by

uppercase, lowercase, and numerals that

Bill, Stark & Company, Willimantic, Connecti-

measure 20-line in size, produced with

cut. By 1859, William H. Page & Company

the router-cut method. The type block is

listed seventeen Clarendon variations,

stamped Wm H. PAGE & Co, which was used

including Lightface, Extended, a range of

between 1867 and 1876.

Condensed, and no fewer than seven Orna-

Kelly showed this cut of Clarendon Light

mented variations. This expansive range of

Face XX Condensed as a specimen in Amer-

Clarendon overshadowed the introduction

ican Wood Type 1828–1900 on page 274, in the

of Ionic, which seemed to have only ever

folio on plate 54, and in Dover’s Wood Type

been shown in two stylistic variations.

Alphabets on page 43.

In American Wood Type 1828–1900, Kelly stated that he believed this design origi-

This face was first shown as wood type by

nated as a wood type in America.

William H. Page & Company in the 1859 Specimens of Wood Type, Rules, Border, &c. Clarendon was first shown in the United States in 1847 by the Philadelphia-based type foundry, L. Johnson & Company. Of this date, Doug Clouse notes that “either the [English] patent did not apply in America, or Johnson ignored it.”29 Bill, Stark & Company was the first US wood type

29 Doug Clouse, Mackellar, Smiths & Jordan: Typographic Tastemakers of the Late Nineteenth Century (New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll Press, 2008), p. 35.

Manufacturers that offered this face: Hamilton / Clarendon Light Face XX Condensed or No. 150 / 1889 Morgans & Wilcox / Clarendon XX Condensed Light Face (Hamilton No. 3039) / c. 1886 National Printers’ Materials / Clarendon Light Face / 1887 Page / Clarendon Light Face Double Extra Condensed (Hamilton No. 4150) / 1859 Tubbs·AWT / Clarendon XX Condensed Light Face or No. 2026 / 1885 Wells / Clarendon Double Extra Condensed Light Face (Hamilton No. 5035) / 1872

Type Specimens

147

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

148

Clarendon Extended

The collection has a full set of uppercase

267, in the folio on plates 39 and 40, and in

and numerals in 4-line and uppercase and

Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets on page 36. It is

lowercase in 10-line, both produced with

not immediately evident why Kelly decided

the router-cut method. The 4-line does not

to show the two sizes of this face on sepa-

have a manufacturer’s stamp; the 10-line

rate pages of American Wood Type 1828–1900,

is stamped PAGE & Co | GREENVILLE | CT,

or why he repeated this decision in Dover’s

which was used between 1857 and 1859, and

Wood Type Alphabets.

again in the 1870s. Kelly showed the cut of 4-line Clarendon

This face was first listed on the price index

Extended as a specimen in American Wood

of William H. Page & Company’s October

Type 1828–1900 on page 270, in the folio on

1859 Specimens of Wood Type, Rules, Border,

plate 6, and in Dover’s Wood Type Alpha-

&c., but was not first shown as wood type

bets on page 39. He also showed the cut of

until the company’s May 1860 Supplementary

10-line Clarendon Extended as a specimen

Specimens of Wood Type, Rules, Border, &c.

in American Wood Type 1828–1900 on page

Manufacturers that offered this face: Hamilton / Clarendon Extended or No. 53 / 1884 Morgans & Wilcox / Clarendon Extended (Hamilton No. 3037) / 1882 National Printers’ Materials / Clarendon Extended / 1887 Page / Clarendon Extended (Hamilton No. 4053) / 1859 Tubbs·AWT / Clarendon Extended or No. 2027 / 1883 Wells / Clarendon Extended or No. 438 (Hamilton No. 5033) / 1872

Type Specimens

149

Supplementary Specimens of Wood Type, Rules, Border, &c (1860); John M. Wing Foundation, Newberry Library, Chicago.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

150

Columbian

The collection has three sets of this face:

Kelly showed a specimen of Columbian

turers in Europe and North America, and

one full set of uppercase in 6-line; one full

in uppercase on page 268 of American Wood

it would provide the basis for an expansive

set of uppercase, lowercase, and numerals

Type 1828–1900 and in Dover’s Wood Type

range of variation throughout the second

in 6-line; and one full set of uppercase in

Alphabets on page 37. The 6-line Page cut

half of the nineteenth century. Columbian

8-line. The 6-line uppercase set is stamped

was shown on plate 33 of the folio, and the

was a full-faced variant of the Clarendon,

AMERICAN | WOOD TYP CO., which is likely

8-line on plate 53.

and a slightly more condensed variant of

to have been used by American Wood Type

the Ionic, with more compact serif termi-

Company of South Windham, Connecti-

This face was first shown as wood type in

nals, decreased stroke contrast approaching

cut, from 1879 to 1883. The other 6-line

the July 1870 Specimens of Wood Type Manu-

monoline distribution, and overall refine-

of uppercase, lowercase, and numerals is

factured by Wm. H. Page & Co, Greenville, Conn.

ment and systemization of character details.

stamped PAGE & Co | GREENVILLE | CT, which was used between 1857 and 1859, and

The Ionic/Clarendon pattern became a

again in the 1870s. The 8-line does not have

near-ubiquitous style, offered by almost

a manufacturer’s stamp.

all type foundries and wood type manufac-

Manufacturers that offered this face: Hamilton / Columbian or No. 155 / 1889 Morgans & Wilcox / Columbian (Hamilton No. 3048) / 1881 National Printers’ Materials / Columbian / 1887 Page / Columbian (Hamilton No. 4155) / 1870 Tubbs·AWT / Columbian / 1883 Wells / Columbian or No. 450 (Hamilton No. 5047) / 1872

Type Specimens

151

Specimens of Wood Type Manufactured by Wm. H. Page & Co. Greenville, Conn. (1872); ATF Library Collection, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

152

The foot of the « Z » type block shows the impression of a US Silver Dollar. The impression is strong enough to clearly show it to be a Morgan dollar minted in 1879. (The Morgan dollar was minted 1878 – 1904 and named after its designer, United States Mint Assistant Engraver George T. Morgan.) The impression was likely created with the coin laying on the press bed under the type block as it was printed. This image is enlarged 200% from the original.

Aldine

The collection has three sizes of this face:

This face was first shown by William H.

Aldine was a variant of the Ionic/Claren-

one full set of uppercase and numerals in

Page & Company in Marder Luce & Compa-

don pattern that presented a more compact

6-line, one full set of uppercase in 10-line,

ny’s quarterly The Chicago Specimen, vol. 4,

face and squarer profile, decreased inter-

and one full set of uppercase and lowercase

no. 2 (April 1870).

nal stroke contrast with an asymmetrical

in 12-line. The 6-line does not have a man-

increase in weight along the baseline and

ufacturer’s stamp. The 10-line is stamped

US design patent 3,905 on Aldine (& Aldine

cap-height to produce horizontal stress

HAMILTON | TWO | RIVERS, WIS., which

Ornamented) was awarded to William H.

that borrowed from the Italian/French

was used between c. 1910 and the 1950s. The

Page—and assigned to William H. Page &

Clarendon pattern, and overall refinement

12-line is stamped Wm H. PAGE & Co, which

Company—on March 15, 1870. The text in

and systemization of character details. In

was used between 1867 and 1876.

the patent application indicated that Page

American Wood Type 1828–1900, Kelly stated

Kelly showed a specimen of Aldine in

designed this face to be used both individu-

that he believed this design to have origi-

uppercase on page 265 of American Wood

ally and chromatically: “the two alphabets

nated as a wood type in America.

Type 1828–1900 and in Dover’s Wood Type

to be printed single, or the one printed over

Alphabets on page 34. The 12-line was shown

the other in colors.” The design was shown

on plates 5 and 6 of the folio.

chromatically in both the July 1870 catalog and the 1874 Specimens of Chromatic Wood Type, Borders, &c., listed as Chromatic Aldine Ornamented.

Type Specimens

153

Manufacturers that offered this face: Hamilton / Aldine or No. 23 / 1884 Morgans & Wilcox / Aldine (Hamilton No. 3045) / 1881 National Printers’ Materials / Aldine / 1887 Page / Aldine (Hamilton No. 4023) / 1870 Tubbs·AWT / Aldine or No. 2167 / 1883 Wells / York Aldine No. 3 or No. 496 (Hamilton No. 5043) / 1886

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

154

Aldine Ornamented

The collection has a full set of uppercase

This face was first shown as wood type in

and numerals that measure 8-line in size,

the July 1870 Specimens of Wood Type Manu-

produced with the router-cut method. The

factured by Wm. H. Page & Co., Greenville, Conn.

type block is stamped PAGE & Co | GREENVILLE | CT | PATENTED. Used from 1857

US design patent 3,905 on Aldine (& Aldine

to 1859, the PAGE & Co | GREENVILLE | CT

Ornamented) was awarded to William H.

stamp has been found on some type designs

Page and assigned to William H. Page &

that were not released until the late 1860s

Company on March 15, 1870. The text in

and early 1870s, indicating that the stamp

the patent application indicates that Page

was also used during this later period.

designed this face to be used both individu-

The PATENTED portion of the stamp was a

ally and chromatically: “the two alphabets

separate stamp applied in addition to the

to be printed single, or the one printed over

primary manufacturer’s stamp; it seems to

the other in colors.” The design was shown

have been used inconsistently by the com-

chromatically in both the July 1870 catalog

pany during the 1870s.

and the 1874 Specimens of Chromatic Wood

Kelly showed this cut of Aldine Orna-

Type, Borders, &c., listed as Chromatic Aldine

mented as a specimen in American Wood

Ornamented.

Type 1828–1900 on page 266, in the folio on

In American Wood Type 1828–1900, Kelly

plate 62, and in Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets

stated that he believed this design to have

on page 35.

originated as a wood type in America.

Manufacturers that offered this face: Morgans & Wilcox / Aldine Ornamented / c. 1886 Page / Aldine Ornamented (Hamilton No. 456) / 1870 Wells / York Aldine No. 3 Ornamented (Hamilton No. 5274) / 1886

Type Specimens

155

Patent application for US design patent 3,905.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

156

Clarendon Italian

Typographic Messenger, vol. 1, no. 3 (1866); Graphic Arts Collection, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

Type Specimens

The collection has a full set of uppercase, lowercase, and numerals that measure 5-line in size, produced with the router-cut method. The type block does not have a manufacturer’s stamp. Kelly did not show a specimen of Clarendon Italian in either American Wood Type 1828–1900 or the folio. This face was first shown as wood type by William H. Page & Company in James Conner’s Sons’ Typographic Messenger, vol. 1, no. 3 (March 1866). The number of Clarendon variants offered by William H. Page & Company continued to increase throughout the 1860s. By 1867, in Wm. H. Page & Co.’s Specimens of Wood Type, Manufactured at Greenville, Conn., the company was offering a total of twenty-eight variations. The Clarendon Italian was one of these additional variations. The design was based on Page’s Clarendon Condensed; the contrast between strokes was reduced to near evenness, and weight was added at the cap-height and baseline to increase horizontal visual stress.

Manufacturers that offered this face: Hamilton / Clarendon Italian or No. 37 / 1886 Morgans & Wilcox / Clarendon Italian (Hamilton No. 3036) / 1881 National Printers’ Materials / Clarendon Italian / 1887 Page / Clarendon Italian (Hamilton No. 4037) / 1866 Tubbs·AWT / Clarendon Italian or No. 2024 / 1879 Wells / Clarendon Italian (Hamilton No. 5032) / 1872

157

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

158

Clarendon No. 1

The collection has three sets of this design: one full set of uppercase in 5-line, one full set of uppercase in 8-line, and one full set of uppercase and numerals in 8-line. The 5-line is stamped HAMILTON | TWO | RIVERS, WIS., which was used between c. 1910 and the 1950s. The 8-line uppercase set is stamped Wm H. PAGE & Co, which was used between 1867 and 1876. The 8-line uppercase and numerals set does not have a manufacturer’s stamp. Kelly showed an amalgamated specimen of the 8-line cuts of Clarendon No. 1 in American Wood Type 1828–1900 on page 257 and in Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets on page 26. The 5-line was shown on plate 47, and the 8-line on plate 26, of the folio. This face was first shown as wood type by William H. Page & Company in James Conner’s Sons’ Typographic Messenger, vol. 2, no. 3 (March 1867).

Manufacturers that offered this face: Hamilton / Clarendon No. 1 or No. 154 / 1889 Morgans & Wilcox / Clarendon No. 1 (Hamilton No. 3035) / 1881 National Printers’ Materials / Clarendon No. 1 / 1887 Page / Clarendon No. 1 (Hamilton No. 4154) / 1867 Tubbs·AWT / Clarendon No. 1 or No. 2020 / 1883 Wells / Clarendon No. 1 or No. 431 (Hamilton No. 5031) / 1872

Type Specimens

159

Typographic Messenger, vol. 2, no. 3 (1867); Graphic Arts Collection, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

160

Clarendon No. 1 as shown on page 257 of Kelly’s American Wood Type 1828–1900 (left). Demarcating two distinct cuts of Clarendon No. 1 mapped to the specimen on page 257 of Kelly’s American Wood Type 1828–1900 (right).

Overlay of character glyphs to compare formal differences of two cuts.

Type Specimens

161

The 8-line Clarendon No. 1 with no manufacturer’s stamp visually matches the Hamilton Manufacturing Company’s No. 154 (left). The 8-line Clarendon No. 1 stamped Wm H. PAGE & Co used between 1867 and 1876 (right).

During the process of printing all of the types in the collection, peculiarities were noticed in the type blocks of the 8-line set of Clarendon No. 1.30 These peculiarities showed up as subtle differences in the actual formal configuration of the glyphs when the characters were digitally overlapped. This discovery provided the visual information needed to “unpack” this set of type. Though shown as one set, the 8-line was found to actually be made up of two distinct variations of Clarendon No. 1, each made by a different manufacturer. One set of characters was stamped by William H. Page & Company, and the other distinct set had no manufacturer’s stamp but visually matched a cut by the Hamilton Manufacturing Company. It is most likely that the two sets were “mixed” at the printshop that owned the wood type—which may have purchased replacement characters to an existing font, or stored them together for the sake of efficiency—and that Kelly acquired the single set of Clarendon No. 1 in the amalgamated condition from the printer.

30 Two University of Texas design majors, Rachel Tepper (BFA ’09) and Josh Gamma (BFA ’09), worked with me as research assistants during the summer of 2007 to complete printed proofs of the entire collection. During the course of their work, the two noted discrepancies between glyphs in the 8-line Clarendon No. 1. This keen-eyed observation and a curiosity-driven conversation led to a more thorough visual examination. A scan of the printed proof allowed for a digital overlaying of all letterforms, which helped to clarify the two distinct cuts that had made up Kelly’s amalgamation.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

162

French Clarendon

31 The 30-line French Clarendon may have been purchased in November 1962 from H. D. Farwell, a printing equipment dealer based in Omaha, Nebraska. Correspondence held at the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin shows that Kelly acquired a 5-inch font from the equipment dealer at that time, and the only font in the collection to that measure is the 30-line French Clarendon.

The collection has four sizes of French

Kelly showed a specimen of French

Clarendon: one full set of uppercase, lower-

Clarendon in American Wood Type 1828–1900

case, and numerals in 10-line and 30-line31;

on page 258 and in Dover’s Wood Type

one full set of uppercase and numerals in

Alphabets on page 27. The 10-line was shown

14-line; and 15-line. The 10-line and 15-line

on plate 37, the 15-line on plate 38, and the

have no manufacturer’s stamp. The 14-line

30-line on plates 42, 43, and 44 of the folio.

is stamped Wm H. PAGE & Co, which was used between 1867 and 1876. The 30-line

This face was first shown as wood type by

is stamped V. W & Co | 18 | DUTCH St | N. Y.,

William H. Page & Company in James Con-

which was used between 1864 and 1867. The

ner’s Sons’ Typographic Messenger, vol. 1, no. 1

10-line font is made up of blocks produced

(November 1865).

with two different production methods. The uppercase and some numerals were

The French Clarendon, like the French

produced with the router-cut method, and

Antique, was a refinement of the inverted

the lowercase and the remaining numerals

Italian style letter, with strong horizontal

were produced with the veneer method.

visual stress but also the addition of brack-

The 14-line and 30-line were produced with

eted serifs. French Clarendon also became a

the router-cut method, and the 15-line was

dominant display style from the mid-1860s

produced with the veneer method.

to the end of the 1880s, with an expansive range of stylistic variation.

Type Specimens

163

Manufacturers that offered this face: Hamilton / French Clarendon or No. 24 / 1884 Morgans & Wilcox / French Clarendon (Hamilton No. 3024) / 1881 National Printers’ Materials / French Clarendon / 1887 Page / French Clarendon (Hamilton No. 4024) / 1865 Tubbs·AWT / French Clarendon or No. 2020 / 1879 Wells / French Clarendon or No. 461 (Hamilton No. 5021) / 1872

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

164

French Clarendon Condensed

Manufacturers that offered this face: Hamilton / French Clarendon Condensed or No. 95 / 1886 Page / French Clarendon Condensed (Hamilton No. 260) / 1888 Tubbs·AWT / French Clarendon Condensed or No. 2249 / c. 1903 Wells / French Clarendon Condensed or No. 458 (Hamilton No. 5023) / 1879

Type Specimens

165

Specimens of Holly Wood Type Manufactured by Hamilton & Baker, Two Rivers, Wis. (1886); John M. Wing Foundation, Newberry Library, Chicago.

The collection has a full set of uppercase

This face was first listed in the 1879 Speci-

The Hamilton Manufacturing Company

and numerals that measure 12-line in size,

mens of Vanderburgh, Wells & Co’s Wood Type,

and the Tubbs Manufacturing Com-

produced with the router-cut method. The

Borders, Rules, &c. Curiously, the face was not

pany were the only manufacturers to cut

type block does not have a manufacturer’s

shown as wood type until 1886 at the earli-

French Clarendon Condensed that was

stamp but is most likely a Hamilton cut.

est, by Hamilton & Baker in the November

this heavy or expanded. All other manu-

Kelly did not show a specimen of French

1886 Specimens of Holly Wood Type.

facturers of French Clarendon Condensed

Clarendon Condensed in either American

produced designs that were much lighter

Wood Type 1828–1900 or the folio.

and much more condensed than the cut held in the collection.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

166

Aldine Expanded

Typographic Messenger, vol. 5, no. 4 (1870); Graphic Arts Collection, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

Type Specimens

167

The collection has a full set of uppercase

Though shown later the same year as

and numerals that measure 12-line in size,

Aldine and Aldine Ornamented, Aldine

produced with the router-cut method. The

Expanded was not covered under US patent

type block is stamped THE HAMILTON MFG

3,905. The relationship between the two

CO | TWO RIVERS, WIS, which was used

designs was not consistently systematized.

from 1891 to 1927.

The Aldine Expanded retained the overall

Kelly showed this cut of Aldine Expanded

squarish profile of the Aldine while stretch-

as a specimen in American Wood Type on page

ing the forms asymmetrically across the

264, in the folio on plates 63 and 64, and in

horizontal axis, and it introduced a higher

Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets on page 33.

contrast between the body of the face and the strokes that ran along the baseline and

This face was first shown as wood type by

cap-height. This increased contrast accen-

William H. Page & Company in James Con-

tuated the horizontal visual stress, but

ner’s Sons’ Typographic Messenger, vol. 5, no.

the overall weight of the face was visually

4 (October 1870).

lighter than the Aldine.

Manufacturers that offered this face: Hamilton / Aldine Expanded or No. 76 / 1882 Morgans & Wilcox / Aldine Expanded (Hamilton No. 3046) / 1884 Page / Aldine Expanded (Hamilton No. 4076) / 1870 Tubbs·AWT / Aldine Expanded or No. 2098 / c. 1903 Wells—Aldine Expanded or No. 500 (Hamilton No. 5046) / 1872

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

168

Norwich Aldine

The collection has a full set of uppercase and numerals that measure 5-line in size, produced with the router-cut method. The type block does not have a manufacturer’s stamp. Kelly showed this cut of Norwich Aldine as a specimen in American Wood Type 1828– 1900 on page 261, in the folio on plate 17, and in Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets on page 30. This design was first shown as wood type in 1872. It is unclear who was first to market with it, William H. Page & Company or Vanderburgh, Wells & Company. Specimens of Wood Type Manufactured by Wm. H. Page & Co., Greenville, Conn. included a printed date of August 1, 1872, while Specimens of Vanderburgh, Wells & Co’s Wood Type, Borders, Rules, &c was dated simply 1872. Manufacturers that offered this face: Hamilton / Norwich Aldine or No. 116 / 1889 Page / Norwich Aldine (Hamilton No. 4116) / 1872 Tubbs·AWT / Windham Aldine / 1883 Wells / York Aldine or No. 490 (Hamilton No. 5044) / 1872

Type Specimens

169

Specimens of Wood Type Manufactured by Wm. H. Page & Co., Greenville, Conn. (1872); ATF Library Collection, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

170

Egyptian

The collection has a full set of uppercase,

Kelly stated that the designs named

lowercase, and numerals that measure

Egyptian introduced in the 1870s by the

10-line in size, produced with the rout-

American manufacturers bore a stronger

er-cut method. The type block is stamped

resemblance to the French Antiques intro-

Wm H. PAGE & Co | GREENVILLE, Ct, which

duced in the 1850s by the European type

was used between 1859 and 1867.

founders than the designs named French

Kelly showed this cut of Egyptian as a

Antiques introduced by the Americans. The

specimen in American Wood Type 1828–1900

variations developed in the 1870s by Amer-

on page 260, in the folio on plate 77, and in

ican manufacturers from the Egyptian

Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets on page 29.

pattern tended to use contour ornamentation more than width variation to establish

This face was first shown as wood type by

stylistic difference.

William H. Page & Company in the July

In the text caption for the printed spec-

1870 Specimens of Wood Type Manufactured by

imen of the 1964 folio, Kelly made note of

Wm. H. Page & Co, Greenville, Conn.

the missing figure « 3 », but curiously did not cut a replacement character, as he had done for the unmentioned missing lowercase « p ».

Manufacturers that offered this face: Hamilton / Egyptian or No. 157 / 1889 Morgans & Wilcox / Egyptian (Hamilton No. 3053) / 1881 Page / Egyptian (Hamilton No. 4157) / 1870 Tubbs·AWT / Egyptian or No. 2118 / 1879 Wells / Egyptian or No. 481 (Hamilton No. 5055) / 1872

Type Specimens

171

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

172

Egyptian Condensed

The collection has a full set of uppercase,

This face was first shown as wood type by

lowercase, and numerals that measure

William H. Page & Company in the Chicago

6-line in size, produced with the router-cut

Type Foundry’s The Chicago Specimen, vol. 4,

method. The type block does not have a

no. 1 (January 1870).

manufacturer’s stamp. Kelly did not show a specimen of Egyp-

Egyptian, Egyptian Condensed, and Egyp-

tian Condensed in American Wood Type

tian Extra Condensed were the only three

1828–1900, but this cut was shown in the

width variations developed from the Egyp-

folio on plate 86.

tian pattern. Contour ornamentation more than width variation was used to establish stylistic difference.

Manufacturers that offered this face: Hamilton / Egyptian Condensed or No. 91 / 1884 Morgans & Wilcox / Egyptian Condensed (Hamilton No. 3050) / c. 1885 National Printers’ Materials / Egyptian Condensed / 1887 Page / Egyptian Condensed / 1870 Tubbs·AWT / Egyptian Condensed / 1881 Wells / Egyptian Condensed or No. 478 (Hamilton No. 5051) / 1872

Type Specimens

173

The Chicago Specimen, vol. 4, no. 1 (1870); ATF Library Collection, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

174

French Clarendon No. 2

The collection has a full set of uppercase

This face was first shown as wood type by

and numerals in both 8-line and 10-line

Vanderburgh, Wells & Company at least as

produced with the router-cut method. The

early as the 1872 Specimens of Vanderburgh,

8-line is stamped THE HAMILTON MFG CO

Wells & Co’s Wood Type, Borders, Rules, &c. The

| TWO | RIVERS | & | CHICAGO, which was

design variant adopted by all other Ameri-

used from 1889 to 1891. The 10-line does not

can manufacturers was first shown as wood

have a manufacturer’s stamp.

type by William H. Page & Company in

Kelly showed a specimen of French

James Conner’s Sons’ Typographic Messenger,

Clarendon No. 2 in American Wood Type

vol. 8, no. 2 (April 1873).

1828–1900 on page 262 and in Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets on page 31. The 8-line was shown on plate 36 of the folio.

Manufacturers that offered this face: Hamilton / French Clarendon No. 2 or No. 69 / 1882 Morgans & Wilcox / French Clarendon No. 2 (Hamilton No. 3051) / 1882 National Printers’ Materials / French Clarendon No. 2 / 1887 Page / French Clarendon No. 2 (Hamilton No. 4069) / 1873 Tubbs·AWT / French Clarendon No. 2 or No. 2021 / 1883 Wells / French Clarendon No. 2 or No. 464 (Hamilton No. 5052) / 1872

Type Specimens

175

Specimens of Vanderburgh, Wells & Co’s Wood Type, Borders, Rules, &c. (1872); TypTS 870.72.865, Houghton Library, Harvard University.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

176

Belgian

The collection has a full set of uppercase

US design patent 4,280 on Belgian was

and numerals in both 6-line and 10-line,

awarded to William H. Page—and assigned

produced with the router-cut method. Nei-

to William H. Page & Company—on August

ther size has a manufacturer’s stamp.

9, 1870. The patent included Belgian,

Kelly showed a specimen of Belgian in

Belgian Ornamented, Belgian Ornamented

American Wood Type 1828–1900 on page 263

No. 1, and Belgian Ornamented No. 2. The

and in Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets on page

July 1870 specimen catalog shows all four

32. The 6-line was shown on plate 46 of the

versions and labels each as “Patented.”

folio, and the 10-line on plate 80.

Because of the discrepancy in these dates— the July date for the catalog and the August

This face was first shown as wood type by

date for the patent award—it is likely that

William H. Page & Company in the July

the patent application was submitted much

1870 Specimens of Wood Type Manufactured by

earlier in the year. Unfortunately, the pat-

Wm. H. Page & Co, Greenville, Conn.

ent record does not include the submission date on this particular application.

Manufacturers that offered this face: Hamilton / Belgian or No. 160 / 1889 Morgans & Wilcox / Belgian (Hamilton No. 3055) / 1882 National Printers’ Materials / Belgian / 1887 Page / Belgian (Hamilton No. 4160) / 1870 Wells / Belgian (Hamilton No. 5057) / 1872

Type Specimens

177

Specimens of Wood Type Manufactured by Wm. H. Page & Co., Greenville, Conn. (1872); ATF Library Collection, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

178

No. 117

Kelly used the name French Clarendon

The face was labeled “Patent Pending” in

XXX Condensed to identify this design.

the April 1879 Page’s Wood Type Album, but

The collection has a full set of uppercase

not labeled as such in either the broad-

that measure 36-line in size, produced with

side from early 1879 or the 1880 specimen

the router-cut method. The type block is

catalog. Its absence from the broadside

stamped Wm H. PAGE & Co, which was used

could indicate either that the broadside was

between 1867 and 1876.

produced before the patent application was

Kelly showed this cut of No. 117 as a

submitted or that it was simply a typo-

specimen in American Wood Type 1828–1900

graphical oversight. The absence from the

on page 259, in the folio on plate 46, and in

1880 catalog seems to clearly indicate that

Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets on page 28.

Page’s patent application was not awarded. It is not entirely clear why there is a

This face was first shown as wood type by

discrepancy between the known dates of

the William H. Page Wood Type Company

the use of the manufacturing stamp and

in its Page’s Wood Type Album, vol. 1, no. 1

the first showing of this design. There are

(April 1879).

several unexplained instances where a different manufacturer’s stamp also appears to be used after its stated dates of use.

Manufacturers that offered this face: Morgans & Wilcox / French Clarendon XXX Condensed (Hamilton No. 3022) / c. 1885 Page / No. 117 (Hamilton No. 270) / 1879 Tubbs·AWT / French Clarendon XXX Condensed or No. 2023 / 1883 Wells / French Clarendon XXX Condensed (Hamilton No. 5021) / Hamilton, 1906

Type Specimens

179

Page’s Wood Type Album, vol. 1, no. 1 (1879); Book Arts Collection, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

180

No. 504

Specimens of New Process Wood Type! (1890); Book Arts Collection, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

The collection has a full set of uppercase

This face was first shown as wood type by

that measure 8-line in size, produced with

the William H. Page Wood Type Company in

this process were not themselves patented.

the die-cut method. The type block is

Hawks & Shattuck’s 1889 New Specimen Book.

After the Hamilton Manufacturing

stamped PATENTED | DEC. 20 1887, which

Hawks & Shattuck, a West Coast distrib-

Company completed the acquisition of the

was used by the William H. Page Wood Type

utor for the William H. Page Wood Type

William H. Page Wood Type Company in

Company starting in 1887.

Company, showed eight of the seventeen

1891, the company continued to market the

Kelly showed this cut of No. 504 as a

die-cut types in two variants of the compa-

new process types as its own, and it also

specimen in American Wood Type 1828–1900

ny’s New Specimen Book published in 1889.

continued to use the same name originally

on page 287, in the folio on plate 86, and

This was one year before the William H.

assigned by the William H. Page Wood Type

in Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets on page 56.

Page Wood Type Company would show all

Company.

In both American Wood Type 1828–1900 and

seventeen faces in its own 1890 Specimens

Of the seventeen faces designed as a

Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets, this design was

of New Process Wood Type! While the die-cut

die-cut type by the William H. Page Wood

mislabeled “No. 154.”

process was patented through at least seven

Type Company, this design is one of nine

US patents, the type designs produced with

in the collection.

Type Specimens

181

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

182

Streamer No. 36

The collection has a full set of uppercase

This face was first shown as wood type

The William H. Page Wood Type Com-

that measure 14-line in size, produced with

by the William H. Page Wood Type Com-

pany also produced two other streamers

the router-cut method. The type block is

pany in Page’s Wood Type Album, vol. 1, no. 4

using this typeface design. Streamer No. 9

stamped AMERICAN | WOOD TYP CO., which

(January 1880).

(Hamilton No. 362) was No. 36 without the

was probably used by American Wood Type

The positive version of this face, named

inline, and Streamer No. 40 (Hamilton No.

Company of South Windham, Connecticut,

No. 121, was first shown as wood type by

402) was a nonreversed streamer.

between 1879 and 1883.

the William H. Page Wood Type Company

Charles Tubbs first showed the positive

Kelly did not show a specimen of Streamer

in Page’s Wood Type Album, vol. 1, no. 2 (July

version of this design as No. 2099 in the

No. 36 in American Wood Type 1828–1900, but

1879), and was labeled “Patent Pending.”

1885 Specimens of Wood Type Manufactured by

this cut was shown in the folio on plate 15.

The patent application was filed by William

American Wood Type Co. Of the five known

H. Page on June 16, 1880, and was awarded

Tubbs specimen catalogs, none show any

November 9, 1880, as US design patent 12,020.

streamer designs, though as the existence of this stamped block attests, the company clearly offered streamers for sale.

Type Specimens

183

Page’s Wood Type Album, vol. 1, no. 4 (1880); Cary Graphic Arts Collection, Rochester Institute of Technology.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

184

No. 515

The collection has a full set of uppercase in both 5-line and 12-line, produced with the die-cut method. Both sizes are stamped PATENTED | DEC. 20 1887, which was used by the William H. Page Wood Type Company starting in 1887. Kelly showed a specimen of No. 515 in American Wood Type 1828–1900 on page 290 and in Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets on page 59. The 5-line was shown on plate 46 of the folio, and the 12-line on plate 12. This face was first shown as wood type by the William H. Page Wood Type Company in the 1890 Specimens of New Process Wood Type! After the Hamilton Manufacturing Company acquired the William H. Page Wood Type Company in 1891, the company continued to market the new process types as its own, and it also continued to use the same name originally assigned by the William H. Page Wood Type Company. This design is one of nine examples in the collection of the seventeen faces designed as a die-cut type by the William H. Page Wood Type Company.

Specimens of New Process Wood Type! (1890); Book Arts Collection, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library. This image is reduced by an additional 65% from the 75% reduction of specimen catalog images shown in the book.

Type Specimens

185

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

186

No. 501

Specimens of New Process Wood Type! (1890); Book Arts Collection, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

Type Specimens

187

The collection has a full set of uppercase

all seventeen faces in its own 1890 Specimens

and numerals that measure 12-line in size,

of New Process Wood Type! While the die-cut

produced with the die-cut method. The

process was patented through at least seven

type block is stamped PATENTED | DEC. 20

US patents, the type designs produced with

1887, which was used by the William H.

this process were not themselves patented.

Page Wood Type Company starting in 1887.

It should be noted that Hawks & Shattuck

Kelly showed this cut of No. 501 as a

mislabeled the sample of No. 501 as “No.

specimen in American Wood Type 1828–1900

503” in its 1889 specimen catalog.

on page 294, in the folio on plate 83, and in

After the Hamilton Manufacturing

Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets on page 63.

Company completed the acquisition of the William H. Page Wood Type Company in

This face was first shown as wood type by

1891, the company continued to market the

the William H. Page Wood Type Company in

new process types as its own, and it also

Hawks & Shattuck’s 1889 New Specimen Book.

continued to use the same name originally

Hawks & Shattuck, a West Coast distrib-

assigned by the William H. Page Wood

utor for the William H. Page Wood Type

Type Company.

Company, showed eight of the seventeen

This design is one of nine examples

die-cut types in the two variants of the

in the collection of the seventeen faces

company’s New Specimen Book published in

designed as a die-cut type by the William H.

1889. This was one year before the William

Page Wood Type Company.

H. Page Wood Type Company would show

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

188

Celtic and Celtic Chromatic

The collection has full sets of the two com-

The design was awarded US design patent

ponents to produce the two-color Chro-

3,904 on March 15, 1870. The filing date

matic Celtic Ornamented. Both fonts are

is unknown. It was assigned to William

made up of full sets of uppercase characters

H. Page & Company. This design was first

that measure 34-line in size, produced with

shown in two colors on the cover of William

the router-cut method. Neither color com-

H. Page & Company’s 1870 Specimens of Wood

ponent has a manufacturer’s stamp.

Type Manufactured by Wm. H. Page & Co, Green-

This cut of Celtic, which Kelly referred

ville, Conn., and the single-color sample was

to as Celtic Ornamented (Chromatic), was

labeled “Patented.”

shown in American Wood Type 1828–1900 on

When the two blocks were used together

page 256 and in the folio on plates 74 and

chromatically, the resulting lockup was

75. Celtic was not shown chromatically in

named Chromatic Celtic Ornamented.

American Wood Type 1828–1900 but was shown

In addition, William H. Page & Company

in the folio on plate 74, spelling out “Rob

offered a single-color amalgamated version

Roy” in two colors.

named Celtic Ornamented, also first shown as wood type in 1870. There is no indication in the specimen catalog record that Hamilton specifically marketed its offering, Celtic (No. 165), as a two-color chromatic design.

Type Specimens

189

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

190

Tuscan Egyptian

The collection has a full set of uppercase,

Vanderburgh, Wells & Company named

lowercase, and numerals that measure

the face Tuscan Egyptian. After the company

10-line in size, produced with the router-cut

was succeeded by Heber Wells in 1890, the

method. The type block is stamped THE

name was changed to No. 553. In 1899, when

HAMILTON MFG CO | TWO | RIVERS | & |

the Hamilton Manufacturing Company

CHICAGO, which was used from 1889 to 1891.

acquired all the Heber Wells holdings, the

Kelly showed this cut of Tuscan Egyptian

name was changed one last time to No. 5520.

as a specimen in American Wood Type 1828–

Hamilton & Katz offered a version of this

1900 on page 293, in the folio on plate 41, and

design that it named No. 59 starting in 1884.

in Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets on page 62.

Tuscan Egyptian was Vanderburgh, Wells & Company’s subtle variation of

This face was first listed for sale at least as

the Egyptian Ornamented introduced by

early as the 1872 Specimens of Vanderburgh,

William H. Page & Company in 1870. The

Wells & Co’s Wood Type, Borders, Rules, &c, and

Tuscan Egyptian was slightly less con-

it was shown at least as early at the 1877

densed and the medial points less proud.

Specimens of Vanderburgh, Wells & Co’s Wood

The most noticeable differences can be seen

Type, Borders, Rules, &c.

in the Tuscan Egyptian’s capital « Q » with a tail that originated in the counter, and in the capital « A », which included a broken crossbar. The broken crossbar originated as a variant of the Greek inscriptional alpha during the Hellenistic period and was subsequently incorporated as a variant of the Roman capital « A » in both inscriptional and manuscript letterforms during the early Middle Ages.

Type Specimens

191

Specimens of Vanderburgh, Wells & Co’s Wood Type, Borders, Rules, &c. (1877); ATF Library Collection, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

192

Egyptian Ornamented

Typographic Messenger, vol. 5, no. 1 (1870); Graphic Arts Collection, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

Type Specimens

193

The collection has a full set of uppercase and numerals that measure 12-line in size, produced with the router-cut method. The type block is stamped AMERICAN W. T. Co. | SO. WINDHAM CT, which was used by Charles Tubbs’s American Wood Type Company between 1883 and 1902. Kelly showed this cut of Egyptian Ornamented as a specimen in American Wood Type 1828–1900 on page 292, in the folio on plate 53, and in Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets on page 61. This face was first shown as wood type by William H. Page & Company in James Conner’s Sons’ Typographic Messenger, vol.5. no. 1 (January 1870). In American Wood Type 1828–1900, Kelly wrote that this style, with its inverted stress, strong horizontal visual emphasis, and ornamented contour, was “widely used in the last twenty years of the [nineteenth] century” and was “commonly associated with Frontier events,” such as “stage bills, ‘Wanted’ posters, etc.”32

32 Kelly, American Wood Type 1828–1900, p. 292.

Manufacturers that offered this face: Morgans & Wilcox / Egyptian Condensed Ornamented (Hamilton No. 3216) / 1882 Page / Egyptian Ornamented (Hamilton No. 283) / 1870 Tubbs·AWT / Egyptian Ornamented or No. 2115 / 1879 Wells / Tuscan Egyptian Condensed No. 1 or No. 550 (Hamilton No. 5219) / 1889

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

194

Streamer No. 2

The collection has a full set of uppercase,

Egyptian Ornamented, was first shown as

origins by relying solely on surviving spec-

lowercase, and numerals that measure 8-line

wood type by William H. Page & Company

imen catalogs as evidence. The dates of use

in size, produced with the router-cut method.

in James Conner’s Sons’ Typographic Messen-

of this specific manufacturer’s stamp were

The type block is stamped Wm H. PAGE & Co,

ger, vol. 5, no. 1 (January 1870).

well established through statements in

which was used between 1867 and 1876.

There is an obvious discrepancy between

known specimen catalogs. Unfortunately,

Kelly did not show a specimen of Streamer

the date when the manufacturer’s stamp

the surviving specimen record is known to

No. 2 in American Wood Type 1828–1900, but

was used and the date when this face was

be incomplete, so a first showing of the face

this cut was shown in the folio on plate 65.

first shown. The positive version of this

could have happened in an earlier specimen

design was first shown in 1870, eight years

catalog that no longer exists. The dates of

This face was first shown as wood type by

before the streamer version of the face was

specimen catalogs can also be speculative,

William H. Page Wood Type Company in

shown, and the presence of the manufactur-

because they were often published without

the 1878 Specimens of Wood Type. Streamer

er’s stamp indicates that the face was avail-

a printed date so as to prolong their “shelf

was the general name given to letters cut

able for sale at least two years before it was

life” for the manufacturer. Another possi-

in reverse on a solid block and capped at

first shown in the streamer configuration.

ble explanation for the discrepancy in this

either end with ornamental pieces to pro-

There are any number of possible reasons

case may be that the manufacturer offered a

vide the appearance of type on a banner, or

for this discrepancy, which points to the

face commercially well before promoting it

“streamer.” The positive version of this face,

unreliability of definitively dating typeface

broadly through a sales catalog.

Type Specimens

195

Specimens of Wood Type Manufactured by The Wm. H. Page Wood Type Co., Norwich, Conn. (1878); Book Arts Collection, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

196

Doric and Doric Shade

The collection has both of the two com-

page 334, in Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets on

This design originated as foundry type in

ponents needed to produce the two-color

page 99, and in the folio on plate 78. The

England as an ornamented face named

version of Doric Shade. Both fonts are made

face was not shown chromatically in Ameri-

Tuscan No. 3 by Stephenson, Blake &

up of uppercase characters that measure

can Wood Type 1828–1900 or in the folio.

Company, which showed it at least as early

7-line in size, produced with the router-cut

as 1849. The design followed the early

method. Neither color component has a

These faces were first shown as wood type by

nineteenth-century European Tuscan pat-

manufacturer’s stamp.

Wells & Webb in the 1854 Specimens of Wood

tern, whose visual impact was primarily

Kelly did not show a specimen of Doric

Type. The ornamented variant of this design

achieved through an emphasis on internal

in either American Wood Type 1828–1900 or

was first shown in two colors at least as early

ornamentation over a decorative contour.

the folio. He did show a specimen of Doric

as 1853 in Specimens from the Type & Stereotype

The subsequent variations that were

Shade, which he referred to as Doric Chro-

Foundry of L. Johnson & Co., Philadelphia.

developed transitioned toward the newer

matic, in American Wood Type 1828–1900 on

semi-ornamental pattern, which relied on a dynamic contour of the letterform over internal ornamentation for its visual impact.

Manufacturers that offered this face: Knox / Doric / 1858 Page / Doric, Inset / 1867 Wells / Doric / 1854 Hamilton / No. 220 / 1891 Knox / Doric Shade / 1858 Page / (Hamilton No. 4220) / Hamilton, 1906

Type Specimens

197

Chromatic is not a style of letter but a

Company in c. 1859 showed several pages of

technique of using component parts con-

chromatic type in their wood type specimen

structed in register to produce a multicolor

catalogs. The William H. Page Wood Type

aggregate. These types were designed so

Company showed these types in most of its

that each component was printed in a sin-

specimen catalogs in the 1870s. The high

gle color, with each color overlapping the

point of chromatic wood type production

other in certain places to create a third color

came in 1874, when the company issued

achieved through multiple press passes.

its one-hundred-page Specimens of Chro-

Chromatics were a typographic response

matic Type & Borders. Though the Hamilton

to multicolor lithography and were shown

Manufacturing Company, the Morgans

regularly in foundry type specimen catalogs

& Wilcox Manufacturing Company, and

of the 1840s and 1850s.

Heber Wells all showed samples of chro-

Chromatics were first produced as wood

matic type through the rest of the century,

type by Edwin Allen and first shown by

none of these companies ever reached the

George Nesbitt in the 1841 Fourth Specimen

level of intricate precision attained in the

of Machinery Cut Wood Type. Both William H.

William H. Page Wood Type Company’s

Page & Company in 1859 and J. G. Cooley &

1874 masterpiece.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

198

Tuscan Open

Kelly used the name Tuscan Outlined to

This face originated as foundry type in

identify this design. The collection has a

England and was shown at least as early

full set of uppercase that measure 16-line in

as 1843 under the name Circumscribed by

size, produced with the router-cut method.

Vincent & James Figgins, Letterfounders,

The type block does not have a manufactur-

London, and in the same year in the catalog

er’s stamp.

Specimen of Printing Types by Henry Caslon. It

Kelly showed this cut of Tuscan Open as

subsequently arrived in the United States

a specimen in American Wood Type 1828–1900

at least as early as 1846, when it was shown

on page 288, in the folio on plate 49, and in

as Two Line Pica Ornamented No. 2 in the

Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets on page 57.

Supplement to the Specimen Book of Modern

Hand-carved illustrations and replacement character found on the reverse side of the «G» «J» «L» «Q» and «Z» blocks. On page 190 of American Wood Type 1828–1900, Kelly indicated this font of type was found in Iowa, and likely used by a country newspaper.

Printing Types, Ornaments, and Combination This face was first shown as wood type by

Borders, from the New England Type and Stereo-

Wells & Webb in the 1849 Specimen of Wood

type Foundry, George A. Curtis, Boston.

Type, “Cut by Machinery.”

Manufacturers that offered this face: Bill, Stark / Tuscan Open / 1853 Knox / Open Tuscan / 1858 Page / Tuscan Open (Hamilton No. 345) / 1859 Wells / Tuscan Open (Hamilton No. 5178) / 1849

Type Specimens

199

Specimen of Wood Type, “Cut by Machinery” by Wells & Webb (1849); ATF Library Collection, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

200

Antique Tuscan Extended

The collection has two sizes of this design.

1828–1900 on page 278 and in Dover’s Wood

The American Tuscan pattern originated as

A full set of uppercase in 3-line and upper-

Type Alphabets on page 47. The 4-line was

wood type in the United States. It is one of

case and numerals in 4-line, produced

shown on plate 69 of the folio. In American

only a handful of type designs in use during

with the router-cut method. The 3-line is

Wood Type 1828–1900, in the folio catalog, and

the nineteenth century that originated

stamped PAGE & Co | GREENVILLE | CT,

in Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets the names

solely as wood type and in America, rather

which was used between 1857 and 1859, and

Antique Tuscan Extended and Antique Tus-

than being borrowed from foundry designs

again in the 1870s. The 4-line does not have

can Expanded were erroneously swapped.

or based on European originals.

a manufacturer’s stamp. Kelly showed a specimen of Antique

This face was first shown as wood type in

Tuscan Extended in American Wood Type

the Wells & Webb 1854 Specimen of Wood Type.

Manufacturers that offered this face: Cooley / Antique Tuscan Extended / c. 1859–1863 Knox / Antique Tuscan Extended No. 1 / 1858 Hamilton / No. 15 / 1884 Morgans & Wilcox / Antique Tuscan Expanded (Hamilton No. 3206) / 1881 National Printers’ Materials / Antique Tuscan Extended / 1887 Page / Antique Tuscan Extended (Hamilton No. 6221) / 1859 Tubbs·AWT / Antique Tuscan Extended or No. 2075 / 1883 Wells / Antique Tuscan Extended or No. 346 (Hamilton No. 5200) / 1854

Type Specimens

201

Specimens of Wood Type, Manufactured by Wells & Webb (1854); ATF Library Collection, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

202

Antique Tuscan Expanded The collection has a full set of uppercase and numerals that measure 6-line in size, produced with the veneer method. The type block does not have a manufacturer’s stamp but does have a paper label that indicates that Hamilton produced this cut in 1881. Kelly showed this cut of Antique Tuscan Expanded as a specimen in American Wood Type 1828–1900 on page 279, in the folio on plate 51, and in Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets on page 48. In American Wood Type 1828–1900, in the folio catalog, and in Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets the names Antique Tuscan Expanded and Antique Tuscan Extended were erroneously swapped. This face was first listed for sale as wood type by William H. Page & Company in January 1865, and it was first shown at least as early as the 1867 Wm. H. Page & Co’s Specimens of Wood Type, Manufactured at Greenville, Conn. Kelly noted in the folio that this font of type was found in Freemont, Nebraska, with the paper wrapper still affixed to the side of the capital « W ». The title on the paper label and the price for the font scheme indicate that the type was produced before J. E. Hamilton entered into partnership with Maximillian Katz of Milwaukee. This would narrow the date of first use to sometime after August 1880, when Hamilton started producing wood type commercially, and before December 1881, when Hamilton & Katz incorporated. Paper labels were often used in place of a manufacturer’s stamp. Because they were affixed only with glue, it is rare to find original labels in place.

Manufacturers that offered this face: Hamilton / Antique Tuscan Expanded or No. 14 / 1880–1881 Morgans & Wilcox—Antique Tuscan Extended / c. 1886 National Printers’ Materials—Antique Tuscan Expanded / 1887 Page / Antique Tuscan Expanded (Hamilton No. 4015) / 1865 Tubbs·AWT / Antique Tuscan Expanded or No. 2062 / 1883 Wells / Antique Tuscan Expanded or No. 343 (Hamilton No. 5199) / 1872

Type Specimens

203

Wm. H. Page & Co.’s Specimens of Wood Type, Manufactured at Greenville, Conn. (1867); Kemble Collection, Kemble Z250 P2; California Historical Society

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

204

Antique Tuscan (serif-less crossbar)

The collection has three sizes of this design:

Antique Tuscan was introduced as wood

Tuscan, typically with a number added to

one full set of uppercase, lowercase, and

type by Wells & Webb in the 1849 Specimen

the name to differentiate the variation.

numerals in 6-line and 15-line, and one

of Wood Type, “Cut by Machinery,” but this

This variant of Antique Tuscan, a

full set of uppercase in 12-line. All three

particular design iteration—in particular,

fairly reserved, semi-ornamental, con-

fonts were produced with the router-cut

no serif on the terminal crossbar of the « E »

cave slab serifed configuration, would

method. The 6-line is stamped AMERICAN

or « F »—was first shown in the April 1867

gain broad popularity in America. The

| WOOD TYP CO., which was probably used

Wm. H. Page & Co.’s Specimens of Wood Type.

exterior perpendicular lines of the

by Charles Tubbs’s American Wood Type

The serif-less crossbar element was intro-

Antique were manipulated into concave

Company of South Windham, Connecti-

duced by Wells & Webb in the 1854 showing

curves to produce scallops and points

cut, sometime after 1879 and before 1902.

of Antique Tuscan X Condensed.

that energized the contour of the letter-

The 12-line does not have a manufacturer’s

forms. The cap-height and baseline con-

stamp. The 15-line is stamped AMERICAN W.

In the late 1840s, a number of Tuscan designs

tour remained parallel. This fairly simple

T. Co. | SO. WINDHAM CT, which was used

were introduced; derived from Antique, they

alteration of the original form provided a

by Tubbs’s American Wood Type Company

were semi-ornamental in nature and would

rich visual vocabulary that would remain

between 1883 and 1902.

supplant the European Tuscans during the

popular in America for the rest of the

Kelly did not show a specimen of this

1850s. All of the serifed semi-ornamental

nineteenth century. These designs—a

configuration of Antique Tuscan in either

design of this period were named Antique

subgroup of Antique Tuscan—would

American Wood Type 1828–1900 or the folio,

come to be referred to informally

but he did show the 12-line uppercase on

as American Tuscan.

plate 14 of the folio. Manufacturers that offered this face: National Printers’ Materials / Antique Tuscan / 1887 Page / Antique Tuscan (Hamilton No. 4025) / 1867 Tubbs·AWT / Antique Tuscan or No. 2071 / 1879

Type Specimens

205

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

206

Antique Tuscan (serifed crossbar)

The collection has two sizes of this design.

This face was first shown as wood type by

and « F ». Page appears to be the only

Both 6-line and 12-line are full sets of

Wells & Webb in the 1849 Specimen of Wood

manufacturer that produced this design

uppercase and numerals, and both were

Type, “Cut by Machinery.”

and then shifted to only show the design

produced with the router-cut method. Both

variation with no serif on the terminal

fonts were stamped THE HAMILTON MFG

The American Tuscan pattern is one of

crossbar of the « E » and « F ».

CO | TWO | RIVERS | & | CHICAGO, which was

only a handful of type designs first shown

In the 1884 Hamilton & Katz Speci-

used between 1889 and 1891.

during the nineteenth century that origi-

mens of Holly Wood Type, multiple catalog

Kelly showed a specimen of this configu-

nated solely as wood type and in America

numbers were listed for what appear to

ration of Antique Tuscan in American Wood

rather than being borrowed from foundry

be different sizes of the same design of

Type 1828–1900 on page 280 and in Dover’s

designs or based on European originals.

Antique Tuscan—No. 25, No. 46, No. 79,

Wood Type Alphabets on page 49. The 8-line

Almost all manufacturers appeared to have

and No. 90. No. 25 is used here because it

uppercase was shown on plate 32 of the folio.

cut this particular design variation, with

was the only number for this cut used by

serifs on the terminal crossbars of the « E »

Hamilton in specimen catalogs after 1884.

Manufacturers that offered this face: Bill, Stark / Antique Tuscan / 1853 Cooley / Antique Tuscan / c. 1859–1863 Hamilton / Antique Tuscan or No. 25 / 1882 Knox / Antique Tuscan / 1858 Morgans & Wilcox / Antique Tuscan (Hamilton No. 3205) / 1881 Page / Antique Tuscan / 1859, not after 1867 Wells / Antique Tuscan or No. 343 (Hamilton No. 5198) / 1849

Type Specimens

207

Specimen of Wood Type, “Cut by Machinery” by Wells & Webb (1849); ATF Library Collection, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

208

Antique Tuscan Condensed

Manufacturers that offered this face: Hamilton / Antique Tuscan Condensed or No. 48 / 1886 Knox / Antique Tuscan Condensed / 1858 Morgans & Wilcox / Antique Tuscan Condensed (Hamilton No. 3204) / 1881 National Printers’ Materials / Antique Tuscan Condensed / 1887 Page / Antique Tuscan Condensed (Hamilton No. 4048) / 1859 Tubbs·AWT / Antique Tuscan Condensed or No. 2072 / 1883 Wells / Antique Tuscan Condensed or No. 568 (Hamilton No. 5198) / 1854

Type Specimens

209

The collection has a full set of uppercase

The 1854 Wells & Webb design of this type

and numerals that measure 14-line in size,

had a terminal serif on the crossbar of

produced with the router-cut method. The

the « E » and « F », while William H. Page

type block is stamped Wm H. PAGE & Co |

& Company’s design shown in its 1859

GREENVILLE, Ct, which was used between

Specimens of Wood Type, Borders, Rules, &c.

1859 and 1867.

does not. Both styles were used throughout

Kelly showed this cut of Antique Tuscan

the rest of the nineteenth century. Heber

Condensed as a specimen in American Wood

Wells (successor company to Wells & Webb)

Type 1828–1900 on page 281, in the folio on

showed both designs—Antique Tuscan

plate 91, and in Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets

Condensed (Hamilton No. 5197) with the

on page 50.

crossbar serif, and Antique Tuscan Condensed No. 2 (Hamilton No. 5196) without

This face was first shown as wood type in

the crossbar serif.

the Wells & Webb 1854 Specimen of Wood Type.

In the 1884 Hamilton & Katz catalog Specimens of Holly Wood Type, multiple catalog numbers were listed for what appear to be different sizes of the same design of Antique Tuscan Condensed—No. 48 and No. 49. No. 48 is used here because it was the only number for this cut used by Hamilton in specimen catalogs after 1884.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

210

Antique Tuscan X Condensed

The collection has a full set of uppercase and numerals that measure 10-line in size and were produced with the veneer method. The type block does not have a manufacturer’s stamp. Kelly did not show a specimen of Antique Tuscan X Condensed in American Wood Type 1828–1900, but did show this cut in the folio on plate 36. This face was first shown as wood type in the Wells & Webb 1854 Specimen of Wood Type. With the introduction of this configuration of the Antique Tuscan style, Wells & Webb introduced a design that included a crossbar with no terminal serif on the « E » and « F ». This design element was adopted by the William H. Page & Company by 1867 and implemented across all configurations of the company’s Antique Tuscan offerings. Curiously, twenty years after Wells & Webb introduced the design, James Madison Conner was granted US design patent 8,714 on October 11, 1875 (filed on August 25, 1875) for an Antique Tuscan X Condensed variant. In the patent, Conner stated: “My design differs from the antique Tuscan extra condensed shown in the specimen-book of wood type made by W. H. Page & Co., in that the face of the letter is more curved and less abrupt in its turns.” Kelly wrote that “after 1859, when Conner first became Page’s agent, the two men maintained a close personal relationship, during which time they both patented similar designs.”33

33 Kelly, American Wood Type 1828–1900, p. 150.

Type Specimens

211

Manufacturers that offered this face: Cooley / Antique Tuscan Extra Condensed / c. 1859–1863 Hamilton / Antique Tuscan X Condensed or No. 161 / 1891 Knox / Extra Condensed Antique Tuscan / 1858 Morgans & Wilcox / Antique Tuscan X Condensed (Hamilton No. 3203) / 1884

National Printers’ Materials / Antique Tuscan Extra Condensed / 1887 Page / Antique Tuscan Extra Condensed (Hamilton No. 4161) / 1859 Tubbs·AWT / Antique Tuscan X Condensed or No. 2073 / 1883 Wells / Antique Tuscan Extra Condensed or No. 564 (Hamilton No. 5198) / 1854

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

212

Antique Tuscan XX Condensed

The collection has a full set of uppercase

This face was first shown as wood type by

that measure 10-line in size, produced with

William H. Page & Company in the 1859

the router-cut method. The type block does

Specimens of Wood Type, Borders, Rules, &c.

not have a manufacturer’s stamp. Kelly showed this cut of Antique Tuscan

Although this design of Antique Tuscan

XX Condensed as a specimen in American

Double Extra Condensed exhibits a

Wood Type 1828–1900 on page 282, in the folio

concave baseline and cap-height, a sim-

on plate 71, and in Dover’s Wood Type Alpha-

ple variation of flattened baseline and

bets on page 51.

cap-height was more prevalent among American wood type manufacturers in the nineteenth century.

Manufacturers that offered this face: Cooley / Antique Tuscan Double Extra Condensed / c. 1859–1863 Page / Antique Tuscan Double Extra Condensed (Hamilton No. 6220) / 1859 Wells / Antique Tuscan Extra Condensed No. 4 (Hamilton No. 5192) / 1872

Type Specimens

213

Specimens of Wood Type, Rules, Border, &c. Manufactured by Wm. H. Page & Co. Greenville, Conn. (1859); ATF Library Collection, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

214

Antique Tuscan Open

Kelly used the name Antique Tuscan Out-

The addition of a reversed contour line

lined to identify this design. The collection

incorporated into the design of a face gave

has a full set of uppercase and numerals

the appearance of a hairline ringing the

that measure 8-line in size, produced with

outer contour of the letterform. Long a

the router-cut method. The type block is

technique found on etchings and engrav-

stamped VANDERBURGH WELLS & CO | NEW

ings, the effect began to be included in the

YORK, which was used from 1867 to 1890.

typographic repertoire of the 1830s. This

Kelly showed this cut of Antique Tuscan

“additive” technique was fully embraced by

Open as a specimen in American Wood Type

wood type manufacturers, who deployed

1828–1900 on page 283, in the folio on plate

it as a stylistic variation to seemingly every

73, and in Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets on

face offered beginning in the 1840s. “Open”

page 52.

was the term added to a face name to indicate this visual alteration. “Outlined,” in

This face was first shown as wood type by

contrast, was the term added to a face name

Wells & Webb in the wood type section of W.

to indicate that the face was defined only by

& H. Hagar’s 1854 Specimen of Printing Types.

a positive line around the outer contour of the face and had no interior shading.

Manufacturers that offered this face: Cooley / Antique Tuscan Open / c. 1859–1863 Knox / Antique Tuscan Open / 1858 National Printers’ Materials / Antique Tuscan Open / 1887 Page / Antique Tuscan Open (Hamilton No. 416) / 1859 Wells / Antique Tuscan Open / 1854

Type Specimens

215

Specimens of Printing Types, Ornaments, Borders, &c. from the Type and Stereotype Foundry of W. & H. Hagar (1854); Book Arts Collection, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

216

Gothic Light Face

The collection has a full set of uppercase and

This face was first listed as wood type on the

numerals that measure 6-line in size, pro-

price list of the 1854 Specimens of Wood Type

duced with the router-cut method. The type

Manufactured by Wells & Webb. It was first

block is stamped HAMILTON | TWO | RIVERS,

shown as wood type by David Knox & Com-

WIS., which was used by Hamilton Manufac-

pany in the 1858 Specimens of Wood Type, Manu-

turing Company between 1927 and the 1950s.

factured by D. Knox & Co., Fredericksburg, Ohio.

Kelly showed this cut of Gothic Light Face as a specimen in American Wood Type 1828–

Width was not the only axis of variation in

1900 on page 301 and in the folio on plate 16.

the exploration of the flexibility of the Gothic pattern. A range of weight variations were also developed as wood type during the 1850s.

Manufacturers that offered this face: Cooley / Gothic Light Face / c. 1859–1863 Hamilton / Gothic Light Face or No. 21 / 1884 Knox / Light Face Gothic / 1858 Morgans & Wilcox / Gothic Light Face (Hamilton No. 3065) / c. 1885 National Printers’ Materials / Gothic Light Face / 1887 Page / Gothic Light Face (Hamilton No. 4021) / 1865 Tubbs·AWT / Gothic Light Face or No. 2069 / 1883 Wells / Gothic Light Face or No. 213 (Hamilton No. 5070) / 1854

Type Specimens

217

Specimens of Wood Type, Manufactured by D. Knox & Co., Fredericksburg, Ohio (1858); John M. Wing Foundation, Newberry Library, Chicago.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

218

No. 6026 (Gothic Special)

Kelly used the name Gothic Special to iden-

Nearly every American manufacturer

tify this design. The collection has a full

produced X Condensed Gothic (introduced

set of uppercase, lowercase, and numerals

by Wells & Webb in 1849), XX Condensed

that measure 5-line in size, produced with

Gothic (introduced by David Knox & Com-

the router-cut method. The type block is

pany in 1858), and XXX Condensed Gothic

stamped HAMILTON | TWO | RIVERS, WIS.,

(introduced by William H. Page & Company

which was used between c. 1910 and the 1950s.

in 1865). Most manufacturers also produced

Kelly showed this cut of No. 6026 as a

a Condensed Lightface and X Condensed

specimen in American Wood Type 1828–1900

Lightface (both introduced by William H.

on page 303, in the folio on plate 47, and in

Page & Company in 1865). The Hamilton

Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets on page 70.

Manufacturing Company’s No. 6026 is a Gothic XX Condensed Lightface, and it

This face was first shown as wood type by the

appears from the remaining specimen

Hamilton Manufacturing Company in the

record that the company showed examples

1906 Catalog No. 16, Specimens of Wood Type.

of the face only in 1906 and 1908. No other known manufacturer produced a lightface variant of Gothic XX Condensed.

Type Specimens

219

Specimens of Wood Type, Wood Ornaments, Flourishes, Dashes, Silhouettes, Catchwords, Corners, Fractions, Calendars and Borders Manufactured by The Hamilton Mfg. Co. (1906); ATF Library Collection, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

220

Gothic Extended

The collection has a full set of uppercase

This face was first shown as wood type by

and numerals that measure 5-line in size,

Wells & Webb in the 1840 Specimen of Plain

produced with the router-cut method. The

and Ornamental Wood Type, Cut by Machinery.

type block is stamped HAMILTON | TWO | RIVERS, WIS., which was used between

Kelly believed that this face most likely

c. 1910 and the 1950s.

originated as a wood type in America. The

Kelly showed this cut of Gothic Extended

earliest recorded showing of the design

as a specimen in American Wood Type 1828–

by a type founder was six years after its

1900 on page 300 and in the folio on plate 31.

introduction by Wells & Webb in the 1846 Specimen of Printing Types, and Ornaments, cast by Alexander Robb, Philadelphia.

Manufacturers that offered this face: Cooley / Gothic Extended / c. 1859–1863 Hamilton / Gothic Extended or No. 126 / 1889 Morgans & Wilcox / Gothic Extended (Hamilton No. 3070) / 1881 National Printers’ Materials / Gothic Extended / 1887 Page / Gothic Extended (Hamilton No. 4126) / 1859 Tubbs·AWT / No. 2058 / 1885 Wells / Gothic Extended or No. 246 (Hamilton No. 5076) / 1840

Type Specimens

221

Specimen of Plain and Ornamental Wood Type, Cut by Machinery, by Wells & Webb (Late D. Wells & Co.) (1840); Book Arts Collection, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

222

Gothic

The collection has two sizes of Gothic: a full

After the first typographic sanserif was

set of uppercase, lowercase, and numerals

shown by the English type foundry of

in 4-line and uppercase in 8-line, both

William Caslon Jr. in 1816, the style would

produced with the router-cut method. The

not appear in other founders’ catalogs for

4-line is stamped THE HAMILTON MFG CO

another sixteen years. “The nineteenth

| TWO | RIVERS | & | CHICAGO, which was

century sanserif as it emerged in 1832 was

used between 1889 and 1891. The 8-line does

an altogether different beast from Caslon’s

not have a manufacturer’s stamp.

two-line english Egyptian and its classical

Kelly showed a specimen of Gothic in

lineage.”34 Four English foundries intro-

American Wood Type 1828–1900 on page 298

duced variations on the sanserif pattern

and in Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets on page

in 1832. The first sanserifs in the United

67. The 4-line was shown on plate 45 of the

States were introduced in the same year by

folio, and the 8-line on plate 16.

two American foundries—Boston Type &

34 Sara Soskolne, “Early Sanserif Types: The Origins, Emergence, and Evolution of a Brand New Typographic Style,” master’s thesis, Typeface Design, University of Reading, 2003, p. 17.

Stereotype Company and Conner & Cooke, This face was first shown as wood type by

who both used the name Gothic for the style.

Edwin Allen in George Nesbitt’s 1838 First Premium Wood Types, Cut by Machinery.

Manufacturers that offered this face: Allen {Nesbitt} / Gothic / 1838 Bill, Stark / Gothic / 1853 Cooley / Gothic / c. 1859–1863 Hamilton / Gothic or No. 29 / 1882 Knox / Gothic / 1858 Leavenworth {Debow} / Gothic / c. 1836–1838 Morgans & Wilcox / Gothic (Hamilton No. 3069) / 1876–1880 National Printers’ Materials / Gothic / 1887 Page / Gothic (Hamilton No. 4029) / 1859 Tubbs·AWT / Gothic or No. 2064 / 1883 Wells / Gothic (Hamilton No. 5074) / c. 1835–1839

Type Specimens

223

First Premium Wood Types, Cut by Machinery (1838); Book Arts Collection, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

224

Gothic Condensed Open

Kelly used the name Gothic Condensed

Nicolete Gray indicated that the reversed

Outlined to identify this design. The collec-

contour line applied to a condensed

tion has a full set of uppercase and numer-

sanserif originated in England and was first

als in 11-line, produced with the router-cut

shown in 1832 by William Thorowgood’s

method. The type block does not have a

Fann Street Foundry.35 It was then shown at

manufacturer’s stamp.

least as early as 1837 in the United States by

Kelly showed this cut of Gothic Con-

George Bruce & Company in A Specimen of

densed Open as a specimen in American

Printing Types Cast by George Bruce and Co. and

Wood Type 1828–1900 on page 302, in the folio

first named Gothic Condensed Open.

on plate 84, and in Dover’s Wood Type Alpha-

George Nesbitt’s first catalog of wood

bets on page 69.

type cut by Edwin Allen from July 1838

35 Gray, Nineteenth Century Ornamented Typefaces, pp. 42–43.

showed the earliest known wood type cuts The first confirmed showing explicitly

of Gothic and Gothic Condensed with con-

listed as wood type was in the 1849 Specimen

firmed publishing dates. The catalog also

of Wood Type, “Cut by Machine” by Wells &

displayed nine other stylistic variations of

Webb. This face was shown earlier as 6-line

the Gothic pattern; four of these were varia-

in the 1841 Specimen of Printing Types and

tions of Gothic Condensed Open, but none

Ornaments cast by Johnson & Smith, and again

were the Gothic Condensed Open itself.

in L. Johnson’s 1844 Specimen of Printing Types, but there is no definitive confirmation that either sample was cut as wood type.

Manufacturers that offered this face: Bill, Stark / Gothic Condensed Open / 1853 Hamilton / No. 216 / 1889 Knox / Condensed Open Gothic / 1858 Page / Condensed Open Gothic / 1859 Tubbs·AWT / No. 2220 / 1885 Wells / Condensed Gothic Open (later Gothic Condensed Open) / 1849

Type Specimens

225

Specimen of Wood Type, “Cut by Machinery” by Wells & Webb (1849); ATF Library Collection, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

226

Gothic Round

The collection has a full set of uppercase

back to September 1836. “The style Caslon

that measure 10-line in size, produced with

pioneered is not a slight rounding of the

the router-cut method. The type block is

corners, but rather the construction of the

stamped VANDERBURGH WELLS & CO | NEW

entire terminal as a curved form.”37

YORK, which was used from 1867 to 1890.

July 1838 is the earliest known show-

Kelly showed this cut of Gothic Round as

ing with a confirmed date of the rounded

a specimen in American Wood Type 1828–1900

Gothic style as wood type. The sample cut

on page 305, in the folio on plate 82, and in

by Allen was named Gothic Condensed

Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets on page 74.

Shade Open Rounded. Gothic Round may have been shown earlier by Darius Wells,

A variant of Gothic Round was first shown

sometime between 1835 and 1839. A speci-

as wood type by Edwin Allen in George Nes-

men of Round Gothic Open was printed on

bitt’s July 1838 First Premium Wood Types, Cut

a page that included “D. Wells & Co, New-

by Machinery. The earliest known showing of

York” on the page footer. D. Wells & Com-

a plain full-faced version of Gothic Round

pany was the name used for Darius Wells’s

was by David Knox & Company in 1858.

wood type concern (1835–1839) before it was renamed Wells & Webb when E. R. Webb

36 Gray, Nineteenth Century Ornamented Typefaces, p. 52.

On the subject of the type design innova-

joined the company as a business partner in

tions of the 1840s, Nicolete Gray wrote in

late 1839. Wells & Webb first listed a Plain

Nineteenth Century Ornamented Typefaces: “If

Face Round Gothic in the company’s 1849

letters cannot be elongated into elegance

Specimen of Wood Type, “Cut by Machinery.”

they shall be soothed into intransigence.”36

All through the 1840s and most of the

Gray noted that the Gothic Rounded intro-

1850s, when Gothic Round appeared in the

duced by the English foundry Caslon in

known wood type manufacturers’ specimen

its 1838 Specimen of Printing Types by Caslon,

catalogs, it was shown in some variation

Son, & Livermore, Chiswell Street, London

of the Plain Face, including Open, Shaded,

was more condensed than Edwin Allen’s

and/or Condensed. The first known show-

Gothic Round. Paul Barnes, writing about

ing of the basic Plain Face design was not

the Caslon Rounded, pushed the date the

until the 1858 Specimens of Wood Type, Manu-

face was first shown as a Plain Face design

factured by D. Knox & Co., Fredericksburg, Ohio.

37 Paul Barnes, “Caslon Rounded,” Commercial Type: Commercial Classics, September 1, 2019, https://commercialclassics.com/catalogue/ caslon_rounded.

Type Specimens

227

Manufacturers that offered this face: Cooley / Round Gothic / c. 1859–1863 Hamilton / Gothic Round or No. 52 / 1884 Knox / Round Gothic / 1858 Morgans & Wilcox / Gothic Round (Hamilton No. 3083) / 1882 National Printers’ Materials / Gothic Round / 1887 Page / Gothic Round (Hamilton No. 4052) / 1859 Tubbs·AWT / Gothic Round or No. 2061 / 1885 Wells / Gothic Round (Hamilton No. 5082) / 1849

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

228

Gothic No. 2 The collection has two sizes of this design: a full set of uppercase and numerals in 15-line and a set of numerals in 24-line, both produced with the router-cut method. The 15-line is stamped AMERICAN W. T. Co., which was used by Charles Tubbs’s American Wood Type Company, probably as early as 1879, but not after 1883. The 24-line does not have a manufacturer’s stamp, but does match the William H. Page Wood Type Company’s design. Kelly showed a specimen of Gothic No. 2 in American Wood Type 1828–1900 on page 304 and in Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets on page 71. The 15-line was shown on plate 70 of the folio. US design patent 7,230 was awarded on March 3, 1874 (after being filed on January 5, 1874) to William H. Page, and assigned to William H. Page & Company. It was shown as a component part of Chromatic Gothic Paneled No. 1 in the 1874 Specimens of Chromatic Wood Type, Borders, &c. Manufactured by Wm. H. Page & Co., Greenville, Conn. This design was first shown as a stand-alone design in Page’s Wood Type

Patent application for US design patent 7,230.

Album, vol. 1, no. 4 (January 1880). William Leavenworth showed an uncondensed version of this design named Gothic No. 2 in the c. 1836–1838 Specimen of Leavenworth’s Patent Wood Type, Manufactured by J. M. Debow, Allentown, N. J. Kelly noted in American Wood Type 1828–1900 that after Leavenworth first showed the chamfered or angled-corner style in 1837, the visual alteration did not gain wide popularity until the late 1870s. These visual characteristics were also deployed in the condensed Antique/Egyptian referred to as Grecian during that style’s development from the late 1830s to the 1850s.

Manufacturers that offered this face: Hamilton / Gothic Condensed No. 6 or No. 205 / 1889 Morgans & Wilcox / Gothic No. 2 (Hamilton No. 3080) / 1890 National Printers’ Materials / Block Gothic / 1887 Page / No. 133 (Hamilton No. 4205) / 1874 Tubbs·AWT / Gothic No. 2 or No. 2057 / 1883, Ancient Gothic in 1905 Wells / Gothic Condensed Light Face No. 2 or No. 248 (Hamilton No. 5080) / 1886

Type Specimens

229

Page’s Wood Type Album, vol. 1, no. 4 (1880); Cary Graphic Arts Collection, Rochester Institute of Technology.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

230

Octagon

The collection has a full set of uppercase

than 1846) and included thirteen pages of

that measure 8-line in size, produced with

samples of “Nesbitt’s Wood Type, Cut by

the router-cut method. The type block does

Machinery.” In 1851, Henry H. Hobart &

not have a manufacturer’s stamp.

J. W. Robbins purchased the foundry from

Kelly showed this cut of Octagon as a

George Curtis and continued as distribu-

specimen in American Wood Type 1828–1900

tors for George Nesbitt. Hobart & Robbins

on page 297, in the folio on plate 85, and in

also continued to show the same wood type

Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets on page 66.

specimens until at least the 1855 Specimens of Printing Types and Ornaments, from the New

This face was first shown as wood type by

England Type & Stereotype Foundry.

Edwin Allen in George Nesbitt’s 1838 First

J. G. Cooley acquired Edwin Allen’s wood

Premium Wood Types, Cut by Machinery.

type concern sometime in 1852 and pro-

From the surviving specimen catalog

duced wood type in the same factory for the

record, it appears that the only wood type

rest of the decade. The presence of a speci-

manufacturer to have produced this par-

men in Octagon in the 1855 catalog would

ticular design was Edwin Allen for George

imply that J. G. Cooley continued to cut this

Nesbitt. It was shown in only one of the

design afterwards, though it was not shown

company’s two surviving specimen catalogs

in any of the company’s surviving catalogs.

and in two catalogs published by the com-

It also appears that Cooley continued to

pany’s distributor.

work with New England Type & Stereotype

George Curtis’s New England Type &

Foundry at least through 1855.

Stereotype Foundry of Boston became a dis-

Kelly believed that Octagon was likely

tributor for George Nesbitt at least as early

to represent the oldest font of type in the

as 1846 (no wood type was shown in any

collection. The manufacturer of this block

of the foundry’s specimen catalogs earlier

has yet to be decisively confirmed.

Type Specimens

231

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

232

Gothic Bold

Specimens of Wood Type and Borders (1891); Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum.

Type Specimens

233

The collection has a full set of uppercase and

tics of inverted stroke stress, as can be seen in

numerals that measure 15-line in size, pro-

Wells & Webb’s 1840 specimen catalog. Both

duced with the router-cut method. The type

Wells & Webb’s Gothic Italian and the Ham-

block does not have a manufacturer’s stamp.

ilton Manufacturing Company’s Gothic Bold

Kelly showed this cut of Gothic Bold as

are designs that originated as wood type.

a specimen in American Wood Type 1828–1900

In the same year that the Hamilton

on page 306, in the folio on plate 81, and in

Manufacturing Company first showed

Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets on page 72.

the face, Charles Beeler Jr. designed and patented Giraffe, a face with inverted

This face was first shown as wood type by

stress, though it had less contrast and was

the Hamilton Manufacturing Company

lighter in weight than Gothic Bold. The

in the September 1891 Specimens of Wood

patent awarded on March 3, 1891 (after

Type and Borders.

being filed on February 6, 1891) as US design

Although this type was original to, and

patent 20,563 was assigned to the Philadel-

only ever shown by, the Hamilton Manu-

phia-based foundry MacKellar, Smiths &

facturing Company, it shares with Wells &

Jordan Company.

Webb’s Gothic Italian the visual characteris-

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

234

Modified Gothic XX Condensed

The collection has a full set of uppercase and

Condensed), No. 647 (Modified Gothic X

lowercase that measure 10-line in size, pro-

Condensed), and No. 648 (Modified Gothic

duced with the router-cut method. The type

XX Condensed).

block does not have a manufacturer’s stamp.

Kelly’s note accompanying this face in

Kelly showed a cut of Modified Gothic

the folio indicated that a 12-line font of type

XX Condensed as an uppercase specimen in

stamped TUBBS MFG. CO. | LUDDINGTON.

American Wood Type 1828–1900 on page 307,

MICH. did not include lowercase or fig-

in the folio on plate 3, and in Dover’s Wood

ures. In American Wood Type 1828–1900, Kelly

Type Alphabets on page 73.

noted that Tubbs cut the type shown as the specimen and that lowercase and figures

38 The modulated Gothic designs introduced at the turn of the century in the United States included Quentell (Central Type Foundry, 1895), Studley (Inland Type Foundry, 1897), Globe Gothic/Taylor Gothic (ATF, 1897–1901), World Gothic (BB&S, 1897), Mathews (Inland Type Foundry, 1901), and Pontiac (ATF, 1902). Each of these designs was developed as a series of multiple condensed widths. This modulated style was revived in the late 1930s.

This face was first shown as wood type by the

were missing. The actual set present in the

Hamilton Manufacturing Company in the

collection has uppercase and lowercase,

1897 circular New Designs in End Wood Type.

though no numerals, and measures 10-line,

Though similar to other modulated

with no imprint on the capital « A ». This

Gothic faces produced at the turn of the

discrepancy suggests that Kelly may have

century,38 this particular design seems to

traded the original set printed in the folio

have originated with the Hamilton Man-

for the set that is now in the collection,

ufacturing Company, which apparently

probably sometime after 1962 but before

produced it exclusively as wood type.

1966. It is also worth noting that Modified

The 1897 specimen circular New Designs

Gothic was not shown in any surviving

in End Wood Type showed three styles of the

Tubbs Manufacturing Company specimen

face, No. 645 (Modified Gothic), No. 646

catalogs. The company did offer a full series

(Modified Gothic Condensed), and No. 648

of the modulated Gothic face Mathews

(Modified Gothic XX Condensed). The 1899

(designed by Inland Type Foundry in 1901)

Hamilton’s Wood Type, Catalog No. 14 included

as wood type in its c. 1906 Wood Type and Bor-

three pages of the “Modified Gothic Series,”

ders Catalogue Number Five. Mathews shared

showing all four styles—No. 645 (Mod-

certain formal similarities with Hamilton’s

ified Gothic), No. 646 (Modified Gothic

Modified Gothic.

Type Specimens

235

New Designs in End Wood Type (1897); Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum. This image is reduced by an additional 80% from the 75% reduction of specimen catalog images shown in the book.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

236

No. 508

Specimens of New Process Wood Type! (1890); Book Arts Collection, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

Type Specimens

237

The collection has a full set of uppercase

This face was first shown as wood type at

and numerals that measure 6-line in size,

least as early as the May 1890 Specimens of

produced with the die-cut method. The

New Process Wood Type! by the William H.

type block is stamped PATENTED | DEC. 20

Page Wood Type Company.

1887, which was used by the William H.

Of the seventeen faces designed as a die-

Page Wood Type Company starting in 1887.

cut type by the William H. Page Wood Type

Kelly showed this cut of No. 508 as a

Company, this design is one of nine in the

specimen in American Wood Type 1828–1900

collection. A very similar, though not exact,

on page 324, in the folio on plate 83, and in

copy of this design was shown by Morgans

Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets on page 92.

& Wilcox Manufacturing Company as Gothic No. 4 on page 10 of its 1890 Condensed Specimen Book of Wood Type.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

238

No. 510

Specimens of New Process Wood Type! (1890); Book Arts Collection, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

Type Specimens

239

The collection has a full set of uppercase

This face was first shown as wood type at

and numerals that measure 10-line in size,

least as early as the May 1890 Specimens of

produced with the die-cut method. The

New Process Wood Type! by the William H.

type block is stamped PATENTED | DEC. 20

Page Wood Type Company.

1887, which was used by the William H.

Of the seventeen faces designed as a die-

Page Wood Type Company starting in 1887.

cut type by the William H. Page Wood Type

Kelly showed this cut of No. 510 as a

Company, this design is one of nine in the

specimen in American Wood Type 1828–1900

collection. The Hamilton Manufacturing

on page 325, in the folio on plate 87, and in

Company’s 1906 Catalog No. 16, Specimens of

Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets on page 93.

Wood Type, showed a sample of the Morgans & Wilcox Manufacturing Company’s cut (named Gothic No. 5; Hamilton assigned the new name No. 3076) on page 112. No known Morgans & Wilcox specimen catalog displaying this cut has yet been recovered.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

240

No. 513

Specimens of New Process Wood Type Manufactured by The Hamilton Mfg. Co., Two Rivers, Wis. (1891); Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum.

The collection has a full set of uppercase

Of the seventeen faces designed as a die-

and numerals that measure 15-line in size,

cut type by the William H. Page Wood Type

produced with the die-cut method. The

Company, this design is one of nine in the

type block is stamped PATENTED | DEC. 20

collection. The Hamilton Manufacturing

1887, which was used by the William H.

Company’s 1906 Catalog No. 16, Specimens of

Page Wood Type Company starting in 1887.

Wood Type, showed a sample of the Morgans

Kelly did not show a specimen of No. 513

& Wilcox Manufacturing Company’s cut

in American Wood Type 1828–1900, but did

(named Gothic No. 6; Hamilton assigned

show it in the folio on plate 87, erroneously

the new name No. 3075) on page 112. No

labeled as No. 512.

known Morgans & Wilcox specimen catalog displaying this cut has yet been recovered.

This face was first shown as wood type at least as early as the May 1890 Specimens of New Process Wood Type! by the William H. Page Wood Type Company.

Type Specimens

241

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

242

No. 136

Specimens of Holly Wood Type Manufactured by Hamilton & Katz, Two Rivers, Wis. (1884); John M. Wing Foundation, Newberry Library, Chicago.

Type Specimens

243

The Collection has a full set of uppercase and

showing it in its sales catalogs. The posi-

numerals that measure 10-line in size. pro-

tive version of this cut, Gothic Tuscan No.

duced with the router-cut method. The type

5, was shown at least as early as wood type

block does not have a manufacturer’s stamp.

in the American Wood Type Company’s

Kelly did not show a specimen of No. 136

first specimen catalog of 1879. Though it is

in either American Wood Type 1828–1900 or

very likely that the American Wood Type

the folio.

Company produced Gothic Tuscan No. 5 configured as a streamer, it was never listed

This face was first shown as wood type by

or shown as such in any of the company’s

Hamilton & Baker in the November 1886

known catalogs.

Specimens of Holly Wood Type Manufactured by Hamilton & Baker. It was also shown as

This face was a heavyweight variant of the

a two-color tint block streamer (using the

Teutonic pattern introduced in the 1870s,

positive cut of the face) in the April 1884

which was a further refinement to the con-

Specimens of Holly Wood Type Manufactured

cave styles with contrasting stroke weights

by Hamilton & Katz.

introduced in the 1850s. This design is

Only Hamilton & Baker (and its succes-

a heavyweight, condensed variant with

sor company the Hamilton Manufacturing

low-contrast stroke weight.

Company) made No. 136 available by

Three American wood type manufacturers showed the positive cut: Hamilton / No. 72 / 1886 Wells / Phanitalian Condensed No. 1 (Hamilton No. 5091) /



At least as early as 1886

Tubbs·AWT / Gothic Tuscan No. 5 or No. 2131 / 1879

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

244

Teutonic

The collection has a full set of uppercase,

This face was first shown as wood type

used by the founders for the condensed

lowercase, and numerals that measure

by William H. Page & Company in James

Antique/Egyptian style letter with

12-line in size, produced with the router-cut

Conner’s Sons’ Typographic Messenger, vol. 6,

chamfered corners), and it found further

method. The type block does not have a

no. 4 (October 1871).

expression in the various configurations

manufacturer’s stamp.

of the Gothic Tuscan in the 1850s and

Kelly showed this cut of Teutonic as a

The typographic practice of substituting

1860s. The Teutonic was yet another

specimen in American Wood Type 1828–1900

concave for straight lines began in the late

refinement of the concave styles intro-

on page 331 and in the folio on plates 59 and

1830s and early 1840s in England under the

duced in the 1870s and seems to have

60. He showed the uppercase and numerals

name Grecian (confusingly, the same name

predated the adoption of this style by

in Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets on page 83.

US type founders. Manufacturers that offered this face: Hamilton / Teutonic or No. 206 / 1889 Morgans & Wilcox / Teutonic (Hamilton No. 3090) / 1882 Page / Teutonic (Hamilton No. 4206) / 1871 Tubbs·AWT / Teutonic or No. 2172 / 1885

Type Specimens

245

Typographic Messenger, vol. 6, no. 4 (1871); Graphic Arts Collection, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

246

Artistic

Manufacturers that offered this face: Hamilton / Artistic or No. 202 / 1889 Morgans & Wilcox / Artistic (Hamilton No. 3095) / Before 1890 Page / (?) / c. 1887–1890 Tubbs·AWT / No. 2168 / c. 1903 Wells / Artistic or No. 676 (Hamilton No. 5102) / 1890

Type Specimens

247

The collection has two sizes of this design pro-

company that show it. It was displayed in

duced with the router-cut method: a full set of

the specimen catalog W. H. Page Co End Wood

uppercase, lowercase, and numerals in 5-line

Machine Cut Wood Type, Sole Agents for Austral-

and a set of uppercase and numerals in 8-line.

asia, Alex. Cowan & Sons, Limited, which was

Neither size has a manufacturer’s stamp.

probably published sometime between 1887

Kelly did not show a specimen of Artistic in

and 1890, though the specific date is yet to

either American Wood Type 1828–1900 or the folio.

be determined. Because the catalog utilizes Cowan’s own numbering system, it does not

This face was first shown as wood type by the

help clarify the name used by Page.

Hamilton Manufacturing Company in the

As is also the case with the display of the

August 1889 Specimens of Wood Type and Borders.

Hamilton Manufacturing Company’s No. 203, this face provides some clear evidence that

This face is very likely a design that was first

it was showing William H. Page Wood Type

cut as wood type by the William H. Page

Company’s faces before the corporate acquisi-

Wood Type Company, though there are no

tion was fully completed in January 1891.

known domestic specimen catalogs from the

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

248

Monhagen

Specimen Book of Wood Type, Printing Material, Etc., Etc. (1881); ATF Library Collection, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

Type Specimens

The collection has a full set of uppercase and numerals that measure 10-line in size, produced with the router-cut method. The type block does not have a manufacturer’s stamp. Kelly did not show a specimen of Monhagen in American Wood Type 1828–1900, but did show this cut in the folio on plate 64. This face was first shown as wood type by Morgans & Wilcox Manufacturing Company in the 1881 Specimen Book of Wood Type, Printing Material, Etc., Etc. Kelly noted that this face was only cut by Morgans & Wilcox Manufacturing Company and was only offered by the Hamilton Manufacturing Company after it acquired Morgans & Wilcox Manufacturing Company in 1898 and renamed the face No. 3091. The type design was originally named after Monhagen Lake just west of Middletown, New York, where Morgans & Wilcox Manufacturing Company was located from 1880. Where the Teutonic was a further refinement in the 1870s of the concaved Gothic Tuscan style, Monhagen was a further variation in the 1880s of the Teutonic letter. Monhagen closely followed the body style of the Teutonic and included a more overt serif detail, referred to as a mansard serif, borrowed from the Aetna design developed and patented by William H. Page & Company in the early 1870s.

249

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

250

No. 51

The collection has a full set of uppercase

This design is a heavyweight, condensed

and lowercase that measure 10-line in size,

refinement of the concave style introduced

produced with the router-cut method. The

earlier in the century, and it also includes

type block is stamped PAGE W. T. Co., which

the additional detail of the trapezoidal

was used by William H. Page Wood Type

Mansard/Detroit serif. A subtle variation

Company between 1876 and 1891.

to this design, the presence of a shallow

Kelly showed this cut of No. 51 as a

angled indentation along the top and bot-

specimen in American Wood Type 1828–1900

tom of the body, can be seen in Page’s No. 50

on page 322, in the folio on plate 66, and in

[Hamilton No. 308], Heber Wells’s Mansard

Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets on page 90.

No. 2 [Hamilton No. 5202], and Morgans & Wilcox’s Octic [Hamilton No. 3207].

This face was first shown as wood type by the William H. Page Wood Type Company in the April 1878 Specimens of Wood Type Manufactured by The Wm. H. Page Wood Type Co., Norwich, Conn.

Manufacturers that offered this face: Page / No. 51 (Hamilton No. 309) / 1878 Tubbs·AWT / Gothic Tuscan Condensed No. 9 or No. 2181 / 1885 Wells / Mansard No. 1 (Hamilton No. 5201) / 1889

Type Specimens

251

Specimens of Wood Type Manufactured by The Wm. H. Page Wood Type Co., Norwich, Conn. (1878); Book Arts Collection, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

252

No. 124

The collection has a full set of uppercase and numerals that measure 24-line in size, produced with the router-cut method. The type block does not have a manufacturer’s stamp. Kelly showed this cut of No. 124 as an uppercase specimen in American Wood Type 1828–1900 on page 321, in the folio on plates 2 and 3, and in Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets on page 80. This face was first shown as wood type by William H. Page Wood Type Company in Page’s Wood Type Album, vol. 1, no. 2 (July 1879). This design is a heavyweight, condensed refinement of the concave style introduced earlier in the century. It is a more condensed variation of No. 136, also held in the collection, but with the corner points replaced by concave, scalloped corners.

Manufacturers that offered this face: Hamilton / No. 192 / 1889 Morgans & Wilcox / Gothic Tuscan Condensed No. 2 (Hamilton No. 3211) / 1881 Page / No. 124 (Hamilton No. 4192) / 1879 Tubbs·AWT / Gothic Tuscan No. 8 or No. 2124 / 1883 Wells / Phanitalian Extra Condensed No. 2 / 1880

Type Specimens

253

Page’s Wood Type Album, vol. 1, no. 2 (1879); Book Arts Collection, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

254

No. 142

The collection has two sizes of this design: a full set of uppercase, lowercase, and numerals in 10-line and a set of uppercase in 12-line, both produced with the router-cut method. The 10-line is stamped Wm H. PAGE & Co, which was used between 1867 and 1876. The 12-line is stamped HAMILTON | TWO | RIVERS, WIS., which was used between c. 1910 and the 1950s. Kelly showed a specimen of No. 142 in American Wood Type 1828–1900 on page 323 and in Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets on page 91. The 10-line was shown on plate 80 of the folio. This face was first shown as wood type by the William H. Page Wood Type Company in the May 1882 Specimens of Wood Type and Borders. This face is an extra-condensed refinement of the concave Gothic pattern with lower stroke contrast, an overall lighter-weight body, and the addition of chamfered corners.

Manufacturers that offered this face: Morgans & Wilcox / Beveled (Hamilton No. 3219) / 1890 Page / No. 142 (Hamilton No. 278) / 1882 Tubbs·AWT / No. 2179 / 1883

Type Specimens

255

Specimens of Wood Type and Borders, Manufactured by The Wm. H. Page Wood Type Co., Norwich, Conn. (1882); Book Arts Collection, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

256

No. 624

Note the missing characters « A », « H », « J », « Q », « ? », « k », « n », and « o ». These characters were shown in the folio, but it is not clear when they became separated from the collection. The missing « 2 » and « 3 » are most likely why Kelly didn’t include a proof of the numerals in the folio.

Kelly identified this design as “No name.”

H. Page Wood Type Company in the last

The collection has a set of uppercase,

known die-cut or router-cut catalogs

slanted small capitals and numerals that

produced in 1890. The Hamilton Manufac-

measure 6-line in size, produced with the

turing Company included a note about the

router-cut method. The type block does not

face in its 1894 catalog: “This series con-

have a manufacturer’s stamp.

tains no lower case, the small caps taking

Kelly did not show a specimen of No. 624

their place. In ordering it should be plainly

in American Wood Type 1828–1900, but did

stated whether caps, caps and small caps,

show the cut of small capitals on plate 90 in

or caps, small caps and slanting letters are

the folio and the uppercase on plate 94.

wanted.” The slanting letters were slanted small caps and were interchangeable with

This face was first shown as wood type by

the small caps.

the Hamilton Manufacturing Company in

The specimen of No. 624 is mislabeled

the January 1894 Hamilton’s Wood Type.

in Hamilton’s omnibus 1906 Catalog No.

In the folio, Kelly noted the numerals as

16, Specimens of Wood Type, as having been

missing and listed the type as “No name.”

designed by William H. Page. In its offer-

He also stated that the design was cut only

ing of this design in its c. 1903 specimen

by the Page Company. This design was

catalog, named No. 2197, Tubbs & Company

neither shown nor listed by the William

makes no indication of the availability of small caps or slanted small caps.

Type Specimens

257

Hamilton’s Wood Type (1894); Nicholas J. Werner Typographic Collection, St. Louis Public Library.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

258

Courier

Condensed Specimen Book of Wood Type Manufactured by Morgans & Wilcox Mfg. Co., Middletown, N.Y. (1890); ATF Library Collection, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

Type Specimens

259

The collection has a full set of uppercase,

This face was first shown as wood type

lowercase, and numerals that measure

by Morgans & Wilcox Manufacturing

6-line in size, produced with the router-cut

Company in the 1890 Condensed Specimen

method. The type block does not have a

Book of Wood Type.

manufacturer’s stamp.

Kelly noted that this face was only cut by

Kelly showed this cut of Courier as a

Morgans & Wilcox Manufacturing Company

specimen in American Wood Type 1828–1900

and only offered by the Hamilton Manufac-

on page 330, in the folio on plate 80, and in

turing Company as No. 3114 after it acquired

Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets on page 97.

the wood type manufacturing portion of Morgans & Wilcox in December 1898.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

260

No. 514

The collection has a full set of uppercase,

This face was first shown as wood type at

lowercase, and numerals that measure

least as early as the May 1890 Specimens of

15-line in size, produced with the die-cut

New Process Wood Type! by the William H.

method. The type block is stamped PAT-

Page Wood Type Company.

ENTED | DEC. 20 1887, which was used by

After the Hamilton Manufacturing Com-

the William H. Page Wood Type Company

pany completed the acquisition of the Wil-

starting in 1887.

liam H. Page Wood Type Company in 1891,

Kelly did not show a specimen of No. 514

the company continued to market the new

in American Wood Type 1828–1900, but did

process types as its own, and also continued

show this cut in the folio on plates 67 and 68.

to use the same name originally assigned by the William H. Page Wood Type Company. Of the seventeen faces designed as a die-cut type by the William H. Page Wood Type Company, this design is one of nine in the collection.

Type Specimens

261

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

262

Teniers

Price List of Printers’ Material and Condensed Specimen Book of Wood Type Manufactured by Morgans & Wilcox Mfg. Co., Middletown, N.Y. (c. 1885); ATF Library Collection, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

Manufacturers that offered this face: Hamilton / Teniers or No. 237 / 1891 Morgans & Wilcox / Teniers (Hamilton No. 3104) / c. 1885 National Printers’ Materials / Excelsior Job Extra Condensed / 1887 Page / No. 165 (Hamilton No. 4237) / 1885 Tubbs·AWT / No. 2145 / 1885 Wells / Unique or No. 502 (Hamilton No. 5103) / 1895

Type Specimens

263

The collection has a full set of uppercase,

This face was first shown as wood type by

ing of this cut by the William H. Page Wood

lowercase, and numerals that measure

the William H. Page Wood Type Company

Type Company nor the 1885 showing of this

8-line in size, produced with the rout-

as No. 165 at least as early as the January

cut by the American Wood Type Company

er-cut method. The type block is stamped

1885 Specimens of Wood Type, Borders, &c.

included any sort of citation or disclaimer.

HAMILTON | TWO | RIVERS, WIS., which

Heber Wells showed this design in 1895

was used between c. 1910 and the 1950s.

The c. 1885 Morgans & Wilcox specimen was

and named the face Unique. Curiously, the

Kelly showed this cut of Teniers as a

labeled with the name of the face and the

Vanderburgh, Wells & Company used the

specimen in American Wood Type 1828–1900

acknowledgment: “By permission of Bos-

name “Unique” at least as early as 1872, but

on page 332, in the folio on plate 33, and

ton Type Foundry, Patentee,” though this

the face had no visual relationship to the

in Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets on page 98.

design does not seem to correspond to any

design that Heber Wells showed more than

designs offered by the Boston Type Foundry

twenty years later.

at that time. Neither the January 1885 show-

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

264

Trenton

The collection has a full set of uppercase, lowercase, and numerals that measure 10-line in size, produced with the router-cut method. The type block is stamped HAMILTON | TWO | RIVERS, WIS., which was used between c. 1910 and the 1950s. Kelly showed this cut of Trenton as a specimen in American Wood Type 1828–1900 on page 333 and in the folio on plate 8. This face was first shown as wood type by the William H. Page Wood Type Company around 1884 (published no earlier than 1882 and no later than 1886) in the advertising broadside Wood Type, Manufactured by The Wm. H. Page Wood Type Co., in which it was marked “Patent Pending.” This face was marked “Patent Pending” not only in the William H. Page Wood Type Company’s broadside from around 1884, but also in the January 1885 specimen catalog. In all subsequent showings, it was never again labeled “Patented” or “Patent Pending.” The design of Trenton bears a striking visual similarity to a foundry face named Martha, which was designed by Henry Brehmer for the Lindsay Type Foundry of New York and first shown at least as early as 1890. Manufacturers that offered this face: Hamilton / Trenton or No. 168 / 1889 Morgans & Wilcox / Trenton (Hamilton No. 3105) / 1890 Page / No. 157 (Hamilton No. 4168) / c. 1884 Tubbs·AWT / No. 2007 / 1885 Wells / Trenton (Hamilton No. 5104) / Only shown in Hamilton, 1906

Type Specimens

265

Wood Type, Manufactured by The Wm. H. Page Wood Type Co. (1884); Cary Graphic Arts Collection, Rochester Institute of Technology. This image is reduced by an additional 65% from the 75% reduction of specimen catalog images shown in the book.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

266

No. 506

The collection has a full set of uppercase,

This design appears to be a lighter-weight

lowercase, and numerals that measure

and slightly more condensed version of a

15-line in size, produced with the die-cut

foundry face named Othello, designed by

method. The type block is stamped PAT-

Gustav Schroeder for Central Type Foundry

ENTED | DEC. 20 1887, which was used by

and first shown in April 1886.

the William H. Page Wood Type Company

Hawks & Shattuck, a West Coast distrib-

starting in 1887.

utor for the William H. Page Wood Type

Kelly showed this cut of No. 506 as a

Company, showed eight of the seventeen

specimen in American Wood Type 1828–1900

die-cut types in two variants of the compa-

on page 328, in the folio on plate 28, and in

ny’s New Specimen Book published in 1889.

Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets on page 95.

This was one year before the William H. Page Wood Type Company would show all

This face was first shown as wood type by

seventeen faces in its own 1890 Specimens of

the William H. Page Wood Type Company in

New Process Wood Type! The die-cut process

Hawks & Shattuck’s 1889 New Specimen Book.

was patented through at least seven US patents, but the type designs produced with this process were not patented. Of the seventeen faces designed as a die-cut type by the William H. Page Wood Type Company, this design is one of nine in the collection. Manufacturers that offered this face: Morgans & Wilcox / Teniers No. 1 (Hamilton No. 3111) / 1890 Page / No. 506 / 1889 Tubbs·AWT / No. 2093 / c. 1903

Type Specimens

267

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

268

No. 500

The collection has a full set of lowercase in 10-line and a full set of uppercase and numerals in 12-line. Both sizes are stamped PATENTED | DEC. 20 1887, which was used by the William H. Page Wood Type Company starting in 1887. Kelly showed a specimen of No. 500 in uppercase and numerals on page 329 of American Wood Type 1828–1900 and in Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets on page 96. The 12-line was shown on plate 78 in the folio; the 10-line was not shown in the folio. This face was first shown as wood type by the William H. Page Wood Type Company in Hawks & Shattuck’s 1889 New Specimen Book. Hawks & Shattuck, a West Coast distributor for the William H. Page Wood Type Company, showed eight of the seventeen die-cut types in two variants of the company’s New Specimen Book published in 1889. This was one year before the William H. Page Wood Type Company would show all seventeen faces in its own 1890 Specimens of New Process Wood Type! The die-cut process was patented through at least seven US patents, but the type designs produced with this process were not patented. After the Hamilton Manufacturing Company completed the acquisition of the William H. Page Wood Type Company in 1891, the company continued to market the new process types as its own, and also continued to use the same name originally assigned by the William H. Page Wood Type Company. Of the seventeen faces designed as a die-cut type by the William H. Page Wood Type Company, this design is one of nine in the collection.

Specimens of New Process Wood Type! (1890); Book Arts Collection, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

Type Specimens

269

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

270

Corinthian No. 2

Kelly used the name Corinthian to identify

Corinthian was patented by William

this design. The collection has a full set

H. Page and assigned to William H. Page

of uppercase and numerals that measure

& Company on August 9, 1870 (US design

12-line in size, produced with the router-cut

patent 4,281) as a chromatic type, and it

method. The type block is stamped HAMIL-

was first included on the price list sheet of

TON | TWO | RIVERS, WIS., which was used

the July 1870 specimen catalog. The patent

between c. 1910 and the 1950s.

stated that “the letters may be printed in

Kelly did not show a specimen of Corin-

one or more colors.” Corinthian, first shown

thian No. 2 in American Wood Type 1828–1900,

in the specimen catalog in 1872, included

but did show this cut in the folio on plate 4.

linear shading inside of the reversed ornaments. These linear details were removed

This face was first shown as wood type by

in Corinthian No. 2. This face was renamed

William H. Page Wood Type Company in

No. 429 after the Hamilton Manufacturing

the April 1878 Specimens of Wood Type Man-

Company acquisition was finalized in 1891.

ufactured by The Wm. H. Page Wood Type Co.,

Gothic Condensed No. 4 is the Plain Face

Norwich, Conn.

variant of the Corinthian form and was first

Kelly identified this design as Corinthian

listed in the 1872 Specimens of Wood Type Man-

and noted that it originated with “the Page

ufactured by Wm. H. Page & Co, Greenville, Conn.

Company design shown in its 1872 catalog.”

The Plain Face design was also shown in

Though very similar, this cut is actually

reverse as Streamer Gothic Condensed No. 4

Corinthian No. 2, which was not shown by

in the 1876 Poster Specimens from The Wm. H.

Page until April 1878.

Page Wood Type Co., Greenville, Norwich, Conn.

Type Specimens

271

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

272

Gothic Tuscan

Kelly used the name Concave Tuscan to

This face was first shown as wood type by

Gothic Tuscan style in the United States

more descriptively identify this particu-

William H. Page & Company in James Con-

in the 1850s began in the expression of a

lar design. The collection has a full set of

ner’s Sons’ Typographic Messenger, vol. 2, no. 1

lighter and more condensed letter shown

uppercase, lowercase, and numerals that

(November 1866).

by Bill, Stark & Company in 1853. The

measure 5-line in size, produced with

design underwent a number of variations

the router-cut method. The type block is

The typographic practice of substituting

to arrive at the full-faced style shown by

stamped VANDERBURGH WELLS & CO | NEW

concave for straight lines began in the late

Page in 1866.

YORK, which was used from 1867 to 1890.

1830s and early 1840s in England under

In American Wood Type 1828–1900,

Kelly showed this cut of Gothic Tuscan as

the name Grecian (confusingly, the same

Kelly used the term “Gothic Concave

a specimen in American Wood Type 1828–1900

name used by the founders for the con-

Tuscan” to avoid confusion with other

on page 308, in the folio on plate 32, and in

densed Antique/Egyptian style letter with

wood type designs that also used the

Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets on page 75.

chamfered corners). The emergence of the

name Gothic Tuscan.

Manufacturers that offered this face: Hamilton / Gothic Tuscan or No. 185 / 1889 Morgans & Wilcox / Gothic Tuscan (Hamilton No. 3088) / 1881 Page / Gothic Tuscan (Hamilton No. 4185) / 1866 Tubbs·AWT / Gothic Tuscan or No. 2136 / 1883 Wells / Gothic Tuscan or No. 661 (Hamilton No. 5096) / 1872

Type Specimens

273

Typographic Messenger, vol. 2, no. 1 (1866); Graphic Arts Collection, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

274

Gothic Tuscan Condensed No. 1

Kelly used the name Concave Tuscan Condensed to identify this design. The collection has a full set of uppercase that measure 12-line in size, produced with the router-cut method. The type block is stamped HAMILTON | TWO | RIVERS, WIS., which was used between c. 1910 and the 1950s. Kelly showed this cut of Gothic Tuscan Condensed No. 1 as a specimen in American Wood Type 1828–1900 on page 311 and in the folio on plate 11. Kelly credited the origination of this design to Cooley in the 1850s, and he used the name Gothic Tuscan X Condensed in the folio. In American Wood Type 1828–1900, Kelly credited origination to Bill, Stark & Company, in 1853. Hamilton & Baker first showed this design with this width in the May 1887 Specimens Holly Wood Type, named No. 16. Hamilton & Katz first showed No. 16 in the April 1884 Specimens Holy Wood Type, but with slightly different details—the horizontal extremities that were parallel in the 1887 catalog were shown as concave in the 1884 catalog. David Knox & Company showed a condensed face with concave horizontals in the 1858 Specimens of Wood Type, Manufactured by D. Knox & Co., Fredericksburg, Ohio. Both the William H. Page Wood Type Company design and the Vanderburgh, Wells & Company design were slightly wider than the Gothic Tuscan Condensed No. 1 cut by the Hamilton Manufacturing Company.

Manufacturers that offered this face: Hamilton / Gothic Tuscan Condensed No. 1 or No. 16 / 1887 Knox / Concave Gothic / 1858 Page / No. 144 / 1882 Wells / Gothic Tuscan Condensed No. 1 (Hamilton No. 5094) / 1872

Type Specimens

275

Specimens of Wood Type, Manufactured by D. Knox & Co., Fredericksburg, Ohio (1858); John M. Wing Foundation, Newberry Library, Chicago.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

276

Gothic Tuscan X Condensed

Kelly used the name Concave Tuscan X Con-

Kelly showed this cut of Gothic Tuscan X

densed to identify this design. The collection

Condensed as a specimen in American Wood

has a full set of uppercase and numerals that

Type 1828–1900 on page 312, in the folio on

measure 8-line in size, produced with the

plate 48, and in Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets

router-cut method. The type block does not

on page 79.

have a manufacturer’s stamp. This face was first shown as wood type by Bill, Stark & Company in the 1853 Specimens of Machinery Cut Wood Type.

Manufacturers that offered this face: Bill, Stark / Tuscan Extra Condensed / 1853 Cooley / Gothic Tuscan Extra Condensed / c. 1859–1863 Morgans & Wilcox / Gothic Tuscan X Condensed (Hamilton No. 3087) / c. 1885 National Printers’ Materials / Gothic Tuscan Extra Condensed / 1887 Page / Gothic Tuscan Extra Condensed (Hamilton No. 272) / 1859 Tubbs·AWT / Gothic Tuscan X Condensed or No. 2135 / 1883 Wells / Gothic Tuscan Extra Condensed or No. 640 (Hamilton No. 5092) / 1872 or earlier

Type Specimens

277

Specimens of Machinery Cut Wood Type, Manufactured by Bill, Stark & Co, Willimantic, Conn. (1853); ATF Library Collection, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

278

Gothic Tuscan X Condensed Outline

Kelly used the name Concave Tuscan X

This face was first shown as wood type in

Condensed Outline to identify this design.

a solid version by Bill, Stark & Company

The collection has a single sample of each

in the 1853 Specimens of Machinery Cut Wood

character of uppercase and numerals; they

Type. In the same specimen catalog, Bill,

measure 6-line in size and were produced

Stark & Company also showed a shaded vari-

with the router-cut method. The type block

ant of this style as Tuscan Extra Condensed

does not have a manufacturer’s stamp.

Shade No. 1 and Tuscan Extra Condensed

Kelly showed this cut of Gothic Tuscan X

Shade No. 3. In all of this variety, there was

Condensed Outline as a specimen in Amer-

no indication that Bill, Stark & Company

ican Wood Type 1828–1900 on page 313, in the

ever offered an outline variant to the design.

folio on plate 95, and in Dover’s Wood Type

William H. Page & Company was awarded

Alphabets on page 81.

US design patent 1,933 for an ornamented shaded variation of the design on April 19,

This face was first shown as wood type by

1864, but did not indicate the availability of

William H. Page Wood Type Company in the

a Plain Face outline variant until 1882.

May 1882 Specimens of Wood Type and Borders.

Manufacturers that offered this face: Page / No. 59 (Hamilton No. 343) / 1882 Tubbs·AWT / No. 2206 / 1885 Wells / Gothic Tuscan Extra Condensed Outline or No. 627 (Hamilton No. 5180) / 1891

Type Specimens

279

Specimens of Wood Type & Borders, Manufactured by The Wm. H. Page Wood Type Co., Norwich, Conn. (1882); Book Arts Collection, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

280

Antique Tuscan No. 11

The collection has a full set of uppercase

This face was first shown as wood type in

This design variant of Antique Tuscan

that measure 6-line and 8-line, produced

the 1859 Specimens of Wood Type, Borders,

was a condensed, low-contrast letterform

with the router-cut method. The 6-line is

Rules, &c. Manufactured by Wm. H. Page & Co.

that included a subtle bifurcation of the

stamped PAGE & Co | GREENVILLE | CT,

Greenville, Conn.

terminal stems. Other than the name,

which was used between 1857 and 1859, and

there was little indication that this face

again in the 1870s. The 8-line does not have

In the late 1840s, a number of semi-

was derived from the Antique/Egyptian

a manufacturer’s stamp.

ornamental Tuscan designs were introduced

pattern. This ambiguity points to the

Kelly showed a specimen of Antique Tus-

by both foundries and wood type manufac-

complication to categorization presented

can No. 11 in American Wood Type 1828–1900

turers in the United States. These domestic

by many semi-ornamental Tuscans: it

on page 326 and in Dover’s Wood Type Alpha-

offerings overtook the ornamental Euro-

is difficult to clearly determine whether

bets on page 94. The 8-line was shown on

pean Tuscans in popularity during the 1850s.

their formal attributes were derived from

plate 11 of the folio. While printed correctly

All of the serif-derived semi-ornamental

Antique or Gothic styles, since reducing

in the folio, the « N » is displayed upside

designs of this period were named Antique

from, or adding to, these different visual

down in both American Wood Type 1828–1900

Tuscan, typically with descriptor words and

starting points can produce similar results.

and Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets.

a number added to the name to differentiate the variation.

Manufacturers that offered this face: Cooley / Antique Tuscan Extra Condensed No. Eight / c. 1859–1863 Morgans & Wilcox / Antique Tuscan No. 11 (Hamilton No. 3112) / 1882, Antique Tuscan Condensed No. 11 after 1891 Page / Antique Tuscan No. 11 (Hamilton No. 315) / 1859 Tubbs·AWT / No. 2245 / c. 1903 Wells / Gothic Tuscan Condensed No. 3 or No. 643 (Hamilton No. 5120) / 1872

Type Specimens

281

Specimens of Wood Type, Borders, Rules, &c. Manufactured by Wm. H. Page & Co. Greenville, Conn. (1859); ATF Library Collection, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

282

Antique Tuscan No. 9

The collection has three sizes of this design: a

This face was first shown as wood type by

full set of uppercase, lowercase, and numerals

William H. Page & Company in the 1859

that measure 10-line and a full set of upper-

Specimens of Wood Type, Borders, Rules, &c.

case in 6-line and 20-line, all produced with the router-cut method. The 6-line is stamped

This face was a highly condensed variant of

THE HAMILTON MFG CO | TWO | RIVERS | &

a face in the collection named Antique Tus-

| CHICAGO, which was used between 1889

can X Condensed No. 11. These two faces,

and 1891. The 10-line is stamped Wm H.

both first shown in William H. Page & Com-

PAGE & Co | GREENVILLE, Ct, which was

pany’s 1859 specimen catalog, provided the

used between 1859 and 1867. The 20-line

basis for the more expanded variant, also in

does not have a manufacturer’s stamp.

the collection, named Kurilian No. 2. This

Kelly showed a specimen of Antique Tus-

highly compressed design was character-

can No. 9 in American Wood Type 1828–1900 on

ized by a low stroke contrast and included

page 315 and in Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets

bifurcated terminal stems.

on page 84. In the folio, the 6-line was shown on plate 46, the 10-line was shown on plate 71, and the 20-line was shown on plate 85.

Manufacturers that offered this face: Hamilton / Antique Tuscan No. 9 or No. 17 / 1884 Page / Antique Tuscan No. 9 (Hamilton No. 4017) / 1859 Tubbs·AWT / No. 2173 / c. 1903 Wells / Gothic Tuscan Extra Condensed No. 1 or No. 636 (Hamilton No. 5088) / 1872

Type Specimens

283

Specimens of Wood Type, Borders, Rules, &c. Manufactured by Wm. H. Page & Co. Greenville, Conn. (1859); ATF Library Collection, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

284

Kurilian No. 2

Kelly used the name Kurilian and Eureka

This design is a variation of Kurilian,

to identify this design. The collection has

which had open, rather than closed, medial

a full set of uppercase and numerals that

dots. Kurilian was cut by Vanderburgh,

measure 16-line in size, produced with the

Wells & Company [Hamilton No. 5240] and

router-cut method. The type block does not

by National Printers’ Materials. The design

have a manufacturer’s stamp.

variation with no medial ornamentation

Kelly showed this cut of Kurilian No. 2 as

was named Eureka, cut by both Vander-

a specimen in American Wood Type 1828–1900

burgh, Wells & Company [Hamilton No.

on page 291, in the folio on plate 27, and in

5239], starting at least as early as 1877, and

Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets on page 60.

William H. Page Wood Type Company [Hamilton No. 318] in 1882. The Kurilian/

This face was first shown as wood type by

Kurilian No. 2/Eureka series appears to

Vanderburgh, Wells & Company at least as

be an expanded variant of the much more

early as the 1872 Specimens of Vanderburgh,

condensed Antique Tuscan No. 9/Gothic

Wells & Co’s Wood Type, Borders, Rules, &c.

Tuscan X Condensed No. 1, as well as a con-

Kurilian No. 2 was only shown by Vander-

densed variant of Tuscan Expanded.

burgh, Wells & Company and its successor

The name Kurilian seems arbitrarily

Heber Wells and does not appear to have

applied to this design simply to evoke a

received a Hamilton catalog number after

beguiling effect. The name relates to the

the acquisition. (At the very least, it was not

word “Kuril,” the name of an island chain

shown in the omnibus 1906 Catalog No.

north of the Japanese island of Hokkaidō

16, Specimens of Wood Type, with the other

and south of the Russian Kamchatka Penin-

samples of Eureka and Kurilian.)

sula that separates the Sea of Okhotsk from the northern Pacific Ocean.

Type Specimens

285

Specimens of Vanderburgh, Wells & Co’s Wood Type, Borders, Rules, &c. (1872); TypTS 870.72.865, Houghton Library, Harvard University.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

286

Gothic Tuscan Condensed

The collection has a full set of uppercase and numerals that measure 8-line in size, produced with the router-cut method. The type block does not have a manufacturer’s stamp. Kelly showed this cut of Gothic Tuscan Condensed as a specimen in American Wood Type 1828–1900 on page 317, in the folio on plate 60, and in Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets on page 86. This face was first shown as wood type by Wells & Webb in the 1849 Specimen of Wood Type, “Cut by Machinery.” Kelly noted that this style most likely originated as a wood type in America. Ornamented variations appeared in the William H. Page & Company’s 1859 Specimens of Wood Type, Borders, Rules, &c. Wells & Webb labeled this face Gothic Tuscan in the first showing of 1849 (though that was probably a typo), labeled it Gothic Condensed Tuscan in the 1854 specimen catalog, and then labeled it Gothic Tuscan Condensed in the 1873 specimen catalog. In the first catalog of Heber Wells (successor to D. Wells & Company, Wells & Webb, E. R. Webb & Company, and Vanderburgh, Wells & Company) in 1890, the design was labeled Gothic Tuscan Condensed No. 10.

Manufacturers that offered this face: Bill, Stark / Gothic Tuscan Condensed / 1853 Cooley / Gothic Tuscan / c. 1859–1863 Hamilton / Gothic Tuscan Condensed or No. 20 / 1882 Knox / Condensed Gothic Tuscan / 1858 Morgans & Wilcox / Gothic Tuscan Condensed (Hamilton No. 3085) / 1882 National Printers’ Materials / Gothic Tuscan Condensed / 1887 Page / Gothic Tuscan Condensed (Hamilton No. 4020) / 1859 Tubbs·AWT / Gothic Tuscan No. 12 or No. 2134 / 1883 Wells / Gothic Tuscan Condensed No. 10 or No. 658 (Hamilton No. 5087) / 1849

Type Specimens

287

Specimen of Wood Type, “Cut by Machinery” by Wells & Webb (1849); ATF Library Collection, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

288

Streamer No. 67

Kelly used the name Gothic Tuscan Con-

The William H. Page Wood Type Company

densed Reversed to identify this design. The

also made a positive streamer version,

collection has a full set of uppercase and

Streamer No. 72 [Hamilton No. 407], as well

numerals that measure 15-line in size, pro-

as a double-ruled streamer, Streamer No. 77

duced with the router-cut method. The type

[Hamilton No. 392]. Both are shown in the

block does not have a manufacturer’s stamp.

company’s January 1886 specimen catalog

Kelly did not show a specimen of Streamer

Specimens of Wood Type Manufactured by Wm.

No. 67 in American Wood Type 1828–1900, but

H. Page & Co., Greenville, Conn.

did show this cut in the folio on plate 57 and

Streamer was the general name given to

in Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets on page 78.

letters cut into a solid block to appear as a white letter on a colored field when printed

This face was shown as wood type by

and terminated at either end with orna-

Hamilton & Katz in the 1884 Specimens of

mental pieces to provide the appearance

Holly Wood Type. Showing the design in two

of type on a banner, or a “streamer.” The

different sizes, the specimen catalog named

positive version of this face, Gothic Tuscan

the 10-line specimen No. 33 and the 12-line

Condensed, was first shown as wood type by

specimen No. 84. After the May 1887 spec-

Wells & Webb in the 1849 Specimen of Wood

imen catalog, Hamilton & Baker and then

Type, “Cut by Machinery.”

the Hamilton Manufacturing Company used only the name No. 33.

Manufacturers that offered this face: Hamilton / No. 33 and No. 84 / 1884 Morgans & Wilcox / Streamer No. 4 (Hamilton No. 3234) / 1890 Page / Streamer No. 67 / 1886

Type Specimens

289

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

290

Tuscan Italian

The collection has a full set of uppercase, lowercase, and numerals that measure 15-line in size, produced with the router-cut method. The type block does not have a manufacturer’s stamp. Kelly showed this cut of Tuscan Italian as a specimen in American Wood Type 1828–1900 on page 320, in the folio on plate 76, and in Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets on page 89. This face was first shown as wood type by Bill, Stark & Company in the 1853 Specimens of Machinery Cut Wood Type. This face was a variant form of the concave styled letter that added polar spikes, or points, at the top and bottom of the central vertical axis of the letterform. Nicolete Gray showed a very similar pointed concave design and wrote that the face was shown at least as early as 1853 in the catalog of the English foundry James Marr & Company, Specimen of Book, Newspaper, and Jobbing Types, Rules and Borders.39

39 Gray, Nineteenth Century Ornamented Typefaces, p. 212.

Manufacturers that offered this face Bill, Stark / Extra Condensed Tuscan No. 2 / 1853 Cooley / Tuscan Italian / c. 1859–1863 Hamilton / Tuscan Italian or No. 66 / 1882 Morgans & Wilcox / Tuscan Italian (Hamilton No. 3223) / 1882 National Printers’ Materials / Tuscan Italian / 1887 Page / Tuscan Italian (Hamilton No. 4066) / 1859 Tubbs·AWT / Tuscan Italian or No. 2091 / 1883 Wells / Tuscan Italian (Hamilton No. 5230) / 1872 or earlier

Type Specimens

291

Specimens of Machinery Cut Wood Type, Manufactured by Bill, Stark & Co, Willimantic, Conn. (1853); ATF Library Collection, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

292

Tuscan Italian (No. 67)

The collection has a full set of uppercase and numerals that measure 15-line in size, produced with the veneer method. The type block does not have a manufacturer’s stamp, but Hamilton was the only known manufacturer of veneer wood type. Kelly did not show a specimen of this variant of Tuscan Italian in American Wood Type 1828–1900, but did show this cut in the folio on plate 55. This face was first shown as wood type by Bill, Stark & Company in the 1853 Specimens of Machinery Cut Wood Type. This cut of Tuscan Italian, named No. 67, is peculiar to Hamilton & Katz and was not shown after 1885. Hamilton & Baker (successor to Hamilton & Katz) showed only the variant No. 66 (see “Tuscan Italian”), starting in the May 1887 specimen catalog.

Type Specimens

293

Specimens of Holly Wood Type Manufactured by Hamilton & Katz, Two Rivers, Wis. (1884); John M. Wing Foundation, Newberry Library, Chicago.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

294

Streamer No. 85

The collection has a full set of uppercase

This face was shown as wood type by Ham-

based on Tuscan Italian (No. 66), was

that measure 18-line in size, produced with

ilton & Katz in the April 1884 Specimens of

shown in the 1886 catalog and would be

the veneer method. The type block does not

Holly Wood Type.

shown in most of Hamilton’s specimen

have a manufacturer’s stamp, but Hamil-

This streamer cut of Tuscan Italian is

catalogs into the first decade of the

ton was the only known manufacturer of

peculiar to Hamilton & Katz. The compa-

twentieth century.

veneer wood type.

ny’s No. 67 was the positive version of the

Kelly did not show a specimen of

face used as the basis for Streamer No. 85,

Streamer No. 85 in either American Wood

but the cut was not shown in any of its spec-

Type 1828–1900 or the folio.

imen catalogs after 1885. Streamer No. 138,

Type Specimens

295

Specimens of Holly Wood Type Manufactured by Hamilton & Katz, Two Rivers, Wis. (1884); John M. Wing Foundation, Newberry Library, Chicago.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

296

Gothic Tuscan Pointed

The collection has a full set of uppercase and

This face was first shown as wood type in

numerals that measure 11-line in size, pro-

The Printer, vol. 2, no. 4 (August 1859), in a

duced with the router-cut method. The type

four-page advertisement for James Conner

block does not have a manufacturer’s stamp.

& Sons’ wood type offerings as agents of

Kelly showed this cut of Gothic Tuscan

William H. Page & Company. It was shown

Pointed as a specimen in American Wood

by William H. Page & Company in the com-

Type 1828–1900 on page 319, in the folio on

pany’s own October 1859 Specimens of Wood

plate 90, and in Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets

Type, Borders, Rules, &c.

on page 88.

Manufacturers that offered this face: Cooley / Gothic Tuscan Pointed / c. 1859–1863 Page / Antique Tuscan No. 10 (Hamilton No. 335) / 1859 Wells / Gothic Condensed Tuscan No. 4 (Hamilton No. 5228) / 1862

Type Specimens

297

J. G. Cooley & Co’s Specimens of Wood Type (c. 1859); John M. Wing Foundation, Newberry Library, Chicago.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

298

Gothic Tuscan No. 5

The collection has a full set of uppercase and numerals that measure 15-line in size, produced with the router-cut method. The type block is stamped THE HAMILTON MFG CO | TWO | RIVERS | & | CHICAGO, which was used between 1889 and 1891. Kelly did not show a specimen of Gothic Tuscan No. 5 in American Wood Type 1828–1900, but did show this cut in the folio on plate 17. This face was first shown as wood type by the Hamilton Manufacturing Company in the August 1889 Specimens of Wood Type and Borders. This design was cut only by the Hamilton Manufacturing Company and was also referred to as No. 121.

Type Specimens

299

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

300

Gothic Tuscan No. 1

The collection has a full set of uppercase

shown at least as early as the August 1872

that measure 15-line in size, produced with

Wood Type Manufactured by Wm. H. Page & Co.,

the router-cut method. The type block is

Greenville, Conn.

stamped THE HAMILTON MFG CO | TWO | RIVERS | & | CHICAGO, which was used

Although this face was first listed on the

between 1889 and 1891.

price sheet of William H. Page & Compa-

Kelly showed this cut of Gothic Tuscan

ny’s 1859 specimen catalog, it was patented

No. 1 as a specimen in American Wood Type

more than ten years later: US design patent

1828–1900 on page 314, in the folio on plate

3,902 was awarded on March 15, 1870, to

69, and in Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets on

William H. Page and assigned to William H.

page 82. Kelly included the numerals from

Page & Company as a face named “‘Double-

Gothic Tuscan No. 5 with the uppercase

Gothic,’ for letter-press printing.” This letter,

from Gothic Tuscan No. 1 for the Gothic

according to the patent application, “may

Tuscan No. 1 specimen on page 314 of Ameri-

be printed either with or without the shade,

can Wood Type, 1828–1900.

or the shade printed in a different color.” Gothic Tuscan No. 1 could be used either as

This face was first listed as wood type by

the top color of the two-color design or as

William H. Page & Company in the 1859

a stand-alone face without shade. Double

Specimens of Wood Type, Borders, Rules, &c. and

Gothic was first shown in Typographic Messenger, vol. IV, no. 6 (November 1869).

Manufacturers that offered this face: Page / Gothic Tuscan No. 1 (Hamilton No. 277) / 1859 Tubbs·AWT / Gothic Tuscan No. 1 or No. 2133 / 1883 Wells / Gothic Tuscan No. 1 (Hamilton No. 5083) / 1877

Type Specimens

301

Specimens of Wood Type Manufactured by Wm. H. Page & Co. Greenville, Conn. (1872); ATF Library Collection, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

302

Etruscan No. 4

Patent application for US design patent 4,283.

The collection has two sizes of this face: a

This face was first shown as wood type by

William H. Page was awarded US design

full set of uppercase, lowercase, and numer-

William H. Page & Company in the August

patent 4,283 on August 9, 1870, for Etrus-

als in 6-line and uppercase in 10-line, all

1872 Wood Type Manufactured by Wm. H. Page

can, and it was assigned to William H. Page

produced with the router-cut method. The

& Co., Greenville, Conn.

& Company. The patent covered a range of

6-line is stamped PAGE & Co | GREENVILLE

The William H. Page & Company cut was

configurations for the design from Plain

| CT, which was used between 1857 and 1859,

renamed No. 314 after the finalization of

Face to Ornamented. William H. Page &

and again in the 1870s, and the 10-line is

the company’s acquisition by the Hamilton

Company showed a number of Etruscan

stamped Wm H. PAGE & Co, which was used

Manufacturing Company in January 1891.

configurations chromatically in the April

between 1867 and 1876.

At least as early as 1882, the Morgans & Wil-

1874 Specimens of Chromatic Wood Type, Bor-

Kelly did not show a specimen of Etruscan

cox Manufacturing Company also offered

ders, &c. The ornamented design was first

No. 4 in American Wood Type 1828–1900, but

this design as Etruscan No. 4, which was

shown in Typographic Messenger, vol. 6, no. 1

did show the 10-line in the folio on plate 95.

renamed No. 314 by the Hamilton Manu-

(January 1871).

facturing Company after it acquired the Morgans & Wilcox Manufacturing Company’s wood type factory in 1897.

Type Specimens

303

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

304

No. 132

The collection has a full set of uppercase that measure 20-line in size, produced with the router-cut method. The type block does not have a manufacturer’s stamp. Kelly showed this cut of No. 132 as a specimen in American Wood Type 1828–1900 on page 289, in the folio on plate 61, and in Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets on page 58. This face was first shown as wood type by William H. Page & Company in Page’s Wood Type Album, vol. 1, no. 4 (January 1880). Vanderburgh, Wells & Company used the more interesting name Phanitalian Ornamented No. 2 for the company’s version of this design released in 1889. “Phanitalian” was most likely a constructed word invented by the manufacturer. As a word root in English, phan- means “to show, or make visible,” and it derives from the Greek for “to shine,” or (in passive) “to appear.” The name strongly suggests that the Italian, an inverted stress Antique/Egyptian, was the base design from which the contour alterations were made. Modoc No. 1 was inexplicably used as the title for this design when it was first shown by American Wood Type Company in 1883. Modoc was the name of a Native American people, as well as the name of the dialect they spoke, who inhabited an area of the Cascade Range in south-central Oregon and northern California before being forcibly resettled to Oklahoma by the US Army in the 1870s.

Manufacturers that offered this face: Hamilton / No. 214 / August 1889 Page / No. 132 (Hamilton No. 4214) / 1880 Tubbs·AWT / Modoc No. 1 or No. 2169 / 1883 Wells / Phanitalian Ornamented No. 2 (Hamilton No. 5216) / 1889

Type Specimens

305

Page’s Wood Type Album, vol. 1, no. 4 (1880); Cary Graphic Arts Collection, Rochester Institute of Technology.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

306

German Full-face

The collection has a full set of uppercase,

Hamilton & Katz, and then Hamilton &

shown. This catalog showed only the

lowercase, and numerals that measure

Baker, used the name German No. 6 in the

three designs: German No. 4 (which

8-line in size, produced with the router-cut

1882–1887 catalogs and showed a range

corresponded to German), German No. 6

method. The type block does not have a

of weights and widths of German, from

(which corresponded to German Full-face),

manufacturer’s stamp.

German No. 1 through German No. 12.

and German No. 10 (which corresponded

Kelly did not show a specimen of Ger-

Though Hamilton & Katz originally offered

to German Condensed). The Hamilton

man Full-face in either American Wood Type

twelve Blackletter designs, Hamilton &

Manufacturing Company then shifted to

1828–1900 or the folio.

Baker edited its German offerings down to

using the name German Full-face to refer

only three styles after 1887. In the twelve-

to this design after adopting William

US design patent 4,279 was awarded for this

page Specimens of German Holly Wood Type

H. Page Wood Type Company’s naming

face on August 9, 1870, to William H. Page

that Hamilton & Baker released sometime

scheme with the acquisition of that com-

and assigned to William H. Page & Com-

around 1888, German script was exclusively

pany in January 1891.

pany. The face was first shown as wood type in the October 1870 [German] Specimens of Wood Type Manufactured by Wm. H. Page & Co, Greenville, Conn.

Manufacturers that offered this face: Hamilton / German No. 6 or No. 616 / 1882 Morgans & Wilcox / German Full-face (Hamilton No. 3228) / 1890 Page / German Full-face (Hamilton No. 4616) / 1870 Wells / German No. 2 or No. 697 (Hamilton No. 5248) / 1877

Type Specimens

307

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

308

German

The collection has two sizes of this design.

Both William H. Page & Company (in

A full set of uppercase and numerals in

1870) and Hamilton & Baker (around 1888)

8-line and a full set of uppercase, lowercase,

published wood type specimen catalogs

and numerals in 15-line. Both sizes were

dedicated to German script faces. For

produced with the router-cut method. The

decades, Germans were the largest non-

8-line is stamped PAGE & Co | GREENVILLE

English-speaking immigrant group in

| CT, which was used between 1857 and 1859,

America. Between 1820 and 1924, over 5.5

and again in the 1870s. The 15-line does not

million Germans arrived as immigrants to

have a manufacturer’s stamp.

the United States. Their numbers and ded-

Kelly did not show a specimen of Ger-

ication to maintaining their language and

man in either American Wood Type 1828–1900

culture made Germans the most influential

or the folio.

force in the American non-English-language press: in the 1880s, the 800 German-language

This face was first shown as wood type in

newspapers accounted for about four-fifths

the 1854 Specimens of Wood Type Manufactured

of all non-English publications, and by 1890

by Wells & Webb.

more than 1,000 German newspapers were being published in the United States.40

German is considered a Fraktur style script.

40 Leah Weinryb Grohsgal, “Chronicling America’s Historic German Newspapers and the Growth of the American Ethnic Press,” National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), July 2, 2014, https://www. neh.gov/divisions/preservation/featured-project/ chronicling-americas-historic-german-newspapers-and-the-grow.

Manufacturers that offered this face: Hamilton / German No. 4 or No. 615 / 1882 Knox / German / 1858 Morgans & Wilcox / German (Hamilton No. 3226) / 1876–1880 National Printers’ Materials / German / 1887 Page / German (Hamilton No. 4615) / 1865 Tubbs·AWT / German or No. 2163 / 1883 Wells—German No. 1 or No. 697 (Hamilton No. 5247) / 1854

Type Specimens

309

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

310

German Condensed

The collection has two sizes of this design: a full set of uppercase and numerals in 8-line and a full set of uppercase, lowercase, and numerals in 15-line, all produced with the router-cut method. Neither size has a manufacturer’s stamp. Kelly did not show a specimen of German Condensed in either American Wood Type 1828–1900 or the folio. This face was first listed as wood type by William H. Page & Company in the 1865 Price List of Wood Type, Borders, Reglet, &c. and shown at least as early as the 1867 Wm. H. Page & Co.’s Specimens of Wood Type, Manufactured at Greenville, Conn.

Patent application for US design patent 1,869.

German Condensed is considered a Fraktur style script. US design patent 1,869 for German Condensed was awarded on November 24, 1863, to William H. Page and assigned to William H. Page & Company. This was the company’s first awarded patent, and the first American manufacturer to be awarded a patent for a wood type design.

Manufacturers that offered this face: Hamilton / German No. 10 or No. 614 / 1882 Morgans & Wilcox / German Condensed (Hamilton No. 3227) / c. 1885 National Printers’ Materials / German Condensed / 1887 Page / German Condensed (Hamilton No. 4614) / 1865 Tubbs·AWT / German Condensed or No. 2162 / 1883 Wells / German Condensed or No. 694 (Hamilton No. 5245) / 1872

Type Specimens

311

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

312

Prussian

The collection has a full set of uppercase

William H. Page & Company showed a

and numerals that measure 8-line in size

fifty-four-page specimen catalog of wood

and were produced with the router-cut

type in October 1870 dedicated to German

method. The type block does not have a

faces. The catalog displayed fifteen styles,

manufacturer’s stamp.

including four weights of German, and it

Kelly did not show a specimen of Prus-

also showed ornamented and chromatic

sian in either American Wood Type 1828–1900

styles. On the back cover of the specimen

or the folio.

catalog the company stated: “The assortment of German Type here introduced will

This face was first shown as wood type in

enable our German Printers to fit out their

the October 1870 [German] Specimens of Wood

Job departments with a good variety of

Type Manufactured by Wm. H. Page & Co, Green-

styles for all ordinary work. It will also be

ville, Conn.

seen that we make no German characters or double letters to the Old English.”

Prussian is considered a Textura style script.

Manufacturers that offered this face: Morgans & Wilcox / Prussian (Hamilton No. 3229) / 1890 Page / Prussian (Hamilton No. 609) / 1870 Wells / German Text Condensed (Hamilton No. 5250) / 1886

Type Specimens

313

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

314

Composite Condensed

The collection has a full set of uppercase

Composite Condensed is considered a Neu-

of European foundries in the mid-1850s.

and lowercase that measure 6-line in size,

deutsch style—a Roman/Blackletter hybrid.

A condensed version of the design was

produced with the router-cut method and

introduced as Schmale Midolline by

stamped Wm H. PAGE & Co, which was used

William H. Page & Company’s wood type

the printer-typefounder Trowitzsch &

between 1867 and 1876.

offering was based on a foundry type

Sohn of Berlin around 1854. In Germany

Kelly did not show a specimen of Com-

named Composite Condensed, which was

throughout the rest of the nineteenth

posite Condensed in either American Wood

shown in the United States at least as early

century, Midolline style was considered

Type 1828–1900 or the folio.

as 1858 in a James Conner & Sons advertise-

a typographic category unto itself—a

ment in The Printer.41 The face originated

hybrid mix of Roman and Blackletter.

This face was first shown as wood type in

as Schmale Midolline around 1854 in Berlin

In the early twentieth century, this style

the October 1870 [German] Specimens of Wood

and was based on a calligraphic letter, origi-

became known as Neudeutsch.42

Type Manufactured by Wm. H. Page & Co.,

nally published around 1834, that was epon-

Greeneville, Conn.

ymously named Midolline by the French

William H. Page & Company appears to

letterer Jean Midolle.

have been the only wood type manufacturer

The printer and type founder Eduard

to produce this face. The Hamilton Manufac-

Haenel introduced the typographic inter-

turing Company offered this cut only after

pretation of Midolle’s calligraphic letter

its acquisition of the William H. Page Wood

about 1851, probably as an homage to the

Type Company was finalized in January 1891,

original. Haenel named the face Midolline

when it changed the name to No. 606.

and produced it in eight sizes from 8- to 36-point. The design spread across a number

41 James Conner & Sons, “Composite Advertisement,” The Printer (New York City) 6, no. 6 (October 1858): 127.

42 Dan Reynolds, “Midolline: How a Frenchman Became Germany’s First Type Designer,” TypeOff, September 23, 2018, http://www.typeoff. de/2018/09/how-a-frenchman-became-germanysfirst-type-designer/.

Type Specimens

315

[German] Specimens of Wood Type Manufactured by Wm. H. Page & Co. Greenville, Conn. (1870); Book Arts Collection, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

316

No. 226 Outline

The collection has a full set of uppercase

This cut is an outlined variant in wood

and lowercase and an assortment of swashes

type of a solid face foundry type named

that measure 10-line in size, produced with

Quill Pen that was first shown in H. W.

the router-cut method. The type block does

Caslon & Company’s Spring 1890 Caslon’s

not have a manufacturer’s stamp.

Circular, published in London.43 The next

Kelly did not show a specimen of this

issue, Autumn 1890, included two full

face in either American Wood Type 1828–1900

pages of typeset examples. Describing the

or the folio. This face is the only Brush

face as “engraved to imitate free hand-writ-

Script style in the collection.

ing with a soft quill pen,” that issue also explained that “we have therefore called the

The solid variant of this face was first

character ‘Quill-Pen.’ … The series of fonts

shown in the Hamilton Manufacturing

has already been extensively sold by our

Company’s September 1891 Specimens of

representatives.”

Wood Type and Borders.

Later in 1890, the Morgans & Wil-

Hamilton appears to be the only wood

cox Manufacturing Company showed a

type manufacturer that cut this design.

heavier-weight solid version similar to this

The outline version does not seem to have

design that it named Caslon. The Hamil-

been shown in any known American

ton Manufacturing Company assigned the

specimen catalogs.

name No. 3197 to the Morgans & Wilcox Manufacturing Company’s cut after it acquired that company in 1897.

43 Caslon’s Circular, series XV, no. 53 (Spring 1890).

Type Specimens

317

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

318

The Hell-box

The Century Dictionary of 1914 defined “hell-box” as “the box provided for the bruised or condemned types of a printer’s house (Printers’ slang).”44 The Oxford English Dictionary cites 1852 as the first published use of the word, and Google’s Ngram indicates that the term reached its peak usage in 1941. The famous American printer, writer, and humorist Samuel Clemens (as Mark Twain) mentioned

44 William Dwight Whitney and Benjamin Eli Smith, The Century Dictionary: An Encyclopedic Lexicon of the English Language, vol. 2 (Century Company, 1914).

the hell-box in speaking about his boyhood job as a printer’s devil in a speech before the Typothetae of the City of New York on January 18, 1886: “I picked up his type from under his stand; and, if he was there to see, I put the good type in his case and the broken ones among the “hell matter” [in the hell-box]; and if he wasn’t there to see, I dumped it all with the “pi” on the imposing stone.”45 The collection has a number of orphaned types that were included in the original set of materials that came to the Harry Ransom Center (HRC) with the acquisition of the collection in 1966. Another set of orphaned types was donated to the university by Kelly’s children in late 2014. A few items from the hell-box were printed in Kelly’s 1964 folio (plates 46, 49, 57, 63, and 107) but were not described in the written catalog that accompanied the folio. None of this orphaned material was shown in American Wood Type 1828–1900. The orphaned types included in the collection exhibit various states of wear, but all are an active part of the study collection. The Rob Roy Kelly Collection at RIT also houses a set of orphaned types and image cuts that Kelly organized into an empty type case for display purposes.

45 Mark Twain, “The Compositor,” in Mark Twain Speaking, ed. Paul Fatout (Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 1976), p. 200.

Type Specimens

319

Type Specimens

V

Type Specimens from Other Collections and Three Unaccounted Faces

Kelly displayed 106 full character specimens in the wood type specimen section at the end of American Wood Type 1828–1900. He included 92 specimens of wood type from his own collection; the balance of the proofs came from three other collections. In the introduction to this section, he wrote, “With the exception of a few specimens, 46 Kelly, American Wood Type 1828–1900, p. 229.

which are noted in the captions, these were collected and proofed by the author.”46 William Thurman, superintendent of the Printing Office and Bindery of the New York Public Library (NYPL), supplied five proofs of type from the Elrie Robinson–Pforzheimer Typographical Collection held at NYPL, though only

47 The Elrie Robinson– Pforzheimer Typographical Collection was removed from the NYPL in the early 1980s and relocated to the care of the Center for Editions at the School of Art+Design, Purchase College, SUNY. Leonard Seastone is the custodian of the collection. 48 The bulk of the wood type collection held in the Melbert B. Cary Jr. Graphic Arts Collection at RIT was subsequently documented and cataloged by David P. Wall as part of his RIT master’s thesis in 1992. The thesis was augmented and published as A Specimen Portfolio of Wood Type in the Cary Collection (Rochester: RIT Cary Graphic Arts Press, 2010). 49 The wood type collection at Yale University is not known to have remained fully intact.

three are explicitly cited in the captions on the respective specimen pages.47 Roger Remington, chair of the graphic design program at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), supplied seven proofs, including types from both his personal collection and the wood type collection held at RIT.48 One proof of type was shared from the wood type collection at Yale University.49 One face included in the wood type section, Gothic Expanded Bold Face, was not credited to any archive, and there is no indication that it was ever part of Kelly’s personal collection. It was not included in his folio. It was not included on the HRC’s cursory manifest of the collections from 1986, nor was its presence indicated in the 1996 notes from the Design Division’s audit. It is unclear where Kelly secured the specimen, and the location of this type is not currently known. If it ever was part of his collection, it is curious that there is no known recording of its inclusion. There is also no record of it being held instead by the Elrie Robinson– Pforzheimer Typographical Collection now at Purchase College, SUNY, or in the collection of wood type at RIT. Two designs, Antique No. 7 and Skeleton Antique, appear to be missing from the collection. HRC’s partial manifest of the collection’s holdings compiled sometime in 1986 recorded the inclusion of Antique No. 7 in an incomplete 15-line uppercase and a 10-line upper- and lowercase, as well as Skeleton Antique in 4-line uppercase, lowercase, and numerals. The Design Division audit started in 1996 noted that these three fonts of type were housed in the same archival container. The location of these faces is not currently known, though it is hoped that they may someday be repatriated with the larger collection.

321

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

322

Roman

Kelly credited this face as held in the collection at Rochester Institute of Technology. Kelly showed a specimen of Roman in uppercase and lowercase on page 232 of American Wood Type 1828–1900 and in Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets on page 3. As this face was never part of Kelly’s personal collection, it was not shown in the folio. This face was first shown as wood type by Darius Wells in the March 1828 issue of D. Wells, Letter Cutter. Robert Thorne is typically credited with introducing the Fat Face, in England after 1803, while the earliest recorded showing was in the English foundry Bower & Bacon & Bower’s 1816 specimens. This style is considered the first type designed specifically for display or jobbing rather than for book work.

Manufacturers that offered this face: Allen {Nesbitt} / Roman / 1838 Bill, Stark / Roman / 1853 Cooley / Roman / c. 1859–1863 Knox / Roman / 1858 Leavenworth {Debow} / Roman / c. 1836–1838 Morgans & Wilcox / Roman (Hamilton No. 3169) / Hamilton, 1906 Page / Roman (Hamilton No. 241) / 1859 Tubbs·AWT / Roman or No. 2012 / c. 1903 Wells / Roman (Hamilton No. 5148) / 1828

Type Specimens

323

D. Wells, Letter Cutter (1828); Book Arts Collection, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

324

Roman Condensed

Kelly credited this face as held in the collection at Rochester Institute of Technology, though the location of the type is not currently known. Kelly showed a specimen of Roman Condensed in uppercase and lowercase on page 233 of American Wood Type 1828–1900 and in Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets on page 4. As this face was never part of Kelly’s personal collection, it was not shown in the folio. This face was first shown as wood type by Darius Wells in the March 1828 issue of D. Wells, Letter Cutter.

Manufacturers that offered this face: Allen {Nesbitt} / Roman Condensed / 1838 Bill, Stark / Roman Condensed / 1853 Cooley / Roman Condensed / c. 1859–1863 Knox / Roman Condensed / 1858 Leavenworth {Debow} / Condensed Roman / c. 1836–1838 National Printers’ Materials / Roman Condensed / 1887 Page / Roman Condensed (Hamilton No. 242) / 1859 Tubbs·AWT / Roman Condensed or No. 2017 / 1883 Wells / Condensed (Hamilton No. 5147) / 1835–1839

Type Specimens

325

Pasteups for American Wood Type 1828–1900 by Rob Roy Kelly (1969); Julian Edison Department of Special Collections, Washington University Libraries. This type specimen paste-up was used as a camera-ready mechanical in the production of American Wood Type 1828–1900. An incomplete set of mechanicals were rescued by Chris Zelinsky while teaching at KCAI, from Rob Roy Kelly’s school office trash. She gifted the mechanicals to Ben Kiel who subsequently donated them to Washington University’s Library Special Collections.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

326

Aetna X Condensed

Kelly used the name Doric Condensed to identify this design, which he credited as held in the collection at Rochester Institute of Technology. Kelly showed a specimen of Aetna X Condensed in uppercase, lowercase, and numerals on page 236 of American Wood Type 1828–1900, but did not show it in Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets. As this face was never part of Kelly’s personal collection, it was not shown in the folio. US design patent 7,073 was awarded on December 23, 1873 (after being filed October 27, 1873) to William H. Page and assigned to William H. Page & Company. It was first shown in James Conner’s Sons’ Typographic Messenger, vol. IX, no. 1 (January 1874). This specimen, as shown, seems to most closely match the Wells cut.

Manufacturers that offered this face: Hamilton / No. 129 / 1889 National Printers’ Materials / Painters’ Roman Condensed / 1887 Morgans & Wilcox / Aetna X Condensed (Hamilton No. 3142) / 1890 Page / Aetna Extra Condensed (Hamilton No. 253) / 1874 Tubbs·AWT / No. 2085 / 1885 Wells / Painters’ Roman Condensed or No. 160 (Hamilton No. 5134) / 1877

Type Specimens

327

This specimen proof is provided courtesy of the Cary Graphic Arts Collection, Rochester Institute of Technology. Printed with the generous assistance of Amelia Hugill-Fontanel.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

328

Bolivian

Kelly used the name Painters’ Roman to identify this design, which he credited as held in the collection at Rochester Institute of Technology. Kelly showed a specimen of Bolivian in uppercase, lowercase, and numerals on page 237 of American Wood Type 1828–1900, but did not show it in Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets. As this face was never part of Kelly’s personal collection, it was not shown in the folio. This face was first shown as wood type by William H. Page & Company in the April 1879 Page’s Wood Type Album. This face was also shown in the 1967 RIT Wood Type Specimen Portfolio printed by the Graphic Communication Workshop, as well as in the specimen catalog RRR Wood printed by Roger Remington to document his personal collection sometime before 1967.

Manufacturers that offered this face: Morgans & Wilcox / Bolivian (Hamilton No. 3139) / 1881 Page / No. 110 (Hamilton No. 290) / 1879 Tubbs·AWT / Bolivian or No. 2058 / 1883 Wells / Painters’ Roman Condensed No. 2 (Hamilton No. 5130) / 1881

Type Specimens

329

Wood Type Specimen Portfolio (1967); Cary Graphic Arts Collection, Rochester Institute of Technology.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

330

Antique Ornamented

Kelly used the name Antique Double Outline Shade to identify this design, which he credited as held in the collection at Rochester Institute of Technology, though the location of the type is not currently known. Kelly showed a specimen of Antique Ornamented in uppercase on page 243 of American Wood Type 1828–1900 and in Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets on page 12. As this face was never part of Kelly’s personal collection, it was not shown in the folio. This face was first shown as wood type by Darius Wells after 1835 but before 1839. It is included in Columbia’s bound copy of Wells & Webb’s 1840 specimen, though the page’s footer, “D. Wells & Co. New-York,” indicates that the face was offered between 1835 and 1839. The face was also shown as a multicolor chromatic in the 1859 Specimens of Wood Type, Borders, Rules, &c. Manufactured by Wm. H. Page & Co, Greenville, Conn.

Manufacturers that showed this face without the double inline detail: Bill, Stark / Antique Shade and Ray / 1853 Page / Antique Ornamented No. 1 / 1859 Wells / Antique Ornamented / 1835–1839

Type Specimens

331

Specimen of Plain and Ornamental Wood Type, Cut by Machinery, by Wells & Webb (Late D. Wells & Co.) (1840); ATF Library Collection, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

332

Antique Tuscan No. 8

Kelly credited this face as held in the collection at Rochester Institute of Technology, though the location of the type is not currently known. Kelly showed a specimen of Antique Tuscan No. 8 in uppercase on page 295 of American Wood Type 1828–1900 and in Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets on page 65. As this face was never part of Kelly’s personal collection, it was not shown in the folio. This face was first shown as wood type by William H. Page & Company in the 1859 Specimens of Wood Type, Borders, Rules, &c. The William H. Page & Company cut was renamed No. 324 after the finalization of the company’s acquisition by the Hamilton Manufacturing Company in January 1891. J. G. Cooley & Company showed this face, named Antique Tuscan Double Extra Condensed No. Three, in its undated specimen catalog published sometime between c. 1859 and 1863. This face was also part of the wood type collection held at the Rochester Institute of Technology; it was shown in the 1967 RIT Wood Type Specimen Portfolio printed by the Graphic Communication Workshop.

Type Specimens

333

Pasteups for American Wood Type 1828–1900 by Rob Roy Kelly (1969); Julian Edison Department of Special Collections, Washington University Libraries. This type specimen paste-up was used as a camera-ready mechanical in the production of American Wood Type 1828–1900. An incomplete set of mechanicals was rescued by Chris Zelinsky while teaching at KCAI, from Rob Roy Kelly’s school office trash. She gifted the mechanicals to Ben Kiel, who subsequently donated them to Washington University’s Library Special Collections.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

334

Tuscan Extra Condensed Shade No. 3

Wood Type Alphabets, 100 Fonts (New York: Dover Publications Inc., June 1, 1977).

Type Specimens

Kelly used the name Concave Tuscan Open

This face was first shown as wood type in

Shade to identify this design, which he

the 1853 Specimens of Machinery Wood Type,

credited as held in the collection at Roch-

Manufactured by Bill, Stark & Co.

ester Institute of Technology, though the

At least as early as 1859, William H. Page

location of the type is not currently known.

& Company also showed this face, named

Kelly showed a specimen of Tuscan Extra

Gothic Tuscan Shade No. 3. The cut was

Condensed Shade No. 3 in uppercase on page

renamed No. 468 by the Hamilton Manu-

309 of American Wood Type 1828–1900 and in

facturing Company after it acquired the

Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets on page 76. As

William H. Page Wood Type Company’s

this face was never part of Kelly’s personal

wood type in January 1891.

collection, it was not shown in the folio.

335

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

336

Roman Shade Ornamented

Kelly used the name Roman Ornamented

This face was included in Columbia’s

to identify this design, which he credited

bound copy of Wells & Webb’s 1840 speci-

as held in the NYPL Robinson-Pforzheimer

men, though the page’s footer, “D. Wells &

Collection. It is now held at the Center for

Co. New-York,” indicates that the face was

Editions at the School of Art+Design, Pur-

offered sometime between 1835 and 1839.

chase College, SUNY.

Leavenworth showed this face in Speci-

Kelly showed a specimen of Roman

men of Leavenworth’s Patent Wood Type, Manu-

Ornamented in uppercase on page 230 of

factured by J. M. Debow, Allentown, N. J., which

American Wood Type 1828–1900 and in Dover’s

did not include a publishing date. Business

Wood Type Alphabets on page 1. As this face

records can narrow the date to sometime

was never part of Kelly’s personal collection,

between 1836 and 1838.

it was not shown in the folio.

Edwin Allen also showed this face as a two-color chromatic named Shade Orna-

This face was first shown as wood type by

mented in the 1841 Nesbitt’s Fourth Specimen

Edwin Allen in George Nesbitt’s 1838 First

of Machinery Cut Wood Type.

Premium Wood Types, Cut by Machinery. This face was first shown at least as early as 1832 in Specimen of Light Face Printing Types and Ornaments, From the Type and Stereotype Foundry of James Conner, New-York. The foundry named the design Ornamental, No. 3. It is problematic to definitively establish when this face was first shown as wood type, and which manufacturer first cut it. Edwin Allen’s cut was shown in the only catalog with a definite publishing date, but either Darius Wells or William Leavenworth may have shown it earlier.

Manufacturers that offered this face: Allen {Nesbitt} / Roman Shade Ornamented / 1838 Leavenworth {Debow} / Ornamented No. 1 / c. 1836–1838 Wells / Roman Shade Ornamented / 1835–1839

Type Specimens

337

Specimens of Printing Types and Ornaments, Cast by Johnson & Smith (1841); Cary Graphic Arts Collection, Rochester Institute of Technology.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

338

Gothic Tuscan Italian

Kelly credited this face as held in the NYPL Robinson-Pforzheimer Collection. It is now held at the Center for Editions at the School of Art+Design, Purchase College, SUNY. Kelly showed a specimen of Gothic Tuscan Italian in uppercase on page 318 of American Wood Type 1828–1900 and in Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets on page 87. As this face was never part of Kelly’s personal collection, it was not shown in the folio. This face was first shown as wood type in the Wells & Webb 1854 Specimen of Wood Type. Kelly believed that this face originated as wood type. It appears that only Wells & Webb showed this design as wood type, and only in its 1854 specimen catalog. It was last included on the price list of the 1879 Specimens of Vanderburgh, Wells & Co’s Wood Type, Borders, Rules, &c. (Vanderburgh, Wells & Company was the successor to D. Wells & Company, Wells & Webb, and E. R. Webb & Company.)

Type Specimens

339

This specimen proof is provided courtesy of the Elrie Robinson-Pforzheimer Typographical Collection held at the Center for Editions at the School of Art+Design, Purchase College, SUNY. Printed by Leonard Seastone.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

340

Gothic Tuscan Shade

Kelly used the name Concave (Gothic) Tuscan Double Outlined Shade to identify this design, which he credited as held in the NYPL Robinson-Pforzheimer Collection. It is now held at the Center for Editions at the School of Art+Design, Purchase College, SUNY. Kelly showed a specimen of this face in uppercase on page 310 of American Wood Type 1828–1900 and in Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets on page 77. As this face was never part of Kelly’s personal collection, it was not shown in the folio. This face was first shown as wood type by Edwin Allen in the “Specimen of Nesbitt’s Wood Type Cut Entirely by Machine” section of the 1846 Supplement to the Specimen Book of Modern Printing Types, Ornaments, and Combination Borders, from the New England Type and Stereotype Foundry, George A. Curtis, Boston. This face was also shown as a two-color chromatic named Tuscan Gothic Shade, No. 2, by Wells & Webb in its New York distributor’s 1854 Specimens of Printing Types, Ornaments, Borders, &c, from the Type and Stereotype Foundry of W. & H. Hagar.

Manufacturers that offered this face: Allen {Nesbitt} / Open Ornamented No. 3 / 1846 Cooley / Tuscan Open Ornamented No. Three /

c. 1859–1863

Page / Gothic Tuscan Shade / 1859 Wells / Tuscan Shade No. 5 / 1854

Type Specimens

341

Supplement to the Specimen Book of Modern Printing Types, Ornaments, and Combination Borders from the New England Type and Stereotype Foundry (1846); Book Arts Collection, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

342

Gothic Dotted

Kelly incorrectly used the name No. 515 to identify this design, and he also incorrectly identified it as a die-cut face patented by the William H. Page Wood Type Company. Kelly did not credit this face to any archive, though it is very likely that he used the specimen from the Robinson-Pforzheimer Collection. Kelly showed a specimen of Gothic Dotted in uppercase and numerals on page 316 of American Wood Type 1828–1900 and in Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets on page 85. As this face was never part of Kelly’s personal collection, it was not shown in the folio. This face was first shown as wood type by J. G. Cooley & Company in the c. 1859 Specimens of Wood Type. Vanderburgh, Wells & Company named this face Gothic Dotted at least as early as its 1872 specimen catalog, but changed the name to Gothic Tuscan No. 8 by the time it released its 1877 specimen catalog. The specimen proof appears to match the Vanderburgh, Wells & Company cut.

Manufacturers that offered this face: Cooley / Gothic Tuscan No. Six / c. 1859–1863 Morgans & Wilcox / Gothic Dotted (Hamilton No. 3084) / c. 1885 National Printers’ Materials / Gothic Dotted / 1887 Page / Gothic Dotted (Hamilton No. 275) / 1865 Tubbs·AWT / Gothic Dotted or No. 2059 / 1883 Wells / Gothic Dotted or Gothic Tuscan No. 8 (Hamilton No. 5086) / 1872

Type Specimens

343

American Wood Type, 1828–1900, 1st paperback ed. (Boston: Da Capo Press, June 1, 1977).

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

344

Venetian

Kelly did not credit this face to any archive, though it is very likely that he used the specimen from the NYPL Robinson-Pforzheimer Collection that is now held at the Center

Manufacturers that offered this face: Allen {Nesbitt} / Venetian / 1838 Page / Venetian (Hamilton No. 6229) / 1865 Wells / Venetian / 1872

for Editions at the School of Art+Design, Purchase College, SUNY. Kelly showed a specimen of Venetian in uppercase on page 335 of American Wood Type 1828–1900 and in Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets on page 100. As this face was never part of Kelly’s personal collection, it was not shown in the folio. This face was first shown as wood type by Edwin Allen in George Nesbitt’s 1838 First Premium Wood Types, Cut by Machinery. Kelly wrote that this European Tuscan originated in France in the 1830s and spread to England at least as early as 1841.50 According to Nicolete Gray, it was shown at least as early as 1837 by Laurent & Deberny.51 It was first shown in the United States at least as early as 1837 in George Bruce & Company’s specimen catalog.

50 Kelly, American Wood Type 1828–1900, p. 106. 51 Gray, Nineteenth Century Ornamented Typefaces, p. 59.

Type Specimens

345

This specimen proof is provided courtesy of the Elrie Robinson-Pforzheimer Typographical Collection held at the Center for Editions at the School of Art+Design, Purchase College, SUNY. Printed by Leonard Seastone.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

346

Antique Tuscan No. 1

American Wood Type 1828–1900, Notes on the Evolution of Decorated and Large Types and Comments on Related Trades of the Period (New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, October 13, 1969).

Type Specimens

Kelly credited this face as held in the collec-

This face was first shown as wood type by

tion at Yale University.

William H. Page & Company in the 1859

Kelly showed a specimen of Antique

Specimens of Wood Type, Borders, Rules, &c.

Tuscan No. 1 in uppercase on page 296 of

The William H. Page & Company cut was

American Wood Type 1828–1900 and in Dover’s

renamed No. 321 after the finalization of

Wood Type Alphabets on page 64. As this face

the company’s acquisition by the Hamilton

was never part of Kelly’s personal collec-

Manufacturing Company in January 1891.

tion, it was not shown in the folio.

Vanderburgh, Wells & Company listed this face on its price list at least as early as the 1872 Specimens of Vanderburgh, Wells & Co’s Wood Type, Borders, Rules, &c., though it did not appear in surviving specimen catalogs. In 1899, the name was changed to No. 5236 when the Hamilton Manufacturing Company acquired all holdings of Heber Wells, the successor company to Vanderburgh, Wells & Company.

347

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

348

Gothic Expanded Bold Face

Specimen of Wood Type (New York: Heber Wells, 1895), in A Complete Reproduction of an Historic Book, Held by David W. Peat (facsimile) (Terra Alta, WV: Pioneer Press, 2015).

Type Specimens

Kelly used the name Gothic Extended to

This face was first shown as wood type by

identify this design. He showed a specimen

Heber Wells in its November 1895 Specimens

of Gothic Expanded Bold Face in upper-

of Wood Type Manufactured by Heber Wells,

case and numerals on page 299 of American

New York.

Wood Type 1828–1900 and in Dover’s Wood

Heber Wells appears to be the only

Type Alphabets on page 68. This face was not

company that cut this design as wood type.

shown in the folio.

Heber Wells also named this cut No. 245.

Kelly did not credit this face to any archive,

The Hamilton Manufacturing Company

and there is no indication that it was ever part

renamed this face No. 5075 in late 1899,

of his personal collection. It is unclear where

after acquiring all of the Wells holdings

Kelly secured the specimen, and the location

following the Heber Wells company’s decla-

of this type is not currently known.

ration of bankruptcy in July 1899.

349

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

350

Antique No. 7

American Wood Types 1828–1900, Volume One (Kansas City: Rob Roy Kelly, August 1964); Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection, Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas.

Type Specimens

Kelly showed a specimen of Antique No. 7 in uppercase, lowercase, and numerals on page 254 of American Wood Type 1828–1900 and in Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets on page 23. Kelly seems to have had two sizes of the face, as two sizes were shown in the folio: a 15-line of uppercase is shown on plate 52, and a 10-line of uppercase, lowercase, and numerals appears on plate 65. This face was first shown as wood type in 1879 by the American Wood Type Company in its first specimen catalog, Specimens of Wood Type. HRC’s partial manifest of the collection’s holdings compiled sometime in 1986 suggested that both 15-line and 10-line sets of Antique No. 7 were included. According to notes from the Design Division’s partial audit of 1996, these two sizes were housed in the same container as the missing Skeleton Antique. The location of the two sizes of this face is not currently known.

Manufacturers that offered this face: Hamilton / No. 173 / 1889 Page / Antique No. 7 (Hamilton No. 4173) / 1888 Morgans & Wilcox / Egyptian Antique Condensed (Hamilton No. 3010) / c. 1885 National Printers’ Materials / Antique No. 7 / 1887 Tubbs·AWT / Egyptian Antique / 1879 Wells / Egyptian Antique (Hamilton 5010) / 1886

351

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

352

Antique Skeleton

American Wood Type: 1828–1900, reissued ed. (Saratoga, CA: Liber Apertus Press, April 2010).

Type Specimens

Kelly used the name Skeleton Antique to identify this design. He showed a specimen of this face in uppercase, lowercase, and numerals on page 252 of American Wood Type 1828–1900 and in Dover’s Wood Type Alphabets on page 21. The 4-line was shown on plate 47 of the folio. This face was first listed as wood type by William H. Page & Company on the January 1865 Price List of Wood Type, Borders, Reglet, &c. and was first shown in the company’s April 1867 Specimens of Wood Type, Manufactured at Greenville, Conn. This face originated as a foundry type and was shown at least as early as the March 1848 Specimens of Printing Types Cast at Geo. Bruce & Co. In the folio, Kelly noted that the font did not have a manufacturer’s stamp, but it does appear to follow the design of the William H. Page & Company cut. HRC’s partial manifest of the collection’s holdings compiled sometime in 1986 suggests that a 4-line Antique Skeleton with uppercase, lowercase, and numerals was included. Notes from the Design Division’s partial audit of 1996 indicated that the missing Antique Skeleton was housed in the same container as the two sizes of Antique No. 7. The location of this face is not currently known.

Manufacturers that offered this face: Hamilton / Skeleton Antique or No. 127 / 1889 Morgans & Wilcox / Skeleton Antique (Hamilton No. 3019) / c. 1885 Page / Antique Skeleton (Hamilton No. 4127) / 1867 Tubbs·AWT / Antique Skeleton or No. 2030 / 1883 Wells / Skeleton Antique (Hamilton No. 5019) / 1872

353

Type Specimens

V

Borders, Ornaments, and Cuts

Borders

Ornaments

Wood borders were first shown by Edwin

The first ornaments (non-typographic

Allen in George Nesbitt’s 1838 First Premium

or border material) offered by wood type

Wood Types, Cut by Machinery. One of the

manufacturers were the hand-with-point-

most commonly shown early borders was

ing-finger symbol named Indexes.52 Wells

a variation on the “Grecian Key” pattern,

& Webb first showed a Calligraphic Index in

simply titled Grecian Border. William H.

1854, followed by William H. Page & Compa-

Page & Company greatly expanded the

ny’s introduction of a more representational

ornamented border styles available in wood

variant of the Index in 1859. The surviving

type, beginning with the 1859 Specimens of

specimen catalog record suggests that almost

Wood Type, Borders, Rules, &c. By the early

no new ornamental designs were introduced

1860s, all wood type manufacturers showed

during the 1860s. William H. Page & Com-

border material in solid, grooved, and orna-

pany began introducing a variety of orna-

mented styles.

mental elements again in the early 1870s,

William H. Page & Company developed

including a variety of stars and catchwords.

a mechanical stamping process in the early

Eventually all manufacturers offered a range

1870s that it used to produce border mate-

of ornamental cuts, but William H. Page &

rial. Its inherent precision allowed the man-

Company continued to lead in introducing

ufacturer to offer a wide range of intricate

and elaborating wood ornaments through-

geometric border styles. William Page and

out the 1870s and into the 1880s, including its

George Setchell patented improvements to

introduction of floral and spacing ornaments

this process in the 1880s to also make die-

as well as intricate decorative pieces that it

cut or “New Process” wood type.

named Japanese Corners.

All American manufacturers in the

The interest in ornaments diminished

nineteenth century sold wood border by

greatly after the turn of the century, and

the pica measure. The Hamilton Manufac-

by the 1930s wood type manufacturers were

turing Company began offering a series of

showing only simple geometric forms—

solid, single- and double-grooved wood

diamonds, circles, squares, and stars—

rule based on the point system named New

as ornaments.

Series Wood Rule in 1897. Ornamented borders became less popular after the turn of the century, but wood rule in solid and grooved styles remained an important component of wood type manufacturers’ offerings throughout the twentieth century.

355

52 Typographic Indexes were referred to by a number of different names, including Manicule, Fist, Phist, Pointer, or Hand. The Latin word for “manicule” is manicula, meaning “little hand” or fist. This visual element— which functioned to emphasize or point to something—was developed as a textual device in the scribal tradition at least as early as the eleventh century in Europe. The device was typically drawn in the marginalia.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

356

Cuts Thomas Bewick (1753–1828), widely regarded as the father of wood engraving, developed a technique that provided greater clarity and detail to the images rendered in the late eighteenth century. Before Bewick, woodcuts were created by carving a relief image into the softer side-grain of the wood. This technique was known in Japan as early as the eighth century, and it had appeared in Europe by 1400. Bewick’s innovation used metal-engraving tools to inscribe the harder end-grain. This approach remained the dominant method of image production until it was superseded by the photomechanical halftone at the end of the late nineteenth century. Paul Duensing describes the impact of the nineteenth-century engraved image: “as illustrators of merchandise, they made possible the whole field of the mail-order catalog, and perhaps it may not be too strongly stating the matter to suggest that

they also played their part in quickening the tempo of the American economy by making possible the rapid development of the whole world of advertising.”53 Wells & Webb’s 1849 Specimens of Wood Type “Cut by Machinery” is the earliest known wood type manufacturer’s notice of the commercial availability of “boxwood and mahogany prepared for engravers.” The 1877 Specimens of Vanderburgh, Wells & Co’s Wood Type, Borders, Rules, &c. was the first wood type catalog to show a specimen of a commercial engraving—Cuts for Bag Work—as an image of a sheaf of unthreshed wheat. The cuts offered by American wood type manufacturers through their type specimen catalogs seemed primarily intended for the bag and flour sack printing market. The cuts were shown from the late 1870s through the early 1890s. Kelly included a selection of the borders, ornaments, and cuts he had collected in his 1964 folio, but he did not identify any of that material. He wrote only two sentences very generally describing these items in the text of the folio. He expanded the history greatly in American Wood Type 1820–1900, but did not show any of the items he’d gathered in the collection. The remainder of this section includes all names, known manufacturers, and dates originally shown, as well as names and dates first shown by all other wood type manufacturers.

53 Paul Duensing, “Introduction,” in Specimens of Electrotype Cuts, Initials, Corners, Ornaments, Tints, Etc., Etc., & Etc., Manufactured by James Conner’s Sons, United States Type Foundry, New York City (Hastings-on-Hudson, NY: Morgan & Morgan, 1972), p. v.

Type Specimens

Circle Borders

357

Border No. 169

Border No. 329

Border No. 296

Border No. 78

The William H. Page

The William H. Page

The William H. Page

Hamilton & Katz

Wood Type Company

Wood Type Company

Wood Type Company

4-line

5-line

2-line

5-line

This was first shown by the

This was first shown in the

This was first shown in the Jan-

This was first shown in Hamilton

William H. Page Wood Type

William H. Page Wood Type

uary 1887, The Wm. H. Page Wood

& Katz’s 1884 Specimens of Holly

Company in James Conner’s

Company’s 1890 Specimens of New

Type Co. … Manufacturers of Wood

Wood Type and was renamed No.

Sons’ Typographic Messenger, vol.

Process Wood Type! The design

Type, Borders, Rule, Reglet, Quoins,

138 in Hamilton & Baker’s 1888

8, no. 1 (Fall 1878). The design

was renamed No. 333 after the

Furniture &c.

Specimens of Wood Type & Borders.

was renamed No. 317 after the

completion of the company’s

completion of the company’s

acquisition by the Hamilton

acquisition by the Hamilton

Manufacturing Company.

Manufacturing Company in 1891. Name used and first showing by other manufacturers: Morgans & Wilcox / No. 135 / 1890 Tubbs·AWT / No. 1358 / c. 1903 Wells / No. 570 / 1889

Name used and first showing by other manufacturers: Hamilton / No. 129 / 1887 Tubbs·AWT / No. 1224 / 1908

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

Diamond Borders

358

Border No. 181

Border No. 176

Border No. 279

The Hamilton Manufacturing

The Hamilton Manufacturing

The William H. Page

Company

Company

Wood Type Company

3-line

2-line

3-line

This was first shown in the Ham-

This was first shown in the

This was first shown in the

ilton Manufacturing Company’s

Hamilton Manufacturing Com-

January 1887 The Wm. H. Page

September 1891 Specimens of Wood

pany’s September 1891 Specimens

Wood Type Co. … Manufacturers of

Type and Borders.

of Wood Type and Borders and was

Wood Type, Borders, Rule, Reglet,

renamed No. 299 in the compa-

Quoins, Furniture &c. The design

ny’s 1906 Catalog No. 16, Speci-

was renamed No. 278 after the

mens of Wood Type.

completion of the company’s acquisition by the Hamilton Manufacturing Company in 1891. Tubbs & Company also showed this ornament in its c. 1903 Tubbs Wood Type as No. 1369.

Type Specimens

Chain Borders

359

Border No. 244

Border No. 185

Border No. 254

Chain Border No. 1

The Hamilton Manufacturing

The Hamilton Manufacturing

The William H. Page

American Wood Type Company

Company

Company

Wood Type Company

5-line

3-line

2-line

6-line

This was first shown in the Ham-

This was first shown in the Ham-

This was first shown in the Wil-

This was first shown in the

ilton Manufacturing Company’s

ilton Manufacturing Company’s

liam H. Page Wood Type Compa-

American Wood Type Company’s

September 1891 Specimens of Wood

September 1891 Specimens of Wood

ny’s Page’s Wood Type Album, vol.

1883 Specimens of Wood Type.

Type and Borders.

Type and Borders.

1, no. 2 (July 1879). The design

Tubbs & Company also showed

was renamed No. 268 after the

this ornament in its c. 1903 Tubbs

completion of the company’s

Wood Type as No. 1458.

acquisition by the Hamilton Manufacturing Company.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

Pattern Borders

360

Border No. 175

Border No. 162

Border No. 243

Border No. 239

The William H. Page

The William H. Page

The William H. Page

The William H. Page

Wood Type Company

Wood Type Company

Wood Type Company

Wood Type Company

3-line

2½-line

4-line

6-line

This was first shown by the

This was first shown in the Wil-

This was first shown in the 1880

This was first shown in Page’s

William H. Page Wood Type

liam H. Page Wood Type Compa-

Specimens of Wood Type Manufac-

Wood Type Album, vol. 1, no. 3

Company on its c. 1879 spec-

ny’s 1882 Specimens of Wood Type &

tured by The Wm. H. Page Wood

(October 1879). This border was

imen broadside. The design

Borders, though was likely avail-

Type Co., Norwich, Conn. The

also shown chromatically in the

was renamed No. 303 after the

able as early as 1878. The design

design was renamed No. 316 after

same publication listed as No. 229.

completion of the company’s

was renamed No. 276 after the

the completion of the company’s

The design was renamed No. 349

acquisition by the Hamilton

completion of the company’s

acquisition by the Hamilton

after the completion of the compa-

Manufacturing Company.

acquisition by the Hamilton

Manufacturing Company.

ny’s acquisition by the Hamilton

Manufacturing Company. Tubbs & Company also showed this ornament in its c. 1903 Tubbs Wood Type as No. 1266.

Manufacturing Company.

Type Specimens

361

Fancy Rule No. 51

Border No. 120

Border No. 291

Border No. 300

William H. Page & Company

Hamilton & Baker

The William H. Page

The William H. Page

Wood Type Company

Wood Type Company

5-line

4-line

10-line

6-line

This was first shown in William

This was first shown in Hamilton

This was first shown in the

This was first shown in the

H. Page & Company’s 1874

& Baker’s May 1887 Specimens of

William H. Page Wood Type

William H. Page Wood Type

Specimens of Chromatic Wood Type,

Holly Wood Type.

Company’s 1887 Specimens of

Company’s 1887 The Wm. H. Page

Page’s Wood Type. The design

Wood Type Co. … Manufacturers of

was renamed No. 375 after the

Wood Type, Borders, Rule, Reglet,

completion of the company’s

Quoins, Furniture &c. The design

acquisition by the Hamilton

was renamed No. 359 after the

Manufacturing Company.

completion of the company’s

Borders, &c.

acquisition by the Hamilton Manufacturing Company.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

Combination Borders

362

Roman Flame Border

Border No. 17

Border No. 17 (second color)

The Hamilton Manufacturing

William H. Page & Company

William H. Page & Company

2-line

8-line

8-line

This was first shown in the Ham-

This was first shown in the July

This border was first shown

ilton Manufacturing Company’s

1865 broadside Specimens of Wood

chromatically in the April 1867

1908 broadside, Specimens of Unit

Borders Manufactured by Wm. H.

Wm. H. Page & Co.’s Specimens

Gothics and Roman Flame Borders.

Page & Co., Greenville, Conn. The

of Wood Type, Manufactured at

A complete font of Roman Flame

design was renamed No. 165 after

Greenville, Conn.

Border was made up of forty

the completion of the company’s

This is the second-color com-

characters; only two of these,

acquisition by the Hamilton

ponent to Border No. 17. Only

No. 22 and No. 27, are present in

Manufacturing Company in 1891.

William H. Page & Company, the

Company

the collection.

Name used and first showing by other manufacturers: Tubbs·AWT / Border No. 17 / 1883 Wells / Border D / c. 1873

Hamilton Manufacturing Company, and Vanderburg, Wells & Company showed this border as a two-color chromatic. The collection is missing the corner pieces to this set.

Type Specimens

Solid Wood Rule (Single- and Double-Groove)

Wood Rule No. 11

Wood Rule No. 9

Wood Rule No. 7

Wells & Webb

Wells & Webb

Wells & Webb

1-line

1½-line

2-line

Wells & Webb showed single-

Wells & Webb showed single-

Wells & Webb showed single-

groove rule as early as 1840, but

groove rule as early as 1840, but

groove rule as early as 1840, but

did not explicitly offer them for

did not explicitly offer them for

did not explicitly offer them for

sale until the 1849 Specimens of

sale until the 1849 Specimens of

sale until the 1849 Specimens of

Wood Type.

Wood Type.

Wood Type.

Name used and first showing by other manufacturers: Cooley / No. 9 / c. 1859–1863 Hamilton / Wood Rule No. 5 / 1884;

Name used and first showing by other manufacturers: Cooley / No. 8 / c. 1859–1863 Hamilton / Wood Rule No. 9 / 1884;

Name used and first showing by other manufacturers: Cooley / No. 7 / c. 1859–1863 Hamilton / Wood Rule No. 4 / 1884;

Knox / No. 11 / 1858 Morgans & Wilcox / No. 40 / 1890 Page / No. 25 / 1859

Knox / No. 9 / 1858 Morgans & Wilcox / No. 50 / 1890 Page / No. 21 / 1859

Knox / No. 7 / 1858 Morgans & Wilcox / No. 54 / 1890 Page / No. 19 / 1859

renamed New Series R in 1897 and then No. 612 in the March 1926 specimen brochure, Gothics and Wood Border; both sold on the point system

renamed New Series U in 1897 and then No. 618 in the March 1926 specimen brochure, Gothics and Wood Border; both sold on the point system

renamed New Series W in 1897 and then No. 624 in the March 1926 specimen brochure, Gothics and Wood Border; both sold on the point system

Fancy Rule No. 22

Wood Rule No. 6

Wood Rule No. 12

William H. Page & Company

Wells & Webb

Wells & Webb

1½-line

2-line

1-line

This was first shown in Wil-

This was first shown in Wells

This was first shown in Wells

liam H. Page & Company’s 1874

& Webb’s 1849 Specimens of

& Webb’s 1849 Specimens of

Specimens of Chromatic Wood Type,

Wood Type.

Wood Type.

Name used and first showing by other manufacturers: Cooley / No. 15 / c. 1859–1863 Knox / No. 12 / 1858 Hamilton / Wood Rule No. 12 / 1884;

Name used and first showing by other manufacturers: Cooley / No. 16 / c. 1859–1863 Knox / No. 8 / 1858 Hamilton / Wood Rule No. 4 / 1884;

Morgans & Wilcox / No. 57 / 1890 Page / No. 18 / 1859

Morgans & Wilcox / No. 43 / 1890 Page / No. 26 / 1859

Borders, &c.

renamed New Series J in 1897 and then No. 724 in the March 1926 specimen brochure, Gothics and Wood Border; both sold on the point system

renamed New Series E in 1897 and then No. 712 in the March 1926 specimen brochure, Gothics and Wood Border; both sold on the point system

363

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

Star Borders and Rule

364

Tuscan Border

Star Border

Star Rule No. 11

Star Rule No. 9

Vanderburg, Wells & Company

William H. Page & Company

William H. Page & Company

William H. Page & Company

4-line

4-line

4-line

1-line

This was first shown by Vander-

This was first shown in the

This size single-groove, Star Rule This was first shown in the

burg, Wells & Company at least

July 1865 broadside Specimens

No. 11, was first shown in the July

as early as the 1877 Specimens

of Wood Borders Manufactured by

1873 Specimens of Wood Type Manu- Type Manufactured by Wm. H. Page

of Wood Type, Borders, Rules, &c.

Wm. H. Page & Co. The design

factured by Wm. H. Page & Co.

& Co.

After buying out his partners

was renamed No. 384 after the

and renaming the company

completion of the company’s

eponymously in 1890, Heber

acquisition by the Hamilton

Wells renamed the border No.

Manufacturing Company in 1891.

Name used and first showing by other manufacturers: Hamilton / No. 31 / 1884 Morgans & Wilcox / No. 70 / 1890 Tubbs·AWT / No. 11 / 1883

Name used and first showing by other manufacturers: Hamilton / No. 26 / 1884 Tubbs·AWT / No. 9 / 1883 Wells / No. 1 / 1891

73. After acquiring the Heber

Name used and first showing by other manufacturers: the Hamilton Manufacturing Morgans & Wilcox / No. 39 / c. 1885 Company changed the name to Tubbs·AWT / Star Border / 1883 No. 561 and showed the border in Wells / Star Border or No. 73 / its 1906 Catalog No. 16, Specimens 1872

Wells company in August 1899,

of Wood Type.

August 1872 Specimens of Wood

Type Specimens

365

Star Rule No. 5

Star Rule No. 8

Star Rule No. 6

Star Rule No. 4

William H. Page & Company

William H. Page & Company

William H. Page & Company

William H. Page & Company

2-line

3½-line

2½-line

3-line

This was first shown in the August

This was first shown in the August

This was first shown in the August

This was first shown in the August

1872 Specimens of Wood Type Man-

1872 Specimens of Wood Type Man-

1872 Specimens of Wood Type Man-

1872 Specimens of Wood Type Man-

ufactured by Wm. H. Page & Co.

ufactured by Wm. H. Page & Co.

ufactured by Wm. H. Page & Co.

ufactured by Wm. H. Page & Co.

Name used and first showing by other manufacturers: Hamilton / No. 25 / 1884 Morgans & Wilcox / No. 62 / 1890 Tubbs·AWT / No. 5 / 1883 Wells / No. 3 / 1891

Name used and first showing by other manufacturers: Hamilton / No. 28 / 1884 Morgans & Wilcox / No. 69 / 1890 Tubbs·AWT / No. 8 / 1883

Name used and first showing by other manufacturers: Hamilton / No. 24 / 1884 Morgans & Wilcox / No. 65 / 1890 Tubbs·AWT / No. 6 / 1883 Wells / No. 9 / 1891

Name used and first showing by other manufacturers: Hamilton / No. 26 / 1884 Morgans & Wilcox / No. 67 / 1890 Tubbs·AWT / No. 4 / 1883 Wells / No. 10 / 1891

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

Corners

366

Corner No. 32

Corner No. 93

Corner No. 16

Corner No. 17

The William H. Page

Hamilton & Baker

Vanderburgh, Wells & Company

Vanderburgh, Wells & Company

3½-line

5-line

8-line

8-line

This was first shown in the

This was first shown in Hamilton

This was first shown at least as

This was first shown at least as

William H. Page Wood Type

& Baker’s May 1887 Specimens of

early as the 1877 Specimens of Van-

early as the 1877 Specimens of Van-

Company’s April 1878 Specimens

Holly Wood Type.

derburgh, Wells & Co’s Wood Type,

derburgh, Wells & Co’s Wood Type,

of Wood Type Manufactured by The

Borders, Rules, &c. After buying

Borders, Rules, &c. After buying

Wm. H. Page Wood Type Co.

out his partners and renaming

out his partners and renaming

the company eponymously in

the company eponymously in

1890, Heber Wells renamed the

1890, Heber Wells renamed the

border No. 142.

border No. 136.

The William H. Page Wood

The William H. Page Wood

Type Company started showing

Type Company started showing

Wood Type Company

Name used and first showing by other manufacturers: Hamilton / No. 115 / 1887 Morgans & Wilcox / No. 32 / c. 1885 Wells / No. 36 / 1879

this corner, named Corner No. 18, this corner, named Corner No. 17, in 1880, and the Hamilton Manu- in 1880, and the Hamilton Manufacturing Company retained the

facturing Company retained the

name after the completion of the

name after the completion of the

1891 acquisition.

1891 acquisition.

Type Specimens

Streamer Borders

367

Single-Groove Streamer Borders

These borders were first shown

blance, when printed, of a white or [the borders] … print in color,

The William H. Page

in the 1882 Specimens of Wood

reversed letter on a colored field.

and then overprint in black with

Type and Borders Manufactured by

Edwin Allen showed Black

conventional wood types.” The

The Wm. H. Page Wood Type Co.,

Ground, the first Reverse design

first fully realized typographic

Norwich, Conn.

in wood, in George Nesbitt’s 1838 streamers were introduced as

Streamers were a variation

specimen catalog. J. G. Cooley

wood type by William H. Page &

on Reverses that included

& Company showed a kind of

Company in the 1874 Specimens of

terminating ornamental blocks,

chromatic reverse around 1859

Chromatic Wood Type, Borders, &c.

which produced a finished shape

as a single color-filled border

Because it lacks corresponding

with the visual appearance of a

used as a background for type.

reversed letters, the streamer bor-

banner, flag, or pennant holding

Hamilton & Katz showed a sim-

der shown here would have been

reversed letters. Reverses were

ilar design in 1884. Kelly noted

used as background for positive

wood letters cut into a decorative

in American Wood Type 1828–1900

type printed as a second color.

or solid ground to give the sem-

that “the printer could assemble

Wood Type Company 24-line

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

Indexes The first wood Indexes were shown by Wells & Webb as a flourished,

Conn. Most of the major manufacturers showed stylistic variations

calligraphic styled form in 1854. William H. Page & Company showed

of the Index and referred to them by a number of different names,

the more representational Indexes in its 1859 Specimens of Wood

including Manicule, Fist, Phist, Pointer, or Hand. William H. Page

Type, Borders, Rules, &c. Manufactured by Wm. H. Page & Co, Greenville,

& Company appears to have sold Indexes in mirrored pairs.

368

Index No. 2

Index No. 3

Index No. 7

Morgans & Wilcox

Morgans & Wilcox

The Hamilton Manufacturing

Manufacturing Company

Manufacturing Company

Company

20-line

20-line

10-line

This was first shown in Morgans

This was first shown in Morgans

This was first shown in the

& Wilcox Manufacturing Com-

& Wilcox Manufacturing Com-

Hamilton Manufacturing Com-

pany’s c. 1885 Condensed Specimen

pany’s c. 1885 Condensed Specimen

pany’s 1889 Specimens of Wood

Book of Wood Type.

Book of Wood Type.

Type & Borders.

Wood Pointers

Hamilton Manufacturing

These were first shown in the

up of eighteen designs. The

Company

Hamilton Manufacturing Com-

collection holds seventeen of the

4-line and 6-line

pany’s 1893 broadside Specimens

eighteen Wood Pointer designs

of Wood Pointers.

sold by the Hamilton Manufac-

The Hamilton Manufacturing

turing Company.

Company sold Wood Pointers in sets of twenty-five pieces made

Type Specimens

Floral Ornaments

369

Florentine Ornaments No. 1, No. 4, No. 5, and No. 9

Jenson Ornament

Blanchard Ornaments No. 1, No. 2, No. 3, and No. 5

Collins Florets (first series)

The Hamilton Manufacturing

The Hamilton Manufacturing

The Hamilton Manufacturing

The Hamilton Manufacturing

Company 6-line and 4-line This was first shown in the Hamilton Manufacturing Company’s 1899 Catalog No. 14, Hamilton’s Wood Type. The Hamilton Manufacturing Company also sold these ornaments as New Series Floral Borders, in sets of one hundred,

Company 10-line

8-line

This was first shown as wood

This was first shown in the Ham-

type by the Hamilton Manufacturing Company at least as early as 1899 in the company’s fourpage brochure Campaigners Series and New Designs in Wood Type. The ornament first appeared as foundry type set with the

to work in conjunction with New specimen for Jenson Old Style Series Wood Rule to produce a in ATF’s 1896 Pacific Coast Blue range of border combinations.

Tubbs & Company offered Florentine Ornaments at least as early as 1903.

Company

Book, Containing Specimens of Type, Printing Machinery, Printing Material, American Type Founders Co. This ornament was also shown in the Hamilton Manufacturing Company’s 1906 Catalog No. 16, Specimens of Wood Type, with the samples of both Bradley and Jenson Old Style. The Hamilton Manufacturing Company noted in the 1899 specimen catalog that both Bradley and Jenson Old Style were “made by permission of the American Type Founders Co.”

ilton Manufacturing Company’s 1901 Catalog No. 15, Specimens of Wood Type, included with the specimen of the typeface named Blanchard that was “made in wood by permission of the Inland Foundry, St. Louis, Mo.” These ornaments were designed to be used in conjunction with the Blanchard typeface first shown by the Inland Type Foundry in 1900.

Company 4-line This was first shown as wood type in the Hamilton Manufacturing Company’s July 1896 Catalog No. 13, Hamilton’s Wood Type, included with the specimen of Jenson Old Style and “made by permission of the American Type Founders Co.” These ornaments were released as foundry type by ATF at least as early as 1896.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

Fancy Ornaments and Stars

370

Fancy Ornament No. 9

Space Ornament No. 1

Space Ornament No. 7

Fancy Ornament No. 4

Hamilton & Baker

The William H. Page

The William H. Page

Hamilton & Baker

Wood Type Company

Wood Type Company

8-line

10-line

10-line

6-line

This was first shown in Hamil-

This was first shown in the

This was first shown in the

This was first shown in Hamil-

ton & Baker’s 1887 Specimens of

William H. Page Wood Type

William H. Page Wood Type

ton & Baker’s 1887 Specimens of

Holly Wood Type.

Company’s January 1887 spec-

Company’s January 1887 spec-

Holly Wood Type.

The Tubbs Manufacturing

imen catalog. The design was

imen catalog. The design was

The Tubbs Manufacturing

Company also showed this orna-

renamed Fancy Ornament No.

renamed Fancy Ornament No. 28

Company also showed this orna-

ment in its c. 1906 Wood Type and

26 by the Hamilton Manufac-

after the completion of the com-

ment in its c. 1906 Wood Type and

Borders Catalogue Number Five, as

turing Company after the com-

pany’s acquisition by the Hamil-

Borders Catalogue Number Five, as

Tubbs Space Ornament No. 66.

pletion of its acquisition in 1891

ton Manufacturing Company.

Tubbs Space Ornament No. 60.

of the William H. Page Wood Type Company.

Name used and first showing by other manufacturers: Tubbs·AWT / End Piece No. 9 /

c. 1903 Wells / End Piece Ornament No. 122 / 1891

Type Specimens

371

Ornament No. 31

Space Ornament No. 8

Space Ornament No. 18

Space Ornament No. 6

Morgans & Wilcox

The William H. Page

The William H. Page

The William H. Page

Manufacturing Company

Wood Type Company

Wood Type Company

Wood Type Company

5-line

4-line

6-line

6-line

This was first shown in Morgans

This was first shown in the Wil-

This was first shown in the Wil-

This was first shown in the

& Wilcox’s c. 1885 Condensed

liam H. Page Wood Type Com-

liam H. Page Wood Type Com-

William H. Page Wood Type

Specimen Book of Wood Type. The

pany’s January 1887 specimen

pany’s January 1887 specimen

Company’s January 1887 spec-

design was renamed Fancy Orna-

catalog. The design was renamed

catalog. The design was renamed

imen catalog. The design was

ment No. 82 by the Hamilton

Fancy Ornament No. 36 after the

Fancy Ornament No. 38 after the

renamed Fancy Ornament No.

Manufacturing Company after

completion of the company’s

completion of the company’s

25 after the completion of the

its acquisition of Morgans & Wil-

acquisition by the Hamilton

acquisition by the Hamilton

company’s acquisition by the

cox Manufacturing Company’s

Manufacturing Company in 1891.

Manufacturing Company.

Hamilton Manufacturing

Name used and first showing by other manufacturers: Tubbs·AWT / End Piece No. 14 /

Name used and first showing by other manufacturers: Morgans & Wilcox / Ornament No. 14 / 1890 Tubbs·AWT / End Piece No. 12 /

wood type factory in 1897.

c. 1903 Wells / End Piece Ornament No. 120 / 1891

c. 1903

Company in 1891. Tubbs & Company also showed this ornament in its c. 1903 Tubbs Wood Type as End Piece No. 13.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

372

Fancy Ornament No. 105

End Piece Ornament No. 94

Star No. 6

Star No. 7

The Hamilton Manufacturing

Heber Wells

Hamilton & Baker

Hamilton & Baker

4-line

6-line

10-line

6-line

This was first shown in the Ham-

This was first shown in Heber

First shown in Hamilton &

First shown in Hamilton & Bak-

ilton Manufacturing Company’s

Wells’s 1891 Specimens of Wood

Baker’s 1887 Specimens of Holly

er’s May 1887 Specimens of Holly

1906 Catalog No. 16, Specimens of

Type. The design was renamed

Wood Type.

Wood Type.

Wood Type.

No. 144 and No. 141 (which

Company

indicated the separate left and right orientations of the design) by the Hamilton Manufacturing Company after its acquisition of Heber Wells in August 1899 after that company declared bankruptcy in July of that year.

Name used and first showing by other manufacturers: Page / No. 8 / October 1887 Wells / No. 52 / 1891

Type Specimens

Half Rounds

373

Manufacturer unknown

There is no confirmed showing

Company in the 1882 Specimens

18-line

of Half Rounds in the known

of Wood Type & Borders. After its

printed specimen record.

acquisition of the William H. Page Wood Type Company was

Though Half Rounds are not

finalized in 1891, the Hamilton

shown in any surviving speci-

Manufacturing Company offered

men catalog, these Half Rounds

these decorative items and

appear similar to Japanese Cor-

retained the name. It is highly

ners, which were quarter-circles

likely, though unconfirmed, that

rather than half-circles. Japanese

the William H. Page Wood Type

Corners were first shown by the

Company was the manufacturer.

William H. Page Wood Type

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

Catch Words The first Catch Words in wood were shown in William H. Page & Company’s August 1872 Specimens of Wood Type.

374

Catch Word No. 18

Catch Word No. 31

Catch Word No. 3

Catch Word No. 9, No. 10, and No. 11

William H. Page & Company

Vanderburgh, Wells & Company

Hamilton & Baker

Hamilton & Baker

24-line

8-line

6-line

10-line

This was first shown in William

This was first shown in Vander-

This was first shown in Hamilton

This was first shown in Hamilton

H. Page & Company’s July 1873

burgh, Wells & Company’s 1877

& Baker’s 1887 Specimens of Holly

Specimens of Wood Type. The

Specimens of Wood Type, Borders,

Wood Type.

design was renamed Catchword

Rules, &c. After buying out his

The Tubbs Manufacturing

No. 18 after the completion of

partners and renaming the

Company also showed this

the company’s acquisition by

company eponymously in 1890,

design, in its c. 1906 Wood Type

the Hamilton Manufacturing

Heber Wells renamed this design

and Borders Catalogue Number Five,

Company in 1891.

Catch Word No. 94.

as Tubbs Logotypes No. 33.

Name used and first showing by other manufacturers: Tubbs·AWT / Catch Word No. 18 /

Name used and first showing by other manufacturers: Hamilton / Catchword No. 34 / 1891;

name changed to Catch Word No. 75 in 1891

Morgans & Wilcox / Catch Word No. 26 / c. 1885;

1883 Wells / Catch Word No. 34 / 1879;

Page’s cut renumbered by Hamilton after 1891 acquisition

name changed to No. 329 in 1890 catalog

& Baker’s 1887 Specimens of Holly Wood Type. The Tubbs Manufacturing Company also showed these designs, in its c. 1906 Wood Type and Borders Catalogue Number Five, as Tubbs Logotypes No. 41, No. 39, and No. 40.

Type Specimens

Calendar Logotypes

375

Calendar No. 13

This perpetual calendar was first

The “April” block is missing

The Hamilton Manufacturing

shown in the Hamilton Manu-

from the collection. As Kelly did

Company

facturing Company’s 1894 broad-

not include this calendar set in

10-line

side Perpetual Calendar Sets.

his 1964 folio, and there is no

The Tubbs Manufacturing

accounting of individual blocks

Company also showed this

in either the HRC or Design Divi-

design in its c. 1906 Wood Type

sion audits, it is not clear whether

and Borders Catalogue Number Five,

the “April” block was missing

as Perpetual Calendar No. 8. The

when Kelly acquired the set.

Hamilton Manufacturing Company’s Calendar No. 13 worked as a chromatic when paired with Calendar No. 12.

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

Cuts

376

The lack of any surviving sales materials and the general dearth of

while the interior details would have required intensive hand

these items in collections today may provide enough evidence that

finishing. No dates or manufacturers are included with the cuts,

these cuts were not mass-produced but more likely cut as custom

as this information cannot be substantiated with the surviving

orders. The exterior contours were cut with a router-pantograph,

specimen catalog record.

Ambulatory Animals

Type Specimens

Volant Animals

377

Wheat

Emblems

Type Specimens

V

Adobe Wood Type, Adobe Originals, 1988–1994

379

Adobe Wood Type 1 (1990); Cary Graphic Arts Collection, Rochester Institute of Technology.

Adobe Wood Type 1 (Spring 1990) Listed are all films of proofs from Kelly’s

Cottonwood (Gothic Tuscan, Wells & Webb, 1854)

personal collection with supplemental

—Joy Redick, Barbara Lind, Kim Buker Chansler

proofs from the Smithsonian’s Morgan Press Collection. Kelly’s five-hundred-word

Ironwood (Antique Tuscan No. 10, William H. Page & Company,

essay “A Commentary on American Wood

1859)—Joy Redick

Type” was included in the printed brochure. Juniper (No. 110, William H. Page Wood Type Company, 1879; Bolivian, Morgans & Wilcox Manufacturing Company and American Wood Type Company, 1882)—Joy Redick Mesquite (Antique Tuscan No. 8, William H. Page & Company, 1859)—Joy Redick Ponderosa (No. 117, William H. Page Wood Type Company, 1879) —Kim Buker Chansler Wood Ornaments 1—Joy Redick, Barbara Lind

The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection

380

Adobe Wood Type 2 (1990); Cary Graphic Arts Collection, Rochester Institute of Technology.

Adobe Wood Type 2 (Fall 1990) Listed are all films of proofs from Kelly’s

Birch (No. 129, also known as Latin X Condensed or Peerless X

personal collection with supplemental

Condensed, William H. Page Wood Type Company, 1879; specimen

proofs from the Smithsonian’s Morgan

catalog from the Kemble Collection)—Kim Buker Chansler

Press Collection and the California Historical Society’s Kemble Collection. Kelly

Blackoak (Antique Extended, Allen/Nesbitt, 1838, but more closely

supplied text that was incorporated into

matches American Wood Type Company, 1882; proofs from Mor-

the printed brochure.

gan Press Collection)—Joy Redick Madrone (Roman Extended, Allen/Nesbitt, 1838; proofs from Morgan Press Collection)—Barbara Lind Poplar (or Cedar, the working name of the face) (Gothic, Leavenworth, c. 1836–1838; from Kelly’s film negatives, including photographic copy of Leavenworth specimen catalog)—Barbara Lind Willow (Clarendon XX Condensed, William H. Page & Company, 1859; from Kelly’s film negatives, collection specimen)—Joy Redick Wood Ornaments 2—Joy Redick, Barbara Lind

Type Specimens

381

Adobe Wood Type 3 (1994); Cary Graphic Arts Collection, Rochester Institute of Technology.

Adobe Wood Type 3 (Spring 1994) Pepperwood (Celtic No. 1 Open, William H. Page Wood Type Company, 1878)—Kim Buker Chansler, Carl Crossgrove, Carol Twombly Rosewood (Clarendon Ornamented, William H. Page & Company, 1859)—Kim Buker Chansler, Carl Crossgrove, Carol Twombly Zebrawood (Doric Ornamented, Wells & Webb, 1854) —Kim Buker Chansler, Carl Crossgrove, Carol Twombly

Western Union Telegram announcing the publication of American Wood Type 1828–1900 in Kelly’s personal correspondence held at the HRC at The University of Texas at Austin.

Telegram from J Koefoed to R R Kelly, October 13, 1969. Rob Roy Kelly Collection, MS-02257. Harry Ransom Center, The University of Texas at Austin.

appendixes

Appendix A

Hand List of 1964 Folio

383

Folio box with title plate, 1964; final versions of fly sheet, 1964; final versions of index page, 1964, Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection, Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas.

Kelly, Rob Roy. Wood Type: Specimens of Nineteenth-Century American Wood Type with Introductory Notes. Kansas City, MO: Rob Roy Kelly, 1964. Print. Issued in a tan buckram-covered solander box with printed paper label on front cover, titled: Wood Type: Specimens of Nineteenth-Century American Wood Type with Introductory Notes. Consists of twelve pages of introductory notes and an index printed offset, bound with paper wrappers and black plastic spiral spine, titled: American Wood Types 1828–1900, Volume One; 95 loose broadside plates, numbered, displaying 130 complete alphabets, some printed in black and red, and two additional unnumbered leaves showing some woodcuts used in that period and letterpress-printed from the collection. Text by Rob Roy Kelly, with editing by Georgia O’Connor. Part of the text was previously published in Design Quarterly, No. 56, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota. Limited edition of forty-five copies pulled on a hand press from wooden type. Thirty-five copies distributed by the Chiswick Book Shop, 45 West 57th Street, New York City. Of the forty-five numbered copies produced, thirty-two are held in currently known locations, documented as follows. The bibliographic descriptions and library call numbers are copied from each institution. Acquisition information is included where known. As yet unlocated folio numbers are marked in red.

appendixes

No. 1

No. 15

Theodore R. McKeldin Library, University of Mary-

Robertson Davies Library, Massey College, University

land, College Park, Maryland [11] p., [97] leaves of

of Toronto, Toronto, Canada, 1 portfolio ([10] p., 95,

plates : ill. ; 58 cm. Special Collections Oversize Z250

[2] leaves of plates) : ill. ; 59 cm Rare Book BIB K29.9

.K4 1964.

am 1964 FF.

No. 2

No. 16

No. 3

384

Hugh M. Morris Library, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware, 1 portfolio ([12] p., 95, [2] leaves of

No. 4

plates : ill.) ; 60 cm. Special Collections Z 250.A2 K45x

Letterform Archive, San Francisco, California, 1 port-

1964.

folio ([12] p., 95, [2] leaves of plates : ill.); 61 cm. Type Reference Kelly Folio.

Includes two sheets displaying Morgan Press headliner type not included in pagination, measuring 28 cm.

This copy was previously listed for sale in Blackwell’s Rare Books, catalog B16 (c. 2010).

No. 17

No. 5

ℓ. : ill., 97 plates ; 57.3 cm Archives & Special Collec-

No. 6 No. 7 Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) Library, Queens, New York [12] p., plus 97 plates, in portfolio. MoMA Queens Special Collections Flat 65 K35. No. 8 American Antiquarian Society, Worcester, Massachusetts, 6 leaves : ill., 97 plates ; 57.3 cm. Z698 K29 and PF. Purchased from the Chiswick Book Shop on September 14, 1964.

Amherst College Library, Amherst, Massachusetts, 6 tions / xx / RBR US 1964 K2. No. 18 Robert Grabhorn Collection, Book Arts & Special Collections Center, San Francisco Public Library, San Francisco, California [12] p., 95, [2] leaves of plates : ill. ; 57 cm, in case 60 cm MAIN—6th Floor—SpColl Stacks—Oversize Flat, GRABHORN TYP REF. No. 19 William Colgate Printing Collection, Rare Books Library, McGill University, Montreal, Canada [10] p., [97] leaves of plates : ill. (some col.) ; 60 cm. Colgate I.

No. 9

Kelly.

No. 10

No. 20

No. 11

97 leaves of plates (some col.) ; 61cm. Brooklyn Closed

Graphic Arts Collection (GAX), Princeton University Library, Princeton, New Jersey [10] p., 95, [2] leaves of plates : ill. (woodcuts) ; 60 cm. Oversize 2014–0022E. No. 12 Bird Library, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York, 7 leaves, 97 specimen sheets ; 57 cm. Bird-Special Collection Z250.5.K29 A5 ff. No. 13 Butler Rare Books and Manuscripts Library, Columbia University, New York City, New York, v. illus., plates. BOOKART Z250 .K29 1964. Acquired by means of the Albert Ulmann Fund for the Graphic Arts Collection.

No. 14 John M. Wing Foundation on the History of Printing Collection, Newberry Library, Chicago, Illinois [12] p., 97 leaves of plates (some col.) ; 61 cm. Case Wing oversize Z 40583.4595.

Pratt Institute Libraries, Brooklyn, New York [12] p., Stacks Oversize 745.6 K29. Date stamped December 14, 1964 (unclear if this is an acquisition or processing date).

No. 21 Godwin-Ternbach Museum Library, Queens College, Flushing, New York, 12-page bound introduction, 95 individual sheets Shelf 30B. Presented as a gift to the museum; cataloged June 1, 2011. Credit and heartfelt thanks to Susan Shaw for connecting this copy to the list.

No. 22 Special Collections and University Archives, San Diego State University Library, San Diego, California, 1 portfolio ([12] p., 95, [2] leaves of plates : ill.) ; 61 × 48 cm Special Collections Folio Z250.A2 K45 1964. Gift of Dick B. Yale, 2002.

appendixes

385

Three versions of the bound paper cover: early version 1958 (left), early version 1959 (middle), Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum; final version 1964 (right), Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection, Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas.

No. 23

No. 26

Rare Books Collection, Andersen Library, University

Grolier Club, New York City, New York [10] p., 95,

of Minnesota–Twin Cities, Minneapolis, Minne-

[2] leaves of plates : ill. (woodcuts) ; 60 cm. \35.2\

sota, 1 portfolio (12 unnumbered pages, 95 pages, 2

K29\1964\Folio 12/31/99 C.

unnumbered leaves of plates : illustrations) ; 61 × 48 cm.; volume Flat Z 019.31 f Am355. No. 24 Fine Arts Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, v. illus., plates. Issued in portfolio. Special Collections Z250 .A2 K29. Purchased at Chiswick Book Shop, August 19, 1964, for $75. It should be noted that correspondence between Al Gowan and Rob Roy Kelly about the acquisition of this volume is held at the Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas at Austin.

No. 25

Acquired in 2002 in excellent condition, with slight wear on the lower spine and edges and water spots on the box cover; coil binding in good shape; all pages in good condition.

No. 27 No. 28 Toronto Public Library, Special Art Room Stacks, Toronto, Canada, Vol. 1: [10] p., [97] leaves of plates Special Collections Oversize, 655.24 K25 V. 1. No. 29 Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California–Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California [12] p., 97 leaves of plates (some col.) ; 61cm. Special Collections Oversize ** Z250.K298a.

appendixes

No. 30 No. 31 No. 32 Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas, Austin, Texas [12] p., 96 leaves of plates (some col.) ; 61cm., missing plate number 28.

386

Acquired through Dr. Bernard Karpel in late 1966; transferred to the Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection held by the Design Division, College of Fine Arts, in 1993. Karpel acquired this copy when he purchased the collection from Kelly in mid-1966. In the acquisition files at the HRC, correspondence between Karpel and Donald Goodall, chair of the Department of Art, states that this was the “last unsold copy of the folio.”

No. 33 Special Collections Research Center, Temple University Libraries, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania [10] p., 95, [2] leaves of plates : plates ; 60 cm. Z250.A2K4 1964 ff. Purchased with Caplan Funds on December 13, 1984.

No. 34 Private Collection, Megan O’Connell, Salt & Cedar, Detroit, Michigan

No. 40 Burton Historical Collection, Rare Books, Detroit Public Library, Detroit, Michigan, 6 . : ill., 97 plates ; 57.3 cm. 655.24 A53. This volume was originally held in the Technology and Science Department of the Detroit Public Library. Correspondence between Robert E. Runser of that department and Rob Roy Kelly about the acquisition of this volume is held at the Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas at Austin, and states that the folio was received before September 3, 1964, from the Chiswick Book Shop. The library records the acquisition as a “Purchase Gift of Friends of the Detroit Public Library, presented by the James B. Tintbra Family in Memory of John F Polakovic.”

No. 41 No. 42 No. 43 Special Collections and Archives, Kent State University Library, Kent, Ohio, 6 l. : ill., 97 plates ; 57.3 cm Special Collections f Z250 .K4 1964. No. 44 Cary Graphic Arts Collection, Wallace Library, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, New York

No. 35

[12] p., 97 leaves of plates (some col.) ; 61 cm x655.24

Special Collections at the University of Arizona

K29a / Flat 105356.

Libraries, Tucson, Arizona [12] pages, 97 leaves of No. 36

Wallace Library also holds a second unnumbered and unsigned copy of the introductory matter, with plates numbered 72, 66, and 73 in the binding.

Baker-Berry Library, Dartmouth College, Hanover,

No. 45

plates (some color) ; 61 cm.. Z250 .K4 1964.

New Hampshire [12] p., 97 leaves of plates (some col.) ; 61cm Z250 .K4. No. 37 No. 38 Chapin Library, Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts, 1 portfolio ([12] p., 95, [2] leaves of plates : ill.) ; 61 cm, (lacks plate 65) Gr.Arts Kelly ffolio. Gift of William Gilger III in September 1964.

No. 39 Huntington Library, San Marino, California, 1 v. (variously paged) : ill. (part col.) ; 60 cm Rare Books 376980.

Houghton Library, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 6 ℓ. : ill., 97 plates ; 57.3 cm. HOU PF TypTS 970.64.447. Gift of Henry Schniewind on November 27, 1970.

appendixes

387

Two versions of plate number 5: early version 1958 (left), Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum; final version 1964 (right), Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection, Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas.

In addition to the forty-five complete folios, smaller truncated sets were also made and distributed, most likely directly by Kelly. These smaller sets included the twelve pages of introductory text and the index bound in printed paper wrappers with a black plastic spiral spine and included three of the numbered broadside plates bound at the end the text. It is as yet unclear how many truncated sets were made available. Seven of these sets have been located. The Special Collections Library at the University of Kentucky holds a set with plates 70, 82, and 85. Folio Collection 655.24 K298 Folio 344. Special Collections at the University of Buffalo Library holds a set with plates 14, 29, and 71. Rare Books Oversize Z250.A2 K35 1964. The Milne Library at the State University of New York at Geneseo holds a set with plates 49, 57, and 58. Special Collections X Z250.A2 K39, vol. 1. The Cary Graphic Arts Collection at the Rochester Institute of Technology, in addition to No. 44 (as noted above), holds another truncated set with plates numbered 66, 72, and 73. Michael Babcock at interrobang letterpress holds a set with plates 18, 32, and 69. The University of California at Santa Cruz library holds the twelve-page introductory text and index bound in printed paper wrappers with a black plastic spiral spine. No plates are included. Spec Coll Oversize Z250 .K45 1964 Barbara Farnsworth, Bookseller, ABAA (West Cornwall, Connecticut), had a set for sale that included plates 29, 46, and 56.

appendixes

Appendix B

388

Bibliography of Kelly Texts and Collected Papers

Works by Rob Roy Kelly

Works Edited by Rob Roy Kelly

Kelly, Rob Roy. “American Wood Type.” Design Quarterly, no. 56, edited by Georgia Beaverson. Minneapolis: Walker Art Center, January 1963.

Kelly, Rob Roy, ed. A New Series of Old Wood Type Faces Available at Weimer, Complete from A to Z. Indianapolis: Weimer Typesetting Company, 1970.

———. “American Wood Type.” Type Talks, no. 130. New York: Advertising Typographers Association of America, September 1963. ———. American Wood Types 1828–1900, Volume One, edited by Georgia O’Connor. Kansas City: Rob Roy Kelly, August 1964. ———. “Wood Letters in the 20th Century.” Matrix, no. 7. Rochester, NY: Rochester Institute of Technology, Office of Educational Research, January 1965. ———. American Wood Type 1828–1900: Notes on the Evolution of Decorated and Large Types and Comments on Related Trades of the Period. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1969. ———. “Collecting Wood Type.” Publishers’ Weekly, vol. 196, no. 18, pp. 64–66. New York: R. R. Bowker Company, November 3, 1969. ———. “American Wood Types.” Innovations in Paper, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 2–4. Plymouth Meeting, PA: Weyerhaeuser Company, January 1970.

———, ed. Wood Type Alphabets, 100 Fonts. New York: Dover Publications, June 1, 1977.

Works That Reference Rob Roy Kelly’s Works Hölscher, Eberhard. “Treasures of American Foundries.” Gebrauchsgraphik, vol. 34, no. 10, pp. 20–28. Munich: F. Bruckman KG, October 1963. “American Wood Type.” Der Druckspiegel: Ein Archiv für deutsches und internationales graphisches Schaffen, no. 12, p. 73, December 1965. South Street Seaport Museum, ed. Wood Type at Bowne. New York: Bowne & Co., Stationers, 1990.

Rob Roy Kelly Collection Exhibition Catalogs

———. American Wood Type, 1828–1900. 1st paperback ed. Boston: Da Capo Press, June 1, 1977.

Brattinga-Kooy, W. Printings of Wooden Letters from Kelly’s Collection. Hilversum: Steendrukkerij de Jong & Co., 1965.

———. “Commentary on American Wood Type.” Adobe Wood Type 1, edited by Judy Walthers von Alten. Mountain View, CA: Adobe Systems, January 1990.

———. “Wooden Letters from the Kelly Collection.” In Two American Collections: Imprints of New York Manhole Covers, and the Kelly Woodblock Prints. Frankfurt: Knauer Expo, 1965.

———. Review of DeLittle 1888–1988: The First Years in a Century of Wood Letter Manufacture, 1888–1895, by Claire Bolton. Fine Print, vol. 16, no. 2, pp. 75–76. San Francisco: Pro Arte Libri, Summer 1990. ———. “Search and Research.” In Silver Buckle Press, Specimen Book of Wood Type: From the Collection of the Silver Buckle Press, pp. 5–9. Madison, WI: Silver Buckle Press, 1999. ———. American Wood Type: 1828–1900. Reissued paperback ed. Saratoga, CA: Liber Apertus Press, April 2010.

appendixes

Reviews of Rob Roy Kelly’s Works

Rob Roy Kelly Correspondence and Papers

Baughman, Roland. “A Bygone Era in American Typography.” Columbia Library Columns, vol. 14, no. 2, p. 44. New York: Friends of the Columbia Libraries, February 1965.

Cataloged papers and printed materials

Minneapolis College of Art and Design

connected to Kelly’s research are archived

MCAD Archives—Faculty folders: Kelly, Rob

at the Harry Ransom Center at the Uni-

Roy (1952–2004), Drawer 31.

Eckman, James. “The Romance of Wood Type.” Printing Impressions, edited by James Burns Jr., vol. 12, no. 12, pp. 64–65. Philadelphia: North American Publishing Co., May 1970.

of Technology’s Cary Graphic Arts Col-

Newberry Library Archives

lection. There is also a small selection of

NL Archives 03/21/01/01, Series 01: James

correspondence held in the Rare Book and

M. Wells, Box 2, Folders 46–59; Folder 64

Manuscript Library at Columbia University

Papers, Correspondence; Cohen, Herman;

in New York and at the Newberry Library

Chiswick Book Shop; Kelly, Rob Roy.

Lawson, Alexander S. “Wood Type—Story of Printers’ Craft.” Printing Impressions, edited by James Burns Jr., vol. 12, no. 9, pp. 48–49. Philadelphia: North American Publishing Co., February 1970. McLean, Ruari. “19th Century American Wood Type.” The Connoisseur: An Illustrated Magazine for Collectors, edited by L.G.G. Ramsey, vol. 159, no. 642, p. 265, August 1965. Mosely, James. “Rob Roy Kelly’s Wood Letters.” Motif: A Journal of the Visual Arts, edited by Ruari McLean, no. 13, p. 93. London: Shenval Press, January 1967. “Review of American Wood Type by Rob Roy Kelly.” The British Printer, vol. 83, pp. 102–6. London: Pro Arte Libri, May 1970.

versity of Texas and at Rochester Institute

(NL) in Chicago, along with information pertinent to the holding institutions held

Cohen, Herman, Herman Cohen correspondence

in the research archives at the Kansas City

and notes, VAULT Wing MS 21.

Art Institute (KCAI) and the Minneapolis

NL Archives 08/03/40, Series 40: Richard C.

College of Art and Design (MCAD).

Johnson, Box 1, Folder 18 Correspondence File, Chiswick Book Shop (Cohen, Herman).

Cary Graphic Arts Collection

Rob Roy Kelly Collection, Cary Graphic

Washington University Libraries

Arts Collection, Rochester Institute of

Pasteups for American Wood Type 1828–1900 by

Technology. Collection Identifier:

Rob Roy Kelly, Z250.A2 K42 1969 fol. Wash-

CSC–0098.

ington University Libraries, Department of

http://twcarchivesspace.rit.edu//

Special Collections.

repositories/3/resources/1059. Harry Ransom Center

Rob Roy Kelly Collection, Box/Folder 1, HRC Archives 373.15; Bernard Karpel correspondence, Box/Folder 1, MS–02257 entire box, Box/Folder 1, Collection acquisition file, Box/Folder 1, Correspondence. Kansas City Art Institute

KCAI Archives Basement—Kelly, Rob Roy, 1925–2004. https://kc-towers.searchmobius.org/ record=b1995856~S10. KCAI Archives Basement—Faculty Archives. https://kc-towers.searchmobius.org/ record=b1995804~S10.

389

appendixes

Appendix C

Bibliography of Kelly’s Donations, with Current Locations

Over the course of Kelly’s research, he uncovered a number of nineteenth- and twentieth-century wood type specimen sales catalogs. He either purchased these catalogs personally and directly donated them to libraries or facilitated the donation of the catalogs to libraries by their owners. Having these catalogs moved to libraries where they would be properly documented, restored, and secured ensured that a broader audience of future scholars and students would have access to them. The items are listed here in the bibliographic description used by the holding institutions.

390

New York Public Library On June 11, 1959, William Thurman, superintendent of the Printing and Bindery Office at NYPL, acknowledged the receipt of Kelly’s loan of two films for duplication as

Hamilton Mfg Co. Specimens of Wood Type manufactured by The Hamilton Manufacturing Co., Two Rivers, Wis. January 1892. 265 pages.

microfilms/microforms.

*KF+++ 1892 (Hamilton manufacturing

Hamilton Manufacturing Co. (Two Rivers,

wood type) v.1 and v.2

company, Two Rivers, Wis. Specimens of

Wis.). Specimens of wood type: Wood ornaments, flourishes, dashes, silhouettes, catchwords, corners, fractions, calendars and borders; [Microform] Microfilm. New York : New York Public Library, [19–]. 1 microfilm reel ; 35 mm. Microforms Rm 119 (*Z–871) Wm. H. Page & Co. Wood type manufactured by Wm. H. Page & Co., Greeneville, Conn; [Microform] Microfilm. New York : New York Public Library, [19–]. 1 microfilm reel ; 35 mm. Microforms Rm 119 (*Z–871)

On January 26, 1961, Edward G. Freehafer, director of the NYPL, acknowledged the donation of “three early catalogs of wood type” by the Hamilton Manufacturing Company, with the encouragement of Rob Roy Kelly. Hamilton’s Specimens of New Process Wood Types (uncataloged) Hamilton’s Holly Wood Type (uncataloged) William H. Page & Co. Wood Type, Manufactured by Wm. H. Page & Co., Greenville, Conn. 1

On February 24, 1960, NYPL acknowledged its sending of a thank-you to Mr. Thompson of the American Printing Company in Minneapolis for the “large wood type

August 1872. 36 pages. Handwritten notation on page 2—“*Howard Nack 25 Jan 1961” JFG-74-18 William H. Page & Co Wood type

catalog”: “Rare Book Room, Classmark AG Mark 205.” This is very likely the specimen catalog rebound by the library in a two-volume set, with the binding dated May 5, 1961. Volume 1 gathered pages 1–133, and volume 2 gathered pages 134–265.

On March 4, 1963, NYPL acknowledged Rob Roy Kelly’s gift of Design Quarterly, No. 56. 3-MNA (Design Quarterly) no. 53–61 (1961–64) ASB—Periodicals and Microforms Rm 119

appendixes

Special Collections, Rare Book and Manuscripts Library, Columbia University

391

Between July and November 1961, Kelly

Label—Presented by Rob Roy Kelly

Hamilton Mfg Co. Specimens of New Process

donated three specimen catalogs from his

BOOKART Z 250 .A5 H18 1880

Wood Type. Undated [after 1891].

personal collection. Wm. H. Page Co. Specimens of Wood Type Manufactured by Wm. H. Page & Co. July 1870. [54] leaves. ill. (3 col.) ; 33 cm Label—Presented by Rob Roy Kelly (donor card states “received 11–13–61”) BOOKART Z 250 .A5 W67 1870 Wm. H. Page & Co. Specimens of Chromatic Wood Type, Borders, &c. 1874. manufactured by Wm. H. Page & Co. Label—Presented by Rob Roy Kelly BOOKART Z 250 .A5 W67 1874 Wm. H. Page Co. Specimens of New Process Wood Type Manufactured by The Wm. H. Page Wood Type Co. May 1890. 94 p. : ill. ; 19 cm Label—Presented by Mrs Rob Roy Kelly (donor card states “received 7–31–61”) BOOKART Z 250 .A5 H18 1891

Hamilton & Baker. Specimens of Holly Wood Type. 1 May 1887. 59 unnumbered leaves, printed both sides. Bound. Label—Presented by Rob Roy Kelly BOOKART Z 250 .A5 H18 1887 Hamilton & Baker. Specimens of Wood Type and Borders. 1 Sept 1888. 61 pages. Label—Presented by Hamilton Manufacturing Co Rare BK, BK Arts Z 250 .A5 H18 1888 Hamilton & Baker. Calendar Sets. Undated [before January 1889]. 1 broadside : ill. ; 65 × 22 cm Handwritten notation on back—“Gift of Hamilton Manufacturing Co.” BOOKART Z 250s .A5 H1811 1889 Broadside Hamilton Mfg Co. Specimens of Wood Type

On January 31, 1961, Kelly hand-delivered twenty-five specimen catalogs and a packet of thirty miscellaneous “sheets of wood type” items, mostly undated, to Columbia’s Special Collections Library. Hamilton & Katz. Specimens of Holly Wood Type. No Date [ca 1882–1884]. 13 unnumbered leaves, printed one side

and Borders. 1 March 1889. 64 pages. Two copies. Label—Presented by Hamilton Manufacturing Co Rare BK, BK Arts Z 250 .A5 H18 1 1889 Hamilton Mfg Co. Specimens of Wood Type and Borders. 1 August 1889. 110 pages. Label—Presented by Hamilton Manufacturing Co BOOKART Z 250 .A5 H18 1889

13 unnumbered leaves, printed one side. No apparent label or handwritten note. Rare BK Z 250 .A5 H18 1890 Broadside Hamilton Mfg Co. Specimens of Wood Type. January 1892. 265 pages. Bound. Label—Presented by Hamilton Manufacturing Co Rare BK, BK Arts Z 250 .A5 H18 1892 Hamilton Mfg Co. Specimens of Wood Type and Borders. 1 January 1892. 104 pages. Label—Presented by Hamilton Mfg Co Rare BK, BK Arts Z 250 .A5 H181 1892 Hamilton Mfg Co. Specimens of New Process Wood Type. Undated [after 1892]. 110 pages. Label—Presented by Hamilton Manufacturing Co BOOKART Z 250 .A5 H1811 1892 Hamilton Mfg Co. New Series of De Vinne Faces. 1 June 1895. 12 pages. Label—Presented by Hamilton Manufacturing Co BOOKART Z 250 .A5 H18 1895 Hamilton Mfg Co. Hamilton’s Wood Type. 1 Sept 1901. 46 pages. Two copies. Label—Presented by Hamilton Manufacturing Co BOOKART Z 250 .A5 H18 1901

appendixes

392

Hamilton Mfg Co. Wood Type and Borders.

Hamilton Mfg Co. Gothics and Wood Border.

The Wm. H. Page Wood Type Co. Specimens

(Tubbs No. 5, new cover) 1 Sept 1918.

1 Sept 1927.

of Wood Type Manufactured by The Wm. H. Page

192 pages.

16 pages.

Wood Type Co., Norwich, Conn. 1 April 1878.

Label—Presented by Hamilton Manufac-

Handwritten notation on page 2—“Gift of

39 unnumbered leaves, printed one side.

turing Co

Hamilton Manufacturing Co.”

Label—Presented by Rob Roy Kelly

BOOKART Z 250 .A5 H18 1918 Folio

BOOKART Z 250 .A5 H1811 1927 Broadside

BOOKART Z 250 .A5 W67 1878

Hamilton Mfg Co. Cheltenham Faces. 1 Feb

Hamilton Mfg Co. Gothics Republic and Poster.

The Wm. H. Page Wood Type Co. Page’s Wood

1927.

before 1 Sept 1928.

Type Album. Vol 1, No. 1–2, April and July,

4 pages.

16 pages.

1879.

Handwritten notation on page 2—“Gift of

Handwritten notation on page 2—“Gift of

Two issues.

Hamilton Manufacturing Co.”

Hamilton Manufacturing Co.”

Labels—Presented by Hamilton Mfg Co

BOOKART Z 250 .A5 H1812 1927 Broadside

BOOKART Z 250 .A5 H18 1928 Broadside

BOOKART Z 250 .A5 W67 1879

Hamilton Mfg Co. Wood Type. 1 March 1927.

Hamilton Mfg Co. Wood Type … Poster

The Wm. H. Page Wood Type Co. Specimens

12 pages.

Cheltenham. 1 Sept 1929.

of Wood Type and Borders Manufactured by The

Handwritten notation on page 2—“Gift of

16 pages. Two copies. c.1 before 1 January

Wm. H. Page Wood Type Co. 1 May 1882.

Hamilton Manufacturing Co.”

1929; c.2 dated 1 January 1929.

82 pages.

BOOKART Z 250 .A5 H18 1927 Broadside

Handwritten notation on page 2—“Gift of

Label—Presented by Hamilton Mfg Co

Hamilton Manufacturing Co.”

BOOKART Z 250 .5 W67 1882

Hamilton Mfg Co. Unit Gothic. [before 1 Sept

BOOKART Z 250 .A5 H18 1929 c.1 & c.2

1927].

Broadside

4 pages, oversized.

The Wm. H. Page Wood Type Co. Specimens of Page’s Wood Type and Borders for sale by

Label—

Hamilton Mfg Co. Specimens of Large Type.

Schniedwend & Lee, Printers’ Warehouse, Chi-

BOOKART Z 250 .A5 H181 1927

Undated [c. 1930].

cago. 1883.

36 pages.

66 pages.

Handwritten notation on page 2—“Gift of

Label—Presented by Hamilton Mfg Co

Hamilton Manufacturing Co.”

BOOKART Z 250 .A5 W67 1883

BOOKART Z 250 .A5 H18 1930 Broadside The phrase “sheets of wood type” appears Hamilton Mfg Co. Display Gothics in Wood

to refer to a packet of thirty miscellaneous

Type. 1 January 1932.

items, mostly undated: (a) Bulletin Boards,

32 pages.

Hamilton & Katz (six copies); (b) Hamilton’s

Label—Presented by Hamilton Mfg Co

Patent Display Chart No. 2, Hamilton & Baker

BOOKART Z 250 .A5 H18 1932

(three copies); (c) Notice. Extra sets of letters furnished (ten copies); (d) School Chart, Hamilton & Baker (five copies); (f) Sunday School Chart, Hamilton & Baker (six copies).

appendixes

Appendix D

Rob Roy Kelly’s Teaching Appointments

Kelly’s Full-Time Teaching Experience

Kelly’s Work as an Educational Consultant

Minneapolis School of Art, Minneapolis, MN

Carleton College, Northfield, MN, 1963

Fall 1951–Spring 1952 and

University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, 1965

Fall 1955–Spring 1964

Washburn College, Topeka, KS, 1965

Kelly established the Printmaking Depart-

University of Denver, Denver, CO, 1971

ment in 1955 and the Graphic Design

University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, 1972

Department in 1957.

Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY, 1972 and 1974–1975

The Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, MO

Philadelphia College of Art, Philadelphia, PA, 1981

Fall 1964–Spring 1974

Atlanta School of Art, Atlanta, GA, 1987

Kelly established the Graphic Design

Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI, 1990–1991

Department in 1964. Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY Fall 1974–Spring 1975 Kelly served as the Kern Institute Professor of Communications. Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA Fall 1977–Spring 1983 Kelly served as an Andrew Mellon Fellow in 1977–1978. Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ Fall 1983–Spring 1989 and Fall 1998–Spring 2000 Kelly established the Graphic Design Program in 1983. Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI Fall 1990–Spring 1992

393

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Alembic Press. 1993. Specimens of Wood Type Held at the Alembic Press. Oxford: Alembic Press.

Gray, Nicolete. 1976. Nineteenth Century Ornamented Typefaces. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Angelica Press. 1975. Wood Type of the Angelica Press. Brooklyn, NY: Angelica Press.

———. 1980. “Slab-Serif Design in England 1815–1845.” Journal of the Printing Historical Society (edited by Michael Twyman), no. 15 (January): 1–35.

Annenberg, Maurice. 1994. Type Foundries of America and Their Catalogs. New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll Press. Bain, Peter, and Paul Shaw. 1999. Blackletter: Type and National Identity, a Catalogue of the Exhibition. New York: American Printing History Association. Barnes, Paul. 2019. “Caslon Ionic.” Commercial Type: Commercial Classics, September 1. https://commercialclassics. com/catalogue/caslon_ionic. ———. 2019. “Caslon Rounded.” Commercial Type: Commercial Classics, September 1. https://commercialclassics.com/ catalogue/caslon_rounded. Baughman, Roland. 1965. “A Bygone Era in American Typography.” Columbia Library Columns 14, no. 2 (February): 44. Belanger, Terry, Victoria Brush, Marc Lippman, and Christine Ruggere. 1980. Specimens of Wood Type Presented to the School of Library Service, Columbia University, by Maurice Annenberg. New York: Book Arts Press. Berkson, William. 2011. “Readability and Revival: The Case of Caslon.” Printing History, new series, no. 9, pp. 3–24. Christianson, Elin B. 1972. “Mergers in the Publishing Industry, 1958–1970.” Journal of Library History (1966–1972) 7, no. 1, pp. 5–32. https://www.jstor.org/stable/25540337. Clouse, Doug. 2008. Mackellar, Smiths & Jordan: Typographic Tastemakers of the Late Nineteenth Century. New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll Press. Consuegra, David. 2004. American Type: Design and Designers. New York: Allworth Communications. Dixon, Catherine, and Eric Kindel. 2018. Typeform Dialogues. Edited by Eric Kindel. 2nd edition. London: Hyphen Press. Downer, John. 2002. “Classifying Fairplex.” Emigre Magazine, no. 63 (January): 31–33. Duensing, Paul Hayden. 1972. “Introduction.” In Specimens of Electrotype Cuts, Initials, Corners, Ornaments, Tints, Etc., Etc., & Etc., Manufactured by James Conner’s Sons, United States Type Foundry, New York City. New York: James Conner’s Sons, 1888; facsimile ed., Hastings-on-Hudson, NY: Morgans & Morgans.

———. 1986. A History of Lettering, Creative Experiment, and Letter Identity. Oxford: Phaidon Press. Grohsgal, Leah Weinry. 2014. “Chronicling America’s Historic German Newspapers and the Growth of the American Ethnic Press.” National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), July 2. https://www.neh.gov/divisions/preservation/featured-project/chronicling-americas-historic-german-newspapers-and-the-grow. Handover, P. M. 1964. “Black Serif: The Career of the Nineteenth-Century’s Versatile Invention—the Slab-Serifed Letter Design.” Motif: A Journal of the Visual Arts (edited by Ruari McLean) 12 (January): 79–89. ———. 1961. “Letters without Serifs.” Motif: A Journal of the Visual Arts (edited by Ruari McLean) 6 (Spring): 66–81. Horn, John. 2008. Specimens of Wood Type Held at the Shooting Star Press, the Private Press of John Horn. Little Rock, AR: Shooting Star Press. Johnson, A. F. 1970. “Fat Faces: Their History, Forms, and Use.” In Selected Essays on Book Printing, edited by Percy H. Muir. Amsterdam: Van Gendt & Co. ———. 1930. “The Evolution of the Modern Roman.” The Library: A Quarterly Review of Bibliography (edited by A.W. Pollard) s4-XI, no. 3, pp. 66–81. https://doi.org/10.1093/ library/s4-XI.3.353 Kühne, Dafi. 2019. “Alternatives to Wood Type in the Twentieth Century.” Master’s thesis, University of Reading, Reading, UK. Loy, William Edward. 2009. Nineteenth-Century American Designers and Engravers of Type, edited by Alastair M. Johnston and Stephen O. Saxe. New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll Press. McGrew, Mac. 1993. American Metal Typefaces of the Twentieth Century. New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll Press. McLean, Ruari. 1946. “An Examination of Egyptians.” Alphabet and Image (edited by Robert Harling), no. 1 (April): 39–51. ———. 1965. “19th Century American Wood Type.” The Connoisseur: An Illustrated Magazine for Collectors (edited by L.G.G. Ramsey) 159, no. 642 (August): 265.

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Miklavčič, Mitja. 2006. “Three Chapters in the Development of Clarendon/Ionic Typefaces.” Master’s thesis, Typeface Design, University of Reading, Reading, UK. https:// web.archive.org/web/20111125001608/http://www. typefacedesign.org/resources/essay/MitjaMiclavcic_ essay_scr.pdf. Mosely, James. 1959. “Egyptian Expanded.” Motif: A Journal of the Visual Arts (edited by Ruari McLean), no. 3 (September): 102–3. ———. 1967. “Rob Roy Kelly’s Wood Letters.” Motif: A Journal of the Visual Arts (edited by Ruari McLean), no. 13 (January): 93. ———. 1999. The Nymph and the Grot: The Revival of the Sanserif Letter. London: Friends of St. Bride Library. ———. 2014. “Recasting Caslon Old Face.” Typefoundry (blog), January 4. http://typefoundry.blogspot.com/2009/01/ recasting-caslon-old-face.html. Mullen, Robert A. 2005. Recasting a Craft: St. Louis Typefounders Respond to Industrialization. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press. Ovink, G. Willem. 1971. “Nineteenth-Century Reactions against the Didone Type Model—II.” Quaerendo 1, no. 4, pp. 282–301. https://doi.org/10.1163/ 157006971X00239. ———. 1972. “Nineteenth-Century Reactions against the Didone Type Model—III.” Quaerendo 2, no. 2, pp. 122–28. https://doi.org/10.1163/157006972X00229. Reynolds, Dan. 2018. “Midolline: How a Frenchman Became Germany’s First Type Designer.” TypeOff, September 23. http://www.typeoff.de/2018/09/how-a-frenchman-became-germanys-first-type-designer/. Rouze, Gordon. 2001. Wood Type: The Museum of Printing History Collection. Houston: Arm & Hammer Press. Saxe, Stephen O. 1985. “Introduction.” In A Specimen Book of Nineteenth-Century Printing Types, Borders, Ornaments, & Cuts in the Collection of Browne & Co., Stationers, by Browne & Co. New York: South Street Seaport Museum. Schneider, Daniel. 2015. “Wood Type Archaeology: An Inquiry Into Worker Skill In Wood Printing Type Manufacture.” Master’s Thesis, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, Michigan. Shaw, Paul. 2017. Revival Type: Digital Typefaces Inspired by the Past. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

Sherman, William H. 2008. “Toward a History of the Manicule.” In Used Books:º Marking Readers in Renaissance England (Material Texts), pp. 25–53. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. Soskolne, Sara. 2003. “Early Sanserif Types: The Origins, Emergence, and Evolution of a Brand New Typographic Style.” Master’s thesis, Typeface Design, University of Reading, Reading, UK. Stock-Allen, Nancy. 2016. Carol Twombly: Her Brief but Brilliant Career in Type Design. New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll Press. Stulik, Dusan C., and Art Kaplan. 2013. “The Atlas of Analytical Signatures of Photographic Processes.” Getty Conservation Institute. https://www.getty.edu/conservation/publications_resources/pdf_publications/pdf/ atlas_halftone.pdf. Thompson, Wendy. 2003. “The Printed Image in the West: Woodcut.” In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, October 1. https://www. metmuseum.org/toah/hd/wdct/hd_wdct.htm. Tracy, Walter. 1986. “The Sans-Serif.” In Letters of Credit, pp. 84–98. Boston: David R. Godine Publisher. ———. 1986. “The Slab-Serif.” In Letters of Credit, pp. 80–83. Boston: David R. Godine Publisher. Wall, David P. 2010. A Specimen Portfolio of Wood Type. Rochester, NY: Rochester Institute of Technology, Cary Graphic Arts Press. Whitney, William Dwight, and Benjamin Eli Smith. 1914. The Century Dictionary: An Encyclopedic Lexicon of the English Language, vol. 2. Century Company. https://books.google.com/books?id=h3PlAAAAMAAJ. Wolpe, Berthold. 1964. “Caslon Architectural.” Alphabet. International Annual of Letterforms. (edited by R.S. Hutchings), no. 1 (January): 57–72.

395

index

(

)

index

Note: page numbers in bold refer to pri-

ACME Wood Type Mfg. Co., 38–39

type process in, 40; in exhibitions, 20; impor-

mary typeface catalog entries; throughout

additive technique, 214

tance to collectors, 25; on manufacturer

the index, RRK refers to Rob Roy Kelly.

A. D. Farmer and Co., 88

stamps, 46; paperback editions, 18, 21, 23;

Adobe Systems digital wood type revival project,

process and publication of, 16–17; reception

19–20

396

Adobe Wood Type 1, 2, and 3 (digital font packages), 20, 379–381 Advertisers’ Cellutype Co., 38–39, 43 Aetna, 64, 94–95, 249

of, 17; RRK on origins of, 23; specimen catalog list in, 50; on truth, 31; type identification with, 30. See also specific faces by name American Wood Types 1828–1900: Volume One (folio) (Kelly), 6, 8, 12–13, 46

Aetna X Condensed, 326–327

animal cuts, 376–377

Alcorn, John, 24

Antique style: as category, 60–61; Clarendon and,

Aldine, 152–153

65; flexibility of, 96; Illustrated Matrix of

Aldine Expanded, 166–167

Visual Parameters, 62–63; Ionic/Clarendon

Aldine Ornamented, 154–155

differentiated from, 140; style descriptions,

Allen, Edwin, Co.: first Reverse design (Black Ground),

64–65

367; Grecian border, 355; router-pantograph,

Antique, 106–107

41; specimen catalogs, 51; timeline, 37, 38–39

Antique Clarendon style, 62–63, 65

Allen, Edwin, Co. faces: Antique, 106–107; Antique

Antique Condensed, 108–109

Condensed, 108–109; Antique Condensed,

Antique Double Outline Shade, 330

Cornered, 124; Antique Extended, 104–105,

Antique Egyptian style, 62–63, 64

380; Antique Tuscan, 65; Chromatics, 197;

Antique Extended, 104–105, 380

Gothic, 222–223; Gothic Condensed, 224;

Antique Light Face, 100–103

Gothic Condensed Shade Open Rounded, 226;

Antique Light Face Extended, 96–97

Grecian, 128–131; J. G. Cooley and, 49; Octagon,

Antique Light Face Extended Reversed, 98–99

230–231; Open Ornamented No. 3, 340–341;

Antique No. 7, 321, 350–351

Reverses, 99; Roman, 322–323; Roman Con-

Antique Ornamented, 330–331

densed, 324–325; Roman Extended, 90–91,

Antique Skeleton, 352–353

380; Roman Extra Condensed, 92–93; Roman

Antique Tuscan (serifed crossbar), 206–207

Shade Ornamented, 336–337; Shade Orna-

Antique Tuscan (serif-less crossbar), 204–205

mented, 336; Venetian, 344–345

Antique Tuscan Condensed, 208–209

Allied Wood Co., 38–39

Antique Tuscan Expanded, 202–203

American Antiquarian Society, Worcester, MA, 9

Antique Tuscan Extended, 104, 200–201

American Brass & Wood Type Co., 38–39

Antique Tuscan No. 1, 346–347

American Institute of Graphic Arts, 20

Antique Tuscan No. 8, 332–333, 379

American Printing and Supply Co., 38–39

Antique Tuscan No. 9, 282–283, 284

American Printing History Association (apha), 24

Antique Tuscan No. 10, 379

American Tuscans, 65, 204, 206, 280

Antique Tuscan No. 11, 280–281

American Types Founders (atf), 7, 9, 50

Antique Tuscan Open, 214–215

“American Wood Type” (Kelly), 17

Antique Tuscan style, 62–63, 65

American Wood Type Co. (Brooklyn), 38–39

Antique Tuscan X Condensed, 210–211

American Wood Type Co. (South Windham, CT).

Antique Tuscan X Condensed No. 11, 282

See Tubbs Mfg. Co./American Wood Type Co. American Wood Type Mfg. Co. (New York City): timeline, 37, 38–39 American Wood Types 1828–1900: Notes on the Evo-

Antique Tuscan XX Condensed, 212–213 Antique X Condensed No. 3, 110–111 Antique XX Condensed, 114–115 Antique XX Condensed No. 1, 112–113

lution (Kelly): about, 23; book contract, 13–14;

Antique XXX Condensed, 116–117

classification system in, 60; enameled wood

appraisals of printing collections, 18–19 Arizona Historical Museum, Tempe, 21

index

Arizona Historical Society, Tempe, 21

357; combination borders, 362; corners,

Clarendon Italian, 156–157

Arizona State University (asu), 18, 20–21, 28

366; diamond borders, 358; pattern borders,

Clarendon Light Face, 144–145

Artistic, 246–247

360–361; solid wood rule (single- and double-

Clarendon Light Face XX Condensed, 146–147

Auer, Kevin, 34

groove), 363; streamer borders, 367

Clarendon No. 1, 158–161

Bowne & Co., Stationers, 25

Clarendon Ornamented, 381

Barnes, Paul, 226

bracketing, 140

Clarendon XX Condensed, 380

Barthel, Cherry, 5

Bradley, 369

classification system: about, 60–61; Illustrated

Bassett, James, 38–39, 47. See also Page Wood Type Co.

Brady, Fred, 19–20

Matrix of Visual Parameters, 62–63; style

Bastarda, 67

Brehmer, Henry, 264

descriptions, 64–67

Bauermeister, Benjamin, 60n4

British Standards Classification of Typefaces, 60

Clemens, Samuel (Mark Twain), 318

Baughman, Roland, 9, 10, 13, 14

Bruce, David, Jr., 38–39, 41

Clouse, Doug, 146

Beaverson, Georgia. See O’Connor, Georgia

Bruce, George, 140n27, 344

Cohen, Herman, 9, 10, 13

Beeler, Charles, Jr., 233

Brush Script, 67

“Collecting Wood Type” (Kelly), 17

Belgian, 176–177

Brush style, 61, 62–63, 67

Collector’s Guide to Trivets and Stands, A (Kelly

Ben Franklin, 86–87

Bryan, Wilhelmus, 12

Berkson, William, 75

Buffalo, 86

Berny, Alexandre de, 96

Bullen, Henry, 7, 50

Columbia University, 7–8, 9, 14

Besley, Robert, 65, 120, 140

Burke, Jackson, 16–17

combination borders, 362

Bewick, Thomas, 356

Butler Rare Book and Manuscript Library,

“Commentary on American Wood Type, A” (Kelly), 379

Beyer, Michele, 34

Columbia University, 7–8, 9

Bill, Stark & Co.: specimen catalogs, 51; timeline, 37, 38–39 Bill, Stark & Co. faces: Antique, 106–107; Antique

and Ellwood), 21, 30 Columbian, 150–151

Composite Condensed, 314–315 Concave Tuscan, 66

California Historical Society, 20, 380

Concave Tuscan Condensed, 274

Capen, Edward, 38–39

Concave (Gothic) Tuscan Double Outlined Shade, 340

Clarendon, 65; Antique Extended, 104–105;

Carnegie Mellon University (cmu), 18

Concave Tuscan Open Shade, 334

Antique Shade and Ray, 330–331; Antique

Caslon, 70–71, 316

Concave Tuscan X Condensed, 276

Tuscan, 206–207; Clarendon Condensed and

Caslon, William, Jr., 222

Concave Tuscan X Condensed Outline, 278

Clarendon X Condensed, 146; Extra Con-

Caslon, William, IV, 66

condensed and expanded letterform design, 108

densed Tuscan No. 2, 290–291; Gothic, 222–

Caslon & Co. (H. W.), 88, 316

Connecticut Historical Society, Hartford, 9, 14

223; Gothic Condensed Open, 224–225; Gothic

Caslon Bold, 72–73

Conner, James Madison, 210

Tuscan, 272; Gothic Tuscan Condensed,

Caslon Rounded, 226

Consuegra, David, 80

286–287; Gothic Tuscan Condensed No. 1,

Catch Words, 374

Cooley, John G., 42n9, 49

274; Roman, 322–323; Roman Condensed,

celluloid, 43

Cooley & Co. (J. G. Cooley; Cooley & Dauchy): build-

324–325; Roman Extended, 90–91; Roman

Celluloid Stereotype Co., 38–39

ing taken over by American Wood Types Co.,

Extra Condensed, 92–93; Tuscan Extra Con-

Celtic and Celtic Chromatic, 188–189, 381

49; chromatic reverse, 367; chromatics, 197;

densed, 66, 276–277; Tuscan Extra Condensed

chain borders, 359

manufacturer stamps, 49; number of types in

Shade No. 1 and No. 3, 278; Tuscan Extra Con-

Chansler, Kim Buker, 20

Kelly collection, 46–47; planing pattern, 44,

densed Shade No. 3, 334–335; Tuscan Italian

Chiswick Book Shop, New York City, 10, 13

(No. 67), 292–293; Tuscan Open, 198–199

Chiswick Press, 64

Bill brothers (Horatio and Jeremiah), 38–39. See also Bill, Stark & Co.

Chromatic Celtic Ornamented, 188 chromatic technique, 197

Black, 67

circle borders, 357

Blackletter style, 61, 62–63, 67

Clarendon style: about Ionic/Clarendon, 140, 150;

45; specimen catalogs, 52; timeline, 37, 38–39 Cooley & Co. borders: Wood Rule No. 7, 363; Wood Rule No. 8, 363; Wood Rule No. 9, 363; Wood Rule No. 15, 363; Wood Rule No. 16, 363 Cooley & Co. faces: Antique, 106–107; Antique Double Extra Condensed, 114–115; Antique

Blanchard, 86, 369

Antique Clarendon style description, 65;

Extended, 104–105; Antique Light Face

Bliss, Carey, 9

history of, 146; Illustrated Matrix of Visual

Extended, 96–97; Antique Tuscan, 206–207;

body attributes, 61

Parameters, 62–63; Italian/French pattern,

Antique Tuscan Double Extra Condensed,

Bolivian, 328–329, 379

152; as subcategory, 61

212–213; Antique Tuscan Double Extra

Bolton, Claire, 20

Clarendon Condensed, 65

Condensed No. Three, 332–333; Antique

borders: about, 355; chain borders, 359; circle borders,

Clarendon Extended, 148–149

Tuscan Extended, 200–201; Antique Tuscan

397

index

398

Extra Condensed No. Eight, 280–281; Antique

Doric and Doric Shade, 196–197

Fraktur, 61, 67, 308, 310

Tuscan Open, 214–215; Brush Script, 67;

Doric Condensed, 326

Frazer, Colin, 34

Clarendon Cond. Light Face, 144–145; Gothic,

Doric Ornamented, 381

Frederic Nelson Phillips/Tri-Arts Press Collection

222–223; Gothic Extended, 220–221; Gothic

Dover Publications, 18

(South Street Seaport Museum), 19, 24

Light Face, 216–217; Gothic Tuscan, 286–287;

Dreyfus, John, 16

French Antique, 64, 118, 120–121, 170

Gothic Tuscan Extra Condensed, 276–277;

Druckery, Inge, 16

French Antique No. 1, 122–123

Gothic Tuscan No. Six, 342–343; Gothic

Duensing, Paul, 356

French Clarendon, 7n14, 65, 162–163

Tuscan Pointed, 296–297; Grecian, 124–125;

Duplicates of Type Specimen Books (Bullen), 50

French Clarendon Condensed, 164–165 French Clarendon No. 2, 174–175

Grecian Condensed, 126–127; Grecian Double Extra Condensed, 132–133; Grecian Extra

Eastern Brass & Wood Type Co., 37, 38–39

French Clarendon XXX Condensed, 178–179

Condensed, 128–131; Ionic, 140–141; Octagon,

Eckman, James, 9, 10, 17

French Old Style, 75

230–231; Roman, 322–323; Roman Condensed,

Edwin Allen Co. See Allen, Edwin, Co.

Friedman, Martin, 10, 11

324–325; Roman Extended, 90–91; Roman

Egyptian style: about, 106, 170, 172; flexibility of, 96;

Friedman, Mildred, 20

Extra Condensed, 92–93; Roman Old Style,

Illustrated Matrix of Visual Parameters, 62–63;

Froesdhle, F. J., 4, 7

64; Round Gothic, 226–227; Runic, 84–85;

style description, 64; as subcategory, 61

Full Faced Grecian, 124–125

Tuscan Italian, 290–291; Tuscan Open Orna-

Egyptian, 170–171

mented No. Three, 340–341

Egyptian Condensed, 172–173

Gamma, Josh, 33, 34, 161n30

Egyptian No. 2, 118–119

Gay and Co. (John G.), 38–39

Corinthian No. 2, 270–271

Egyptian Ornamented, 190, 192–193, 194

German, 67, 308–309

Courier, 258–259

Eisenman, Alvin, 5, 17

German Blackletter style, 67

Cowles, John, Jr., 8

Ellwood, James, 21, 30

German Condensed, 310–311

Cowles Foundation, 8

Elrie Robinson–Pforzheimer Typographical Collec-

German Full-face, 306–307

Corbin, Leah, 12

Creative Wood Type & Engraving Co., 38–39

tion, 321, 336–346

Ghraowi, Ayham, 34

Crossgrove, Carl, 20

Elsevir, 75

Gilmore, A. R., 41

Cumming, John F., 80

emblem cuts, 377

Giraffe, 233

Curtis, George, 230

Empire Type Foundry, 38–39

Globe Gothic/Taylor Gothic, 234n38

cuts: about, 356; ambulatory animals, 376; emblems, 377; volant animals, 377; wheat, 377

Empire Wood Type Co., 37, 38–39, 43

Globe Wood Type Co., 38–39

enameled wood type method, 40, 43

Golden Type, 80

end-cut method. See router-cut method

Golding & Co., 88

Da Capo Press, 18, 23

engraving. See cuts

Gothic style: as category, 60–61; Illustrated

dating of type blocks, 46

E. R. Webb & Co. See Wells & Co.

Dauchy, Samuel, 42n9, 49

Etruscan No. 4, 302–303

David Knox & Co. See Knox & Co.

Eureka, 284

Gothic, 222–223, 380

Davidson, Don, 19

European gallery exhibitions, 14

Gothic Bold, 66, 232–233

Davis, Rachel, 21, 25, 27–28

European Tuscans, 65, 204, 280, 344

Gothic Concave Tuscan, 272

Day Co. (William and Samuel), 37, 38–39

expanded and condensed letterform design, 108

Gothic Condensed No. 4, 270

11–12, 20, 50; staff at, 11 Detroit Serif, 95, 250

descriptions, 66; variations in, 216

Gothic Condensed Open, 224–225

Debow, J. M. See Leavenworth & Debow Co. Design Quarterly: history of, 11; No. 56 (1963), 10,

Matrix of Visual Parameters, 62–63; style

Fancy Ornaments, 370–372

Gothic Dotted, 342–343

Farwell, H. D., 7

Gothic Expanded Bold Face, 321, 348–349

“Fat and the Lean: American Wood Type in the

Gothic Extended, 220–221, 349

DeVinne, 74–75

19th Century, The” exhibition (Smithsonian),

Gothic Italian, 66, 233

DeVinne, Theodore (T. L.), 7, 42, 75

18, 24

Gothic Light Face, 216–217

DeVinne Italic, 76–77

Fat Face: Illustrated Matrix of Visual Parameters,

diamond borders, 358

62–63; modifications to, 95; Roman and, 322;

Gothic modulated style, 62–63, 66

style description, 64; as subcategory, 61

Gothic No. 2, 228–229

Dickens, Lauren, 34

Gothic lineal style, 62–63, 66

die-cut method, 42, 355

Figgins, Vincent, 64, 65, 66, 106, 140

Gothic Round, 226–227

digital wood type revival project (Adobe), 19–20

Fisher Scientific, 38–39

Gothic Special, 218–219

Dixon, Catherine, 60

Floral Ornaments, 369

Gothic Tuscan, 62–63, 244, 272–273, 379

Fox, Benjamin, 140

Gothic Tuscan Condensed, 28, 286–287, 288

index

Gothic Tuscan Condensed No. 1, 274–275

Floral Borders, 369; No. 78, 357; No. 120, 361;

No. 1 or No. 16, 274–275; Gothic Tuscan Con-

Gothic Tuscan Condensed Reversed, 288

No. 129, 357; No. 176, 358; No. 181, 358; No. 185,

densed or No. 20, 286–287; Gothic Tuscan No.

Gothic Tuscan Italian, 338–339

359; Roman Flame Border, 362; Star Rule No.

5 or No. 121, 298–299; Gothic Tuscan or No.

Gothic Tuscan No. 1, 300–301

24, 365; Star Rule No. 25, 365; Star Rule No.

185, 272–273; Grecian Condensed or No. 65,

Gothic Tuscan No. 5, 243, 298–299

26, 364, 365; Star Rule No. 28, 365; Star Rule

126–127; Grecian Extra Condensed or No. 40,

Gothic Tuscan Pointed, 296–297

No. 31, 364; Wood Rule No. 4 or New Series

128–131; Ionic Condensed or No. 182, 142–143;

Gothic Tuscan Shade, 340–341

E or No. 712, 363; Wood Rule No. 4 or New

Ionic or No. 47, 140–141; Jenson Old Style or

Gothic Tuscan X Condensed, 276–277

Series W or No. 624, 363; Wood Rule No. 5 or

No. 642, 80–81, 369; Latin Extended or No.

Gothic Tuscan X Condensed No. 1, 284

New Series R or No. 612, 363; Wood Rule No.

96, 134–135; Modified Gothic series (No. 645,

Gothic Tuscan X Condensed Outline, 278–279

9 or New Series U or No. 618, 363; Wood Rule

646, 647, 648), 234–235; No. 15, 200–201; No.

No. 12 or New Series J or No. 724, 363

33 and No. 84, 288–289; No. 72, 243; No. 77,

Hamilton Mfg. Co. faces: Aetna or No. 62, 94–95;

104–105; No. 93, 138–139; No. 94, 136–137;

Graf, Jace, 33 Graham, Robert, 19 GramLee Collection of Early American Commercial Wood Engravings, 19 “Graphic Design in America: A Visual Language His-

Aldine Expanded or No. 76, 166–167; Aldine

No. 129, 326–327; No. 136, 242–243; No. 173,

or No. 23, 152–153; Antique Light Face

350–351; No. 180, 122–123; No. 202 (Artistic),

Extended or No. 42, 96–97; Antique Light

79; No. 203, 78–79, 247; No. 214, 304–305;

Face Extended Reversed or No. 133, 98–99;

No. 216, 224–225; No. 220, 196–197; No. 226

Antique Light Face or No. 174, 100–103;

Outline, 316–317; No. 429 (Corinthian),

Antique or No. 51., 106–107; Antique Tuscan

270–271; No. 500, 268–269; No. 501, 186–187;

Grecian, 64, 124–125, 228, 244, 272

Condensed or No. 48, 208–209; Antique

No. 504, 180–181; No. 514, 260–261; No. 515,

Grecian Condensed, 126–127

Tuscan Expanded or No. 14, 202–203; Antique

184–185; No. 624, 256–257; No. 676, 82–83; No.

Grecian X Condensed, 90, 128–131

Tuscan No. 9 or No. 17, 282–283; Antique

730, 72–73; No. 6026 (Gothic XX Condensed

Grecian XX Condensed, 132–133

Tuscan or No. 25, 206–207; Antique Tuscan

Lightface), 218–219; Norwich Aldine or No.

Greer, David, 24

X Condensed or No. 161, 210–211; Antique XX

116, 168–169; Old Style Bold (No. 203), 78–79;

grooved type patterns, 41

Condensed No. 1 or No. 128, 112–113; Antique

Runic or No. 41, 84–85; Skeleton Antique or

Guide to American Trade Catalogs, 1744–1900, A

XXX Condensed or No. 56, 116–117; Artistic

No. 127, 352–353; Special or No. 6065, 70–71;

or No. 202, 246–247; Ben Franklin or No. 656,

Streamer No. 67, 292; Streamer No. 85, 294–

86–87; Blanchard, 369; Bradley, 369; Celtic

295; Streamer No. 138, 292; Teniers or No. 237,

or No. 165, 188–189; Clarendon Extended

262–263; Trenton or No. 168, 264–265; Tuscan

tory” exhibition (Walker Art Center), 20 Gray, Nicolete, 60–65, 99, 104, 106, 120, 135, 224, 226, 344

(Romaine), 9, 50 Haenel, Eduard, 314 Half Rounds, 373

or No. 53, 148–149; Clarendon Italian or No.

Egyptian or No. 59 or No. 5520, 190–191; Tus-

halftone, photomechanical, 356

37, 156–157; Clarendon Light Face or No. 22,

can Italian (No. 67), 292–293; Tuscan Italian

Hamady, Walter, 27

144–145; Clarendon Light Face XX Condensed,

or No. 66, 290–291, 292, 294

Hamilton, George D., 104

146–147; Columbian, 150–151; DeVinne Italic

Hamilton, Henry, 48, 104

or No. 632, 76–77; DeVinne or No. 627, 74–75;

ments No. 1, No. 2, No. 3, and No. 5, 369;

Hamilton, James Edward (J. E.), 48, 104

DeVinne series, 76–77; Egyptian No. 2 or No.

Calendar No. 13, 375; Catch Word No. 3, 374;

Hamilton Mfg. Co. (Hamilton Holly Wood Type;

Hamilton Mfg. Co. ornaments: Blanchard Orna-

159, 118–119; Egyptian or No. 157, 170–171;

Catch Word No. 9, No. 10, and No. 11, 374;

Hamilton & Katz; Hamilton & Baker): acqui-

Etruscan No. 4 or No. 314, 302–303; French

Catch Word No. 34, 374; Fancy Ornament

sitions, 37, 69; brush script style, 67; catalog

Antique or No. 55, 120–121; French Clarendon

No. 4, 370; Fancy Ornament No. 9, 370; Fancy

numbers for types of acquired competitors,

Condensed or No. 95, 164–165; French Claren-

Ornament No. 105, 372; Florentine Orna-

69; chromatic reverse, 367; chromatics, 197;

don No. 2 or No. 69, 174–175; French Claren-

ments No. 1, No. 4, No. 5, and No. 9, 369; Index

die-cut method, 42; economic advantages,

don or No. 24, 162–163; German No. 1–12, 306;

No. 7, 368; Jenson Ornament, 369; Star No. 6,

37; history of, 48; holly wood type, 37, 42–43;

German No. 4 or No. 615, 308–309; German

372; Star No. 7, 372; Wood Pointers, 368

manufacturer stamps, 48; number of types in

No. 6 or No. 616 (German Full-face), 306–307;

Kelly collection, 46; planing pattern, 45; rout-

German No. 10 or No. 614, 310–311; Gothic

er-cut method, 43; specimen catalogs, 54–57;

Bold, 66, 232–233; Gothic Condensed No. 6 or

Handover, Phyllis, 106

specimen catalogs donation, 7–8; timeline,

No. 205, 228–229; Gothic Extended or No. 126,

Harris, Elizabeth, 18, 24

37, 38–39; veneer method, 43, 104

220–221; Gothic Light Face or No. 21, 216–217;

Harry Ransom Research Center, University of

Hamilton Mfg. Co. borders: about, 355; Corner No. 93, 366; Corner No. 115, 366; New Series

Gothic or No. 29, 222–223; Gothic Round or No. 52, 226–227; Gothic Tuscan Condensed

Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum, 6, 28, 38–39, 44

Texas at Austin, 15, 33, 318, 321, 351 Harvey, Cliff, 19

399

index

400

41; specimen catalogs, 51; timeline, 37, 38–39

Hawks & Shattuck, 180, 266

Ellwood), 21, 30; “A Commentary on Ameri-

Headliners International, 18

can Wood Type,” 379; “Search and Research,”

Heber Wells. See Wells & Co.

21, 28–29; “Wood Letters in the 20th Century”

106–107; Antique Condensed, 108–109; Closed

hell-box, 318–319

(Matrix), 14; Wood Type Alphabets, 100 Fonts,

Condensed Roman, 92–93; Condensed Roman,

Henry, Barbara, 27

18. See also American Wood Types 1828–1900:

324–325; Gothic, 222–223, 380; Gothic No.

Herstand, Arnold, 12

Notes on the Evolution; Design Quarterly

2, 228; Ornamented No. 1, 336–337; Roman,

Hobart, Henry H., 230

Kelsey, Matt, 21

Honn, Tracy, 21, 26–31

Kemble Collection on Western Printing and Pub-

Humphrey, Hubert, 29 Huntington Library, San Marino, CA, 9 HWT, Inc., 38–39 Indexes, 355, 368 Ionic, 65, 140–141 Ionic Condensed, 142–143 Italian, 120

lishing (California Historical Society), 20, 380

Leavenworth & Debow Co. faces: Antique,

322–323 Lee, Gloria, 33 Lee, Patrick, 19

Kies, George, 38–39, 49

Liber Apertus Press, 21

kitchenware collection, 21

Library of Congress, 8

Knox & Co. (David Knox & Co.): specimen catalogs,

Lieberman, J. Ben, 19

52; timeline, 37, 38–39; Tuscan Open, 198–199 Knox & Co. borders: Wood Rule No. 7, 363; Wood Rule No. 8, 363; Wood Rule No. 9, 363; Wood

Lind, Barbara, 20 Lindsay, Robert, 49 lineal style, 61, 62–63, 66

Rule No. 11, 363; Wood Rule No. 12, 363 Knox & Co. faces: Antique Tuscan, 206–207;

lithography, multicolor, 197

Jannet, Pierre, 136

Antique Tuscan Condensed, 208–209; Antique

Lomax Co. (John), 38

Japanese Corners, 373

Tuscan Extended No. 1, 200–201; Antique Tus-

Low, Henry, 38–39, 49

J. E. Hamilton Co. See Hamilton Mfg. Co.

can Open, 214–215; Concave Gothic, 274–275;

Low, Mary Beardsley, 38–39

Jenson Old Style, 80–81, 369

Concave Tuscan, 66; Condensed Gothic Tus-

Loy, William, 79

J. G. Cooley & Co. See Cooley & Co.

can, 286–287; Condensed Grecian, 126–127;

Lundberg, Alan, 12

Johnson, Lawrence, 64

Condensed Open Gothic, 224–225; Doric and

Luu, Jimmy, 34

Jones, Bill, 38–39

Doric Shade, 196–197; Double Extra Con-

Lyons collection, 24

Journal of Typographic Research advisory board, 16

densed Antique, 114–115; Extended Antique,

Juengst, Jac, 34

104–105; Extended Roman, 90–91; Extra Con-

makers’ marks (manufacturer stamps), 46–49

densed Grecian, 128–131; German, 308–309;

Mandel, Rube, 37

Kansas City Art Institute (kcai), 12, 15–16, 17

Gothic, 222–223; Grecian, 124–125; Light

Manicule, 355n52

Kansas City Regional Council for Higher Education

Face Antique, 100–103; Light Face Clarendon,

Mansard Serif, 95, 250

144–145; Light Face Gothic, 216–217; Roman,

manufacturer stamps, 46–49

322–323; Roman Condensed, 324–325; Roman

Marsh, George L., 82

Katz, Maximillian, 202. See also Hamilton Mfg. Co.

Extra Condensed, 92–93; Roman Old Style,

Martha, 264

Kearnes, James, 38–39

64; Round Gothic, 226–227

Martha Washington Temperance Fair poster, 68

grant, 14 Karpel, Bernard, 9–10, 15

Kelly, Mary Helen (Prine), 18, 28–29

Koefoed, Jean, 10, 13, 16, 17

Martin, John, 38–39, 49

Kelly, Robert Roy: academic career, 5, 12, 15–16,

Kumar, Mala, 34

Massachusetts College of Art and Design, 24

17–18, 20–21; appraisals of printing collec-

Kurilian, 284

Mathews, 234

tions, 18–19; on dating type blocks, 46; death

Kurilian No. 2, 282, 284–285

Matrix: An Experiment in Visual Communication, 14 Matthys & Co. (John W.), 7, 36

of, 21; description of, 29; historical research, start of, 8–11; interests of, 30; kitchen tin-

labels, paper, 46

McCormick, Geri, 38–39

ware collection, 21; life of, 5; marriages and

Latin, 64

McCreary, John, 42

divorce, 5, 17, 18; on periods of best and worst

Latines Grasses (Fat Latins), 84

McGrew, Mac, 72, 75, 76, 80, 86

designs, 28; research grants, 14. See also Rob

Latin Extended, 134–135

McLean, Ruari, 13

Roy Kelly Wood Type Collection

Latin styles, 135, 136, 138

Melbert B. Cary Jr. Graphic Arts Collection, 321n48

Laurent, Jean-François, 96

Middleton, R. Hunter, 16

Paper), 17; American Wood Types 1828–1900:

Leavenworth, William, 23

Midolle, Jean, 314

Volume One (folio), 6, 8, 12–13, 46; “Collect-

Leavenworth & Debow Co. (William Leavenworth

Midolline/Neudeutsch, 61, 67, 314

—works: “American Wood Type” (Innovations in

ing Wood Type” (Publishers’ Weekly), 17; A

& J. M. Debow): Gothic lineal, 66; grooved

Miller, Meredith, 34

Collector’s Guide to Trivets and Stands (with

type patterns, 41; router-pantograph method,

Minneapolis School of the Arts (msa), 5, 9–10, 12

index

Modified Gothic XX Condensed, 234–235

No. 1, 122–123; French Clarendon, 162–163;

208–209; Antique Tuscan Expanded, 202–203;

modulated style, 61, 62–63, 66

French Clarendon No. 2, 174–175; French

Antique Tuscan Extended, 200–201; Antique

Monhagen, 248–249

Clarendon XXX Condensed, 178–179; German,

Tuscan Open, 214–215; Belgian, 176–177;

Monsen, Gordon, 8, 11

308–309; German Condensed, 310–311;

Block Gothic, 228–229; Clarendon Extended,

Montana State University, 14

German Full-face, 306–307; Gothic, 222–223;

148–149; Clarendon Italian, 156–157; Claren-

Morgan, Douglas, 18, 24

Gothic Dotted, 342–343; Gothic Extended,

don Light Face, 144–145, 146–147; Clarendon

Morgan, George T., 152

220–221; Gothic Light Face, 216–217; Gothic

No. 1, 158–161; Columbian, 150–151; Egyptian

Morgan, Lloyd, 18, 24

No. 2, 228–229; Gothic No. 4, 237; Gothic No.

Condensed, 172–173; Egyptian No. 2, 118–119;

Morgan, Willard, 18, 24

5, 238–239; Gothic No. 6, 240–241; Gothic

Excelsior Job Extra Condensed, 262–263;

Morgan dollar, 152

Round, 226–227; Gothic Tuscan, 272–273;

French Antique, 122–123; French Clarendon,

Morgan Press Collection, 18–19, 20, 24, 379–380

Gothic Tuscan Condensed, 286–287; Gothic

162–163; French Clarendon Condensed, 120–

Morgans & Wilcox Mfg. Co. (Morgans & Young):

Tuscan Condensed No. 2, 252–253; Gothic

121; German, 308–309; German Condensed,

chromatics, 197; specimen catalogs, 54–57;

Tuscan X Condensed, 276–277; Grecian,

310–311; Gothic, 222–223; Gothic Dotted,

timeline, 37, 38–39

124–125; Grecian Condensed, 126–127;

342–343; Gothic Extended, 220–221; Gothic

Grecian Double Extra Condensed, 132–133;

Light Face, 216–217; Gothic Round, 226–227;

Morgans & Wilcox Mfg. Co. borders: Corner No. 32, 366; No. 135, 357; Star Rule No. 39, 364;

Grecian Extra Condensed, 128–131; Ham-

Gothic Tuscan Condensed, 286–287; Gothic

Star Rule No. 62, 365; Star Rule No. 65, 365;

ilton catalog numbers, 64; Ionic, 140–141;

Tuscan Extra Condensed, 276–277; Gre-

Star Rule No. 67, 365; Star Rule No. 69, 365;

Ionic Condensed, 142–143; Jenson, 80–81;

cian, 124–125; Grecian Condensed, 126–127;

Star Rule No. 70, 364; Wood Rule No. 40, 363;

Latin Extended, 134–135; Latin X Condensed,

Grecian Extra Condensed, 128–131; Ionic,

Wood Rule No. 43, 363; Wood Rule No. 50,

138–139; Monhagen, 248–249; Octic, 250; Old

140–141; Ionic Condensed, 142–143; Kuril-

363; Wood Rule No. 54, 363; Wood Rule No.

Style No. 1, 70–71; Peerless, 136–137; Prussian,

ian, 284; No. 131, 136–137; Painters’ Roman,

57, 363

312–313; Roman, 322–323; Roman Extended,

94–95; Painters’ Roman Condensed, 326–327;

90–91; Roman Extra Condensed, 92–93; Runic,

Roman Condensed, 324–325; Roman Extra Condensed, 92–93; Runic, 84–85; Tuscan

Morgans & Wilcox Mfg. Co. faces: Aetna X Condensed, 326–327; Aldine, 152–153;

84–85; Skeleton Antique, 352–353; Streamer

Aldine Expanded, 166–167; Aldine Orna-

No. 4, 288–289; Teniers, 262–263; Teniers

mented, 154–155; Antique, 106–107; Antique

No. 1, 266–267; Teutonic, 244–245; Trenton,

Nesbitt, Alexander, 12

264–265; Tuscan Italian, 290–291

Nesbitt, George: borders, 355; faces in First

Extended, 104–105; Antique Extended Light Face, 96–97; Antique Tuscan, 206–207;

Morgans & Wilcox Mfg. Co. ornaments: Catch

Italian, 290–291

Premium Wood Types, 65, 66, 67, 99, 104, 124,

Antique Tuscan Condensed, 208–209;

Word No. 26, 374; Index No. 2, 368; Index No.

197, 224, 226, 230, 344; router-pantograph

Antique Tuscan Expanded, 200–201; Antique

3, 368; Ornament No. 14, 371; Ornament No.

method and, 41; specimen catalog, 51; time-

Tuscan Extended, 202–203; Antique Tuscan

31, 371

line, 38–39. See also Allen, Edwin, Co.

(Condensed) No. 11, 280–281; Antique X

Morris, William, 80, 86

Neudeutsch. See Midolline/Neudeutsch

Condensed No. 3, 110–111; Antique XX Con-

Mosley, James, 13, 64, 108

Newberry Library, Chicago, 9, 15

densed, 114–115; Antique XX Condensed No.

Mowry, Samuel, 38–39, 47

New York Celluloid Stereotype Co., 43

1, 112–113; Antique XXX Condensed, 116–117;

Mullen, Robert, 75

New York Public Library (nypl), 7, 321, 336–346

Artistic, 246–247; Belgian, 176–177; Beveled,

Museum of Modern Art, New York City, 9

Nineteenth Century Ornamented Typefaces (Gray), 60

254–255; Bolivian, 328–329, 379; Caslon,

No. 51, 250–251

316; Clarendon Extended, 148–149; Claren-

Nack, Howard, 7

No. 117, 178–179, 379

don Italian, 156–157; Clarendon Light Face,

names of typefaces, determining, 69

No. 124, 252–253

144–145; Clarendon No. 1, 158–161; Clarendon

National Printers’ Materials Co.: enameled wood

No. 129, 138–139, 380

XX Condensed Light Face, 146–147; Colum-

type, 43; specimen catalogs, 55; timeline,

No. 131, 136–137

bian, 150–151; Courier, 258–259; DeVinne,

38–39

No. 132, 304–305

74–75; Doric, 94–95; Egyptian, 170–171; Egyptian Antique Condensed, 350–351; Egyptian

National Printers’ Materials Co. faces: Aldine,

No. 136, 242–243, 252

152–153; Antique Extended, 104–105; Antique

No. 142, 254–255

Antique No. 2, 118–119; Egyptian Condensed

Extra Condensed, 138–139; Antique Extra

No. 203, 78–79, 247

Ornamented, 192–193; Egyptian Condensed

Condensed No. 3, 110–111; Antique Light Face,

No. 226 Outline, 316–317

or No. 91, 172–173; Etruscan No. 4, 302–303;

100–103; Antique No. 7, 350–351; Antique

No. 500, 268–269

French Antique, 120–121; French Antique

Tuscan, 204–205; Antique Tuscan Condensed,

No. 501, 186–187

401

index

402

No. 504, 180–181

51, 361; New Series Wood Rule, 355; No. 17,

192–193, 194; Etruscan No. 4, 302–303; Eureka,

No. 506, 266–267

362; No. 17 (second color), 362; No. 162, 360;

284; French Antique, 120–121; French Claren-

No. 508, 236–237

No. 169, 357; No. 175, 360; No. 229, 360; No.

don, 162–163; French Clarendon Condensed,

No. 510, 238–239

239, 360; No. 243, 360; No. 254, 359; No. 279,

164–165; French Clarendon No. 2, 174–175;

No. 513, 240–241

358; No. 291, 361; No. 296, 357; No. 300, 361;

German, 308–309; German Condensed,

No. 514, 260–261

No. 329, 357; Single-Groove Streamer Borders,

310–311; German Full-face, 306–307; Gothic,

No. 515, 184–185

367; Star Border, 364; Star Rule No. 4, 365;

222–223; Gothic Condensed No. 4, 270; Gothic

No. 622, 88–89

Star Rule No. 5, 365; Star Rule No. 6, 365; Star

Dotted, 342–343; Gothic Extended, 220–221;

No. 624, 256–257

Rule No. 8, 365; Star Rule No. 9, 364; Star

Gothic Light Face, 216–217; Gothic Round,

No. 676, 82–83

Rule No. 11, 364; Wood Rule No. 18, 363; Wood

226–227; Gothic Tuscan, 272–273; Gothic

No. 6026 (Gothic Special), 218–219

Rule No. 19, 363; Wood Rule No. 21, 363; Wood

Tuscan Condensed, 286–287; Gothic Tuscan

Norwich Aldine, 168–169

Rule No. 25, 363; Wood Rule No. 26, 363

Extra Condensed, 276–277; Gothic Tuscan No.

Page Wood Type Co. faces: Aetna, 64, 94–95, 249;

1, 300–301; Gothic Tuscan Shade, 340–341;

O’Connor, Georgia (Beaverson), 11–12

Aetna Extra Condensed, 326–327; Aldine, 152–

Gothic Tuscan Shade No. 3, 334–335; Gre-

Octagon, 230–231

153; Aldine Expanded, 166–167; Aldine Orna-

cian, 124–125; Grecian Condensed, 126–127;

Olde Type Faces at Tri-Arts Press (Phillips), 19

mented, 154–155; Antique, 106–107; Antique

Grecian Double Extra Condensed, 132–133;

Old Style: Illustrated Matrix of Visual Parameters,

Double Extra Condensed, 114–115; Antique

Grecian Extra Condensed, 128–131; Ionic,

Double Extra Condensed No. 1, 112–113;

140–141; Ionic Condensed, 142–143; No. 51,

62–63; style description, 64; as subcategory, 61 Old Style Bold, 78–79

Antique Extended, 104–105; Antique Extra

250–251; No. 59, 278–279; No. 110, 328–329,

Open Black, 67

Condensed No. 3, 110–111; Antique Light

379; No. 117, 178–179, 379; No. 119, 70–71;

“open” vs. “outlined,” 214

Face, 100–103; Antique Light Face Extended,

No. 124, 252–253; No. 129, 138–139, 380;

Oram, Rich, 33

96–97; Antique No. 7, 350–351; Antique

No. 131, 136–137; No. 132, 304–305; No. 133,

Ornamental No. 3, 336

Ornamented No. 1, 330–331; Antique Skeleton,

228–229; No. 142, 254–255; No. 143, 122–123;

ornament attributes, 61

352–353; Antique Treble Extra Condensed,

No. 144, 274–275; No. 157, 264–265; No. 165,

Ornamented category, 60

116–117; Antique Tuscan, 204–205, 206–207;

262–263; No. 192, 252–253; No. 500, 268–269;

ornaments: about, 355; Calendar Logotypes, 375;

Antique Tuscan Condensed, 208–209; Antique

No. 501, 186–187; No. 504, 180–181; No. 506,

Catch Words, 374; Fancy Ornaments and

Tuscan Double Extra Condensed, 212–213;

266–267; No. 508, 236–237; No. 510, 238–239;

Stars, 370–372; Floral, 369; Half Rounds, 373;

Antique Tuscan Expanded, 202–203; Antique

No. 513, 240–241; No. 514, 260–261; No. 515,

Indexes, 368; Wood Pointers, 368

Tuscan Extended, 200–201; Antique Tus-

184–185; Norwich Aldine, 168–169; Old Style

Othello, 266

can No. 1, 346–347; Antique Tuscan No. 8,

Bold, 78–79; Prussian, 312–313; Roman,

“outlined” vs. “open,” 214

332–333, 379; Antique Tuscan No. 9, 282–283;

322–323; Roman Condensed, 324–325;

Ovink, Willem, 84, 136

Antique Tuscan No. 10, 296–297, 379; Antique

Roman Extended, 90–91; Roman Extra

Tuscan No. 11, 280–281; Antique Tuscan Open,

Condensed, 92–93; Runic, 84–85; Streamer

Page, William, 38–39, 42, 355

214–215; Antique Tuscan X Condensed No.

Gothic Condensed No. 4, 270; Streamer No. 2,

Page Wood Type Co. (William H. Page & Co.; Page

11, 282; Artistic, 246–247; Belgian, 176–177;

194–195; Streamer No. 9, 182; Streamer No.

& Bassett): Blackletter style, 67; brush

Belgian or No. 160, 176–177; Celtic and Celtic

36 or No. 121, 182–183; Streamer No. 40, 182;

script style, 67; chromatics, 197; die-cut

Chromatic, 188–189, 381; Clarendon Extended,

Streamer No. 67, 288–289; Streamer No. 72,

method, 42; Hamilton catalog numbers, 64;

148–149; Clarendon Italian, 156–157; Clar-

288; Streamer No. 77, 288; Teutonic, 244–245;

history of, 47; manufacturer stamps, 47; on

endon Light Face, 144–145; Clarendon Light

Teutonic or No. 206, 244–245; Tuscan Italian,

manufacturer stamps, 46; number of types

Face Double Extra Condensed, 146–147;

290–291; Tuscan Open, 198–199; Venetian,

in Kelly collection, 46; planing pattern, 45;

Clarendon No. 1, 158–161; Clarendon No. 1 or

Roman Fat Face, 64; Roman Old Style, 64;

No. 154, 158–161; Clarendon Ornamented, 381;

344–345 Page Wood Type Co. ornaments: about, 355;

Setchell and Dauchy at, 42n9; specimen cat-

Clarendon XX Condensed, 380; Columbian,

Catch Word No. 18, 374; Collins Florets, 369;

alogs, 52–56; timeline, 37, 38–39; typographic

150–151; Composite Condensed, 314–315;

indexes, 368; Japanese Corners, 355, 373;

streamers, 367

Condensed Open Gothic, 224–225; Corinthian

Space Ornament No. 1, 370; Space Ornament

Page Wood Type Co. borders: about, 355; Corner No. 17, 366; Corner No. 18, 366; Corner No. 32, 366; Fancy Rule No. 22, 363; Fancy Rule No.

No. 2, 270–271; Doric, Inset, 196–197; Egyptian,

No. 6, 371; Space Ornament No. 7, 370; Space

170–171; Egyptian Condensed, 172–173; Egyp-

Ornament No. 8, 371; Space Ornament No. 18,

tian Condensed or No. 91, 172–173; Egyptian

371; Star No. 8, 372

No. 2, 118–119; Egyptian Ornamented, 190,

index

Painters’ Roman, 328

growth of collection, 5–8; at University of

panose system, 60

Texas, 15, 33–34; websites, 34

pantograph, 41, 108 pattern borders, 360–361

Rochester Institute of Technology (rit), 14, 17, 321, 326, 328, 332, 334

Specimen Book of Wood Type: From the Collection of the Silver Buckle Press (Honn and Davis), 21, 25, 27–29 specimen catalogs: about, 50; donation of, 7–8;

pattern usage approaches, 40

Romaine, Lawrence, 9, 50

hand-list, 50–57; rare, discovery of, 7. See also

Perpetua foundry type, 6

Roman style, 60–64

specific faces by name

Persons, Claude, 38–39

Roman, 322–323

specimen sheets, early printed, 6

Persons, Wilbur, 38–39

Roman Condensed, 324–325

stamps of manufacturers, 46–49

Phillips, Frederic Nelson, 19, 24–25

Roman Extended, 90–91, 380

Stars, 372

Phillips’ Old-Fashioned Type Book (Phillips), 19, 25

Roman Fat Face style, 62–63, 64, 95

Stephenson, Blake & Co., 196

Phillips Old-Fashioned Types Collection, 19

Roman Old Style, 62–63, 64

St. John, James, 75

Philocalus (Filocalus), Furius Dionysius, 65

Roman Ornamented, 336

Stone, Sumner, 19

Phinney, Joseph Warren, 80

Roman Shade Ornamented, 336–337

streamer, meaning of, 288, 367

pin marks, 46

Roman X Condensed, 92–93

Streamer Gothic Condensed No. 4, 270

pirating, 60, 69

Rotsaerts, Medard J. E., 38–39

Streamer No. 2, 194–195

Plain Face design, 60, 226

Rotunda, 67

Streamer No. 36, 182–183

planing patterns, 44–45

router: condensed and expanded design and, 108;

Streamer No. 67, 288–289, 292

Plymouth, 86

high-speed, 23; lateral, 40, 41

Streamer No. 72, 288

Pointers, Wood, 368

router-cut method, 40, 41, 43

Streamer No. 77, 288

Pontiac, 234n38

router-pantograph, 41

Streamer No. 85, 294–295

Post Old Style, 86

Roycroft, 86

Streamer No. 138, 292

Primitive, 88

Runic, 84–85

Studley, 234n38

production methods: about, 40; die-cut, 42; enam-

Runser, Robert, 13

Supplementary Specimens of Wood Type: Rules, Borders, &c. (William H. Page & Co.): on man-

eled wood type method, 40, 43; router-cut (end-cut), 40, 41; veneer, 40, 43, 104

Salen, Katie, 33

ufacturer stamps, 46

Prussian, 312–313

Sawtelle, Emily, 34

Pupeter, Al, 7

Saxes, Stephen O., 23–25, 27–28

Purchase College, suny, 321, 336–341

Schmale Midolline, 314

Teniers, 262–263

Pushpin Studios, 18, 24

Schroeder, Gustav, 75, 76, 79, 266

Tepper, Rachel, 33, 161n30

Swearer, Randy, 33

Schwabacher, 67

terminal attributes, 61

Quentell, 234n38

Script Blackletter style, 62–63, 67

Teutonic, 244–245, 249

Quill Pen, 316

Script Brush style, 62–63, 67

Textura, 61, 67

Script category: about, 61; Illustrated Matrix of

Thibaudeau classification, 60

Ransom County Gazette, 4, 7

Visual Parameters, 62–63; style descriptions, 67

Thorne, Robert, 64, 322

Redick, Joy, 20

“Search and Research” (Kelly), 21, 28–29

Thorowgood, William, 64, 66, 106, 140, 224

Reinhold Book Publishing Co. (later Van Nostrand

Semi-ornamented category, 60

Thurman, William, 16

Setchell, George, 42, 355

tinware collection, 21

Remington, Roger, 14, 16, 17, 321, 328

Sever, Kathie, 34

Torbert, Meg, 11

replacement letters, 7, 36

Silver Buckle Press, 21, 27

Trade Gothic, 16

research grants, 14

Skeleton Antique, 321, 353

Trenton, 264–265

reverses, about, 367

Smith, Henry, 34

Tri-Arts Press, 19, 24–25

Rey, V. J. A., 75

Smithsonian National Museum of American His-

Tubbs, Charles, 37, 38–39, 49, 182

Reinhold), 10, 13–14, 16–18

Robbins, J. W., 230

tory: “The Fat and the Lean: American Wood

Tubbs Mfg. Co./American Wood Type Co. (South

Robinson, Elrie, 15

Type in the 19th Century” exhibition, 18, 24;

Windham, CT): Hamilton catalog numbers,

Morgan Press Collection, 18, 20, 24, 379–380

64; history of, 49; manufacturer stamps, 49;

Rob Roy Kelly Kitchenware Study Collection, 21

Southern Graphics Council Conference, 28

number of types in Kelly collection, 46–47;

digital database of, 33–34; partial manifest

South Street Seaport Museum, New York City, 19, 25

planing pattern, 45; specimen catalogs,

(1986), 33, 351, 353; sale of, 15; start and

Specimen Book of Nineteenth-Century Printing

53–55; timeline, 37, 38–39

Rob Roy Kelly Wood Type Collection: about, 1;

Types, A (Bowne & Co.), 25

403

Tubbs Mfg. Co./AWT borders: Chain Border No. 1, 359; No. 17, 362; No. 1224, 357; No. 1266, 360;

404

2135, 276–277; Grecian Condensed or No. 2155,

type specimen catalogs. See specimen catalogs

126–127; Grecian Extra Condensed, 128–131;

Typographic Library and Museum of the American

No. 1358, 357; No. 1369, 358; No. 1458, 359;

Ionic, 140–141; Ionic Condensed, 142–143;

Star Border, 364; Star Rule No. 4, 365; Star

Jenson Old Style or No. 2199, 80–81; Modified

Type Founders Co., 50

Rule No. 5, 365; Star Rule No. 6, 365; Star

Gothic XX Condensed, 234–235; Modoc No. 1

Unique (No. 203), 78–79

Rule No. 8, 365; Star Rule No. 9, 364

or No. 2169, 304–305; No. 2007, 264–265; No.

University of Texas at Austin: acquisition of the

Tubbs Mfg. Co./AWT faces: Aetna or No. 2101,

2058, 220–221; No. 2085, 326–327; No. 2093,

collection, 15, 33; Harry Ransom Research

94–95; Aldine Expanded or No. 2098, 166–167;

266–267; No. 2145, 262–263; No. 2168, 246–

Center (hrc), 15, 33, 318, 321, 351; Type Lab,

Aldine or No. 2167, 152–153; Antique Con-

247; No. 2173, 282–283; No. 2179, 254–255; No.

Department of Design, 33–34

densed or No. 2043, 118–119; Antique

2197, 256–257; No. 2206, 278–279; No. 2220,

Extended or No. 2050, 104–105, 380; Antique

224–225; No. 2245, 280–281; Old Style No. 1 or

Vanderburgh, Alexander, 38–39, 49

or No. 2042, 106–107; Antique Skeleton or No.

No. 2096, 70–71; Peerless Extra Condensed or

Vanderburgh, Wells & Co. See Wells & Co.

2030, 352–353; Antique Tuscan Condensed or

No. 2089, 138–139; Peerless or No. 2087, 136–

Vandercook No. 4 proofing press, 33

No. 2072, 208–209; Antique Tuscan Expanded

137; Roman Condensed or No. 2017, 324–325;

Van Lanen, Jim, 28

or No. 2062, 202–203; Antique Tuscan

Roman Extended or No. 2028, 90–91; Roman

Van Nostrand Reinhold (formerly Reinhold Book

Extended or No. 2075, 200–201; Antique

or No. 2012, 322–323; Roman X Condensed or

Tuscan or No. 2071, 204–205; Antique X

No. 2017, 92–93; Rugged or No. 2247, 86–87;

veneer method, 40, 43, 104

Condensed No. 3 or No. 2019, 110–111; Antique

Runic or No. 2143, 84–85; Streamer No. 36,

Venetian, 344–345

Publishing Co.), 10, 13–14, 16–18

XXX Condensed, 116–117; Bold Caslon or No.

182–183; Teutonic or No. 2172, 244–245;

Viramontes, Javier, 34

2298, 72–73; Bolivian or No. 2058, 328–329,

Tubbs Antique Extra Condensed or No. 2107,

Virgin Wood Type Co., 38–39

379; Clarendon Extended or No. 2027, 148–

122–123; Tuscan Italian or No. 2091, 290–291;

Vox-ATypI system, 60

149; Clarendon Italian or No. 2024, 156–157;

Windham Aldine, 168–169

Clarendon Light Face or No. 2038, 144–145;

Tubbs Mfg. Co./AWT ornaments: End Piece No. 9,

Clarendon No. 1 or No. 2020, 158–161; Clar-

370; End Piece No. 12, 371; End Piece No. 13,

endon XX Condensed Light Face or No. 2026,

371; End Piece No. 14, 371; Florentine Orna-

146–147; Columbian, 150–151; DeVinne or

ments, 369; Logotypes No. 33, 374; Logotypes

Wabasso Standard Printing & Publishing, 7 Walker Art Center, Minneapolis: Friedman and, 11; “Graphic Design in America: A Visual Language History” exhibition, 20

No. 2183, 74–75; Egyptian Antique, 350–351;

No. 41, No. 39, and No. 40, 374; Perpetual

Wall, David P., 321n48

Egyptian Condensed, 172–173; Egyptian

Calendar No. 8, 375; Space Ornament No. 60,

Wandale, Joan and Walter, 29

370; Space Ornament No. 66, 370

Webb, E. R., 38–39, 49, 90

Ornamented or No. 2115, 192–193; Egyptian or No. 2118, 170–171; French Antique or No.

Tuscan style: about, 204; Antique Tuscan

Wells, Heber, 38–39, 49

2031, 120–121; French Clarendon Condensed

style description, 65; Gothic Tuscan style

Wells, James, 9, 13, 15 Wells & Co. (Darius Wells & Co; Wells & Webb;

or No. 2249, 164–165; French Clarendon No.

description, 66; Illustrated Matrix of Visual

2 or No. 2021, 174–175; French Clarendon or

Parameters, 62–63; semi-ornamental, 280; as

E. R. Webb & Co.; Vanderburgh, Wells & Co.;

No. 2020, 162–163; French Clarendon XXX

subcategory, 61

Heber Wells): Antique Clarendon style, 65;

Condensed or No. 2023, 178–179; German

Tuscan Egyptian, 190–191

Antique Egyptian style, 64; chromatics, 197;

Condensed or No. 2162, 310–311; German

Tuscan Expanded, 284

Gothic lineal style, 66; Gothic Tuscan style, 66; grooved type patterns, 41; manufac-

or No. 2163, 308–309; Gothic Dotted or No.

Tuscan Extra Condensed, 66

2059, 342–343; Gothic Light Face or No. 2069,

Tuscan Extra Condensed Shade No. 3, 334–335

turer stamps, 49; number of types in Kelly

216–217; Gothic No. 2 or No. 2057, 228–229;

Tuscan Italian, 290–291, 292, 294

collection, 46–47; patterns, introduction of,

Gothic or No. 2064, 222–223; Gothic Round or

Tuscan Italian (No. 67), 292–293

40; planing pattern, 44, 45; retirement of D.

No. 2061, 226–227; Gothic Tuscan Condensed

Tuscan No. 3, 196

Wells, 90; Roman Fat Face style, 64; router

No. 9 or No. 2181, 250–251; Gothic Tuscan

Tuscan Open, 198–199

invention, 23, 40, 41; specimen catalogs,

No. 1 or No. 2133, 300–301; Gothic Tuscan

Twain, Mark (Samuel Clemens), 318

No. 5 or No. 2131, 243; Gothic Tuscan No. 8 or

Two Line Pica Ornamented No. 2, 198

No. 2124, 252–253; Gothic Tuscan No. 12 or

Twombly, Carol, 20

No. 2134, 286–287; Gothic Tuscan or No. 2136,

Two Rivers Historical Society, Wisconsin, 28.

272–273; Gothic Tuscan X Condensed or No.

51–57; timeline, 37, 38–39 Wells & Co. borders: Corner No. 16 or No. 142, 366; Corner No. 17 or No. 136, 366; Corner No. 36, 366; D, 362; No. 17 (second color), 362; No.

See also Hamilton Wood Type & Printing

570, 357; Star Border or No. 73, 364; Star Rule

Museum

No. 1, 364; Star Rule No. 3, 365; Star Rule No. 9,

365; Star Rule No. 10, 365; Star Rule No. 11,

or No. 248, 228–229; Gothic Condensed Tus-

No. 120, 371; End Piece Ornament No. 122,

364; Tuscan Border or No. 73 or No. 561, 364;

can No. 4, 296–297; Gothic Dotted or Gothic

370; Star No. 52, 372

Wood Rule No. 6, 363; Wood Rule No. 7, 363;

Tuscan No. 8, 342–343; Gothic Expanded Bold

Werner, Nicholas J., 76

Wood Rule No. 9, 363; Wood Rule No. 11, 363;

Face or No. 245, 348–349; Gothic Extended

Western Michigan University, 20–21

Wood Rule No. 12, 363

or No. 246, 220–221; Gothic Italian, 66, 233;

West Virginia University, 19

Gothic Light Face or No. 213, 216–217; Gothic

wheat cuts, 377

166–167; Antique Condensed, 108–109;

Round, 226–227; Gothic Tuscan, 379; Gothic

William H. Page & Co. See Page Wood Type Co.

Antique Double Extra Condensed No. 1 or

Tuscan Condensed No. 1, 274–275; Gothic

William Leavenworth & J. M. Debow Co.

No. 330, 112–113; Antique Double Extra

Tuscan Condensed No. 3 or No. 643, 280–281;

Condensed or No. 2, 114–115; Antique

Gothic Tuscan Condensed No. 10 or No. 658,

Extended or No. 346, 104–105; Antique Light

286–287; Gothic Tuscan Extra Condensed

Wolpe, Berthold, 106n18

Face Extended, 96–97; Antique Light Face

No. 1 or No. 636, 282–283; Gothic Tuscan

woodcuts. See cuts

Wells & Co. faces: Aldine Expanded or No. 500,

or No. 315, 100–103; Antique Ornamented,

Extra Condensed or No. 640, 276–277; Gothic

330–331; Antique or No. 338, 106–107;

Tuscan Extra Condensed Outline or No. 627,

Antique Treble Extra Condensed or No. 323,

278–279; Gothic Tuscan Italian, 338–339;

See Leavenworth & Debow Co. Winship, Michael, 33

Wooddell, Wes, 34 “Wood Letters in the 20th Century” (Kelly), 14 wood rules, solid, 363

116–117; Antique Tuscan Condensed or No.

Gothic Tuscan No. 1, 300–301; Gothic Tuscan

wood type, about, 19–21, 23–24

568, 208–209; Antique Tuscan Expanded or

or No. 661, 272–273; Grecian, 124–125; Grecian

Wood Type Alphabets, 100 Fonts (Kelly), 18

No. 343, 202–203; Antique Tuscan Extended

Condensed or No. 5123, 126–127; Grecian

World Gothic, 234n38

or No. 346, 200–201; Antique Tuscan Extra

Extra Condensed or No. 350, 128–131; Ionic

Wu, Christine, 34

Condensed No. 4, 212–213; Antique Tuscan

Condensed or No. 445, 142–143; Ionic or No.

No. 1, 347; Antique Tuscan Open, 214–215;

448, 140–141; Kurilian, 284; Kurilian No. 2,

Antique Tuscan or No. 343, 206–207; Antique

284–285; Mansard No. 1, 250–251; Mansard

X Condensed No. 3, 110–111; Artistic or No.

No. 2, 250; Old Style Antique No. 2, 136–137;

676, 246–247; Belgian, 176–177; Clarendon,

Old Style Antique X Condensed or No. 302,

65; Clarendon Condensed, 65; Clarendon Con-

138–139; Old Style No. 3 or No. 124, 74–75;

densed Light Face or No. 405, 144–145; Clar-

Painters’ Roman Condensed No. 2, 328–329;

endon Double Extra Condensed Light Face,

Painters’ Roman Condensed or No. 160,

146–147; Clarendon Extended or No. 438,

326–327; Painters’ Roman or No. 166, 94–95;

148–149; Clarendon No. 1 or No. 431, 158–161;

Phanitalian Condensed No. 1, 243; Phani-

Columbian or No. 450, 150–151; Condensed,

talian Ornamented No. 2, 304–305; Roman,

324–325; Condensed Gothic Open/Gothic

322–323; Roman Extended or No. 153, 90–91;

Condensed Open, 224–225; Doric, 196–197;

Roman Extra Condensed, 92–93; Roman

Doric Ornamented, 381; Egyptian Antique,

Shade Ornamented, 336–337; Runic or No.

350–351; Egyptian Condensed or No. 478,

520, 84–85; Skeleton Antique, 352–353;

172–173; Egyptian No. 2, 118–119; Egyptian or

Trenton, 264–265; Tuscan Antique, 65;

No. 481, 170–171; Eureka, 284; French Antique

Tuscan Egyptian Condensed No. 1 or No. 550,

No. 2 or No. 469, 122–123; French Antique or

192–193; Tuscan Egyptian or No. 553, 190–191;

No. 467, 120–121; French Clarendon Con-

Tuscan Italian, 290–291; Tuscan Open, 198–

densed or No. 458, 164–165; French Claren-

199; Tuscan Shade No. 5, 340–341; Unique or

don No. 2, 174; French Clarendon No. 2 or No.

No. 502, 262–263; Venetian, 344–345; William

464, 174–175; French Clarendon or No. 461,

H. Page Wood Type Co. faces, 156–157; York

162–163; French Clarendon XXX Condensed,

Aldine No. 3 Ornamented, 154–155; York

178–179; German, 67; German Condensed or

Aldine No. 3 or No. 496, 152–153; York Aldine

No. 694, 310–311; German No. 1 or No. 697,

or No. 490, 168–169

308–309; German No. 2 or No. 697, 306–307;

Wells & Co. ornaments: Calligraphic Index, 355,

German Text Condensed, 312–313; Gothic,

368; Catch Word No. 31 or No. 94, 374; Catch

222–223; Gothic Condensed Light Face No. 2

Word No. 34, 374; cuts, about, 356; End Piece Ornament No. 94, 372; End Piece Ornament

Yale University, 5, 321, 347 Zapf, Hermann, 16

405

This project has benefited from the skill and labor of many talented folks. The book is a visual manifestation of the research and is equally reliant on the excellence of the typefaces used throughout. The book reveals a typographic history but, as it is also part of a larger project to identify formerly anonymized nineteenth-century type makers, proper citation of the typefaces used in this book and their designers seems most appropriate.

406

Lexicon No 2 by Bram de Does, The Enschedé Font Foundry (1992) v 3.006 Salmanazar by Juliette Collin, 205TF (2018) v 1.000 Sentinel by Hoefler & Co (2004) v 2.20 Covik Sans by James Edmondson, OH no Type Company (2019) v 1.000 Triptych by Ellmer Stefan, The Pyte Foundry (2019) v 1.0 Antica by Alejandro Paul, Sudtipos (2020) v 1.000 Antique No 6 by Paul Barnes, Commercial Type (2019) v 1.001 Bitstream Clarendon by Edouard Hoffmann and Hermann Eidenbenz, Haas Foundry (1953) / digitally revived by Bitstream (1990) v 2.0 Bureau Grotesque by David Berlow, The Font Bureau (1989) v 1.000 Caslon Ionic by Paul Barnes, Commercial Type (2019) v 1.001 Egiziano Classic by Dennis Ortiz-Lopez (1990) v 1.000 Egyptian 710 by Cherie Cone, Bitstream (1990) v 2.0 Obviously by James Edmondson, OH no Type Company (2019) v 1.800 Omnes by Joshua Darden, Darden Studio (2006) v 1.004 QFWFQ by Ellmer Stefan, The Pyte Foundry “52 project” (2016) v 1.0 Service Gothic by Nick Sherman, HEX Projects (2021) v 0.002