American Typecasting Fellowship
Newsletter Issue No. 19
January 1996



The_ Conference at Buena Park
—Richard L. Hopkins

Even-though it-might be judged 'old news," this 
Newsletter would be grossly negligent not to 
report enthusiastically on the seventh biennial 
ATF Conference at Buena Park, Calif., very ably 
directed by,Mark Barbour of the International 
Printing Museum. The July 15-17, 1994, meeting 
was followed by technical sessions on both the 
Linotype/Intertype and the Thompson typecaster.

Our America:!! Typecasting Fellowship is a 
diverse mix of historians, professionals, 
collectors, and hobbyists. This Conference had 
something for everyone. A strong emphasis was 
placed on the technology behind the_ equipment, 
and a more ideal setting could not be dreamt of. 
The International Printing Museum encompassed 
all necessary facilities, from a tremendously 
thorough and well-displayed exhibit of printing 
equipment and paraphernalia, to a lecture hall, 
lunch room, banquet facility, and even a large 
unused room for the auction. Further, the Buena 
Park Holiday Inn was an easy walk away, down a 
peaceful street.

All stops were pulled to allow full access to 
the exhibit items, including fiddling with them 
trying to figure out how they worked. Midway 
through the Conference, Mark gave a guided tour 
and demonstration of the more significant 
pieces, such as the Unitype (which assembled 
and distributed specially nicked hand type), 
the Model I Linotype, the Rogers Typograph 
(which cast solid lines of type from matrices 
assembled via a guiding wire mechanism), the 
extremely rare Linotype-Junior (devised by 
Mergenthaler Linotype to compete in the same 
price category with the Typograph and Unitype),
various other models of the Linotype and 
Intertype, the Intertype Fotosetter, and 
finally, the Monophoto from English Monotype.

His -tour wasn't restricted to pointing at 
things; he actually turned their mechanisms, 
opened them up, and allowed participants to get
close, handle parts, and thoroughly examine 
everything. Further, he noted what parts still 
were missing and explained efforts to duplicate 
those parts to achieve the museum's goal of 
having everything operational.

The museum exhibit, which was roughly divided 
in half by the lecture hall, (featured a 
working laboratory housing an Intertype, 
several presses, the rare All-Purpose Linotype, 
and a Ludlow Typograph. Many of these items 
were put into use during the technical session. 
Two Thompson machines, orne equipped to handle
Linotype matrices and another to handle 
standard Monotype mats, were heated and ready 
for action in the working laboratory. 

The 53 participants came mostly from the United 
States, with Gertraude Benoehr coming from 
Germany, Susan Shaw coming from England, and 
Glen Goluska and Peter Bartl from Canada. All 
were treated to a wide-ranging program, a field 
trip to Ernie Lindner's web printing plant, and 
Pat Reagh's letterpress shop equipped with 
three Monotype comp casters and a Supercaster. 
While at his plant, Pat gave a practical 
demonstration on the use ·of photopolymer 
plates on his Heidelberg cylinder press.

The formal program was thoroughly·planned and 
presented with great authority and gusto. As so 
often is the case in ATF meetings, the audience 
invariably contained the "other" experts on any 
subject related to letterpress and therefore, 
lively and intelligent question-and-answer
sessions always ensued. Presentations included 
Carl Schlesinger talking on Mergenthaler's 
interesting and frustrating life; Corban Goble 
on Mark Twain's nemesis, the Paige Compositor; 
Bill Berkuda on linecasting maintenance and 
concerns; Harold Sterne on "alternate" Linotype 
keyboards; Pat Reagh on photopolymer plates; 
and Bill Davis from Monotype Typography, Inc., 
on type design modem and old.

That was just Friday. Saturday included Mark 
Barbour's discussion of the Lindner collection, 
especially the Linotype Junior; Thom Hinckley 
on the Monophoto; Charles Potter on Joseph 
McCann and the typesetting race of 1885 
(Charles is an employee at the U. S. government 
printing office and grandson of Joseph McCann); 
Paul Duensing reviewed casting on a Thompson; 
and a roundtable discussion was staged 
regarding typecasting museums around the world. 
Susan Shaw gave and update on preservation 
efforts in England (more on this elsewhere).

Keynote speaker was the colorful Ernie Lindner 
himself and his wide-ranging talk featured 
intimate glimpses of his interesting and varied 
career which never got too far from the 
Linotype. His uncle helped bring the Lino to 
the West Coast, and their company remained with 
the machine throughout its history.

This Conference was followed by spirited 
technical sessions. First impression: Bill 
Berkuda was too young to be an expert on 
Linotype. But oncehe began talking, we knew 
otherwise. He blew the entire group away with 
his exhaustively detailed knowledge of 
linecasters, including all the models and their 
differences. John Kristensen has a report on 
those sessions on the next page.

I was more involved in helping Paul Duensing 
and Roy Rice with the Thompson sessions. The 
machines had never been run before at the 
museum, but thanks to the efforts of all 
involved, especially Jim Walczak, both machines 
performed admirably. The museum had some great 
matrices so we decided to cast a few fonts of 
Lombardic Caps for participants and the work 
continued long into the night. Early in the 
a.m. we were tying up fonts. Phil Driscoll 
commented that theretofore, technical sessions 
had dwelt on precautions and he'd gotten the 
mistaken notion that production work couldn't 
be done on the Thompson. Glad he hung around!

Every Conference is a tremendous "morale 
booster" for those of us attempting to preserve
our ancient and honorable craft. The people who
named our group (I wasn't in that session) 
surely had it right. The word fellowship is the 
key. With such immutable interest in 
typecasting and letterpress, it's inevitable 
that we have developed abiding friendships, and 
it's always great to get together again, and to 
welcome all newcomers into our fellowship.

Mark and the Museum must be applauded for a 
splendid, beautifully executed Conference. Be 
sure you are with us next summer at Charlotte!




Dates Set for Charlotte Meeting
—Richard L. Hopkins

First steps have been taken in arranging for 
our next Conference-dates and location have 
been established. Pat Taylor says the meeting 
will be September 26 through 29, 1996, at the 
Holiday Inn (Airport), near Charlotte, N.C. 
Scheduling the meeting later in the year was 
discussed and agreed upon by those attending 
the Buena Park Conference.

Paul Duensing, Bill Riess, Rich Hopkins, Pat 
Taylor, and Rick Newell met at Lake Wylie; 
S.C., November 11, 1995, to begin planning the 
program for the 1996 meeting.

If you have suggestions or wish to volunteer 
for a spot on the program, you're encouraged to
write to Pat, 52 Fairway Ridge, Lake Wylie, 
S.C. 29710. He certainly would appreciate help.

The motel is conveniently located off 
Interstate 85 with easy airport access. 
Complete details, reservation forms, etc., will 
be sent to all persons on the ATF mailing list 
at a later date.




Colophon

You don't quite understand the situation. That
is the best explanation I can give to folks who
complain about not receiving the ATF Newsletter 
any more frequently, or having problems with my 
accounting, etc. Keep in mind this group 
specifically prohibits any "organization."
Everything from keeping the mailing list 
database, keeping track of your checks (when 
they arrive), writing answers to all your 
(welcome) letters, to writing, keyboarding, 
casting, printing and binding and mailing-all 
is done by one bewildered person: Rich Hopkins. 
When I work with letterpress, I figure about 
four days of work for each single page. I do 
not devote full time to this effort. I have a 
most demanding job running a modem commercial 
printing plant, and do lots of other things 
too. I encourage you to write article about 
what you're doing in typecasting or 
linecasting. The arrival of such articles could 
be the prod I need to publish more frequently.

The border arrangement at the top of this page 
is built up using modern elements in an effort 
to duplicate work found on page 168 of A 
Concise History of Printing, published in 
London in 1770, as part of William Caslon's 
extensive specimen reproduced therein.




The Linecaster Technical Session
—John Kristensen
Firefly Press, Boston Mass.

It was a hard decision: Which of the tech 
sessions to attend at the 1994 ATF Conference? 
(No hope of doing both alas; they had to run 
concurrently.) On one hand Herr Duensing's 
prowess with Thompson casters was legendary, 
and sooner or later I was going to have to 
learn how to keep them from piddling their 
cooling water and molten lead all over the 
floor. A Thompson caster was still only a gleam 
in my eye, however, something to dream of as I 
tried to get my Orphan Annie to cast decently 
solid 36-point type. My Model 5 Linotype, on 
the other hand (vintage 1928, as I discovered 
thanks to Ray Ballash's keepsake) was real and 
present, still largely a mystery to me, and 
with a number of ailments that I could hardly 
describe, let alone solve.

And so I decided to attend the Linotype 
session. Our instructor was Bill Berkuta, a 
professional linecaster machinist in Los 
Angeles. The realization that LA still had a 
full-time Linotype machinist raised the city in 
my estimation; Boston hasn't had one for years, 
not one who makes house calls. Bill was a 
surprise right from the moment he gave a 
presentation during the Conference. For one 
thing he was about 40 years younger than any 
Linotype operator or machinist one expects to 
meet these days. For another, it was difficult 
not to notice his height. He told the joke 
himself: "I'm six feet eight inches tall, the 
same height as a Linotype. Any-door I can walk 
through I can move a machine through." As Bill 
spoke to us, however, the really remarkable 
thing about him became apparent. He knew his 
subject cold. There was nothing of the show-off 
whiz kid about his knowledge. He was simply and 
superbly competent.

On the Monday morning following the departure 
of the fair-weather typecasters, about ten of 
us gathered with Bill at the back of the 
International Printing Museum. Some of us owned 
Linotypes and some of us owned Intertypes, but 
we were all aware of how dangerously little we 
knew about running and maintaining our 
machines. From the Museum's enormous collection 
of historic linecasting machines Bill chose 
two, an F-4 Intertype and a Model 33 Linotype, 
as demonstrators. To an early question: Which 
machine was better, Linotype or Intertype, Bill 
gave a long and considered answer without 
committing himself either way. The condition 
and features of a particular machine, he said, 
are more important than the make. Certain 
devices, like Linotype's own mechanical 
quadder, were never any good and are best 
avoided. Intertypes have smaller diameter mold 
wheel center shafts that are somewhat more 
prone to wear. In general, however, don't get a 
more complicated machine than you need. If you 
are going to be composing mostly straight 
matter (and who among us sets mathematics text 
books or advertising copy in hot metal these 
days?) then a mixer machine with auxiliary 
magazines only means more complicated 
maintenance and harder-to-find spare parts. As 
they say, horses for courses.

It was Bill's plan, and one that he tried 
valiantly to pursue, that he should show us 
through the successive mechanisms of 
linecasters: The assembling of the matrices; 
the casting, trimming and ejecting pf the 
slugs; and the redistribution of the mats. At 
nearly every step, however, one or another of 
us would have a question, often tangential, or 
would exclaim, wonderingly and aloud, that we 
had rim our machines for X number of years 
without realizing what that thing did. My own 
revelation was the widow-quadder, a microswitch 
controlled device located at the right end of 
the matrix assembler that permits full-length 
lines to be justified · but short lines to be 
quadded without the operator having to switch 
quadder modes manually (and then, inevitably, 
forgetting to switch back.) I had no idea what 
this device did except that it sometimes kept 
my lines from casting at all. As Bill explained 
this and so many other components, my 
admiration for him and the machine grew. It is 
such an ingenious device!

We were not all equally ignorant-most of the 
other guys knew all about widow-quadding—but 
one area of maintenance had us all intimidated: 
the adjusting and replacing of the back and 
side slug trimming knives. Monotype operators 
cannot know the frustration of discovering that 
a galley of type is longer on one side than the 
other or that slugs are lower in the middle 
than at either end. Most of us had ignored the 
problem for fear of making it worse, but Bill 
took us through the process of adjusting and 
replacing the knives. Much of the information 
was in the maintenance manuals, of course, but 
seeing it done made all the difference, and 
Bill's running commentary included many 
pointers that are never mentioned in the 
literature. When he finally had us all at least 
thinking that we knew what to do with side and 
back knives, Bill revealed that for this 
problem, at least, there was a "silver bullet" 
solution, a device called a Curle saw that was 
essentially a milling machine for slugs. He 
just happened to have one with him and 
demonstrated it for us; it went right to the 
top of my wish-list.

For two days Bill instructed us, reassured us, 
and gave us the strength to go home and face 
our own machines. The only statement he made 
for which he was unable to provide convincing 
evidence was his modest assertion that he 
didn't know everything. By the afternoon of the 
second day ( on which the Thompson caster group 
had, en masse, defected to visit Dawson's Book 
Shop and Los Angeles Type Foundry) we would-be 
linecaster machinists were overloaded with 
information and wondering if maybe brain 
surgery wouldn't be easier. Bill Berkuta, 
however, was still in his stride, and we spent 
the last couple of hours considering the 
circular spacebands of the Rogers Typograph. 
You never know when such knowledge might come 
in handy.




"Gone Home" (Obituaries)
—Richard L. Hopkins

Publishing obituaries is very difficult. Since 
we all are getting older, it's obvious we're 
going to be dropping off. That's one reason I 
don't dwell on much in this area. But three 
folks have passed away this past year who have 
been significant players in letterpress and 
also ATF.


Roger Levenson in California, a great 
aficionado and practitioner, passed away last 
year at the age of 79. He founded and operated 
his Tamalpais Press in Berkeley, devoted 
exclusively to hand-typeset and hand-printed 
work; from 1953 until his retirement in 1976. I 
personally recall his help when I was 
completing my book, History of the American 
Point System (second edition still in print, by 
the way). Another unnamed person (still 
unpublished) refused to help me by letting me 
see what was purported to be pertinent 
information in his possession. Roger, on the 
other hand, had something truly unique-the 
first published explanation of the point 
system-and quickly volunteered to send it to me 
with no request for credit or praise. I never 
met him personally, but we corresponded 
infrequently over several years. Those in 
California certainly could speak more 
eloquently of his long devotion to our craft. 
We'll certainly miss Roger. 


Roger Frith, a mere "youngster" at 50, passed 
away this summer after a painful illness. He 
suffered greatly, but kept his focus and even a 
week before his passing was still talking about 
typecasting projects and hopes for "someday." 
He was instrumental in getting the Tennessee 
State Museum set up with a solid printing 
history exhibit, and also was extremely active 
in pursuing typecasting personally. He had and 
used Monotype equipment, and certainly had 
wonderful plans that were cut off by his 
untimely death. Roger :worked closely with both 
Stan Nelson at the Smithsonian, and Theo Rehak 
at the Dale Guild Typefoundry in his attempt to 
learn all the nuances of the craft. He attended 
our Conferences, was a visitor to my home, and 
certainly could be counted among our most 
enthusiastic associates. His was a distressing 
loss to our fraternity.


Harry Wears of Avon, England, passed away 
Christmas Eve, 1995, after a bout with cancer. 
Harry holds a particularly important place in 
the hearts of Monotype devotees both here and 
in England because of his profound knowledge of 
the system, his exuberance, and his ready 
willingness to share his over 40 years of 
experience with Monotype (as an employee of the 
English corporation). Harry was a featured 
celebrity at both the 19?8 Terra Alta 
Conference and the 1990 Conference at Nevada 
City, providing invaluable instruction to our 
technical sessions following those meetings. He 
also traversed the U.S. visiting various ATF 
associates at their shops giving very personal 
assistance to them and their Monotype 
operations.

Above all else, Harry's involvement gave 
credibility to those of us attempting to 
preserve and operate Monotypes. He was deeply 
involved in Monotype when it was at its zenith 
in the commercial world; His working with us 
provided a tacit endorsement of our efforts to 
continue an excellent tradition.

Those of us who are older would say he was one 
of a passing breed-a man totally devoted to his 
profession, and eminently qualified to provide 
instruction and assistance. He proved himself 
by practical application. This best could be 
exemplified by an incident just before the 
Terra Alta Conference. Harry was to demonstrate 
on my Supercaster and was giving it a quick 
going over prior to the meeting. He turned it, 
fiddled with it, turned it, adjusted, yet 
remained mystified. He began disassembling the 
machine. Then he finally exclaimed that one of 
the main drive cams was installed upside down. 
"How could that be? It must have been put 
together wrong at the factory," Harry 
explained. That meant it had been operated for 
nearly 20 years at the U.S. Government Printing 
Office prior to my buying the machine, and 
never had anyone detected the problem. I'm 
certain I never would have, but I know the 
machine runs far better now that Harry has put 
it in order.

He was willing t0 help us and share his wealth 
of practical knowledge gained through years of 
touring the world for the corporation, going to 
remote Monotype installations to help wherever 
and whomever needed aid. Harry was the last 
instructor at the famed Monotype School at 
Salfords. I shall always remember a touching 
moment when, during the 1988 Conference, he 
presented to me various technical posters 
portraying the Monotype mechanism posters which 
had hung for years in the classrooms at the 
Monotype school—posters he had personally taken 
down when the school was finally closed.

Somehow we all had thought Harry would be 
available to help us for years to come. His 
passing certainly has broken an invaluable link 
with the years when Monotype was the preeminent 
typesetting system in the world. We certainly 
shall miss him greatly.

Videotapes. Before closing, I must comment on 
the fact that I have several reels of videotape
taken during Harry's various technical 
sessions. With his passing, there's a greatly 
increased significance to these tapes. So why 
haven't they been duplicated already? Simply 
stated; the tapes in their present form are of 
little value. Massive editing is necessary. And 
lots of additional information needs to be 
injected before the tapes will make much sense. 
The work will have to wait until I have both 
the time and equipment necessary to do them 
justice.




Dating Things Typographic
—Richard L. Hopkins

Putting a date on Monotype items is becoming 
increasingly difficult. Therefore, it is of 
great help to find and read publications put 
out by Lanston Monotype in the U.S.

Lanston's publication Mono Facts, issue number 
1, published in 1940, revealed the following: 
Stylescript was just being issued (they had a 
huge 17x22 specimen showing of same). Lanston 
was just announcing completion of Monotype 
Fournier, No. 403. That edition was done using 
that face. Also; the company was promoting the 
recent completion of Monotype Bell, Series 402. 
And the company had just completed a special 
size of Baskerville 353, 10¼ point, prepared 
especially for the Rumford Press of Concord, 
N.H., which used the special size for doing 
composition for Harper's Magazine. Previously, 
it was rumored this special size was done for 
the Reader's Digest, but apparently this was 
not so. Finally, the publication included the 
text of a radio interview hosted by the 
Franklin Institute, wherein Lanson's well-known 
type designer, Sol Hess, was interviewed. 
Here's one pertinent comment from Hess:

"Nothing would give me greater pleasure than to 
be able to enumerate the factors of success 
(for a new typeface) to you. Unhappily, no one 
can foretell whether a new type design will 
warrant the expense of manufacture any more 
than a new design in any other form of 
invention. Type design is just as tricky as 
designing radio cabinets, ladies' dresses, or 
men's neckties. The consumer decides whether it 
will be accepted or not, and no one can 
influence that decision."

Another publication giving a lot of dates has
recently come into my hands. It's entitled Type
Design by Douglas C. McMurtrie, with an 
introduction by Frederic W. Goudy. It was done 
by Bridgman'Publishers, Pelham, N. Y., in 1927. 
It's a critical review of faces then available, 
giving a bit of their history. The major 
players then were American Type Founders, 
Barnhart Bros. & Spindler, and the 
fast-developing typesetting machine 
manufacturers—Linotype and Monotype. He said 
plagiarism of designs was common for these 
newcomers, and applauded ATF's steadfast 
refusal not to steal from others. By the way, 
the built-up headpieces used in this 
publication were stolen precisely from this 
book. Mine were built up from Monotype 
ornaments just as were those used in the book. 
It was exciting to find I had mats for all the 
characters—6, 9, 12, 18, 24 and 36 point—used 
in the original.




English Preservation Efforts
—Richard L. Hopkins

Susan Shaw came to the ATF Conference at
Buena Park to report on activities in England
which were precipitated a couple of years ago 
by the dissolution of the Monotype Corporation.
It now has developed into a working museum of 
type under the auspices of the Merrion 
Monotype Trust, which is busy trying to raise 
the estimated £2.5 million necessary to make 
things work. An excellent report on those 
efforts was given in the Times of London 
October 25, 1993.

Under this arrangement, the museum will run as 
a business, providing jobs for 12 engineers 
including two believed to be the only 
craftsmen still operating equipment necessary 
to manufacture matrices for the Monotype.

The museum's equipment was to be moved from 
Salfords to a location in Stockwell which is a 
building with history of its own- a horse 
hospital during World War I. That equipment 
includes 540,000 patterns for the various fonts 
developed by Monotype.

Susan indicated at the Conference efforts were 
underway to also acquire the holdings of the 
Stephenson-Blake foundry and with such an 
acquisition, the entire history of 
typefounding, especially for the 
English-speaking world, could be housed in a 
working environment all under one roof. It's an 
enviable dream and we certainly hope it all 
comes to be a reality.




The First Monotype University
—Paul Hayden Duensing

Nearly 20 years ago, Richard Hopkins showed his 
devotion to preserving the heritage of 
hot-metal type by issuing an invitation to the 
first meeting of what later became the American
Typecasting Fellowship. In a recent ATF 
Newsletter, he continued to display his concern 
and enthusiasm for metal type in offering a 
seminar workshop in typecasting at his Hill & 
Dale Private Press and Typefoundry in Terra 
Alta, West Virginia. On July 30 through August 
6, 1995, that idea became a reality.

The students were carefully selected from among 
the applicants and limited to those with a 
sincere and abiding interest and desire to make 
type "the old-fashioned way"-by casting it in 
metal. The number of students accepted was 
necessarily small, being limited to a group 
which could conveniently gather around a 
machine for hands-on instruction.

Prior to arrival, the students were asked to
state their objectives and intended use of the 
instruction and to describe a specific project 
they wished to complete during the "academic 
term." Small brochures, a chapter from a book, 
and a series of Shakespearian sonnets were 
among the projects. When the class gathered 
July 30th, these projects were reviewed and 
incorporated into the proposed course of study. 
There followed a review of The Monotype System, 
the relationship of point-size to set-size, and 
a tour of the shop with demonstration of some 
of the casters.

The first full day of instruction covered the
capabilities and limitations of each machine, 
the basics of operation, safety features and 
hints on maintaining quality of output. The 
students were assigned to machines according to 
the needs of their projects: the Display Caster 
("Orphan Annie"), Thompson, Keyboard, or 
Composition Caster. For the latter, "Dean of 
the University" Hopkins provided the basics of 
keyboarding, the unit system, etc. The OA and 
Thompson students, ably directed by "Visiting 
Professor" Paul Duensing, learned to change 
matrices, set sizes, and alignments and then 
began casting.

As the course progressed, the composition 
students were introduced to the caster and 
learned to change wedges, mat cases and molds, 
and to measure quad sizes and alignment. Later 
in their instruction they dealt briefly with 
fixed spacing in the setting of poetry, the 
basics of tabular composition, and were given a 
quick overview of the three kinds of 
letterspacing. They then keyboarded their texts 
and ran the ribbons on the caster to complete 
their projects.

OA and Thompson students switched machines, 
learning essential setup procedures for both, 
and then launched into casting up full cases of 
type and spacing for their projects. After 
that, they proceeded to cast a complimentary 
font for all participants.

An unexpected delight was the impromptu sale of 
duplicate display mats from the Hill & Dale 
collection, and the casting of many dingbats 
for distribution to fellow students. Some also 
purchased fonts of matrices for various type 
families to augment their personal holdings.

The goal of the instruction was to provide 
basic knowledge of • running the various 
machines and making simple adjustments. 
Adjunctive reading materials regarding 
Monotype mats, metallurgy, mat case 
arrangements and similar topics were 
distributed at points appropriate to working on 
the projects.

Students and faculty were housed in 
comfortable, tastefully appointed lodges in the 
Alpine Lake complex, convenient to Hill & Dale.

On the final day, graduation diplomas were 
awarded (to the accompaniment of "Pump and 
Circumflex" by the music department) 
designating each graduate as Master of 
Typecasting.

At the conclusion of the course, great 
enthusiasm to use their newly found skills was
exhibited by the students and deep satisfaction
was expressed on the part of the faculty and
instructional staff at having passed along 
knowledge which may help preserve the hot 
metal tradition. More than one student 
mentioned a desire for a graduate-school course 
in the future. That decision is pending while 
the Dean and his wife recuperate.

(Student reports begin on the next page)




It Was of Mythical Proportions
—Lisa Beth Robinson
Madison, Wisconsin

I cannot thank· Rich and Lynda, Paul and Ginger
enough for the incredible experience of 
Monotype University. I really had no idea what 
to expect. I felt timid and ignorant when I 
arrived, though with a perfect glass of iced 
tea and with Smokey [Hopkins' pet cat] next to 
me, I was much less afraid. I had only seen a 
Thompson, and a college field trip to L.A. 
Typefounders was very gray and foggy in my 
mind.

The first sight of the "dragons" in the 
basement was overwhelming-almost as good as 
seeing David at the Academia in Florence. 
Though I was patted on the back for 
enthusiasm, I honestly believe everyone felt 
the same. I was awed by the monsters who became
dear, dear friends by the end of the week. I 
especially miss Annie [sorts caster], though I 
think I'll find another old girl soon, whether 
in Madison or Milwaukee. Amos Kennedy and I are 
trying to set up a typefoundry "for the school" 
[University of Wisconsin] and I've promised to 
teach him all I know.

One of the more entertaining events of the week 
outside the shop was our expedition to the 
supermarket. I learned more about my fellow 
students than they know. What I saw carried 
itself into the shop: Dan's perseverance, 
Chris's economy and focus, and Howard's joy in 
the details. It goes without saying that the 
standards were of the highest quality.

I admit I felt a bit smug when Adjunct 
Professor Theo Rehak visited Wednesday and said 
that type ought to be made as perfect as 
possible. At first I thought I was being too 
fussy in my assessment of the type we made the 
first day [it was recast at her suggestion]; 
now I have no regrets. The night with Theo and 
everyone else sitting outside on the deck at 
the Alpine Lake home we called home for the 
week stands large in my mind. It was of 
mythical proportion to have the "old" stories 
being retold. Between the moon and the men, I 
couldn't help but feel a sense of harmony 
between ourselves and the craft we hold dear. 

Another valuable moment for me was an evening
chatting with Ginger Duensing (while she did 
the dishes) about the nature of relationships 
and type people. It goes without saying the 
pleasure of working with Rich and Paul. Have 
the two of you ever considered writing a book? 
Perhaps it could be the project for Monotype 
University graduate studies?

Rich's basement was almost unbelievable. Not 
just because of all the "stuff," but because of 
the way the love and care emanated from every 
object in the place-from the mats to the 
specimen books to the dingbats. I wish we all
had a year to spend down there just printing 
and organizing and casting.

We all came with great expectations and hopes 
and left with a concrete knowledge and greater 
love for type founding. I already miss it 
greatly. Thanks for conducting Monotype 
University. One_ will never know how far this 
week will reach into· the future. From your 
hands to ours—to our students (and hopefully 
theirs as well).

I am happy to be woven into this tapestry of 
lead, tin and antimony, of language and really, 
of life. Is Monotype University worth a second 
session? Yes. Hell yes! I knew nothing when I 
came. The testament of the full case of Bembo 
and the flurry of dingbats I cast and left 
behind are solid evidence it was incredibly 
worthwhile. The fact that I am going to pass on 
what I've learned, as well as continue my 
craft, should be evidence too. Finding the 
support that comes with peers who inspire me to 
continue this work is a clue. Just working with 
Rich and Paul would be of enough value (at 
least to me) to attend again. Please see what 
great things have beef! created. The pond will 
not smooth over this ripple!




It Took Me Five Seconds to Decide to Go
—Christopher Stern
Sedro-Woolley, Washington

My reasons for wanting to atte"nd the first 
Monotype University are quite simple: it was a 
once-in-a-lifetime opportunity -to learn... to 
experience a system of setting type that I was 
a couple of decades late in discovering. As my 
interest in publishing books printed 
letterpress strengthened and became more of a 
life goal, I realized that what I could publish 
was to a large_ extent dependent upon an 
affordable supply of quality type. With 
typefoundries closing all around the world, it 
seemed that learning how to cast my own type 
was a critical component to attaining my 
publishing goals.

I actually believe that I'll be able to 
continue my typesetting career by going 
backwards, providing composition and fonts for 
all the people who are just now beginning to 
discover letterpress. I first saw a Comp Caster 
running at the ATF Conference in Nevada City, 
and the thrill of hearing the machine run made 
a lasting impression on me and I knew then that 
I had to learn how to operate a Monotype.

I knew very little about casting type when I 
arrived at Monotype University. Although I had 
been gathering manuals. on the Monotype System 
for a couple of years and had re~d them many 
times over, the information they provided still 
left an enormous gap between the theoretical 
and practical application. I knew nothing, and 
knew I knew nothing. For sure, I had to learn. 
When I first read about Monotype U, it took me 
all of about five seconds to realize I had to 
go!

And now, after graduation, I have a great store 
of practical experience that will allow me to 
really' get my caster up and running. I feel 
quite confident that I can make quality type. 
The learning environment at the Hill & Dale 
Typefoundry was so conducive to learning that, 
even had I never actually cast type  there, I 
feel could have-come home with a lot more 
confidence in-my ability to operate the Comp 
Caster. The fact that we were actually able to 
operate the equipment with experienced people 
gave me all the information necessary to come 
home and begin casting; Well; almost all. 

I now know that I have a Comp Caster with a 
display attachment (something we didn't cover 
in school). But with the information I now 
have, plus a helpful hand from my northern 
neighbor, Jim Rimmer, I should have the best of 
both worlds operating shortly—setting display 
and composition on one machine. Wow!

I certainly hope there is a second Monotype 
University. I know. there are more people out 
there who want to learn, al}d this was such an 
experience I hope others get to attend. In 
fact, my partner, Jules, and I would love to 
come back next year and assist.




The Epitome of Personalized Instruction
—Howard Bratter

The carpenters were gone, and so were the 
electricians. My introduction to basic plumbing 
was over  (I had assisted Theo Rehak), and 
there I stood after months of moving, 
renovating and organizing, looking in awe at my 
newly installed Monotype composition caster, 
"Orphan Annie," and strip material maker. All 
key elements of a Monotype shop were assemble 
except one—how to properly operate it all! I 
had tried in vain to find a retired Monotype 
operator in New York City, where I live, to 
instruct me. And what limited ability I had to 
run this equipment came from watching John 
Kristensen at Firefly Press adeptly operate his 
machines. John was fortunate enough to have a 
career Monotype operator, who went to the
Lanston Monotype school in 1918, show him the 
intricacies. (I had had better luck learning 
the Linotype; there are still skilled operators 
in New-York City.) 

Early last summerTheo Rehak said Rich Hopkins 
was going to hold a week-long seminar in West 
Virginia, and call it Monotype University. I 
couldn't have asked for more! I called to 
enroll. The class was limited to four students 
and at that point all slots were filled. Then 
one of the original four declined admission and 
there was room for me—as long as I fulfilled 
the prerequisites. Rich demanded we submit 
printing samples and a proposed typesetting 
project. I think that I was more nervous 
picking out those samples than I ever was 
preparing for the SAT's.

I was accepted for the summer term (Rich wrote 
me that my printing samples were "somewhat 
limited but tastefully done, and the presswork 
is good"), and I arrived at Rich's home in 
Terra Alta along with the other students and 
Paul and Ginger Duensing, eager to get 
started. After introductions, we immediately 
got down to business, Rich gave us all a tour 
of his extraordinary shop. and outlined how 
the course would go. With our 
student-to-teacher ratio of 2 to 1, we 
received the epitome of personalized 
instruction, but the faculty had its work cut 
out. Rich started out with Chris Stern and me 
on the Composition Caster, Dan Jones and Lisa 
Beth Robinson concentrated on the Thompson and 
Orphan Annie with Paul Duensing. 

Chris and I started with the complexities of 
basic Monotype keyboard operation—setting the 
keybars, the justification drum, stopbar, and 
line length. I encountered trouble figuring out 
how to get the keybars seated properly on the 
keyboard. Even more difficult was trying to get 
them off. But working along with Chris 
certainly made the process easier! After keying 
our tapes (mine was riddled with error-laden 
lines that I had to "kill") we moved to the 
caster. By examining the machine with us in 
great detail, Rich made its very complicated 
mechanics quite surprisingly understandable. 
The great revelation for me was how to remove a 
matrix case! This had me stymied back in New 
York.

Throughout, I carefully followed Rich's 
instructions-sometimes a bit too carefully. 
Once while I was running the machine, Rich told 
me to stop it and take the matrix case out so 
that we could make some adjustments to the 
caster. That done he told me to turn the 
machine over, which I diligently did, and 
Splam! A squirt. Seems I made the cardinal 
error of not putting the matrix case back in 
the machine before restarting it. Rich was able 
to stop the caster while I bounded in the 
opposite direction. Paul observed that he'd 
never seen me move so fast! My next lesson: How 
to clean the machine after a squirt.

I was not the only one to tangle with flowing 
hot metal. Paul had told stories of how 
Thompson pots have a tendency to abruptly empty 
at times, and during Monotype University was 
one of them. All it took was for the choker to 
stick in the open position when the pot was 
swung back, and the stream started. I rushed 
for an ingot mold to catch the molten metal 
while others scrambled for ladles. For that 
matter, I never saw Paul move so fast, grabbing 
a rubber mallet and starting to bang the choker 
valve shut.

I left Terra Alta with many pounds of Henry 
James in newly composed, cast, and justified 
Monotype Baskerville. That was a tangible 
success; but the camaraderie, the esprit de 
corps, at Monotype University is difficult to 
put into words. I think we were more than just 
enthusiasts, we came to learn to use a splendid
craft that is on the verge of being forgotten. 
Rich and Paul gave us an opportunity that I 
doubt we might otherwise have had. 

Most significantly for me, what I learned at 
Monotype University helped me get my machines 
up and running. Okay, I had to make one urgent 
phone call to Rich—somehow I had forgotten how 
to get the normal wedge out of the Caster. Rich 
talked me through and I ran my first successful 
work that same evening.




A Time of Focused Enthusiasm
—Dan Jones
Newmarket, Ontario, Canada

Dan was the quiet student, much more intent
upon getting things done than talking about
them. And he was short on words in talking
about the teaching sessions afterwards. Here
are some of his comments:

What a week! I call it a time of "focused
enthusiasm," where so many people brought
together their creativity and effort to gain
new experiences.

And on the last day, we rested.

Signs of our late-night extra efforts showed
in the tired forgetfulness on Sunday. Things
were left behind. I was aware the success we
enjoyed was helped by the complete variety
of our skills and backgrounds, allowing more
flexibility to plan activities, as exemplified
by the one-room schoolhouse of yesteryear.

The group lessons were a success because of
many factors, but importantly because there
were two teachers. (I attended a class many
years ago. It was one-to-one training; so the
group of about six did a lot of standing
around.) A second teacher gives you "eyes in
the back of your head" when operating a
machine. Also, you can answer the phone,
etc., without everything grinding to a halt.

After Mono U sessions were over, a flurry
of letters and phone calls ensued. Then I got
this exclamation from Dan in the mail:

Well, I did it! There is a Display Caster in
my garage. The machine is clean,
well-maintained as best I can see, with a few
exceptions.

That means all four students now have
equipment at their disposal and, hopefully,
our ranks of typecasters are increasing. That
is the goal, after all. Hurray!




Rich's Postscript
—Richard L. Hopkins

First of all, be it understood I had nothing
to do with naming our teaching sessions. Paul
Duensing coined the term "Monotype
University," and he is the one who cooked up
our haughty academic titles.

The sessions were exhausting, going
sometimes from 8 a.m. until 2 the next
morning. But I couldn't have had more
attentive students. They were so anxious to
learn, we had great difficulty deciding to
shut down each evening.

I was worried, because of suspected
electrical limitations, about being able to run
two machines at once. I never had the need
before. Much to my surprise Wednesday, I
discovered we had three casters going at
once. And the breakers didn't pop either!

I couldn't have pulled it off without Paul's
help. And I must publicly thank my wife,
Lynda, who kept the office going while I
indulged in this hiatus, and also managed to
be a good hostess. Also, I must recognize
Ginger Duensing, who came along to keep
Paul company, but also helped the entire
group keep a better perspective on what
really was happening—that we shouldn't take
ourselves too seriously.

Lastly, I must recognize the master
typefounder, Theo Rehak, who though he
dropped in only for a few hours on his
return trip from Nashville and Roger Frith’s
funeral, added a tremendous degree of
credibility to our efforts.

Whether another University is held depends
on perceived need. If you are interested in
being a student, I'd love to hear from you.
The more you can tell me about your interests, 
the better it will be. For sure, it was an 
emotional high for me. I thoroughly enjoyed 
the experience.




Matrices Equipment For Sale

Ludlow Matrices for Sale. Superior
Composition of 401 West Monument Street,
Baltimore, Md. 21301, phone (401) 718-3223,
is going out of business and has disposed of
all machinery. Only things remaining are
fonts of Ludlow matrices: Bodoni Campanile
24, 30, 36, 48; Century Bold 14, 30, 36, 48;
Coronet Lite 18, 24, 30, 36; Coronet Bold 36,
48, 72; Garamond Bold 36, 48, 60; Garamond
Bold Italic 36, 48; Garamond Lite Italic 18,
24, 36, 42, 48; Hauser Script 48, 60; Karnak
Medium 24, 36; Medium Condensed Gothic
14, 36; Record Gothic Bold 30, 36, 48; Stellar
Lite 18, 24, 36, 42, 48; Stellar Bold 14, 18,
48, 60, 72; Tempo Black, Heavy, Heavy
Italic, Heavy Condensed, Heavy Condensed
Italic, Medium; Times Roman 48; Times
Roman Italic 18, 36, 48. Asking $40.00 per
font. Call immediately. Must dispose all
before end of December.

Matrices Available. A religious order
has matrices to dispose of. Contact August
Steiner-Zehender, 10811 White Pine Highway,
Morenci, Mich. 49256. They have about 400
mat cases with documentation, sorts and
accents available. Fonts include only
American Monotype. No display. Machines
have already been disposed of. They want to
move the equipment out soon. Phone (517)
458-7771.

If you are in the Southwest and are seeking
to acquire Monotype equipment, I recommend
that you contact Jeffrey Carleton Lyon, son
of the late Gene Lyon, who has his equipment
for sale. It consists of a caster with display
speed device, a keyboard, and a number of
accessories including mats and molds.
Address is Route 3, Box 106c, Santa Fe, N.M.
87505.

MONOTYPE equipment for sale. Al Mears in
the Chicago area, phone (312) 227-8442, has
a Giant Caster and a Display Caster, plus
matrices. He's getting anxious to dispose of
them. Call soon!

CAST Monotype fonts, foundry type in
cases, and miscellaneous Linotype equipment
including liners, pot well scrapers, border
slides, and matrix fonts all are for sale by
Fred Short, Copy Rite, 441 West 11th Street,
Indianapolis, Ind. 46202. Write for details.

Matrices (display and composition) wanted
in or near Seattle. Contact Chris Stern at
(360) 826-5306.




On Reviving Cincinnati Initials
—Howard Bratter
New York, New York

When Andy Birsh and I purchased the
matrices for Cincinnati Initials at the ATF
liquidation in August of 1993, ever casting
from them seemed highly improbable.
Indeed, after the auction maelstrom, we felt
that merely saving the mats from the scrap
heap was enough. It was Theo Rehak of the
Dale Guild who broke the good news that we
could get type from our mats. I found out later
that I was to be the one to cast that type! 
Until I met Theo, my experience with hot metal 
was limited to the Ludlow and Linotype. Casting
foundry-grade type was not something I thought 
an ordinary individual could do. But although 
ATF itself is gone, the knowledge and means to 
make foundry type survive.

For a first project, Theo and I chose the three
versions of 48-point Cincinnati Initials 
(Plain, Outline, and Ornamental), the mats for
which probably date from the 1870s. Examining 
the mats, he determined that they had never 
been drilled for automatic casting, nor had 
their drive-depths been modified to ATF 
specifications. This meant that these initials 
had always been produced by hand on a 
Bruce-style pivotal caster.

Of course, it wasn't enough to have the mats! 
Not just any 48-point mold would do. f needed a 
unique Cincinnati Type Foundry 48-point mold. 
When ATF formed in the latter part of the 19th 
century, the trust gathered in the diverse 
molds of the foundries that were merged. The 
result was a staggering number of molds, many 
of which ATF destroyed later when faces were 
deemed obsolete or after mats were modified for 
automatic casting on a Barth caster. 
Fortunately, ATF had never scrapped the 
particular mold we needed, and Greg Walters had 
purchased it at the auction. So I was able to 
assemble the elements: Theo had a Bruce pivotal 
caster of the correct size to accommodate the 
casting of 48-point type. Greg was willing to 
lend the mold, and I had the mats.

Luckily, the 48-point Cincinnati mold was 
mounted on a block and thus ready to use. A 
block is, in essence, the frame a mold is 
bolted to. The block mounts on the stool of the 
pivotal caster. Had the mold not been mounted, 
I would have had to track down a proper block, 
and blocks are not necessarily interchangeable. 

After mounting the mold and block on the 
caster, we centered the nipple against the mold 
opening to assure a solid cast. We inserted a 
mat and loosened the "boss" bolt at the top of 
the block to adjust the set (width). Changing 
the set on a pivotal mold is not an easy thing. 
Loosening the finicky boss can sometimes result 
in losing the set altogether. But sometimes a 
gentle (or not so gentle) thwack with a mallet 
is required to do the trick. And so the casting 
began, with the widest character first.

The first cast was a "back cast." This means 
that the crank of the caster is pulled towards 
the operator, resulting in a gentler drop of 
the pump piston. We checked the seating of the 
mold to make certain that it was pressed 
firmly against the nipple p_late. We also 
checked the nipple and made sure the mat sat 
flush with the mold surface. (Any play in 
these areas could cause a squirt or result in 
type coming out higher than type high.)

Amazingly, we got a piece of type! After this 
first cast, we checked the set, height, and 
feet of the type. We tightened the pump spring 
for a more solid cast and gently finessed the 
set.

Then we were ready (or a true cast. I had to 
throw the crank from its "noon" position to 
about 4 o'clock and do it with the proper 
"snap" (Theo says "you've got to hit a home run 
every time"). I threw the crank over and heard 
the groaning of the pump piston-I didn't get 
burned! Then I finished the crank's revolution 
and saw a freshly minted piece of 48-point type 
in the mold. I was thrilled!

I had a number of days of rather laborious 
"hand-and-steam" casting to-go (this is, after 
all, a 19th century job). I felt sure it would 
pay off. After the casting, I broke off all the 
jets and rubbed (filed) the left and right 
sides of the type. Theo then plowed and dressed 
the type by hand in a dressing vise, and 
lastly, I fonted the new type.

Although it took about six days to cast, dress 
and font 14 single-letter fonts of 48-point 
Cincinnati Initials, I felt the time had been 
well spent when I showed the fonts to Edward 
Harwelik, a veteran caster from ATF. He said, 
"I'd buy that type!"

Rich's Note: "Hand and Steam" refer to the 
department at American Type Founders where the 
pivotal casters were kept. The term originally 
referred to the fact that some of the casters 
were turned by hand, where the others were 
driven by a central steam power system. The 
steam disappeared from the foundry years ago, 
but the term remained. This article is 
reproduced to provide evidence of the 
excellent cooperative spirit which reigns 
amongst those of us still keeping the craft 
alive. It required Greg, Theo and Howard all 
three to make this project possible. And it 
worked! Congratulations to all!




What's New from the Typecasters

Theo Rehak, successor to American Type 
Founders, reports he now has I 5 Barth casters 
on line and operational. (He reflects there was 
a time when he never even dreamed of owning one 
I) "I am wistful in hindsight, thinking about 
certain machines that would be useful right now 
and are history." He says the late Roger Frith 
advised him not to beat himself up over what he 
could have done but instead, be happy with what 
he did save. Good advice.

Among his most recent. accomplishments: The 
release of "Guild Samson," a project which 
encompassed revival of a lost 1931 design done 
by that master of uncials, Victor Hammer. This 
involved creating patterns and· engraving new 
matrices, as well as Barth casting of the 
14-point design. Fonts, including weight fonts, 
are available from the Dale Guild Type Foundry
at 4621 Rt .. 9 North, Southard, Howell, N.J. 
07731.

Regarding the design, Theo comments that it is
lacking certain characters in the original 
production: no ampersand, for instance. Though 
I could not contain myself and made a double f 
ligature (may Victor forgive me). It is not an 
exact duplication of the original as to size 
and weight as it was copied from Hunter 
Middleton's resurrection, the original document 
(type, matrices, punches) having been lost. 
Hence the admonitory 'Guild' in the name."


An Intercepted Message from Edmund Cutler of 
Christchurch, New Zealand, to Jim Wzlcaak in 
Oxon Hill, Md., reveals a devoted typefounder 
in that far-away place. He has made for himself 
a hand mold (guided by Moxon and U.S. friends) 
so to allow casting ofMonotype Lutetia matrices 
found in a trash bin. He has succeeded 
admirably, as his page in It's A Small World 
this year demonstrates. Now, of course, he's 
got the bug and is venturing into engraving 
steel punches and making his own matrices, also 
to be used with his hand mold.


The Hill & Dale Foundry offered its first 
casting from historic Kelsey matrices late last 
year in the form of Corinthian, as shown above. 
This ornate letter was cast from matrices which 
probably came from the New England Type Foundry 
before the turn of the century, using a 
Monotype Supercaster. Happily, the entire 
casting now is· sold out and additional fonts 
are not available at this time.


Andrew Dunker of Jackson, Mich., was one of the 
pioneers when it comes to making 
electrodeposited matrices of antique fonts. 
Recently Dave Peat has acquired his entire 
collection of matrices and typecasting 
paraphernalia. Upon learning I had the 
requisite .043" mold for the Thompson (the 
standard Andy always used) Dave convinced me to 
do up a limited casting of what Dave considers 
one of Andy's more notable "copies"-Card 
Gothic. If you're interested in a font, contact 
Dave at 1225 Carroll White Drive, Indianapolis, 
Ind. 46219. And our next combined effort will 
be the casting of 36-point· Ispen Initials. 
These will be cast direct from original 
matrices from the Boston Type Foundry which 
Dave acquired through some mysterious chain of 
events. The mats were never fitted for 
automatic (Barth) casting; the fonts will be 
done on the Monotype Supercaster. Write Dave if
you're interested in acquiring a font.


Greg Walters of Piqua, Ohio, a major 
participant at the ATF auction, reports 
completion of construction on a special pole 
barn and ~e's moved in all his Barth casters, 
as well as Vandercook four-color proof presses, 
etc. Now he's got the task ahead of getting 
things hooked up and running. Even with the new 
building, space is limited so he plans on 
putting the machines on wheels so he can move 
them about the building when they need to be 
used.


L.A. Typfounders. Among extracurricular 
activities at the ATF Conference in Buena Park 
was an expedition to find L.A. Typefounders. 
Several of us made the trip and were welcomed 
by Willie, a long-time employee now in his 
70's, who was manning the shop that day. Two 
retired castermen work part-time on alternate 
days to keep the shop running. It's now owned 
by Barco Type Founders in Bensenville, Ill. 
Equipment includes two Material Makers, two 
Elrods, five Composition Casters, one Giant, 
four Thompsons, and one Japanese caster modeled 
after the Thompson (and much improved, too). 
The latter came from Charles Broad ("Mr. 
Antique"/Typefounders of Phoenix) when he 
passed away several years ago. Much of his 
antique. type is on the shelves in original 
wrappers.

We had a free run of the shop and a very 
cordial welcome. I picked· up a. specimen of 
type from the Giant, exclaiming it was the 
absolute best type I'd ever seen made on the 
Giant (reproduced herewith). "What's your 
secret?" I asked. Willie replied ''We just run 
it and the type always looks that good." 
Humbug! Another interesting observation: None 
of the Thompsons had a stop-cast lever. Turn 
them over and they cast, every time. I asked 
about this and Willie was hard-pressed to 
remember such a device. Seems they ripped them 
off the machines many, many years ago.



Correspondence

William Thierbach of Fort Myers, Fla:, wrote 
offering thanks for the special ATF issue. "I 
became a compositor in a Mono & Lino 
composition plant in 1926 in New y ork. City. 
Have been retired since 1967. Am now 90 years 
of age and have some fond memories of the 
business-having started as an apprentice and 
wound up running the plant."


Tad DuBois of Freeland, Wash., writes an 
enthusastic letter indicating interest in our 
organization. "I am a wood engraver, 
papermaker and printmaker (BF A from the 
University ofMas~achusetts, Amherst,
and a MFA from. Syracuse) and my wife and I 
are setting up a studio on Whidbey island. My 
experiences within the Goudy Typographic Lab at 
Syracuse, added to experience with the 
Hampshire Typothetae as a student in 
Massachusetts, have forced me to believe I am 
doomed to an existence that will include lead, 
ink and paper."


So What's A Monotype? "One-of-a-kind images
produced by directly printing from a plate 
which has been pained with ink and which is 
transferred onto paper." So says the New York 
Metropolitan Museum of Art and, I presume, 
that's why they contacted me about a show held 
in October titled "The Monotypes of Sam 
Francis". Sorry, but I'm more partial to the 
Monotypes of Tolbert Lanston. 


An Interesting Explanation is offered by Ralph
D. Howell, Jr., of Boca Raton, Fla., as to why 
Jim Rimmer found only three small cap 
letters—ORD—among the punches for Goudy Bible 
(reference ATF Newsletter No. 18, dated June 
1994, page 39). In Hebrew there were distinctly 
different words used for God. "Jahweh," being 
the most reverent, when translated was 
represented in the King James version of the
Bible as "Lord," and to further edify the word, 
it always was printed as caps/small caps. Small 
caps were used nowhere else, and thus; the need 
for only three matrices, especially for a font 
intended for Bible work exclusively. 


Anthony Smith of Aylesford, Kent, England (who 
handles distribution of the Newsletter to our 
friends in England), speaking of the ATF 
demise, says "It could so easily  have happened 
here, at Monotype, and may yet happen  with 
Stephenson-Blake. But there is a hard core of 
us fighting to make sure that they stay in some 
sort of operational shape. If they disappear 
completely, then it will deal a severe body 
blow to the few remaining letterpress 
enthusiasts here in U.K."


Edward Cummins writes from Australia: "My 
father was printing in his own name since 1933. 
In fact he set his last type about 10 days 
before his death. He was in his 90th year. He 
began teaching composition to me in the very 
early 1950's when I was 7. I later went to 
Sydney Technical College where I graduated as a
comp. During that time I tried my first 
experiments in typecasting using a mold I made 
myself. Inspired by Caslon & Co., I tried hard 
but all I produced were type spaces. My heart 
was in the right place."


Bob Trogman of City of Industry, Calif., handed 
me this rare specimen at the ATF Conference in 
Buena Park. If you don't recognize it, its the 
special design done for the New Yorker magazine 
and reportedly very heavily guarded. How Bob 
came to get the type is beyond. I tried to do 
an article on the design some years ago but the
magazine politely told me to "take a walk."


Thomas R. Winkel write from Box 6023, Con-
cord, Calif. 94524, seeking casting equipment: 
"I am interested in purchasing a Thompson 
caster with mats in prime condition. Also a 
strip machine. I'm a retired printer-music 
publisher-now printing books from hand-set 
type."


Very interesting message received. "I presently 
work with metal as a tool and die student, but 
will be going into patternmaking shortly. I am 
also a printing nut who not only marvels at the 
sight of the elegant characters quietly 
reposing in an old ATF box, but who even goes 
so far as to insist on keeping the family's old 
and broken-down typewriter, simply because the 
old metal letters and numbers therein, though 
dusty and homely a script, are just too 
beautiful to abandon. That unnaturally orange 
type, computer-generated onto that unseemly 
green screen just doesn't do it for me. My 
family wonders about me and the old typewriter. 
I've decided I'd like to learn the art of 
punchcutting.

"This is undoubtedly the sort of letter you 
wouldn't expect to receive as letterpress 
battles the clicking mouse in something 
slightly more intriguing than a Mike Tyson 
fight. But I'm hoping your Newsletter may help 
me get in touch with those craftsmen who may be
willing to pass their skills and knowledge of 
the making of type on to a neophyte like me, 
who nonetheless, considers herself an artisan 
as well."
—Christine Schuler, Webster, N.Y.


The Versatil Sorts Caster. Jim Walczak of Oxon 
Hill, Md., reports he recently completed 
casting a full case of 8-point 648 on his 
Sorts Caster (who says you can't do small type 
on a Sorts Caster?) and then jumped into a 
special project casting 16 point 668 caps on a 
12-point body. "The Sorts Caster has become an
invaluable aid-I break out in grins every time 
I think of its versatility."


You can't accuse me of not making stupid 
errors. Just look at the cover of my last 
Newsletter. Right there in 30-point type it 
says "Number 17." Not so. Inside on page one it 
says No. 18, and that's for real. Sorry 'bout 
that bibliographers!




Technical Matters

Dan Solo of Oakland, Calif., sent a very kind
letter. His "Solotype" collection of over 
10,000 alphabets, nearly all retouched repros 
of good old letterpress fonts, is well-known 
and reaching an even greater audience through 
books published by Dover, demonstrated his 
extensive knowledge of typefounding and 
electroplating techniques by pointing out 
technical errors in my last Newsletter. "I have 
never heard of chrome being used as a starting 
layer but rather as a 'wash' (a very thin 
layer) applied after the matrix is totally 
finished and ready for use. I think the chrome 
was generally applied to matrices engraved in 
free-machining brass. If you look at ATF's 
washed mats, you can almost see the brass 
through the chrome—it is that thin. I believe 
the theory here is that the tin the type metal 
has an affinity for the copper in the brass, 
and ultimately will cause pitting. The chrome 
wash keeps the type metal from touching the 
brass." At one time, Dan owned two Thompsons 
and a pivotal, plus a horizontal pantagraph and 
a Benton engraving machine, but he broke 
himself of the habit. "I am certain that if 
typefounding were a viable business today, I 
would be in it. I never did anything in my life 
that I enjoyed more."


It's Always a Pleasure to hear from Arvind 
Patel, a typefounder from Ahmedabad, India. His
far-ranging letters demonstrate an extensive 
knowledge of American typefounding, including 
the use of the Thompson. In discussing the 
casting of quotation quads on the Thompson, for 
example, he explained "we had to get a special 
cam for the matrix holder which would draw the 
protruding part out of the type mold. The 
Thompson company did not make or supply it. A 
local technician made it for us." This answers 
a question I've always had regarding how to use 
the special quotation quad matrices I have with 
my machine. I will also admit to never making 
the effort to actually use them with my 
Thompson. With this new knowledge, I'm glad I 
didn't!


Phil Driscoll of Clinton, Mich., has forwarded
an excellent ar:ticle from the magazine, 
American Rifleman, August, 1993, titled 
"Bullet Casting and the EPA." The article 
identifies the process of drossing a pot as 
something which generates hazardous waste, 
saying to be safe, dross must be stored in a 
leakproof container with lids that will prevent 
lead dust from blowing around. "This is where 
the average bullet caster will find himself in 
a dilemma. If you can't legally throw lead 
smelting waste in the trash, or take it to a 
dump or keep it forever, what can you do with 
it?" The writer is to be commended for listing 
about 16 companies which will accept dross. If 
you want a copy of the article, contact Phil at 
135 East Church Street, Clinton, Mich. 49236.


Dan Garr of Ashuelot, N. H., responds to my 
efforts to run Caslon 337 tighter than 
recommended. "I do enjoy your refitting of 337. 
This is one of the most rewarding aspects of 
owning your own typefoundry—rewarding and 
incredibly time consuming. I have done refits 
for 36-point Caslon 337 which I tightened up 
and also cast-so that it could be underleaded 
(i.e., on 30 pt.), and on English Monotype 
Bodoni, 16 and 8 pt. which I opened up and 
equalized the space surrounding each letter. 
Even one eighth of a point can make an 
enormous difference in the quality, but the 
Bodoni took nearly a week to refit."


Interested in acquiring. I have received a 
letter from BRIAN ZuGEL (508) 428-6485, who now 
lives at Cape Codd, Mass. He is the former 
son-in-law of the late Harry Bollinger of 
Alden, Mich. Brian says "I am interested in 
acquiring a Monotype, either a flatbed 
letterpress, Kluge, or Heidelberg Windmill, a 
lock-up table, type cases, a proof press, and 
miscellaneous equipment." If you're in the New 
England area and can help out, please give him 
a call.




Product For Preventing Type Rust
—Richard L. Hopkins

Does type rust? Absolutely. Especially if it is 
new, uninked, and in a humid environment. Dave 
Peat of Indianapolis, Ind., a man who has 
revived, cleaned, and carefully stored more 
antique fonts than most of us have ever thought 
about, recommends a product called Sheath RB-I 
Water Displacing Rust Preventive for use on all 
type which is going to be stored for a while. 
It's made by Birchwood Laboratories, Inc., of
Eden Prairie, Minn. It's described as a "water 
displacing corrosion inhibitor, fingerprint 
neutralizer, and lubricant for all metals. It 
forms a thin, transparent film which lifts 
moisture from metal pores and prevents 
corrosion with a continuous polar protective
film... Harmless to plastics, rubber, paints. 
Contains no silicone or wax." Having lost 
brand-new type to corrosion, I was looking for 
something like this. I've put the stuff in a 
spray bottle and now spray any galley of type 
before its stored. Thus far, I'm very excited 
about the prospects. Ask me in 30 years 
whether it works as well as I expect it will.




Treating Medical Burns
—Richard L. Hopkins

Medical Alert. If you're into working around
molten metal, you're bound to get yourself 
burned sooner or later. Theo Rehak absolutely 
swears by a product called Silvadene. It is a 
prescription drug, but perhaps you can get your 
doctor to write a prescription so you can have 
the salve on hand before it is needed. Theo 
says it not only promotes healing, but actually 
minimizes permanent scars also. My doctor, in 
writing out a prescription for me, expressed 
doubt about avoiding scars, and added this 
important advice: Even before you knock the hot 
metal off your body, rush to ice or cold water 
to immediately reduce the temperature of the 
burned area. He says super-heated water within 
body tissue causes as much or more damage than 
the metal itself, and quick cooling can 
significantly reduce damage to your skin.




Comments on ATF Liquidation

I have received numerous kind comments 
regarding my handling of the American Type 
Founders auction in the last Newsletter. Some 
have reported they still are unable to read the 
piece in its entirety for they become too 
dejected. We devotees took the heat in a letter 
printed in X-height, but that writer was so 
ill-informed she should never have been 
printed. (Mac McGrew came to our defense with 
excellent rebuttal.)


JERRY KELLY of New York City wrote his reaction
to the sale this way: "You summed up my 
feelings, and I would guess the feelings of all 
those at the sale, so very well. It was 
depressing and fascinating; a bizarre madhouse, 
made bearable only by the presence of so many 
devoted friends."


Alan Waring of Fairfield, Conn., said "Can't 
thank you enough for the account of one of the 
saddest funerals of all time. It is a pathetic 
history of the ineptitude of owners and 
management. The throat was cut a long time ago, 
and it would have necessitated a great deal
more than a transfusion to quicken the corpse."


Another gratifying response to my piece on ATF
came from J. Eo NEWMAN, Edgewater, Fla. "To say
your report was moving is certainly putting it 
mildly. Although I've enjoyed and kept all of 
the previous issues, this one surely is the gem 
of them all. I'm just so glad that you and 
others were able to save some of those 
historical and irreplaceable items. Bravo!"


Wilbur Doctor  of Kingston, R.I., said he had
read several reports on the auction, but "with 
their limited scope had not given a clue to 
what a wall-to-wall nasty operation was run... 
You've made an important contribution to hot 
metal history."


Al Fick of Cottonwood, Ariz., put it this way:
"American Type Founders touched the lives of so
many printers that a person who worked at the 
trade and used that lovely formed lead from New 
Jersey would have to be made of stone not to be 
moved emotionally on hearing of the ignominious 
end of an epoch. Your account (is)... a 
sad/splendid '30' to ATF."


McGREW View Gasparic Differently 
"You and others have described George Gasparik 
as "cantankerous," or other less-than-endearing 
terms, but somehow I got in good with him 
comparatively, at least. On my latter visit, he 
and other staffers escorted small groups of us 
through the works. I deliberately got in 
George's group, and gave him 'a print copy of 
an article I hand written about Morris Benton.
That must have impressed him, because a couple 
of times later he phoned and asked me to send 
copies to people who had asked ATF for such 
information. When I had exhausted other sources 
for specimens of various rare ATF faces, I sent 
a list to George. He went through company files 
(although not all the way or very thoroughly, I 
suspect) and pulled out several gems which 
otherwise would not have been well represented 
in the book. 
—Mac McGrew, Pittsburgh, Pa.


"Love it. Read every word. Thanks for your 
martyrdom." George Olcott, Prats de Mollo, 
France.


"I am aware of the time commitment you face and 
I must congratulate you on your work. I look 
forward to getting future issues as they are 
released."
-Michael J. Coughlin, St. Paul, Minn.




A Self-Contained Cooling System
—Jim Walczak
Oxon Hill, Maryland

My foundry is a 16x24 backyard shed with only 
a woodstove for comfort during cold winter 
months. Although casting has progressed 
successfully on a year-round basis, there has 
been some aggravation associated with my 
city-water plumbing network to cool the molds 
and to carry off the waste water (which was 
collected in a 55-gallon drum for garden use).
 
After four years of fussing with overly cold 
water, worrying about waste of a precious 
resource, and repairing freeze-cracked copper 
lines in winter, I decided to make a 
self-contained cooling system. I leaned toward 
a gravity-fed tank system suggested in the 
English Monotype School instruction manual. 
This low-tech approach grew complicated as I 
added up the components: Two tanks, pumps, 
float-valve, piping, hoses, electrical wiring, 
and even wood framing to support the supply 
tank 10 feet overhead.

At the ATF Conference in Buena Park, the 
subject surfaced in discussions with our 
proverbial inventor and idea man Monroe 
Postman. He said "No problem" and described a 
"closed loop" he had built and was using 
successfully in his shop. He rigged a pump, 
motor, pressure gauge, bypass valve and hoses 
on a bucket full of antifreeze and said it 
worked fine.

It started with a bronze gear pump from W. W.
Grainger, Inc. I can't detail all the mistakes 
and trips to the hardware stores I had to make 
before getting happy results. After successful 
casting runs with the cooling unit attached to 
my Thompson and my Sorts Caster, J have 
started ripping out some of the over I 20 feet 
of outmoded pipes and drainage to my four 
machines. In less than five minutes I can wheel 
the unit to any of them, make hose connections 
and go to work. Starting and stopping the flow 
is a simple flip of a switch. Flow control is 
easily adjusted by output and bypass valves on 
the unit, and whatever valves are on the caster 
itself.

I modified each of my casters by attaching a 
short piece of washing machine hose to the 
water supply line on the front of the machine. 
The only other modification is the plugging of 
the machine drain and rerouting drainage to my 
device. I'll be happy to provide a schematic 
and bill of materials for anyone interested. 

Speaking of Jim Walczak, he writes in October 
saying he'd just survived a heart bypass 
operation. Good news!




Cutting Punches for Regulus
—Dan Carr

Beginning in the Boston Atheneum with my first 
reading of Joseph Moxon's Mechanick Exercises 
on the Whole Art of Printing I acquired an 
interest in the making of type that has reached 
well beyond my devotion to its use. Many years 
later the spark ignited that day has lead to 
the design and cutting of the type you are now
reading, which I have called Regulus.

That sunny autumn day as I read the chapters 
describing the cutting of punches by hand I 
absorbed Moxon's enthusiasm for type and type 
design. The Oxford edition was rich with the 
vivacity of the hand-cut Fell types used in 
headings and the Van Dijck text types which had 
been derived from the same originals Moxon 
admired. Perhaps the most enduring inspiration 
came from the notes made by Harry Carter, where 
it was not possible to miss the delight. I 
remember spending some time studying the Fell 
alphabets, wondering why I found these 
irregular letters fascinating and satisfying. 
It would take the effort of cutting my own type 
to answer that question.

Cutting punches seemed impossible, so I read up 
on hand molds and later tried to make a 
primitive contrivance with a Monotype display 
matrix clamped to its end. Eventually I did 
cast and hand trim the feet of enough letters 
to print a simple logo for my press, but soon 
enough I had a chance I'd thought impossible. I
got a Monotype casting machine. In 1977 I'd 
thought there were no more machines left for 
sale. I kept reading about handmade punches, 
matrices and molds, but I was busy learning the 
mechanics of a Composition Caster. Occasionally 
I would buy files or other tools I thought 
might do the things Moxon described.

In 1984 there was a Conference of the American
Typecasting Fellowship in Washington, D.C. 
Julia Ferrari, my partner at Golgonooza Letter 
Foundry, and I decided we ought to go, but for 
me there was an added attraction. At the 
meeting, a punchcutter, Warren Chappell, was 
to speak and I determined that was the time to 
learn more about punchcutting. I was also 
looking forward to meeting Stan Nelson who I'd 
heard was a practicing punchcutter. By the 
time that we were heading back home I had been 
advised that cutting punches was not 
impossible. I'd seen Stan cut a punch and 
furthermore, he'd promised to help.

Because of the fortunate contacts at this 
meeting Julia and I went to England in the 
Fall to attend the Monotype School and while 
we were there with the help of Harry Weam we 
acquired the necessary matrix holder for 
casting foundry matrices on a Thompson caster. 
Most of the other tools I used were gathered
from flea markets or were homemade; friends 
began to send me files and gravers. So with a 
well-seasoned desire and much good help I was 
launched. Before long I was cutting ornaments 
and accents; then a set of figures, some large 
trial letters one of which is used above as the 
initial; then I cut long descenders for 12 
point Bodoni and I began to cut Regulus.

Cutting a whole typeface even in one size takes 
some time and it takes a little longer when you 
are evolving the design as you go along. I 
determined that it would be a learning process; 
I wanted to discover how certain qualities of 
hand-cut type faces related to the use of the 
particular tools, but also it was to be a 
finished work when done. In 1989 the lowercase 
was completed. After much delay, capitals were 
completed in 1994.

In the meantime I learned much. I progressed 
from hammering my punches into the copper to 
pressing them in to make matrices. From heating 
punches for hardening with a torch I switched 
to using an oven. Instead of justifying 
matrices by hand (that is, by filing them 
square to set the eye of the casting cavity at 
a specific and even depth) I began using a 
milling machine. At every stage new tools and 
jigs were made at our foundry or rescued from 
the recent general disposal of the American 
metals industries. The most valuable clues came 
when, in 1992, I had the good fortune to go to 
Paris and learn from professional punchcutters 
the traditional techniques of punchcutting 
handed down there continuously for at least 350 
years. That story has been told in these pages 
before. Gradually, I gained a better sense of 
the craft.

So it is with the pride of a long and 
difficult, though joyful, endeavor brought to 
completion that I present the first several 
lines of this article set here in Regulus, a 
type cut by hand at the close of the twentieth 
century, a proof that the value of an art or a 
craft is in its practice. The first use of the 
type is in a book of poems to be published by 
Golgonooza Letter Foundry. A prospectus is 
available from the foundry at P.0. Box 111, 
Ashuelot, N. H. 03441.




The Joy of Taming a Thompson
—John A. Hern, Jr.

Subtitled: "How to get out of a dead-end job 
and learn a new and exciting career."

I love type. I like the different faces and 
sizes, I like the pin marks, I like the 
notches, I even like the weight. I like new 
type and old type; unusual and common type. I 
love it all. I have maybe 750 cases of type, 
and just added onto my warehouse so I can store 
more type. Recently I have become depressed 
because sources are drying up and I can't 
satisfy my lust for more type. The local 
printers whom I haven't managed to clean out 
lock their doors and pull down the shades when 
they see me coming.

Imagine my pleasure when I saw that Dave 
Churchman was advertising some Thompson 
casters. Visions ran through my mind of galleys 
of new type, type in packages, type in cases, 
type all over the shop. I called Dave, who 
convinced me I could not live another day 
without a Thompson, and that my life would be 
even more pleasurable with four. Cashing in my 
life insurance, I sent my check and awaited 
their shipment. 

After an agonizing wait, two huge crates with a 
$800 freight bill were delivered to my shop. 
The freight company had written down the wrong 
class of freight, and following much heated 
discussion, will be dragging him into court 
next week.

Next came the job of deciding which Thompson to 
get running first. Really, it wasn't too big a 
choice, the one that had a motor and a pot 
looked most promising.

A day and a half of cleaning with solvent, 
scrapers and wire brushes got it ready to go to 
work. The pot was easy, it was not hooked onto 
the machine so I put the whole thing in the 
solvent tank. There is a nifty hand wheel on 
the right side of the machine to turn it over 
manually, but would you believe-they don't say
which way it is supposed to turn. Clunk. 
Sproing. I decide it doesn't go 
counterclockwise. Hmm. It doesn't go clockwise 
either. Wait. It would turn if I put the thing 
in neutral. Wham! Let's see. "Do not turn the
machine over and permit pump cam lever 
(a76TcIT) to drop when pot is disconnected. The 
blow may break the lever." Gee. If it was that 
important, why did they put it on page 74? Who 
reads beyond page 3 anyway?

O.K., it goes clockwise, in neutral, everything 
is turning freely; time to wire up the motor. 
Can't really see the nameplate, but the voltage 
is 220. No problem. I remove the remains of the 
old switch that looks like something found on 
the front of a 1910 electric range, hook it up 
to the 220 single-phase circuit, and hey, it 
turns. Grind. Grind. Grind. 0.K., shut it off 
and oil it. I have some open gear "tar" grease. 
Work a little onto the gear, try it again. Nice 
and quiet. Next I turn it on and let it run for 
an hour or so while further details are seen 
to, such as the drip oiler and hooking up the 
gas.

Natural gas isn't available, but gas is gas, 
right? I use propane. I don't have a propane 
regulator, so I use the acetylene regulator 
from a cutting outfit. I turn on the gas, stand 
back, and try to light a match. Another match. 
Another. Whump! Well, I was getting tired of
shaving anyway, and haircuts cost $7.50 these 
days what with the barber college closing down.

The book says it takes 45 minutes to melt a 
potful of metal, about what my Model 31 
Linotype takes, so I write the time on the pot 
in chalk to check it out. I adjust the 
regulator. The fire goes out. I light it again,
adjust the regulator, it goes out. I light it. 
I set the thermostat for 600 degrees: It goes 
out. I crank up the regulator, set the 
thermostat to 800 degrees, it doesn't go out. I 
sit down and rest. Next time I look at the pot
the whole thing is on fire; the solvent in the 
insulation from immersing it in the solvent 
tank is burning. Oh well, maybe it will melt 
faster. It couldn't melt slower; two hours 
later and it barely is hot enough to cast a 36
point square dingbat, but-hey! Here are some 
results.

I turn the machine by hand and notice the cast 
character is not centered on the type body. No 
problem, that's what this nifty little screw on 
the mat holder is for. I try again. And again. 
0.K. It looks good. Now, I engage the motor. 
Perchunk, perchunk, perchunk—type comes out. 
Now, this is the way to make type. Finally I 
relax a bit and watch the machine do the work. 
S. Ss. Sss. Ssss. Squirt. Squirt. Oops. Running
too-fast; not enough time to cool down. I 
engage the stop motion and put the machine in 
its slowest gear. Perfect type every time. 
Anybody care for an 18-point square dingbat on 
a 36-point body?

Realizing this is perhaps not the most popular 
item, I decide to change mats. I clamp up a 
little squiggly matrix and close up the mold to 
18 points. I turn on the machine. Squirt! I 
make several rapid circuits of the shop 
thinking about hot lead, Thompson Typecasters, 
and Dave Churchman. Returning to the machine, I 
notice the five-gallon bucket that is catching 
my cooling water runoff is overflowing all over 
the floor and under the wall into the room next 
door. By now it is evening: the fuse that blew 
when the motor jammed hasn't been replaced, so 
the hall lights are off. As I run at top speed 
into the next room to save things on the floor 
from water damage, I don't notice the door is 
closed. Fortunately, the door is repairable.

Subsequent casting sessions have seen improved 
gas nozzles and a better understanding of the 
machine operation. I missed out on Rich 
Hopkins' Monotype seminar; but I do learn by 
experience-if slowly. I have had a great deal 
of help from other operators over the phone as 
well. At the time of this writing, I have about 
ten galleys of dingbats, and am getting a 
second machine ready to work. I am in need of 
parts, especially mat holders and mold parts, 
mats, and additional machines. Any help would 
be appreciated; call me at (800) 228-7794 days 
or (208) 667-4043 evenings Pacific time. My 
address is John Hern, 1900 Millview, Coeur 
d'Alene, Idaho 83814.




The Pinmark Re-Emerges
—Richard L. Hopkins

The mere fact that one has any recollection of 
what metal type is about is surprising enough 
in today's environment. Still being able to 
make one's own type is just short of a minor 
miracle. But then to be able to put some sort 
of distinguishing mark on that type is 
literally beyond comprehension—just the sort of 
goal which would haunt someone like the 
proprietor of the Hill & Dale Private Press and 
Typefoundry.

Those who study typefounding history know the 
early founders frequently identified their 
types through the use of a "pinmark." 
Initially, the pin was functional in the 
casting of type in a hand mold and also on the 
pivotal caster as a means of retaining the type 
in the mold until it ws the appropriate time 
for it to be extracted. With more recent 
developments in typecasting machinery, such as 
the Barth caster at American Type Founders, or 
the various Monotype and Thompson casters, the 
pink lost its functional use and disappeared 
from the caster's mold. ATF actually ground off 
some pin marks in older molds which still were 
used, and ceased using the pinmark to 
distinguish its production.

Taking the opposite approach, other 
typefounders used special means to retain this 
"mark" on their types even though doing so was 
beyond the functional necessities of their 
operations. Certainly it was their mind that 
having a distinguishing pinmark made their 
founders product a little more "authentic" or 
unique. 

Baltotype was one such organization. Though in 
its earlier years Baltotype is reputed to have 
had some authentic early foundry casting 
equipment, very quickly (like about 1920?) this 
equipment was abandoned in favor of more 
productive Monotype equipment. Somehow there 
was a stigma associated with being a "Monotype" 
foundry. Yet Baltotype was far more than that, 
actually creating matrices for some of its own 
fonts, and being aggressive in introducing new 
fonts by electrodeposition matrices. The series 
which Baltotype called "Airport" was 
electrodeposited from Futura matrices imported 
from Germany many years before Lanston Monotype 
got around to introducing "20th Century." 
Indeed, a few Airport variations always offered 
by Balto never were manufactured by Lanston. 
Perhaps for these reasons, Baltotype felt if 
prudent to make its type appear in every way 
more like "foundry" type by modifying its 
Thompson caster modes with a special 
larger-sized nick, and a pinmark.

When Baltotype unceremoniously was liquidated 
in the late 1970's, all the company's Thompson 
casters were purchased and shipped to 
California. Ten years later, I acquired the 
bulk of Baltotype's matrix collection, along 
with one composition caster, from Herb 
Ccarnowski, former vice-president of Baltotype, 
who had purchased these materials at the 
liquidation auction, and had operated (with his 
two nephews, Tom and Bob Fokker), Volker 
Brothers Type Foundry after the Baltotype 
demise. With this equipment were several boxes 
of stuff which literally took months to unpack 
and sort out.

One afternoon I unpacked a parcel which 
contained a complete set of Thompson caster 
body pieces. Close inspection revealed, much to 
my delight, that all contained the 
distinguishing Baltotype pinmark. My thoughts 
quickened at the prospect of reviving the Balto 
pinmark in my own castings. I even tore down my 
Thompson mold and began inserting the body 
pieces when I discovered Balto also had an 
oversized nick. The mis-match was 
irreconcilable. If I attempted to use the body 
pieces, metal would squirt through the open 
hick and screw up the works big time.

On several occasions later on, I tried 
unsuccessfully to trace the original Baltotype 
Thompson casters in hopes of getting one of 
Balto's unique models. Then last year I 
acquired what remained of the Thompson 
equipment at the Kelsey Company. This included 
one completely unfunctional Thompson mold which 
didn't even have a nick. It was work, banged 
up, and designed for casting .047" matrices 
instead of Lanston's more common .050" mats.

The thought popped into my mind. Perhaps this 
mold could be milled down and fitted with a new 
pin, and perhaps it could be made to 
accommodate the Baltoype body pieces. Surely my 
good friend Dick Hartzell, though now retired, 
might be able to help me so I sent the mold off 
to his company, Hartzell Machine Works, now 
operated by his son. 

That was the right move! It took a few months, 
but Dick became infected by my enthusiasm and 
by scrounging through stuff stashed at the 
plant, found necessary components and agreed to 
rework the mold. In the process, Dick told me 
Hartzell Machine Works had always done special 
Balto body pieces fitted with unengraved pinks, 
put into supply many years ago in anticipation 
of future orders from Baltotype.

Being of no present use to him, Dick agreed to 
let me have these body pieces with the refitted 
mold.

My first casting of type with a Baltotype 
pinmark in my refitted mold, was done in late 
December, 1994. Now I'm actively seeking help 
in engraving the pinks of these new body pieces 
so that the Hill and Dale Foundry will be able 
to cast type with its own, unique and 
absolutely distinguishing pinmark.

There ca be nothing more esoteric, totally 
useless and still absolutely wonderful. Other 
typefounders can only dream of having their own 
pinmark. I soon will haven, even if I have to 
engrave the pins with chisel! I expect 
commensurate congratulatory notes from all you 
envious typecasters out there!

If you're a typecaster and want your specimens 
reviewed here, do some setup at 17 picas and 
send it off to me. I'll be happy to include it 
in the next Newsletter. An article about what 
you're doing will be welcome too!




Ripley's Lanston "Believe It Or Not"
—Richard L. Hopkins

My mother kept this clipping of Ripley's 
"Believe it or Not''.from the March IJ, I9JJ, 
Charle§ton ( W Va.} Gazette, published six 
years before I was born. Surely she had no hint 
there'd be a printer in the fam ily. The 
caption read "1oo Linotypists could set all the 
words of all the languages on earth in less 
than 12 days: Within this time they could set 
in type every word acquired by the human race 
in 50,000,000 years." Well, perhaps.




Mergenthaler Stamp To Be Issued (At Last!)
—Richard L. Hopkins

Just as forms were being closed for this 
edition, Carl Schlesinger called reporting 
success in his enduring effort to have Ottmar 
Mergenthaler, inventor of the Linotype, 
commemorated via a postage -stamp. The United 
States Postal Service has announced a 32-cent 
stamp honoring Mergenthaler will be part of a 
block of four honoring important American 
inventors.

Carl, author/editor of The Biography of Ottmar 
Mergenthaler (available through Oak Knoll 
Books), was a technical consultant on the 
Mergenthaler stamp and has long championed 
issuance of such a commemorative. The first-day 
issue will be at the Postage Stamp Mega-Event 
Show at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in 
New York City February 22, 1996.

The stamp, measuring 1 5/16" x 1 9/16", will be 
printed in color via offset. The other 
"communications pioneers" also featured will be 
Frederic E. Ives, developer of the glass 
crossline screen in 1885 enabling halftone 
photo reproduction), William Kennedy-Laurie
Dickson, producer in 1891 (with Thomas Edison) 
of the Kinetoscope, a forerunner to motion 
picture photography, and Eadweard Muybridge, 
who in 1877 did pioneering work in the 
development of stop-action photography.




Extremely Rare Lanston Matrix Case
—Richard L. Hopkins

So why is Rich showinig a photo of a Monotype 
mat case? Because it's an extremely rare 
Lanston mat case made before cellular mats were 
invented, probably around 1904-1908. Prior to 
seeing this one at Pat Taylor's in November, I 
didn't think any had survived.

From Lanston's Pony Specimen Book of Monotype 
Faces, published around 1912, it is stated "In 
1904 we received four first order, 28 
Monotypes, from the Government Printing Office. 
To fill this specification we had to make new 
matrices and we determined to furnish these in 
the cellular form, on which we had been 
experimenting for several years... In 1908 we 
perfected our mold for casting low spaces and 
quads, or high if desired, in lines of 
justified  matter which enabled us to reduce 
the 'depth of drive' to .030"...

"We shared our improvements with our customers,
who returned every old matrix they had, whether 
worn out or not, for liberal credit in exchange 
for cellular matrices."

I thought Lanston had succeeded in getting all 
the old matrices out of circulation, but the 
two gems in Pat Taylor's possession prove this 
wrong. These mats pre-date the cellular matrix 
and are held in the case by parallel rods just 
as English matrices. The mats themselves are 
much less sophisticated. And yes, they're .050" 
drive, verifying all that was said so long ago. 
Note the bar attached to the end by two screws, 
used to hold the rods in place. And note the 
back side (inset) where there's no steel cover 
to protect the cone holes.




Dispelling Caslon Myths
—Richard L. Hopkins

Typographic History is stepped in little 
tidbits of information that go a long way in 
helping us better understand and appreciate the 
designs associated with the tales. The long 
history of Caslon is punctuated by tales of 
disappearance and revival. Legend has such 
events taking place over the past 200 years in 
both the United States and England. No matter 
how appealing, unfortunately these stories do 
not stand up to close examination.

Perhaps from the outset we should be clear as 
to which Caslon letterform is being discussed. 
Long before the present explosion of type 
designs, there already were numerous faces 
carrying the Caslon name. For instance, the 
American Type Founders listing of "Unclassified 
Type Faces and Sizes" published in the 
company's 1951 specimen book, listed 3 I faces 
by that name in addition to the eight designs 
then in active circulation.(1) Many had little or 
no resemblance to the original design and it is 
the original which is of concern here-the 
design created by the first William Caslon back 
around 1725 (when he cut his first font of pica 
type) in England. William Caslon is heralded as 
England's first major type designer and he 
enjoyed the good fortune of being able to 
capitalize on his creative genius, building it 
into a type-founding enterprise which endured 
for several centuries. The Stephenson-Blake 
foundry that existed until very recently in 
England traced itself to William Caslon I. 

After introduction, the Caslon letterform grew 
to dominance in England, outselling the Dutch 
models which had been in vogue in that country. 
Ready availability had much to do with this 
success, for it surely was easier to buy from a 
founder in London than import from a 
typefounder on the Continent. It was only 
natural, then, that the Colonial American 
printers would obtain their types from this 
same London enterprise and thus, Caslon was the 
dominant (but not exclusive) design found in 
most Colonial American Printing offices.

For Americans, this type should have a tender, 
deep rooted appeal as it was the typeface used 
by John Dunlap, of Philadelphia, in setting up 
the Declaration of Independence, in 1776. Here, 
not overseas, it gained its greatest support. 
The American Type Founders, in 1895, was the 
first to call it by its designer's name. Only 
18 years later did the Caslon foundry in 
England, adopt the designation.(2)

As other designs (and typefounders) came on the 
market, Caslon's influence was slowly 
diminished and ultimately, the original face 
fell into obscurity. If you are to believe 
legends, the face was totally unknown to 
contemporary printers by the 1850's. The modern 
style of roman letter introduced by 
Giambattista Bodoni in Italy had become a 
dominant influence of the day and even the 
Caslon-Smith foundry, as the firm was then 
known, offered such "newer" letter styles to 
satisfy printer demands. The stage was set for 
a "revival." The story is well told by of 
typographic history and creator of the 
legendary ATF Typographic Library.

In a lengthy article published by The Inland 
Printer, April, 1921, titled "William Cason and 
His Types,"(3) Bullen makes great effort to 
dispel some of the myth related to the first 
revival. Therein he recounts that in 1844, 
Charles Whittingham, a famous London printer, 
was embarking on printing a volume entitled The 
Diary of Lady Willoughby and sought a strong 
old style appearance in keeping with a document 
related to the reign of Charles I. 

Through studying earlier type specimens, 
Whittingham decided the original Caslon face 
would be altogether appropriate. So he went to 
the Caslon-Smith typefoundry in search of the 
original types. The claim was made in an 1896 
article published by the Grolier Club in New 
York, that "the establishment of Caslon was 
ransacked for the punches and matrices, and 
that missing ones had to be replaced."

Bullen goes to great detail in quoting from 
Caslon specimen books of that period, all of 
which proudly asserted "this foundry includes 
the works of hate justly celebrated William 
Caslon, by whom it was originally established." 
Bullen concludes that it was very unlikely 
there was a need to ransack the foundry. The 
matrices surely were kept in a n orderly and 
reverent fashion, readily available once the 
need was reestablished.

After publication of the Diary, popularity of 
the original Caslon design slowly increased. It 
was not until as late as 1860, however, that 
the original design once again was shown in a 
Caslon foundry specimen book. Bullen notes it 
had been absent since 1786. Even when not 
listed, however, the foundry made statements 
such as this, which would give credence to 
Bullen's assertion that the design was far from 
"lost" at the foundry:

This establishment is also possessed of the 
original works of the justly celebrated William 
Caslon, which were engraved in the early part 
of the last century. Among these are the 
improved Elzevir's, now so frequently used by 
most eminent printers and admirers of the art 
of typography in reprinting facsimiles of the 
works of old authors and antiquarian records.

It might also be noted here that A. F. Johnson, 
in his A History of The Old English Letter 
Foundries, suggests in a footnote that the 
Caslon face never went completely out of style 
in England, and that, indeed, Whittingham had 
used the face on the title pages of books 
printed of Pickering in 1840.(5)

After dismissing the English revival, Bullen 
begins to tell the story of how the 
Philadelphia typefounder Lawrence Johnson, in 
1858, "visited the Caslon typefoundry in London 
and there purchased special casts of all the 
characters of all sizes of the Caslon types 
with which to make facsimile matrices for use 
in his typefoundry." As it happened, Caslon 
types were shown in Johnson's house-organ at 
least a year before they reappeared in a Caslon 
specimens book.

It also should be noted that the design itself 
was first labeled "Caslon" by Henry Bullen in 
ATF's first collective type specimens book of 
1895. The Caslon foundry had theretofore called 
it "Old Face."(6)

This Johnson legend is dear to this author's 
heart, for the Hill & Dale Private Typefoundry 
now possesses most of the Caslon matrices 
herein alluded to. Other sources suggest that 
Johnson, rather than obtaining casts of the 
Caslon letters, actually had strikes made from 
the original punches held at the Caslon 
foundry. This would have been altogether 
reasonable, for why go the trouble of 
elctrodepositing (a process very much in its 
infancy at the time, by the way) matrices from 
types specially cast for the purpose when the 
punches were also available? Indeed, this 
theory is borne out by the fact that some of 
the Caslon mats now in my possession very 
obviously are driven matrices.

There's no doubt some of them are historic 
matrices dating back to 1858 and Laurence, 
Johnson. But perhaps their significance is 
overplayed by Bullen, who would have been 
partial to such a cute story, and thus, less 
inclined to do the exhaustive research he 
invested in the Whittingham episode. His 
statements regarding the Johnson revival imply 
that Caslon had disappeared from use in this 
country and that Johnson, keen on typographic 
events in England, carried the revival to the 
United States.

Knowing no better, I subscribed to this notion 
myself until the late 1960's when I struck up 
correspondence with Bob Bretz, then curator of 
special collections at the Carey Library of 
Rochester Institute of Technology. With access 
to to so many historic documents at his 
library, he spotted incongruity in the story. 

He discovered printed documents employing 
Caslon types with definite publication dates in 
the 1850's, and also cited typefounder's 
specimen pages showing the Caslon face in all 
its glory, specifically specimens of the John 
T. White Typefoundry of New York. These 
specimen pages also date to the late 1850's. 
With this and many other "sightings" to 
reinforce his theory, Bob suggested the Caslon 
design never really went out of style in the 
United States as it purportedly did in England. 
Perhaps it was no longer as popular, but at 
least one typefounder was still showing it in 
his specimen book prior to when Johnson 
"revived" it.

All these details had fallen into the dark 
crevices of my memory until collaborating, 
recently, with Dave Peat of Indianapolis on the 
reproduction of an extremely rare type specimen 
in his extensive collection. As his printer, I 
was focusing on camera techniques and fidelity 
of reproduction—and color separation of an 
extremely rare two-color page—all in an effort 
to make this specimens reproduction from the 
Boston Type Foundry, dated 1856, to be as good 
as it possibly could be. The negatives were 
made direct from the original, so I had the 
privilege of handling those remarkably 
well-preserved pages extensively during the 
process.(7)

Then, after the project was finished, it hit 
me. The publication included a full page of 
Caslon specimens. In my estimation, they're 
authentic Caslon letters, too. Thus, this is at 
least the second type foundry known to be 
offering Caslon types prior to the Johnson 
"revival" of 1858.

Surely Bullen had access to such specimens when 
he wrote the articles quoted earlier. But 
there's another factor which must be realized. 
Bullen's article evolves into a discussion of 
how ATF handled Caslon. The designation ATF 
gave the Johnson matrices when they took 
possession of them after closing the 
Philadelphia facility was "471." MacKellar, 
Smiths and Jordan, successors to Johnson, 
earlier had designated the face "71" and the 
"4" was added by ATF to denote the matrices had 
come from the Philadelphia foundry. 

Later, Bullen notes, the descenders were 
shortened to make Caslon 540, a face which 
conformed to the ATF "standard line" created 
early in this century. He points out that for a 
brief period, Caslon 471 was taken out of 
production by ATR in favor of 540.

In other words, the article evolved into a 
thinly veiled promotion of ATF's Caslon types. 
If you might have thought Bullen to be an 
impartial historian, keep in mind that he was 
advertising and publicity director for American 
Type Founders, a role he had much experience 
with. Indeed, Bullen's first significant job in 
graphic arts was that of advertising director 
for Golding Company (a manufacturer of graphic 
arts equipment including platen presses), so 
there's no doubt he knew what was necessary to 
promote a company's "official line."(8)

For this reason, perhaps he chose to omit 
pertinent facts to give greater authenticity to 
the matrices then in the possession of his 
employer—ATF. By 1921, when the article was 
written, the matrices of probably all the other 
foundries mentioned herein also were in 
possession of ATF because of mergers and 
buyouts. ATF had the choice of which Caslon 
face would be used by the foundry. Perhaps the 
Johnson matrices were judged to be closest to 
the original. Or perhaps Johnson matrices were 
merely in better condition. Or perhaps they 
were better matched to the casting equipment 
adopted by the consolidated foundry.

It might be wise to insert here the observation 
that several typefounders claimed to have 
"original" Caslon renderings. Here's a 
contemporary view of these offerings by Lewis 
Gandy, as Caslon approached a high-point in 
popularity right after the turn of the century:

So great has been the demand for it that very 
type foundry has a "Caslon," and it has also 
been cut in many sizes for the composing 
machines.

What are the virtues, and what are the 
shortcomings of Caslon type?

... It would seem all type founders consider it 
a good face—that all it needs is a few 
"improvements" to make it perfect. For that 
reason they have in many stances mailed it 
almost beyond recognition. One of the chief 
sinners in this respect is American Type 
Founders Company. Being the successor of the 
Johnson Type Foundry... they have always been 
in a position to supply the genuine Caslon, 
their No. 471. But they do not show this face 
in their specimen book. 

Instead, they offer what they call Lining 
Caslon; that is, Caslon's face with shortened 
descenders so the various sizes can be cast on 
smaller bodies.

Another equally great sinner is the Keystone 
Type Foundry, who have "improved" Caslon's 
design to its damage.

But the greatest sinner is the Inland Type 
Foundry, who emasculated the Caslon letter 
until its every virtue was destroyed.

The Linotype Company has other been guiltless, 
for instead of cutting for its machine the 
genuine Caslon it copied the Inland Type 
Foundry model.

The Monotype Company is another iconoclast that 
must here be hauled to the bar of justice. In 
1902 it made a very good copy of Caslon's 
10-point size, and later of the 6- and 8-point 
sizes. But instead of adhering to the good 
example already set, it chose as models for the 
other sizes up to 36-point the Inland Foundry 
face.(9)

Please not this criticism was written in 1916; 
most of the complaints therein mentioned were 
answered by newer, more accurate renderings of 
the original by the companies mentioned, and as 
already noted, ATF reintroduced 471 after only 
a brief period of "removal" from its active 
list.

Another cute story will add to the evidence 
relating to "other" founders having the face. 
It relates to Will Bradley and printing he did 
at his Wayside Press in Springfield, Mass., in 
the 1890's. When he decided to acquire Caslon 
about 1895, he placed orders for all sizes with 
the Dickinson Foundry, which by then was the 
Boston branch of American Type Founders. Out 
of all sizes he could get only five. Three of 
the fonts came from the Boston branch(10) and 
two from Philadelphia. A rather humorous 
evidence of the then-meager quantities being 
sold was revealed in the fact that the colored 
labels on the Boston packages of type were 
faced almost white, and that Philadelphia 
packed were turned yellow and covered with 
flyspecks.(11)

Obviously the fonts had originated at the 
respective branches, and obviously they were 
judged to be very similar in character for ATF 
to have decided to mix fonts from both sources.

This additional evidence is sufficient to 
suggest Lawrence Johnson didn't single-handedly 
create a revival when he obtained types and/or 
matrices from England. The design never had 
left the inventory of other American founders, 
and was actively displayed by at least two 
Johnson competitors.

Indeed, a third founder displayed Caslon types 
before the so-called Johnson revival. The Peter 
C. Cortleau foundry of New York (later absorbed 
by Farmer, Little & Co.) displayed Caslon in 
its 1857 specimens.(12)

Certainly the original was kept very much alive 
by Stephenson-Blake, successors to the Caslon 
foundry in England. By 1930, the demise of most 
foundries in the U.S. eliminated several poor 
renderings of Caslon. But as mechanical 
composition assumed a dominant role in type 
composition, replicating the original design 
remained a hot issue for these manufacturers. 
The Linotype Company issued several Caslons, 
ending with Caslon Old Face. American Monotype 
issued three Caslon ending with Caslon 337, 
Intertype offered a respectable Caslon and 
Ludlow offered True-Cut Caslon, also a good 
representation of the original. These many 
improved renderings of the face essentially 
answered all criticism lodged against earlier 
efforts as stated in the Lewis Gandy quotation 
reproduced earlier in this article.

The absolute most exhaustive effort to 
replicate the original had-cut design was made 
in England by the England Monotype Corporation. 
Caslon 128 was the third cutting of Caslon by 
the company. It was preceded by Series 20 and 
Series 45 in 1903 and 1906 respectively. Series 
20 was a close approximation of William 
Caslon's 12-point original, extended through a 
range of 7-12 point including the odd sizes. 
That rendering was listed in Monotype specimens 
books as late as 1960 as "old Face Special." In 
his appraisal of the materials of Cambridge 
University in 1917, Bruce Rogers noted that 
Series 20 could be recommended but that Series 
45 was not as good.

Series 128 was cut as part of the installation 
agreement for bringing Monotype equipment of 
the prestigious R&R Clark printers in 
Edinburgh. It was begun in 1915 and the first 
sizes were completed in 1916. Considerable 
effort was made to exactly recreate the 
original Caslon size for size including the 
many kerned characters and swash. Minimal 
compromises were made to fit the face to the 
unit system. Each size from 8 point to 24 point 
in composition was made with it own unit 
arrangement in an effort to perfectly match 
Caslon's hadn't-cut originals: each size 
required a separate set of keybars, stoppers 
and wedges.

Typographers and compositors using 128 in 
England counted their attainment of skill by 
their ability to visualize the effect of the 
variations in each size. A line set in 9 point 
capitals for example has a radically different 
effect than a line set in 10-point 
capitals—it's not just a question of scale. 
Stanley Morison complained of the difficulty in 
predicting the shape of the capital T from size 
to size. He also noted small differences 
between the originals and the letter of Series 
128, citing the difficulties in solving 
technical problems as the cause. Morison noted 
a particular affection for several sizes among 
them the 8 point, the 14 point and the 18 
point. Nevertheless two issues of The Fleuron, 
of which he was not only editor but chief 
typographical advisor, were set in 128.

Series 128 was used a R&R Clark to finish a 
multi-volume history of the British army which 
was halted in production when the foundry had 
run out. When the typographically demanding 
author G.B. Shaw was offered a page in foundry 
type in Series 128 he chose the latter—even 
though he had specified foundry type, hand-set 
only. This was a milestone marking the 
acceptance of the Monotype system of machine 
composition as equal—preferable?—to hand-set, 
foundry quality.(13)

The Caslon design has successfully moved from 
metal to digital. A very good rendering has 
been prepared and issued as Adobe Caslon, 
complete with most of the original swash, long 
f, and other 18th-century eccentricities. And 
most recently the Carter & Cone "foundry" has 
seen the need to issue a font called "Big 
Caslon," a digital rendering specifically 
created to more closely conform to William 
Caslon's tight fit and razor-thin serifs in 
larger sizes.

Perhaps it would be appropriate to discuss the 
individual characters shown with variations of 
the Caslon letter with regard to their 
authenticity.

The cap Q begins the discussion. Caslon's first 
specimens sheet showed an exceedingly long 
tail. Later specimens from the Caslon foundry 
showed a tiered (Q) tail. The long tail was 
available as a two-letter character—Qu, QU—with 
foundry and English Mono but not with other 
machine versions. The Q, which looks like a 
fancy numeral 2, is authentic, though Caslon's 
original again had a very long tail. This also 
was retained in two-letter casts—Qu, QU—with 
foundry versions, and with English Mono 128.

Other italic characters which are authentic to 
Caslon, though often replaced with 
"regularized" letters, include the T, Y, F, and 
h. The h, especially, often mistaken for a b. 
MacMcGrew notes the F was inverted by ATF to 
create the British point (£) currency 
symbol.(14)

The tied ct and ct are authentic, but the st 
and st are not; in Caslon's time, the long s 
was still very much in use, and thus st an st 
would only be correct. Most manufacturers also 
included long s metrics: s, is, sl, ss, st, sh, 
sb, sk, ssi, ssl, s, si, ss, st, sh, sb, sk, 
ssi, ssl.

No swash characters were part of the original 
Caslon design. They were added later. At ATF, 
T.M. Cleland did the letters. Sol Hess is given 
credit for the swash characters in the American 
Monotype design, though the same characters 
also were offered by Stephenson-Blake and by 
English Monotype. American Monotype offered 
only the 11-point size in composition matrices: 
ABCDEGKLMPRVWkvwz. English Mono offered them in 
all sizes.

Finally, Updike's comments on the lowercase 
swash characters must be included:

The variant letters which are supplied with 
Caslon and with may other types in the nature 
of old style, are characteristic and 
useful—such as swash italic capitals, the 
italic lower-case v and w used to begin words, 
and the k for use at the ends of words. These 
swash letters, as employed by thoughtless 
compositors or designers, have sometimes 
produced very absurd effects. Only certain of 
the swash italic capitals can be successfully 
placed in the middle of a word, the design of 
the rest suggesting their position either as 
initial or final letters. Used "discreetly, 
advisedly, soberly," swash letters give variety 
and movement to a page of type.(15)

So what is the future of Lawrence Johnson's 
matrices in the closing years of the 20th 
century? Most importantly, they have been 
preserved. And with the efforts of Theo Rehak 
and the Dale Guild Type Foundry in Howell, 
N.J., matching foundry casters also have been 
preserved. Additionally, efforts are being made 
to enable use of these matrices with Monotype 
equipment. Rehak already is offering new 
castings of Caslon 471 (roman, italic, swash 
and quaint) in 14 point. The key to their 
continued use, therefore, is better expressed 
as. Matter of real and/or perceived demand. If 
there is sufficient demand, these matrices will 
enjoy continued use well into the 21st century!


Caslon Resources and Notes

(1) ATF Foundry Type Descriptive Price List, 
issued January, 1951. Six pages of 
"Unclassified ATF Type Faces and Sizes" begin 
on page 47. Steve Watts, ATF Type Director at 
that time, told this author in 1965 that the 
list was compiled by him, after completing an 
inventory himself, on his own time, investing 
countless hours sorting through matrices then 
in disarray in ATF matrix "vaults" and in the 
foundry's basement.

(2) Robinson, Hugh L., "Caslon Types," from the 
RIT Typographer, Spring, 1952, Vol. XV, No. 3, 
page 31.

(3) Bullen, Henry L., "William Caslon and His 
Types," The Inland Printer, April 1921, pages 
51-54.

(4) Gress, E.G., wrote a complete "Caslon 
Number" for the periodical The Business 
Printer. The issue, published May, 1930, (Vol. 
2, No. 5) including over 40 pages of specimens 
and varying articles regarding origin of the 
face and excellent references to contemporary 
use.

(5) Johnson, A.F., History of The Old English 
Letter Foundries. London: Faber and Faber, 
Limited, 1952. Page 249.

(6) Bullen, previous reference.

(7) Supplemental Specimen Sheets from the 
Boston Type Foundry. Boston: John K. Rogers & 
Col, 1856. Facsimile edition produced by David 
W. Peat, 1225 Carrol White Drive, Indianapolis, 
Indiana. 46219. Available at $10.00 postpaid.

(8) "Henry Lewis Bullen," an article appearing 
in the November, 1898 issue of The Inland 
Printer, reproduced in its entirety in Maurice 
Annenberg's A Typographical Journey through the 
Inland Printer, 1883-1900, pages 629-630, 
published by Maran Press of Baltimore, 1977.

(9) Gandy, Lewis C., Caslon Type and Its 
Appropriate Use. Boston: The Pinkham Press, 
1916.

(10) The fonts coming from Boston could well 
have come from the Boston Type Foundry, whose 
specimen is mentioned earlier in this text. 
Both the Boston Type Foundry and the Dickinson 
Type Foundry of Boston entered into the ATF 
merger in 1892.

(11) Gress, previous reference.

(12) Ovink, G.W., "Nineteenth-century Reactions 
Against Didone Type Model-I," from the 
periodical Quaerendo, published April 1971. 
Pages 23-24.

(13) Dan Carr of Ashuelot, N.H., graciously 
prepared all material herein pertaining to 
Caslon 128, as well as supplying the freshly 
cast specimen. Many thanks, Dan.

(14) McGrew, Mac, American Metal Typefaces of 
the Twentieth Century, published by Oak Knoll 
Books, New Castle, Del, 1993. An extensive 
discussion of Caslon and its variants is found 
on pages 62-73.

(15) Updike, Daniel B., Printing Types, Their 
History, Forms and Use. Published in two 
volumes by Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 
Mass. Second printing of third edition was done 
in 1966. See especially pages 228 and 229.




The Nitty-Gritty Detail of Typographic Production
—Richard L. Hopkins

This is an atttempt to put onto paper the 
various gyrations I went through to get this 
edition of the ATF Newsletter into type and 
printed. Specifically, I wish to discuss the 
composition done for this issue.

The nameplate is in 72-point Caslon Italic 4371 
cast from Lanston matrices on my Supercaster, 
intentionally "tightened up" for closest fit. 
Same for the 48-point heading "Dispelling 
Caslon Myths." All other heading are in either 
14-point 3371 italic with swash or 18-point 
337.

Initially I had resolved to do the text of this 
entire issue in Caslon 337. Over the years I 
have done a lot of experimentation with the 
font, and I applied the things I have learned 
here. Caslon 337 was used exclusively 
throughout this 11-page section. It's been 
rumored American Monotype intentionally "opened 
up" the face and misaligned certain characters 
to give the ace a more rustic, dated 
appearance. In doing composition, it's 
impractical to mess with the alignment of 
individual characters, so I avoided that. But I 
did cast all my type a quarter point narrower 
than specified by Lanston. The text is 11 point 
with long descenders, cast at a 10 3/4 set. A 
12-point mold was used, with no additional 
bedding. This type of(as well as the quotations 
and cutlines within the text) is 9 point with 
long descenders at 8 3/4 set, on a 10-point 
body. After first proofs, I discerned it to be 
too tight, so I leaded half a point using cut 
card stock. The footnotes on this page are 7 
point with long descenders, cast at the 
standard 7 1/4 set, on an 8 point body plus an 
additional half point of paper leading added.

I was so proud of myself in developing this 
special 337 treatment. Then I read Douglas 
McMurtrie's Type Design, published in 1927, 
wherein he says Caslon 337: "When slightly 
tighter fitted than normal it makes possible 
very fine composition indeed." As Fred Goudy 
said, "the old boys stole our best ideas."

All remaining pages are done using Caslon 137. 
I figured this particular design, which 
remained popular long after 337 was introduced, 
deserved a good viewing too. I used 10 point on 
an 11-point body at 9 3/4 set, and 9 point on a 
10-point body at 8 3/4 set. All keyboarding and 
casting was done at the Hill & Dale by yours 
truly—Rich Hopkins.