New letterpress printing type is still readily available, as several dedicated firms carry on the traditions of metal typecasting (and also the traditional pantograph engraving of wood type).
To the best of my knowledge, as of January 2011 the following typefoundries (a) cast their own type or strip material (that is, they are not simply retailers) and (b) sell to the general public (that is, they are not private press typefoundries casting for in-house use only). I'm also including firms which manufacture wood type, brass/copper thin spaces, and brass rule.
David Bolton of The Alembic Press maintains a list of typefounders (and other letterpresss printing resources) in the UK at http://www.alembicpress.co.uk/Letterpressalive/index.htm
The American Amateur Press Association (AAPA) has a very useful list of "Resources for Letterpress Printers" (including Type Foundries) at: http://www.aapainfo.org/lpress.html
The order here is alphabetical, but I must note my particular gratitude to Sky Shipley and Skyline Type Foundry. Sky isn't just making type, he's also passing on the knowledge of how type is made.
[US] Bell Type and Rule Company
Since 1932. Foundry type. Foil stamping. Ludlow composition.
Bell Type and Rule Company, 1128 East Eleventh Street, Los Angeles, California 90021. (213) 485-1609.
[US] Michael & Winifred Bixler
The Press & Letterfoundry of Michael and Winifred Bixler, Post Office Box 820, Skaneateles, New York 13152. (315) 685-5181.
[UK] Effra Press & Typefoundry
Nick Gill, formerly of Hand & Eye Letterpress, has continued their former typecasting operations as Effra Press & Typefoundry in Yorkshire.
http://effrapress.co.uk/ Also: effrapress@gmail.com
[DE] R. Gerstenberg (formerly D. Stempel)
Successors to the former D. Stempel typefoundry. Types from the Stempel foundry as well as the former Haas, Nebiolo, Deberny & Peignot, Olive, and Berthold foundries.
On Nov. 8, 2012, it was reported on The Briar Press letterpress forum that Schriftenservice Stempel AG had changed hands and that although the old website was still online (schriftenservice-d-stempel.de) new business would be conducted as Schriftgießerei Rainer Gerstenberg at http://www.rainer-gerstenberg.de/
[DE] Offizin Haag-Drugulin
Monotype composition. Offizin Haag-Drugulin Grafischer Betrieb GmbH, Großenhainer Straße 11a, 01097 Dresden, Germany.
http://www.offizin-haag-drugulin.de/
[US] Lead Graffiti
Lead Graffiti is a studio and press in Delaware for hand-set and hot-metal type (with an Intertype C4 linecaster) which has diversified into wood type production.
"Lead Graffiti is striving to revive historical wood type as well as develop new ones. We use end grain rock maple, new technology, and high-quality manufacturing processes. We will also produce one-off letters to fill gaps in existing collections."
Lead Graffiti. Ray Nichols, Jill Cypher, and Tray Nichols. 120A Sandy Drive, Newark, DE 19713.
Main Lead Graffiti Website and Web Store
[UK] Letterpress Works / The Hell-Box Letter Foundry
Monotype Super Caster and Composition Caster.
Letterpress Works, 1 Nelson Terrace, Faversham, Kent ME13 8LB, United Kingdom
http://www.letterpressworks.co.uk/?page_id=23
[US] M & H Type
M&H casts a full line of type and ancillary material. Now a division of Arion Press, they began in 1915 as the firm of Mackenzie & Harris.
M&H Type, 1802 Hays Street, The Presidio, San Francisco, California 94129. (415) 668-2546, (415) 668-2550 FAX.
http://www.arionpress.com/mandh/
[US] NA Graphics [thin spaces, &c.]
Although copper and brass thin spaces aren't cast, they're necessary for setting metal type. NA Graphics both sells these from stock and has the machinery to produce them should they ever run out. The also carry type from The Dale Guild and are, in general, one of the basic suppliers of letterpress materials of many kinds. Founded by the late Hal Sterne. Fritz Klinke, Prop.
NA Graphics, Silverton, Colorado 81433.
[CA] Papertrail
Handmade paper and type for hand-setting.
http://www.papertrail.ca/blog/products/letterpress-supplies/new-handset-type
[CH] Offizin Parnassia Vättis
Monotype casting on both the point and Didot systems. They have also re-cut William Morris' Troy Type. Founded in 2001 in the Swiss village of Vättis by Hans-Ulrich Frey and Stephan Burkhardt.
Offizin Parnassia Vättis, Unterdorf 2 / Postfach, 7315 Vättis, Switzerland. (0041) (0)81 306 14 70
[NZ] The Printing Museum
Casting-to-order on Monotype Supercasters, with an extensive library of matrices.
http://www.theprintingmuseum.org.nz/foundry.html
Patrick Reagh
Patrick Reagh Printers / The Typefoundry of Patrick Reagh. Fine printing and typefounding. http://www.patrickreagh.com
[US] Skyline Type Foundry
Skyline emphasizes unusual and antique faces and ornaments. Downloadable catalogs in PDF format on website. Founded in 2004 by Schuyler Shipley, Prop.
Skyline Type Foundry, LLC. PO Box 12816, Prescott, AZ 86304.
[UK] Speedspools
Harry McIntosh. Primarily Monotype composition services (using their own "MacTronic 2" system); also sorts and founts.
Speedspools, 385 Queensferry Road, Edinburgh EH4 7AG. 0131 336 2849.
http://www.theoldschoolpress/ppuk/speedspools.htm
[UK] Stephenson & Blake [brass rule]
Several employees of the former Stephenson & Blake typefoundry acquired the brass rule division of that foundry when it ceased typefounding operations and are continuing the manufacture of brass rule. Steven Bond and Terry Lee, Props.
Stephenson & Blake Ltd., Trafalgar Works, Effingham Road, Sheffield, S9 3QA, United Kingdom.
http://www.bondpg.netmx.co.uk/sb/
[US] Sterling Type Foundry
Sterling Type Foundry started in Vermontville, Michigan in 1922 under Ollie E. McLaughlin. In 1950 it moved to Charlotte, Michigan under Frank Sassamon. In 1982 it was purchased by David C. Churchman and David W. Peat and moved to Indianapolis. In 2016, Bob Magill's Monumental Type Foundry and Press of Union, Missouri acquired the remaining materials of Sterling Type Foundry and moved it to Missouri. He is continuing his typecasting operation under the Sterling Type Foundry name (and his printing as Monumental Press).
Sterling Type Foundry "is primarily interested in working with printers to supply type for special projects or house faces."
Sterling Type Foundry and Monumental Press. 454 Sandstone Trail, Union, Missouri 63084. (314) 302-8775.
aloina@sbcglobal.net http://www.briarpress.org/12257
[US] Swamp Press
Swamp Press Monotype Letter Foundry. "See website for catalog PDF downloads. Hundreds of faces, etc. Composition and fonts. Also engraves matrices on a Benton engraver. Composition caster, display caster, Giant and Elrod." Ed Rayher, Prop.
Swamp Press, 15 Warwick Road, Northfield, MA 01360. (413) 498-4343.
[AU] Sylvan Type Works [wood type]
Nicholas Summers, Prop.
Sylvan Type Works, Belmont Lane, Alexandria, New South Wales, Australia.
http://www.sylvantypeworks.com.au/
[US] Virgin Wood Type
Virgin Wood Type is making new wood type using traditional pantograph engraving techniques with equipment and patterns acquired from the former American Wood Type Manufacturing Company.
Virgin Wood Type Manufacturing Company, 171 Valley Road, Rochester, NY 14618.
http://www.virginwoodtype.com/
[UK] Whittington Press
A fine press (and publishers of the journal Matrix) equipped with Monotype Composition Casters and Supercasters. Their matrix collection includes the collection of the Oxford University Press (which ceased printing in 1986). Currently (2011) "casting up some of our rarer founts for sale."
http://www.whittingtonpress.com/
If you are a typefoundry and wish to be listed here, or if you are listed here and want me to add a thumbnail image for the link to your foundry, let me know at dmm@Lemur.com
The images used to link to each of the individual typefoundries are copyright by the typefoundry they link to. They are used here with permission. They are not licensed under the same "Creative Commons" terms as the rest of this page, and they should not be reproduced without the permission of the typefoundry which owns them.
The image of the Keystone Type Foundry from their advertisment in the Graphic Arts Year Book for 1910 is in the public domain.
The linking image for Skyline Type Foundry is copyright by Skyline Type Foundry. All rights reserved. Used with permission. It is not licensed under the same Creative Commons license as the rest of this page. Please do not reproduce it without the permission of Skyline Type Foundry.
All portions of this document not noted otherwise are Copyright © 2011 by David M. MacMillan and Rollande Krandall.
Circuitous Root is a Registered Trademark of David M. MacMillan and Rollande Krandall.
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons "Attribution - ShareAlike" license. See http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ for its terms.
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