American Type Founders

Early History Through 1906

The original 23 foundries (and foundries not then amalgamated). Early consolidation (to eight foundries). Acquisitions before 1906. Consolidation to a single Central Plant. Foundry identification numbers and letters.

At Jersey City (ca. 1906 - mid-1930s)

[NOT DONE]

At Elizabeth, NJ (mid-1930s - 1993)

[NOT DONE]

Annual Reports (1894-1907, fragments to 1920)

This is an imperfectly scanned copy, with many missing pages and years, and material at times obliterated by the poor scanning. The 1894-1907 reports are complete, save for some pages partially obliterated by poor scanning of tipped-in mterial. The 1908 report has its cover only. The 1909-1911 reports are missing entirely. The 1912 report has its cover only. The 1913-1915 reports are missing entirely. The 1916 report is missing all save the first page. The 1917 report is missing its first three pages. The 1918 report is missing all save the first page. The 1919 report is missing entirely, save for one page of financials mis-filed after the 1920 report. The 1920 report is missing its first three pages. It also includes clippings of contemporary Dow, Jones & Co. "Special News Bulletins," sometimes quite rude, related to ATF's reports. These annual reports are brief and not really very satisfactory as annual reports. They are, however, of value in dating both the closing of plants in the original amalgamation and the acquisition of typefoundries later.

This volume has been scanned from the Princeton University copy and is available online at The Hathi Trust; the image at left links to its presentation there. Here, for convenience, is a local copy assembled from the Hathi Trust page images (163 Megabytes): atf-annual-reports-1894-1919-hathi-njp-32101065324723.pdf

One Hundred Years. (1896)

This book is a bibliographer's nightmare. It was produced and published by the Philadelphia Branch of American Type Founders' Company in 1896, four years after ATF had been amalgamated out of 23 foundries. This amalgamation included three Philadelphia foundries, the MacKellar, Smiths & Jordan foundry, the Collins & M'Leester foundry, and the Philadelphia Type Foundry of Pelouze & Co., but only one (MSJ) remained in Philadelphia and continued in operation as ATF Foundry C. The Pelouze foundry disappeared without a trace by 1893. Collins and M'Leester was not integrated into Foundry C in Philadelphia but instead was merged with foundry H in Baltimore in 1895. So, to a greater extent than the rest of the manufacturing foundries of ATF in the mid-1890s, the Philadelphia branch maintained continuity with a single ancestral firm, MacKellar, Smiths & Jordan. In 1896, they published this book, One Hundred Years, under their old name - with only trifling references to ATF. The "one hundred years" of the title is the centenary of the founding of the firm to which MSJ traced their ancestry, Binny & Ronaldson. So whether you call this book an MSJ publication or an ATF publication depends largely on your interpretation of the early history of ATF prior to the consolidation of the constituent foundries into a single Central Plant in the 1902-1906 timeframe.

Regardless of the ambiguity of its publication, this volume is important on two counts: First, it is an official corporate history of the firm which began as Binny & Ronaldson in the late 18th century and which terminated its independence in the late 19th century as MacKellar, Smiths & Jordan. Second, it contains a survey of typefounding methods of the day. This includes rare photographs of equipment sometimes not attested elsewhere.

This volume has been scanned by Google from the Pennsylvania State University library copy, and it is available online via the Hathi Trust (not Google Books) as Hathi ID pst.000015538079. However, this Google/Hathi/Penn version is missing some pages. I've assembled a version from the Google/Hathi/Penn page images augmented by scans from my own copy for the missing pages. The icon above left links to this.

Unfortunately, the Google scans are low resolution. I've scanned my own copy at higher resolution, but due to the physical size of the book these scans are difficult to assemble into a single digital volume. I've reprinted a medium-resolution photographic version of the material directly related to typefounding, along with high(er) resolution scans of individual images related to typefounding, in the CircuitousRoot Notebook of General Literature on Making Printing Matrices and Types.

Business & Resources Illustrated (1902)

American Type Founders Co.: Its Business and Resources Illustrated. [No location]: American Type Founders Co., 1902.

This booklet contains an exceedingly valuable photographic tour of the ATF constituent foundries just before the consolidation into a single Central Plant. It is interesting to note that while Linn Boyd Benton's portrait appears in the Frontispiece (as "Manager, General Manufacturing Dept.") Henry Barth's does not. He has been relegated to p. 45 as "Manager Cincinnati Foundry."

It also contains a reprint of an article by Donald Wylie, "A Study of Modern Typefounding," which appeared in The American Printer, Vol. 32, No. 5 (January, 1902): 353-364. For a reprint of this article see the CircuitousRoot Notebook of General Literature on Making Printing Matrices and Types. Some of the material in this article in turn appeared earlier in One Hundred Years, a commemorative volume issued by MacKellar, Smiths & Jordan (under their own name, though they were then part of ATF and officially didn't exist) in 1896. This book is available online at The Hathi Trust and locally above.

This 190s ATF volume has been scanned by Richard L. Hopkins (Hill & Dale Private Typefoundry and Press) from a physical copy owned by Schuyler R. Shipley ( Skyline Type Foundry). It is reprinted here through the courtesy of Sky and Rich. The icon here links to a 217 Megabyte PDF.

Photographic Views... (before 1935; 2002)

Rehak, Theo, David Peat, Rich Hopkins, eds. Photographic Views of Central Plant: American Type Founders Company, Jersey City, New Jersey . (American Typecasting Fellowship, 2002.)

This is a facsimile of a booklet published by American Type Founders, the original of which Theo Rehak "discovered ... carelessly discarded". This edition was prepared with additional material by Rich Hopkins and Theo Rehak and published in 2002 as a joint keepsake for the 2002 American Typecasting Fellowship conference (Provo, UT) and the September 2002 meeting of The Typophiles. It shows the Jersey City, NJ plant and thus must date from before 1935, by which time ATF had moved to its Elizabeth, NJ plant.

This book is not reprinted here. As of 2011 copies are still available from David Peat.

Jones. [Newcomen Lecture] (1948)

Jones, Thomas Roy. Printing in America - and American Type Founders. (NY: The Newcomen Society of England, American Branch, 1948.) This lecture, presented as a glowing progress report, charts the first, deliberate, stages of the destruction of ATF by its management and owners. It's enough to put one off big corporate rhetoric.

Notoriously, he calls Henry Lewis Bullen "Robert L. Bullen." He can't spell Binny's name correctly, either.

The PDF linked here is 240 Megabytes.

Rehak. The Fall of ATF. (2004)

Rehak, Theo. The Fall of ATF: A Serio-Comedic Tragedy. [Printed privately], 2004.

This text is in copyright and therefore is not reprinted here.

Walters. The Sale of the Century. (1994)

Walters, Gregory Jackson. Auction of the Century: The Sale of the American Type Founders Company . "Square Text" No. 9 (Autumn, 1994). Clinton, MI: Square Text Press [Phillip Driscoll], 1994. This is a firsthand account of the horrifying, deeply depressing auction which ended ATF.

This text is in copyright and therefore is not reprinted here.

1892 Central/Boston Specimen

In previous versions of this Notebook I had included here an 1892 specimen book issued created by the Central Type Foundry and the Boston Type Foundry. I believe now that this specimen book is better filed in the Central Type Foundry Notebook, where it may be seen as Popular Designs for Artistic Printers (1892) . This 1892 specimen seems to have been prepared by the Central and Boston type foundries prior to the formation of ATF, but was probably issued by the Boston Type Foundry after the formation of ATF (on its final page, but only on that page, it makes explicit reference to ATF and various other foundries amalgamated into ATF).

1893. Catalogue. [Cleveland]

This volume has been digitized by Google Books from the University of Michigan copy. The icon at left links to a version of this digitization that I assembled from the higher-resolution page scans available from The Hathi Trust and then uploaded to The Internet Archive. The Hathi Trust version may be accessed directly at: http://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015035068512. Here is a local copy of the Google Books digitization as Google presents it, which is lower-resolution (but only 12 Megabytes): cleveland-type-foundry-1893-google---Catalogue_and_Price_List_of_Type_and_Mat.pdf.

1893. Dickinson/Boston/Central "Collective"

Point Specimen Book: Specimens of Printing Types, Rules, Cuts, Printing Material. Boston, MA: Dickinson Type Foundry, 1893.

In his Bibliographical Note in the 1981 Garland reprint of the 1895/6 ATF "Collective Specimen Book" (see below), John Bidwell refers to this 1893 specimen as a collaboration between the Dickinson, Boston, and Central foundries and as the "first attempt at a cooperative publication" by any of the constituent ATF foundries (even though it does not mention American Type Founders by name). Annenberg cites it in his entry for the Dickinson Type Foundry. Contemporary bibliographic references (e.g., booklists by the Harvard University Bulletin and the Boston Public Library) list its as published by the Dickinson foundry.

I have not seen this specimen book. To the best of my knowledge, it has not been digitized. However, Stephen O. Saxe has generously photographed the cover, title page, and page describing this "Collective Specimen Book." The icon above left links to a PDF of these photographs. Saxe describes this volume as "even more peculiar, bibliographically speaking, than the [1895/6 ATF] Collective [Specimen Book]." That makes it a strange volume indeed!

1895. Catalogue and Book of Specimens. [Cleveland]

A digital version of this book, including the original page scans, is available at The Internet Archive; the link at left goes there. Here are local copies of the PDF version and the DjVu version.

1895. ATF/Central "Blue Book"

The Blue Book: Containing Specimens of Type, Printing Machinery, Printing Material. St. Louis, MO: American Type Founders' Company, Central Type Foundry Branch, 1895.

Annenberg (pp. 40, 42) cites this as the first specimen book which mentions American Type Founders by name.

I have not seen this specimen book. To the best of my knowledge, it has not been digitized.

1895/6. "Collective Specimen Book"

(A bad scan of the public domain portions of the 1981 Garland reprint.)

This was the only specimen published by ATF during the period before its consolidation into a single Central Plant which presented a comprehensive showing of the offerings of its various manufacturing foundries before the later reduction in number and diversity of faces. It is a magnificent example of a late high point of Victorian ornamented types. It is also particularly valuable to the student of 19th century types because in most cases it associates faces with their originating (or sometimes their manufacturing) foundries.

Unfortunately, it is also little-known and difficult to acquire. One reprint was done, by Garland in 1981. This Notebook is a presentation of a pretty bad scan of the public domain (1895/6) portions of this Garland reprint. (Regrettably, it must omit the fine Bibliographical Note by John Bidwell and Introduction by Alexander Lawson.)

1896. Pacific Coast Blue Book [SF]

A digital version of this book, including the original page scans, is available at The Internet Archive; the link at left goes there. Here are local copies of the PDF version and the DjVu version.

1897. Specimens of Printing Types. [NY]

Specimens of Printing Types. (New York: American Type Founders Company, 1897.) Type, ornaments, borders, and cuts only (no machinery).

A digital version of this book, including the original page scans, is available at The Internet Archive; the link at left goes there. Here are local copies of the PDF version and the DjVu version.

1897. Handy Specimen Book. [no location]

Handy Specimen Book[:] Specimens of Type[,] Borders & Ornaments[,] Brass Rule, Wood Type, etc. [and] Catalogue of Printing Machinery and Materials, Wood Goods, etc. . ([no location]: American Type Founders Company, 1897.)

A digitization of the Brigham Young University copy of this book, including the original page scans, is available at The Internet Archive; the link at left goes there. Here are local copies of the PDF version and the DjVu version.

1897. Handy Specimen Book. [Buffalo]

Handy Specimen Book[:] Specimens of Type[,] Borders & Ornaments[,] Brass Rule, Wood Type, etc. [and] Catalogue of Printing Machinery and Materials, Wood Goods, etc. . (Buffalo: American Type Founders Company, 1897.)

A digitization of the Cornell University copy of this book, including the original page scans, is available at The Internet Archive; the link at left goes there. Here are local copies of the PDF version and the DjVu version.

1897. Wood Type

Wood Type. (Toronto: Toronto Type Foundry Company, n.d. [Silver Buckle catalog information indicates 1897]). This is a specimen of wood type from ATF sold by the Toronto Type Foundry Co.; as ATF did not manufacture wood type itself, this type would have been made by another, unspecified, firm.

1898. Desk Book

Desk Book: Specimens of Type[,] Borders & Ornaments[,] Brass Rule & Electrotypes [and] Catalogue of Printing Machinery and Materials, Wood Goods, etc. . ([no location specified]: American Type Founders Company, 1898.)

This volume has been digitized by Google Books from the New York Public Library copy. The icon at left links to a version of this digitization that I assembled from the higher-resolution page scans available from The Hathi Trust and then uploaded to The Internet Archive. The Hathi Trust version may be accessed directly at: http://hdl.handle.net/2027/nyp.33433006348316. Here is a local copy of the Google Books digitization as Google presents it, which is lower-resolution (64 Megabytes): atf-1898-google-nypl--desk-book-specimens.pdf.

1900. Desk Book

Desk Book of Type Specimens[,] Borders[,] Ornaments[,] Brass Rule & Cuts . ([no location specified]: American Type Founders Company, 1900.) This has been digitized by Google Books from the Univ. of Michigan copy, but as of early 2011 is not yet available from Google Books. It is, however, available from The Hathi Trust in a version which presents the individual page scans: http://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015001988578 The icon at left here links to a version of this digitization that I assembled from the higher-resolution page scans available from The Hathi Trust and then uploaded to The Internet Archive.

1903. Borders/Ornaments/Materials

Specimens of Borders and Ornaments, Cuts and Brass Rules and Illustrated Catalogue and Price List of Printing Material and Printers' Supplies . ([not stated]: American Type Founders Company, 1903.) Type, ornaments, borders, and cuts only (no machinery).

A digital version of this book, including the original page scans, is available at The Internet Archive; the link at left goes there. Here are local copies of the PDF version and the DjVu version.

1906. American Line Type Book

American Line Type Book[,] Borders, Ornaments [and] Price List [of] Printing Material and Machinery . ([Jersey City, NJ]: American Type Founders Company, 1906.) The "American Line" referred to in the title is the American Lining System of typeface alignment.

A digital version of this book, including the original page scans, is available at The Internet Archive; the link at left goes there. Here are local copies of the PDF version and the DjVu version.

This book has been digitized by the Silver Buckle Press at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, from its collection. In many ways, this is the best of the digitizations - simple photographs of the book, well presented: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/SilverBuckle.AmericanLine

This book has also been digitized by Google Books. The Google Books version, additionally, has been uploaded to The Internet Archive. The Internet Archive's own digitization (the one linked and reproduced here) is of higher quality. For the sake of completeness, though, here is a local copy of the Google Books version: atf-1906-google---American_Line_Type_Book.pdf.

1907. Brass Type

Specimens and Price List of Brass Type[,] Borders, Ornaments and Bras Rule for the Use of Bookbinders, Boxmakers and Advertising Manufacturers . (Jersey City, NJ: American Type Founders Company, 1907.)

Digitized by Google Books (q.v.) The link here is to a local copy of the Google Books digitization. The Google Books version, additionally, has been uploaded to The Internet Archive.

1909. Supplement

Supplement to the American Line Type Book[:] Borders and Ornaments . ([no location given]: American Type Founders Company, 1909.) Includes the first showing of Century Oldstyle.

This volume has been digitized by Google Books from the University of Michigan copy. The icon at left links to a version of this digitization that I assembled from the higher-resolution page scans available from The Hathi Trust and then uploaded to The Internet Archive. The Hathi Trust version may be accessed directly at: http://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015033591697

Note that there may be some confusion in the Hathi Trust catalog between the Supplement (of 1909) and the Supplement No. 2 (of 1911). This is a 1909 Supplement, identified as such on its title page and bearing the Hathi Trust identification code: mdp.39015033591697

1911. Supplement No. 2 (UM Copy)

Supplement No. 2 to the American Line Type Book. ([no location given]: American Type Founders Company, 1911.)

This volume has been digitized by Google Books from the University of Michigan copy. The icon at left links to a version of this digitization that I assembled from the higher-resolution page scans available from The Hathi Trust and then uploaded to The Internet Archive. The Hathi Trust version may be accessed directly at: http://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015036947730

Note that there may be some confusion in the Hathi Trust catalog between the Supplement (of 1909) and the Supplement No. 2 (of 1911). This is a 1911 Supplement No. 2, identified as such on its title page and bearing the Hathi Trust identification code: mdp.39015036947730

1911. Supplement No. 2 (NYPL Copy)

Supplement No. 2 to the American Line Type Book. ([no location given]: American Type Founders Company, 1911.)

This volume has been digitized by Google Books from the New York Public Library copy. The icon at left links to a version of this digitization that I assembled from the higher-resolution page scans available from The Hathi Trust and then uploaded to The Internet Archive. The Hathi Trust version may be accessed directly at: http://hdl.handle.net/2027/nyp.33433006350437

1912. Specimen Book of Type Styles

American Specimen Book of Type Styles [and] Complete Catalogue of Printing Machinery and Printing Supplies . (Jersey City, NJ: American Type Founders Company, 1912.)

This book has been digitized at least twice. A digitization of a University of California copy, including the original page scans, is available at The Internet Archive; the first icon links to it. Here are local copies of the PDF version and the DjVu version of it. A digitization of the Brigham Young University copy, including the original page scans, is also available at The Internet Archive; the second icon links to it. Here are local copies of the PDF version and the DjVu version of it.

1917. American Specimen Book of Type Styles, Supplement

Supplementary Catalogue [of] New Type Faces[,] Borders[,] Ornaments [and] Brass Rule Produced by This Company Since the Publication of the American Specimen Book of Type Styles, 1912 . ([Jersey City, NJ]: American Type Founders Company, 1917.)

A digital version of this book, including the original page scans, is available at The Internet Archive; the link at left goes there. Here are local copies of the PDF version and the DjVu version.

This book has also been digitized by Google Books. The Google Books version, additionally, has been uploaded to The Internet Archive. The Internet Archive's own digitization (the one linked and reproduced here) is of higher quality. For the sake of completeness, here is a local copy of the Google Books digitization: atf-1917-google-mich--American_specimen_book_of_type_styles--supplement.pdf

1923. Specimen Book - Sevanti Reprint

The 1923 ATF Specimen Book and Catalogue is one of the finest type specimen books ever issued. It was also the last comprehensive specimen book put out by ATF. It is a book of unique importance in the history of type, and a very good starting place for the study of type.

In January 2013, David Armstrong of Sevanti Letterpress in Toronto published a high-quality, free, digital reprint. This represents a huge amount of work, and we are all very much in his debt. To view and download it, visit the Sevanti Letterpress page about it at: http://sevanti-letterpress.com/download/1923-atf-specimen-book-download . This page both introduces the reprint and provides links to two downloadable version (a 149 Megabyte lower-resolution version and a nearly 1 Gigabyte 400dpi version). The actual downloadable files are hosted at The Internet Archive and are available in both regular and BitTorrent forms.

1923. Specimen Book and Catalogue.

[NOT FINISHED] In 2011, I started scanning one of my own copies of this volume. As of January 2013, when David Armstrong / Sevanti Letterpress released their digitization (see above) , I had not yet finished. I'll leave online what I've done so far, since I have been scanning at a slightly higher resolution (600dpi), but, really, unless you have a specific need for this you should just get the Armstrong/Sevanti reprint. I may or may not finish this scanning project, depending on other committments. It is obviously no longer at the head of the scanning queue.

Price List A-2 (1924)

Price List of Job Fonts, Weight Fonts of Body Type, Weight Fonts of Job Type and Spaces & Quads . ["Price List No. A-2"] (Jersey City, NJ: American Type Founders Company, 1924).

276 Printing Office Necessities

276 Printing Office Necessities [title on cover, or] Miscellaneous Printing Plant Equipment [title on title page]. ([no location: American Type Founders Sales Corporation, [no date]). This is an equipment catalog, not a type catalog or specimen book.

The Silver Buckle Press at the University of Wisconsin, Madison has scanned this book from their collection (together with "Price List Supplement No. 1 to 276 Printing Office Necessities" [no date]) http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/SilverBuckle.PrintingPlant

[TO DO: scan my copy]

Book of American Types (1934)

Book of American Types: ATF Standard Faces. (Jersey City, NJ: American Type Founders Sales Corporation, 1934.) This volume has been scanned from the University of Michigan copy and is available online at The Hathi Trust ( http://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015061016286). I have assembled a copy of this from the page scans available via the Hathi Trust (rendering JPEG2000 images as PNGs, converting TIFF images to PNGs, and wrapping the whole in a container PDF) and uploaded this version to The Internet Archive (archive.org). The image at left links to its presentation there.

I have scanned a very few pages of this book at higher resolution. See: atf-1934.

The Book of American Types (1941)

A Supplement to the Book of American Types (1941)

A Supplement To the Book of American Types. This appeared in a pocket inside at least some copies of the 1941 edition of The Book of American Types .

Thanks are due to Jenny Addison, Prop. of Lock and Key Press, for making this available.

[Notice of Discontinued Faces]

This was pasted on the front flyleaf of a copy of The Book of American Types (1941) . It announces, without details (and indeed without any suggestion that the customer need bother with details) a reduction in faces offered with respect to The Book of American Types (probably this 1941 edition), the Handy Index of American Types and the ATF Price List No. 18.

Thanks are due to Jenny Addison, Prop. of Lock and Key Press, for making this available.

Ornaments Typecast by ATF (1944, covers only)

Regrettably, I have only the covers of this publication.

1950 Descriptive Price List

Descriptive Price List. (January, 1950). Printing code: "50M150LC".

1950 ATF Handypacks

ATF Handypacks. Specimen undated, but enclosed order forms coded "22M250LC", for a printing date of February, 1950.

[1951 Price List Cover Tag]

This is a sheet which presumably would have been folded over the cover of the ATF 1951 Descriptive Pricee List. It contains on its back "Adjusted Prices for Packages of Caps, Lowercase and Figures" effective January 1, 1951. Naturally, it was found paperclipped not to that but to an unrelated document. Printing code: 10M652LC.

Thanks are due to Jenny Addison, Prop. of Lock and Key Press, for making this available.

1953. Descriptive Index

Descriptive Index, ATF Foundry Type. September, 1953. Printing code: 50M953LC. A one-line specimen booklet of all types available from stock, with useful information. ATF fonting schemes. Nice diagram of "the Anatomy of ATF Type."

Thanks are due to Jenny Addison, Prop. of Lock and Key Press, for making this available.

Specimen Sections [folder cover]

Specimen Sections of ATF Leading Type Faces. This is a folder cover intended to contain separately printed specimen "sections" (stapled gatherings or coverless booklets). This particular copy contained, as scanned, [Section A] Script and Semiscript Faces (see below) . It also might have contained at least [Section B] Plain Display Gothics and [Section C] Spartan Family (both digitized below from a different source). I had to "stitch" this cover together from two scans; the join is rather obvious, I fear.

Thanks are due to Jenny Addison, Prop. of Lock and Key Press, for making this available.

[Section A] Script and Semiscript Faces

This is a specimen "section" (stapled gathering or coverless booklet) intended to be collected in the folder "Specimen Sections of ATF Leading Type Faces" (see above).

Thanks are due to Jenny Addison, Prop. of Lock and Key Press, for making this available.

[Section B] Plain Display Gothics

This is a specimen "section" (stapled gathering or coverless booklet) intended to be collected in the folder "Specimen Sections of ATF Leading Type Faces" (see above).

[Section C] 1953. Spartan Family

This is a specimen "section" (stapled gathering or coverless booklet) intended to be collected in the folder "Specimen Sections of ATF Leading Type Faces" (see above). Printing code: 60M1053SP. Spartan was the Mergenthaler Linotype and ATF equivalent to Futura. McGrew indicates that Mergenthaler announced it in 1939 and that, by arrangement, ATF cut the first members of the ATF Spartan family in 1941. The present specimen is coded with a publication date of October 1953. This fits with the fact that it has neither Spartan Medium Condensed (1953) nor Spartan Bold (1955).

Spartan Extra Black [fragment]

I have no idea what this came from. It looks to be the back cover of a book, booklet,or brochure. What I have is what was saved from the trash. I'm filing it here simply to put it near ATF's Spartan Family specimen.

Thanks are due to Jenny Addison, Prop. of Lock and Key Press, for making this available. Even saving small things is worthwhile.

[Section J] Miscellaneous and Typewriter Faces

This is a specimen "section" (stapled gathering or coverless booklet). It is similar in form to the sections collected in "Specimen Sections of ATF Leading Type Faces" (see above), but its cover is typographically distinct from those. I do not yet know if section J of that series is equivalent to this section J. This particular document came from a binder of specimens and advertising material from the Foster ATF Type Sales Company (the material in which generally dates to 1955-1956).

1954. Notice of Discontinued Faces

"Important Notice" of faces to be discontinued as of 1954-07-31. Also "Selling Prices of Foundry Type" effective 1954-03-01.

Thanks are due to Jenny Addison, Prop. of Lock and Key Press, for making this available.

1955 Descriptive Index (TY-111)

Type Faces: Descriptive Index and Price List of ATF Foundry Products . (No date, but the "155LC" in the printing code probably means January 1955.) The original of this particular copy was distributed by the Graphic Arts Equipment Company, Chicago.

Thanks are due to Jenny Addison, Prop. of Lock and Key Press, for making this available.

1955 Descriptive Index (TY-111) [Perfection]

Type Faces: Descriptive Index and Price List of ATF Foundry Products . The original of this particular copy was distributed by Perfection Type, Inc., Minneapolis. Only the back cover of this copy is reproduced here; it is otherwise identical to the one shown above.

Thanks are due to Sky Shipley of Skyline Type Foundry for making this available.

1955 Typographic Accessories (TY-112)

ATF Typographic Accessories. (No date, but the "255LC" in the printing code probably means Feburary 1955.)

Thanks are due to Jenny Addison, Prop. of Lock and Key Press, for making this available.

[1956 price increase]

This is a different copy of ATF Typographic Accessories (see above) with a sticker on its cover announcing a price increase effective April 1, 1956. Only the cover is reproduced here.

1956. Handy Type Index (TY-131)

Handy Type Index and Price List. Printing code: TY-131 40M656LC. Probably printed June 1956. This particular copy has with it an insert which contains on one side an ATF "Handy Order Blank, ATF form TY-134 50M756LC, and on the other side an advertisement for Perfection Type, Inc. (Minneapolis) in their capacity as an authorized ATF type dealer. (N.b., a fold-over tab in this insert had glued itself shut with age and since it could not be opened without risk of damage to the original I've left it closed.)

Thanks are due to Sky Shipley of Skyline Type Foundry for making this available.

1957. Typographic Accessories (TY-137)

ATF Typographic Accessories: Specimen Catalog and Price List. (Elizabeth, NJ: American Type Founders Company, June 1957.) "TY-137 25M 657LC"

N.B. This booklet is both explicitly dated "June 1957" and coded "657LC", suggesting that "657" does in fact encode the month and year. This is useful in provisionally dating other ATF publications.

[1959 price increase]

This is a different copy of Handy Type Index [TY-131 40M656LC] (see above) with a notice taped to it of a price increase effective 1959-01-01. Only the cover is reproduced here.

Thanks are due to Jenny Addison, Prop. of Lock and Key Press, for making this available.

1960. Handy Type Index (TY-138)

Handy Type Index and Price List. (Elizabeth, NJ: American Type Founders, 1960.) Printing code: TY-138 40M160LC. Dated January, 1960. The cover at first appears to be identical to TY-131, but note the elimination of the third color.

1961. Typographic Accessories (TY-142)

ATF Typographic Accessories: Specimen Catalog and Price List. (Elizabeth, NJ: American Type Founders Company, June 1961.) "TY-142 40M661LC." Dated June 1961.

1966. Handy Type Index (TY-154)

Handy Type Index. (Elizabeth, NJ: American Type Founders, 1966.) Printing code: TY-154 EP20M 11-66. Includes tipped-in specimen announcing Americana; shown at 36 point, available to 72 point.

Foundry Univers (1968)

Foundry Univers, "Created and cast by Deberny et Peignot, Paris for ATF Type Division." (Elizabeth, NJ: American Type Founders Company, 1968.) Printing code: IP-5M-9-68.

1969. Handy Type Index (TY-154)

Handy Type Index. (Elizabeth, NJ: American Type Founders, 1969.) Printing code: TY-154 EP10M 6-69.

"Fonted Ornaments and Typographic Accessories"

By the "Type Division" of ATF. Printing code: 2000/11-74.

1976. Handy Type Index (Form 1010 (Rev.))

Handy Type Index. (Elizabeth, NJ: American Type Founders, 1976.) Printing code: Form 1010 (Rev.) 976. By 1976 the Type Index was down to 14 pages.

1979. Handy Type Index (Form 1010 (Rev.))

This appears to be a reprint of the 1976 (blue cover) Handy Type Index. Printing code: 10M-2-79. Only the last page (with the printing code) is reprinted here. It will be of interest only to those truly obsessive about the bibliography of American Type Founders Company.

1976. Supplement to Handy Type Index

Supplement to Handy Type Index. (Elizabeth, NJ: American Type Founders, September 1976.)

[1970s] Business Reply Logotypes

Undated sheet, probably late 1970s to judge from the context in which it was found.

Fragments of an Unidentified Catalog

News Gothic Bold. Craw Modern. Caslon Antique ("temporary revival"). Univers Nos. 75 & 76.

1924. A Showing of the New Civilite

Booklet, 12pp. According to McGrew, ATF's Civilite was designed by M. F. Benton in 1922 and cut by ATF from 1923-1924. This booklet is undated, but is from the initial release of the face. It is reprinted here as a PDF file about 75 Megabytes in size.

Civilité is pronounced in the French style, with an acute accent on the final 'é'. Curiously, McGrew says that this accent was shown only in ATF's "earliest specimens" for this face - yet this presumably very early specimen does not have it.

Nubian (1928) and Liberty (1927)

The Nubian: A New Fashion in Types. Nubian was designed in 1928 {McGrew}. This brochure also includes "Modernistic Decorative Material" and "Sectional Dashes" (cast in type molds). The Silver Buckle scan of this brochure includes an Advance Proof of Liberty, designed in 1927 {McGrew}.

These have been digitized by the Silver Buckle Press at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, from their collection: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/SilverBuckle.Nubian

1930. Raleigh Cursive and Raleigh Initials

Single sheet (two page) specimen. By American Type Founders Sales Corporation, Export Department. This is in poor shape, unfortunately. McGrew identifies Raleigh Cursive (ATF No. 531) as a design by Willard T. Sniffen (drawn 1929, released 1930) and Raleigh Initials as "by the same artist at about the same time." He says that sizes over 36 point were discontinued "in the late 1940s."

Shown used with Bernhard Booklet, Stymie Light, 2 Point Brass Rule No. 1072, and 10 Point Modernistic Border No. 78.

Modernage Typography (Raleigh & Modernique)

Two-Series Modernage Typography Introduced by the American Type Founders Company . "Two-Series" here means "using two type series at the same time"; the series are Raleigh Cursive and Modernique. Although I am not sure of it, I read "modernage" as a neologism meaning "modern age." Raleigh Cursive (see above) dates from 1929/1930. Modernique is M. F. Benton in 1928 (gone before the 1934 Specimen) {McGrew} This brochure gives showings of both faces and examples of their use in combination; also Raleigh Initials (Series C - 48 Point) and "Modernistic Borders and Decorations."

This has been digitized by the Silver Buckle Press at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, from their collection: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/SilverBuckle.ModernageTypography

1936. Kaufmann Script and Bold (Advance)

Four page advance showing. Undated, but McGrew dates Kaufmann Script and Kaufmann Bold to 1936.

1937. Bernhard Modern

Four page specimen. According to McGrew, Bernhard Modern in roman and italic was released in 1937.

Spartan Medium and Medium Italic

ATF Spartan Medium and Italic. (Elizabeth, NJ: American Type Founders, [no date]). 12pp. I don't yet know when Spartan Medium and Spartan Medium Italic were introduced, but ATF licensed Spartan from Mergenthaler in 1941 {McGrew}.

This has been digitized by the Silver Buckle Press at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, from their collection: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/SilverBuckle.ATFSpartan

1948. Contact Bold Condensed

Single sheet specimen. According to McGrew, Contact Bold Condensed was released in 1948. Printing code T372-15M1048VC.

Thanks are due to Jenny Addison, Prop. of Lock and Key Press, for making this available.

1952. Dom Casual

Four page specimen announcing the face. According to McGrew, Dom Casual was cut by ATF in 1952 after an earlier version for phototypesetting.

1956. Murray Hill

Four page specimen announcing the face. According to McGrew, Murray Hill was released circa 1956. This fits well with the source of this present document, which was in a folder of literature from the Foster ATF Type Sales Co. which also included copies of TY-112 (Feb. 1955, but with a price increase sticker on the cover effective April 1, 1956) and TY-131 (June 1956).

1956. Hand Planed Rules

The Finest Quality Hand Planed Rules (Elizabeth, NJ: American Type Founders Company, ca. 1956.) The wording in this specimen suggests that it was published by ATF for the benefit of their authorized type dealers. This particular example was distributed by the Foster ATF Type Sales Company. The link here is "up and over" to the digitization of this work in the Marshall Trading Notebook.

Type[s] of the Month (Oct. 1958)

News Gothic Bold and Verona. Offer expires Oct. 20, 1958.

1972. Souvenir

McGrew dates Souvenir to 1914 and M. F. Benton (this date conflicts with the date of 1920 cited in the ad here). McGrew notes, however, that a heavier weight was drawn by Ed Benguiat for phototypesetting. The phototype version was sufficiently popular that it was cut for hot metal by Mergenthaler Linotype and by Matrotype (UK) and reissued as handset type by ATF in 1972.

Catalogue & Price List (1897)

Illustrated Catalogue and Price List of Printing Machinery and Supplies, Wood Goods and Wood Type, [and] Fine Printing Inks [from title page; cover differs slightly] ([no location]: American Type Founders Company, 1897.) Printing Code: "1A (NY) This digital reprint was scanned by Stephen O. Saxe from two copies in his collection (it is a composite of the two, utilizing the pages from each which were in the best condition). Additional image preparation by Dr. David M. MacMillan.

The icon here links to the presentation of this catalog at The Internet Archive, where it may be read online conveniently and downloaded in a variety of formats. Below are local copies of the PDF version in three resolutions.

ATF No. 1, Abbott (Abbot Oldstyle)

By 1898. John F. Cumming & Joseph W. Phinney.

ATF No. 89, Cheltenham Wide

1905. M. F. Benton

ATF No. 67, Cheltenham Bold

1904. M. F. Benton

ATF No. 68, Cheltenham Bold Condensed

1904. M. F. Benton

ATF No. 69, Cheltenham Bold Condensed Italic

1905. M. F. Benton

ATF No. 70, Cheltenham Bold Extra Condensed

1906. M. F. Benton

ATF No. 72, Cheltenham Bold Extended

1906. M. F. Benton

ATF No. 73, Cheltenham Bold Italic

1905. M. F. Benton

ATF No. 74, Cheltenham Bold Italic Shaded

1912. M. F. Benton

ATF No. 75, Cheltenham Bold Outline

1905. M. F. Benton

ATF No. 76, Cheltenham Bold Shaded

1912. M. F. Benton

ATF No. 77, Cheltenham Extrabold

1910. M. F. Benton

ATF No. 78, Cheltenham Extrabold Shaded

1912. M. F. Benton

ATF No. 79, Cheltenham Inline

1907. M. F. Benton

ATF No. 80, Cheltenham Inline Extended

1907. M. F. Benton

ATF No. 81, Cheltenham Inline Extra Condensed

1907. M. F. Benton

ATF No. 82, Cheltenham Italic

1899-1903. Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue, Ingalls Kimball, M. F. Benton, and possibly Joseph W. Phinney.

ATF No. 83, Cheltenham Medium

1909. M. F. Benton

ATF No. 84, Cheltenham Medium Italic

1910. M. F. Benton

ATF No. 85, Cheltenham Medium Condensed

1913. M. F. Benton

ATF No. 86, Cheltenham Medium Expanded

1913. M. F. Benton

ATF No. 87, Cheltenham Oldstyle

1899-1903. Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue, Ingalls Kimball, M. F. Benton, and possibly Joseph W. Phinney.

ATF No. 88, Cheltenham Oldstyle Condensed

1909. M. F. Benton

ATF No. 89, Cheltenham Wide

1905. M. F. Benton