1880-? Wood type. Two Rivers, WI. Acquired William H. Page
Hamilton was a wood type maker, and lovely as wood type is, my own interest is in metal type. So I won't really have much here. But there were exchanges of designs between wood and metal type makers, so an exposure to wood type is useful in the study of metal type.
Actually, I've only got a few Hamilton catalogs (and not very rare ones at that). I haven't scanned them yet, so this is just a bibliography of pointers to other online and printed specimen reproductions.
Note that the Hamilton catalog numbers do not increase monotonically. E.g., Catalog No. 38 is from 1938, but Catalog No. 25 is from 1951.
In addition to the catalogs called out here, Unicorn Graphics lists but has not yet (2012) digitized a Hamilton Catalog No. 25 and a Hamilton Furniture catalog (Hamilton made both printers' "furniture" and regular office furniture, but I presume theirs is a printers' furniture catalog).
In addition to the Hamilton-specific catalogs noted here, Rob Roy Kelly's American Wood Type: 1828-1900 ("Notes on the Evolution of Decorated and Large Types and Comments on Related Trades of the Period") is essential to the study of all wood type.
Specimens of Holly Wood Type (1884)
Specimens of Holly Wood Type (Hamilton and Katz, 1884.)
This specimen has been reprinted, with a new introduction, by David W. Peat. Printed by Richard L. Hopkins at his Pioneer Press of West Virginia. (2011, Paperback, 225x305mm; [ii] + 62)
Hamilton's Wood Type. (1899)
Hamilton's Wood Type. Catalog No. 14. (Two Rivers, WI: Hamilton Manufacturing Co., 1899-1900).
Unicorn Graphics has digitized this specimen and presented it online in their Museum of Wood Types & Ornaments: http://www.unicorngraphics.com/wood%20type%20museum.asp
Hamilton's Wood Type (1901)
Hamilton's Wood Type. (Two Rivers, WI: The Hamilton Manufacturing Co., n.d. [Silver Buckle catalog data says 1901]).
The Silver Buckle Press at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, has digitized this work from their collection: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/SilverBuckle.HamiltonWood
Hamilton's Specimens of Wood Type Faces (ca. 1907)
Hamilton's Specimens of Wood Type Face. 17th Edition. (Two Rivers, WI: Hamilton Manufacturing Co., ca. 1907).
Reprinted by John Horn and Richard L. Hopkins (Little Rock, AR / Terra Alta, WV: Shooting Star Press / Pioneer Press of West Virginia). Paperback, 241x324mm; no pagination (about 250pp).
Gothics and Wood Border (1926)
Gothics and Wood Border. (Two Rivers, WI: The Hamilton Manufacturing Co., 1926). (Dated 3-1-26.)
The Silver Buckle Press at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, has digitized this work from their collection: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/SilverBuckle.GothicsWood
Hamilton Printing Plant Equipment (1920s)
Hamilton Printing Plant Equipment. (Two Rivers, WI: The Hamilton Manufacturing Co., 1922-1932). (Dates from the Silver Buckle catalog data. this is a collection of catalog sheets with various dates. I haven't checked them all, but many are 1926 and 1927.) This is an equipment catalog, not a type specimen book.
The Silver Buckle Press at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, has digitized this work from their collection: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/SilverBuckle.HamiltonPrinting
Wood Type by Hamilton (1938) [Cat. 38]
Wood Type by Hamilton. Catalog 38. (Two Rivers, WI: The Hamilton Manufacturing Co., n.d. [1938]). This catalog is undated, but (a) the catalog number (38) suggests 1938 (this was a common enough convention) and (b) the catalog notes that Hamilton began supplying equipment "fifty-eight years ago this year"; Hamilton began in 1880.
The Silver Buckle Press at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, has digitized this work from their collection: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/SilverBuckle.WoodTypeHam
[TO DO: Scan my copy]
Add "Punch" ... (1951) [Cat. 25]
Add "Punch" to your Printing with Hamilton Wood Type. Catalog No. 25 (Two Rivers, WI: The Hamilton Manufacturing Co., n.d. 1951).
The Silver Buckle Press at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, has digitized this work from their collection: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/SilverBuckle.Punch
Has a photograph of a Hamilton wood type pantographic router.
Hamilton Printing Equipment (1957) [Cat. 28]
[TO DO: scan my copy] Hamilton Printing Equipment. Catalog No. 28. (Two Rivers, WI: Hamilton Manufacturing Co., 1957) This is an equipment catalog, not a type specimen book.
Woodtype: Selective Emphasis... (1960)
Woodtype: Selective Emphasis for Fine Typography. (Two Rivers, WI: The Hamilton Manufacturing Co., n.d. 1960).
The Silver Buckle Press at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, has digitized this work from their collection: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/SilverBuckle.Woodtype
All of the specimen books reproduced here or from which images are reproduced here are in the public domain. Any material from them reproduced here remains in the public domain.
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