Gothic Pointed Inline 5 line
by Jon on November 18, 2011
For the first post, I figure I’ll start off with one of my favorites. This is Gothic Pointed Inline, 5 line (5 picas tall), uppercase only, as named in Gregory Ruffa’s fine compendium, The Art of Wood Type.
I wish I could remember how I purchased this. Something tells me it was at an auction about 6 or 7 years ago up in northern New Jersey. I remember buying as much as I could afford, then realizing I had to bring it all home that day in my Mini Cooper. That was a fun ride home! At least now I could answer the never-asked question, “How much wood type can a Mini Cooper hold?”
I have a mostly full character set, missing the M, O, Q and S. There’s only one number, a 6, and some punctuation, although no ampersand, alas! This particular font was made by Vanderburgh, Wells & Co., in New York, in the late 1800s. They were in existence between 1867 and 1890 when it became Heber Wells. They were finally acquired by Hamilton Manufacturing Co. in 1898. According to Ruffa’s book, Hamilton renamed it No. 427 (they didn’t formally name their typefaces), although I’ve never seen a specimen of it. The closest I’ve seen is a non-inline version called No. 273 in the Hamilton #14 catalog. Rob Roy Kelly also shows a non-inline version in a reproduction of a Vanderburgh specimen from 1877.
Printed specimen.
VW& Co. manufacturer’s mark, stamped in the capital A.
4 comments
Sharp and sexy.
by David Wolske on November 18, 2011 at 4:19 pm. #
Two questions:
1. Do you know of anyone who sells type high maple, I wanted to try to make my own?
2. What’s the best and least harmful cleaning solution for cleaning rubber based inks of of letterpress platens, rollers, and type?
by Richard Mack on December 8, 2011 at 10:34 pm. #
Richard,
You’d have to try a good lumber supplier, maybe. I doubt you’d get it type-high though. Find a woodworker and see if he/she can cut and sand it down to size.
As for cleaning solvents, everyone seems to have their preference. I haven’t found anything yet that makes cleaning the rollers very easy. I was using California Wash a lot, although I’m slowly switching to odorless mineral spirits. Don’t get the eco-friendly mineral spirits. Mineral spirits is much better for wood type as it doesn’t dry it out. Not destroying my type is primary!
Another printer I know uses kerosene to wash up and he uses rubber-based inks almost exclusively. It doesn’t dry very fast, though, so you have to give the press a little bit of time before inking up again.
by Jon on December 11, 2011 at 10:44 pm. #
I believe both Virgin Wood Type and Moore Wood Type sell type high maple. See the links to each provided by Jon on his home page.
Don’t use kiln-dried commercial wood. Too brittle.
by Malcolm on December 17, 2011 at 12:42 pm. #