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.
[US] The Dale Guild
Founded in 1994 by Theo Rehak with equipment saved from the demise of the former American Type Founders, The Dale Guild both casts type and offers matrix making services.
[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
[DE] Offizin Haag-Drugulin
Monotype composition. Offizin Haag-Drugulin Grafischer Betrieb GmbH, Großenhainer Straße 11a, 01097 Dresden, Germany.
http://www.offizin-haag-drugulin.de/
[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] Monumental Press & Typefoundry
"The Monumental Type Foundry produces an assortment of antique and display fonts, borders, and dingbats for annual meetings, but is primarily interested in working with printers to supply type for special projects or house faces. Type is cast on Thompson Sorts Casters using Monotype and Thompson display mats." Bob Magill, Prop.
Monumental Press and Typefoundry, 454 Sandstone Trail, Union, Missouri 63084. (314) 302-8775.
aloina@sbcglobal.net http://www.briarpress.org/12257
[US] Moore Wood Type
[As of early 2011, it would appear from their website that they are in the process of setting up.]
[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.
[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
[US] Quaker City Typefoundry
W. M. Riess, Proprietor
Quaker City Type Foundry, 2019 Horseshoe Pike, Honey Brook, Pennsylvania 19344. (610) 942-3637
[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] 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. Bill Jones, Prop.
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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