The Latest from P22

This American Type

Monday, November 19th, 2012 | 115 comments

The inaugural release for HWT was the 8 font system known as American Chromatic. In our ongoing research for specimens, we have found some interesting variations of this highly decorative font. The first inspiration to make this type into a digital font was after seeing a box in a glass cabinet behind the counter at the Hamilton Museum.

From there, it was a matter of having letterpress proofs pulled, finding the missing characters and determining how far to go with the character set and number of layers. Some specimens were found that determined what the second color in the chromatic should look like and eventually new layer options were added to make the set more flexible in terms of possible uses.

Soon after the release of HWT American, additional variations of "drop shadowed, tuscan, outlined, half-filled, with stars inside" typefaces have been re-discovered. The style released by HWT was indeed unique to the Wm. Page Co. and first seen in their 1865 specimen book. The variation released by Morgans & Wilcox which varies mainly by not having stars in the lower half of each letter, was not seen until at least 1890. Around that time in England, the Miller & Richard company released their "Ornamental No. 30" which replaced the lower half star-fill with circles.

A less direct imitation was released by Vanderburgh, Wells & Co circa 1889 with the name Republican. It is noticeably wider, yet still conceptualy almost identical.

Not to be outdone by the competition, Page released their own variation of this quirky style called as per the naming conventions of most wood type styles of the day "No. 102". This 1887 release features inverted clovers in place of the top half of stars.

Actual wood type of any of these oddball styles has yet to surface, but a larger sized font of the American Chromatic has recently been added to the collection at Columbia College Chicago. These will most likely not be made into digital fonts, but their existence is a tribute to the ongoing quest for ingenuity that wood type manufacturing allowed for. For practical reasons, these fonts were difficult to use in jobbing shops and are therefore quite rare. Let us know if you discover any examples of these fonts in use!

Special thanks to David Shields for additional images and background details

Comments

Please login...

Please login to post a comment

Posted by restaurantmenu | on Wednesday, May 24th, 2023

Posted by restaurantmenu | on Wednesday, May 24th, 2023

Posted by LadyBechel | on Thursday, April 27th, 2023

credible login

Posted by boston pizza | on Saturday, April 15th, 2023

Posted by restaurantmenu | on Friday, April 07th, 2023

Posted by LadyBechel | on Saturday, April 01st, 2023

butterfly locs

Posted by LadyBechel | on Friday, March 31st, 2023

bubble slides

Posted by LadyBechel | on Friday, March 31st, 2023

grandmother necklace

Posted by Nuq | on Thursday, February 16th, 2023

Thank you for your article. I've benn vaping for two years and think vape can help me quit smoking. vapepin is my favorites shopping website.
nuqs.wordpress.com、
emelinemledouxi43.wordpress.com、
twiggyransomusjqyi.wordpress.com、
mattoxboyjxbifro.wordpress.com、
belloes5.wordpress.com

Posted by Angel17 | on Tuesday, January 17th, 2023

I love that design. So cool. Thanks for sharing! basement finishing company near me

Posted by Laura Holand | on Monday, January 16th, 2023

Your content is definitely interesting. Anyways, if you will be needing help when it comes to finding the right lawyer for a va disability appeal, just letting me know.

Posted by poppy mizzi | on Friday, January 06th, 2023

fnaf security breach is a survival horror game set in the Mega Pizzaplex by Freddy Fazbear. You will play as Gregory, a boy trapped inside all night. You must survive while searching for a way out when the surprisingly powerful Pizzaplex lockout takes effect.