Category: Press and typeface identification
Later topic: C&P part ID
Earlier topic: Mystery letterpress objects

Ivory Faced Wood Type

In the mid 70’s I was in a letterpress shop and the owner after showing me around pulled several type cases out and proceeded to show me ivory faced wood type. It looked like piano keys. I haven’t seen any since, and I do watch ebay and other sources. Any thoughts on who made it?

chuck

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Was it ivory or was it actually celluloid?

There is a little information in Kelly about, “The National Printers’ Materials Co.” and the “Celluloid Stereotype Co.” that operated out of New York, around 1887. There have been several fonts of that type that have appeared on e-Bay in the last ten years. Here is a showing of a few fonts in my possession that came from The Lyons Collection.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/39182740@N04/3967901567/in/set-721576224383...
Over time, the faces of some of that type have become “dished” and do not print well, therefore it is not as nice as regular end-grain wood type.
Dave Greer

Thanks for the information, I’m sure it was celluloid on wood, “ivory” was how it was explained to me. Best I can remember the type was 72pt or smaller.

chuck

Celluloid it is. It is extremely uncommon to find. One of the basic reasons is that it was not anywhere near as good or lasting as fonts cut from solid wood and had a very limited period of time when it was even offered. Dave is right about the “cupping” or “dishing” which makes it hard to print AND because of its age it tends to delaminate off of it’s wood base. It does look pretty cool sitting in a case, but that is pretty much where the romance ends.

Rick

Thought I might post this photo of a piece of celluloid type which I purchased with other wood type in a brass news galley at a flea market. Fortunately they are not glued in. Have been trying to find the ID of the celluloid typeface.

image: woodtype_collage-d.jpg

woodtype_collage-d.jpg