Google Custom Search (Metal Type)

Hello metal type fans!

Maybe someone’s done this already, if so, I’m late to the party.

I got tired of font ID internet sites that end up providing me with the name of a digital font (then asking me to “buy” it), which usually did not help me very much when researching an historic metal or wood typeface.

I am posting a public search engine that indexes only cast metal and old wood type font names.

Here it is:
https://cse.google.com/cse/publicurl?cx=010993022296047905204:oz1x3a2znx...

A shorter version: http://bit.ly/1VYRqwQ

Google also provides HTML script that you can provide your webmaster to embed into a website so that this search feature will then show up as a button your web visitors can press to get the search feature. If there’s interest, I am happy to post that script as well. I have no financial interest in this endeavor, it’s just a time saver.

I have used the sites listed below to generate an index for this search engine. Please help me add to this list if you have any particular site that you use in researching physical type. I intentionally did not include sites that are run by any particular digital font family. The asterisk included at the end of the URL means that all sites below the stated URL are also indexed.

http://swamppress.com/*
http://order.nagraph.com/dgtf-main.html
http://www.schriftenservice-d-stempel.de/index_en.html
http://typeconsortium.org/*
http://mmop.org.au/austype/
http://Aapainfo.orge/*
http://www.Crankypressman.com/*
http://Moorewoodtype.com/*
http://woodtype.org
http://Britishletterpress.co.uk/*
http://letterpresscommons.com/*
http://thebeautyofletterpress.com/*
http://ritpress.rit.edu/publications/books/history-linotype-company-soft...
http://www.circuitousroot.com/artifice/letters/press/noncomptype/identif...
http://metaltype.co.uk/*
http://belltype.com/*
http://mwbixler.com/*
http://linotypesetting.com/*
http://arionpress.com/*
http://briarpress.org/*
http://excelsiorpress.org/*
http://skylinetype.com/*
http://whittingtonpressshop.com/*
http://sterlingtype.com/*
http://www.donblack.ca/*
http://typefoundry.blogspot.com/*

Cheers

Mike Moore
LetterKraft Press

Log in to reply   2 replies so far

Hi Mike,

The site I use the most is located between my ears, but that is sometimes foggy so then I turn to my library that I have amassed over the past 40 years. Mostly old foundry catalogs and anything and everything associated with handset type and letterpress printing. I by no means have a really great collection, but it is decent enough that I can usually ID most queries. I really need all of this so I can ID the occasional additional font that finds its way into my shop. I have really tried hard to slow the flow simply because there are already over 2,000 fonts in the shop.

I really don’t “need” any more type, but every now and then a delectable jewel may present itself and I simply can’t resist.

It is a disease for which there is no cure, but a new toy once in a while does soothe my soul

I do NOT have a website. I simply watch for the queries on the Briar Press site and try to add my insight when I can help.

Rick

Hi Mike,
Very nice! Thanks for putting this together! It will be a great help to me as I try to identify and label the fonts in a pile of unlabeled cases.

I have found that the online font-finder sites are skewed towards the newer digital fonts.
-Dee