Foundry Type

The beauty, efficiency, and affordability of printing types cast in lead remain available from M & H Type. Fonts of type for hand composition are cast daily in the foundry, keeping an inventory ready to fill your orders. Special castings are possible for those wishing sorts or large quantities for handsetting, and full cases can be cast, instead of packaged fonts.

Small sizes, generally through 12 point, are cast on Monotype casters, using metal that is harder than Monotype metal but not as hard as the foundry metal used for Thompson casters. All other font sizes are cast on the Thompson and Giant casters, which use metal containing more tin, antimony, and copper. Softer metal, a lead alloy of Linotype quality, is used for casting leads, slugs, quads, and spaces. Monotype metal is used for rule and border strip material.

A complete font of a typeface in a particular size consists of two packages, a capital font and a lower-case font. Figures are included in capital fonts. Small capitals are packaged separately, but these fonts do not include figures or punctuation marks. Certain display faces are offered only in capital fonts and may not include figures. The catalogue indicates the quantities of individual letters in the assortment of each capital font and lower-case font by giving the number of pieces of the letter A included in each. For extensive handsetting it is advisable to purchase two or three lowercase fonts for each capital font. Prices for fonts vary, depending on point size. Piece ornaments, or printer's flowers, are cast in handy fonts of nearly uniform weight, and are priced the same, regardless of size. M & H Type sells rule, leads, slugs, quads, and spaces by weight. Strip material is cast in two-foot pieces.

Go to M & H Catalogue or To Order for more information.