Type Tuesday - Wood Types

The Kemble Collection at CHS includes many splendid wood type specimens in its holdings. Unfortunately, due to their age and fragility, we hesitate to reproduce them digitally. Fortunately, Rob Roy Kelly's American Wood Type: 1828 - 1900 has reproduced a number of images from wood type specimens we hold in our collection.

The above images are reproduced from William Page's wood type specimens. The Kemble Collection holds a few William Page specimens: Specimens of Wood Type, Borders, Rules & etc., 1867; Wm. H. Page & Co. Wood Type Specimen, 1872; and four volumes of Page's Wood Type Album, 1879.

Our final wood type specimen comes from the Hamilton Manufacturing Co., once based in Two Rivers, Wisconsin. The Kemble Collection holds their circa 1916 wood type specimen, Specimens of Wood Type, Wood Ornaments, Indexes, Dashes, Silhouettes, Corners, Catchwords, Perpetual Calendars, Borders, Star Rule and Wood Rule. 

To view Rob Roy Kelly's study of American wood type, American Wood Type: 1828 - 1900, or to view the original wood type specimens of William H. Page or the Hamilton Manufacturing Co., please visit our library, open Wednesday through Friday from 1 - 5. 

Jaime Henderson
Archivist/Digital Archivist
jhenderson@calhist.org