An alphabet cut in slate & gilded by John Benson for Michael Bixler. Its manufacture can be seen in the 1979 documentary Final Marks: The Art of the Carved Letter, a film about John Benson and the John Stevens Shop of Newport, Rhode Island.

Early in our careers we realized that the success of a small letterpress book shop lay not in the purchase of excellent printing presses but in acquiring the best Monotype machines made. Throughout the 1970’s and 80’s, we avoided buying the commercial scrap being dumped by the trade typesetting houses, and instead concentrated on acquiring only matrices of the classic English Monotype book faces. Today our Monotype machines cast type from 8-to 72-point. With over 7000 accented matrices, we can offer metal type in any number of languages. This represents the most extensive collection of classic English Monotype book faces in the United States.

In the search for metal type, it is important to consider the ‘depth of drive’ for Monotype composition type faces. Most are only .030" because American shops bought only American/Lanston mats. All of our type is cast from .050" drive English Monotype matrices for two reasons. First, the deeper drive lends a greater strength so the type endures the letterpress ‘punch,’ particularly necessary for well-kerned italic characters. Second, buying type is an investment, and anything less than the best, both technically and aesthetically, is a waste of time, money, space, and artistic potential.

Whereas one item or another always eluded our previously published specimen lists, this list below is up-to-date and as comprehensive as possible. Click on the name of a type face below to view a specimen of that type.

ALBERTUS. 481
handset: 30, 36, 48, 60, 72

ALBERTUS TITLING. 324
handset: 18

ANTIGONE (Greek)

BARUCH-SCHOCKEN (Hebrew)

BASKERVILLE. 169
machine: 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14 . handset: 18, 24, 30, 36

BELL. 341
machine: 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14 . handset: 18, 24, 30, 36

BEMBO. 270
machine: 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 18 . handset: 22, 24, 30, 36, 48, 60, 72

BEMBO BOLD. 428
machine: 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 18 . handset: 22, 30, 36, 48

BEMBO TITLING. 370
handset: 24, 30, 36

BLADO. 119
machine: 12, 13, 16 . handset: 24

CASTELLAR. 600
handset: 24, 30, 36, 48, 60, 72

CENTAUR & ARRIGHI. 252
machine: 14,16,18 . handset: 24, 30, 36, 42, 48, 60, 72

DANTE. 592
machine: 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 . handset: 18, 24, 36, 48

DANTE TITLING. 612
handset: 18, 24, 30, 36

EHRHARDT. 453
machine: 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14 . handset: 18, 24, 30, 36

FABRITUS

FAIRBANK BEMBO ITALIC CONDENSED. 294
machine: 12, 13, 16

FOURNIER. 185
machine: 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14 . handset: 18, 24

GAELIC

GARAMOND. 156
machine: 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 16, 18 . handset: 24, 30, 36, 48

GILL SANS LIGHT. 362
machine: 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14 . handset: 16, 18, 20, 24, 30, 36, 48, 60, 72

GILL SANS MEDIUM. 262
machine: 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14 . handset: 16, 18, 20, 24, 30, 36, 48, 60, 72

GILL SANS BOLD. 275
machine: 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14 . handset: 16, 18, 20, 24, 30, 36, 48, 60, 72

GILL SANS BOLD CONDENSED. 343
handset: 16, 18, 24, 30, 36

GILL SANS EXTRA BOLD. 321
handset: 16, 18, 22, 24, 30, 36, 48

GILL SANS CYRILLIC

JOANNA. 478
machine: 9, 10, 11, 12, 14 . handset: 18, 24, 30, 36

LOMBARDIC CAPITALS. 293
handset: 14, 18, 24, 36, 48

LUTETIA. 255
machine: 16 (with numerous swash characters),
and 20-point caps cast on an 18-point body for titling use.

NEW HELLENIC (Greek)

OCTAVIAN. 603
machine: 14

OLD ENGLISH . 456
machine: 12 . handset: 18, 24, 30, 36

PERPETUA. 239
machine: 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 18 . handset: 18, 24, 30, 36

PERPETUA LIGHT TITLING. 480
handset: 18, 24, 30, 36, 48

PERPETUA TITLING. 258
handset: 18, 24, 30, 36, 48, 60, 72

PLANTIN. 110
machine: 10, 11, 12, 14 . handset: 18, 24, 30, 36, 48

POLIPHILUS. 170
machine: 12, 13, 16 . handset: 18, 24

POLIPHILUS TITLING. 230
handset: 18, 24

SACHSENWALD.
handset: 16, 20, 22, 24, 30, 36, 48, 60, 72

SONZINO (Hebrew)

SPECTRUM. 556
handset: 24, 30, 36, 48

UNIVERS LIGHT. 685
machine: 8, 9, 10, 12 . handset: 14, 16, 18, 24, 30, 36, 48

UNIVERS LIGHT CONDENSED. 686
handset: 14, 16, 18, 24, 30, 36, 48

UNIVERS MEDIUM. 689
machine: 8, 9, 10, 12 . handset: 14, 16, 18, 24, 30, 36, 48

UNIVERS MEDIUM CONDENSED. 690
handset: 14, 16, 18, 30, 48

UNIVERS MEDIUM EXPANDED. 688
handset: 14, 16, 18, 24, 30, 36, 48

UNIVERS BOLD. 693
machine: 8, 9, 10, 12 . handset: 14, 16, 18, 24, 30, 36, 48

UNIVERS EXTRA BOLD EXPANDED. 695
handset: 14, 16, 18, 24, 30, 36, 48

VAN DIJCK. 203
machine: 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16 . handset: 18, 24, 30, 36

WALBAUM. 374
machine: 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 . handset: 16, 20, 24, 30, 36, 48, 60, 72

WALBAUM MEDIUM. 375
machine: 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 . handset: 16, 20, 24, 30, 36

MISCELLANEOUS MONOTYPE BORDERS & ORNAMENTS