ABC
 Typography
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While this site is best known for its information on the Excelsior Press Print Shop and the Kelsey Excelsior Printing Press, it would not be complete with out some even brief discussion of type, typecasting and typography.

In fact, the card I carried which I was most proud of is not the one that said "printer", it is the one which identified my craft as "Alan Runfeldt, Typographer".

And, while I make this claim based upon my own ego's view of my work, it is one which has not been discredited by friends and associates over may years.


In fact, it was first reaffirmed one day many years ago while I was visiting our local Linotyping service and spotted some work being set. It was not being set to match the orginal, since the original piece of work bore the stamp of my old friend and former employer John Bergen, for whom I actually set hand type for pay - notably 10-12-14-18 pt Stymie as used in locally printed "Ad Journals" circa 1968. I would set two pages in hand type while Mr. Bergen would print the two-page signature on his old hand-fed platen press.

So I recognized the job being set and pointed out major discrepancies between the original printing and the newer version. I asked for whom they were setting the job, since the original was obviously "John Bergen's Work" and used his fonts, which I knew well, since I had set them from the case in his shop and knew his fonts and his style. But john Bergen had died while I was in Vietnam the previous year and he was obviously not the customer...

The Linotyper - and his partner - both looked up from their keyboards, then at each other, then back to me, having realized that I recognized John's work from the fonts used - and how they were used - and they agreed - "Alan - you really *are* a typographer..."

My fate was sealed. My credentials were established. These professional typesetters acknowledged that I was indeed a typographer. I was one very proud young printer... er "typographer & printer"



However, at this time, I must pass your attention to the two men who are today's last metal type makers - Theo Rehak and his associate, Alan C. Waring.

These two me are likely the last in the world to actually be producing the real hard "ATF" foundry type that makes hand composition such a pleasant tactile experience...

As introduction, please visit and read these stories of their efforts to reproduce brand-new fonts of the type that make printing history - Gutenberg's B-42 font as used in the 42-line bible printed in Mainz circa 1450...

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SEIZING  ORDERED  CHAOS

A Serious Attempt at Reproducing Gutenberg's B-42 Types

http://www.daleguild.com/B-42_Story_01.html
http://www.daleguild.com/B-42_Story_02.html

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But, before I end this page, I must acknowledge the valuable work of Rich Hopkins and his friends of the American Typecasting Fellowship. These folks use Thompson casters to produce some really quite fine type themselves. True, the Thompson cannot produce the equivalent of Barth-cast ATF foundry type, but with proper attention paid to the details, they can do some fine work.

Please visit

 AND, FOR THAT GOOD METAL THAT CAN ONLY BE CAST ON THE BEST EQUIPMENT....

A few words about setting column widths when building web pages.
http://ExcelsiorPress.org/typography/web_columns.html
Please contact webmaster & printer Alan Runfeldt with other questions.

page last updated

December 1, 2006 February 8, 2007 March 15, 2010

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