Western Type Foundry
Encyclopedia
Western Type Foundry was founded in 1901 to compete with the conglomerate and near-monopoly, American Type Founders
. In 1914 Western purchased the Advance Type Foundry in Chicago
from Wiebking, Hardinge & Company, though even before this Robert Wiebking
did most of the punch-cutting and matrix making for Western. Among the matrices that Wiebking for the foundry were his own designs for Farley, Perry, Artcraft, and Advertisers Gothic, a re-cutting of Caslon
, and the original matrices for Bruce Rogers's deservedly famous Centaur typeface
. The foundry was closed in 1919, transferring all of its equipment and holdings to Barnhart Brothers & Spindler
in 1919.
Over its lifetime, the foundry issued four specimen books, in 1906, 1909, 1912 and 1917.
The Western Type Foundry is not to be confused with the Great Western Type Foundry which later became Barnhart Brothers & Spindler.
American Type Founders
American Type Founders was a business trust created in 1892 by the merger of 23 type foundries, representing about 85% of all type manufactured in the United States...
. In 1914 Western purchased the Advance Type Foundry in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
from Wiebking, Hardinge & Company, though even before this Robert Wiebking
Robert Wiebking
Robert Wiebking was a German-American engraver typeface designer who was known for cutting type matrixes for Frederic Goudy from 1911 to 1926.-Life and career:...
did most of the punch-cutting and matrix making for Western. Among the matrices that Wiebking for the foundry were his own designs for Farley, Perry, Artcraft, and Advertisers Gothic, a re-cutting of Caslon
Caslon
Caslon refers to a number of serif typefaces designed by William Caslon I , and various revivals thereof.Caslon shares the irregularity characteristic of Dutch Baroque types. It is characterized by short ascenders and descenders, bracketed serifs, moderately-high contrast, robust texture, and...
, and the original matrices for Bruce Rogers's deservedly famous Centaur typeface
Centaur (typeface)
Centaur is a Humanist Type Family originally drawn as titling capitals by Bruce Rogers in 1914 for the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The matrices were cut by Robert Wiebking and the type was privately cast by the American Type Foundery. The typeface is based upon several Renaissance models...
. The foundry was closed in 1919, transferring all of its equipment and holdings to Barnhart Brothers & Spindler
Barnhart Brothers & Spindler
Barnhart Brothers & Spindler Type Foundry was founded as the Great Western Type Foundry in 1873. It became Barnhart Brothers & Spindler ten years later. It was a successful foundry known for innovative type design and well designed type catalogs. Oz Cooper, Will Ransom, Robert Wiebking, and...
in 1919.
Over its lifetime, the foundry issued four specimen books, in 1906, 1909, 1912 and 1917.
The Western Type Foundry is not to be confused with the Great Western Type Foundry which later became Barnhart Brothers & Spindler.