Type production at MacKellar, Smiths and Jordon

In 1796 Binny & Ronaldson established the first permanent type foundry in the United States. The foundry was also known as The Philadelphia Type Foundry. In 1812 the foundry is supposed to have issued the first type specimen book ever produced in the United States. In 1833—after Binny and Ronaldson had retired—the foundry was purchased by Lawrence Johnson and George F. Smith. It was combined with Lawrence Johnson’s existing stereotype foundry and greatly expanded. In 1845 Johnson brought in three junior partners: Thomas MacKellar, John F. Smith and Richard Smith and in 1897 the foundry took on the name MacKellar, Smiths and Jordon, upon the addition of Peter A. Jordon as a partner.

In 1896—100 years after Binny & Ronaldson had founded the company—MacKellar, Smiths and Jordon published a book which celebrated the history of the company. The following images are taken from that book and show how type was made at the end of the 19th century.

Metal-mixing Department

Making the Matrix

Making Type-Moulds

Fire-proof Vault for storing Matrices and Moulds

Hand Type-casting Department

Automatic Type-casting Department

Electrotyping

The Foundry Stock Room

Financial and Commercial Departments

Sales and Shipping

Bookkeeping and Correspondence Department

Printing Department

(Original scans by Villanova University published under Creative Commons, BY-SA 3.0)