A Hand List of Specimen Books
CU (Columbia University) NL (Newberry Library) NYPL (New York Public Library) HAM (Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum)
March, 1828 / CU Darius Wells Darius Wells, Letter Cutter
July, 1838 / CU George Nesbitt (Edwin Allen) First Premium Wood Types Cut by Machinery
c. 1838 / NYPL J.M. Debow (William Leavenworth) Leavenworth’s Patent Wood Type
1840 / CU Wells & Webb Specimens of Plain and Ornamental Wood Type
1841 / CU George Nesbitt (Edwin Allen) Nesbitt’s Fourth Specimen of Machinery Cut Wood Type
1846 / CU L. Johnson (Wells & Webb) Specimens of Wood-Letter
April, 1849 / CU Wells & Webb Specimens of Wood Type
April 1853 / CU Bill, Stark & Co. Specimens of Machinery Cut Wood Type
1854 / CU W. & H. Hagar (Wells & Webb) Specimens of Printing Types
1854 / CU / NL Wells & Webb Specimens of Wood Type (NL copy is gift from Hamilton Mfg. Co.)
1858 / NL D. Knox & Co. Specimens of Wood Type
October, 1859 / CU / NL William H. Page & Co. Specimens of Wood Type
c. 1859 / NL J.G. Cooley & Co. Specimens of Wood Type (NL copy also contains parts of two smaller undated specimens: J.G. Cooley & Co. Cooley’s Wood Type and Vanderburgh, Wells & Co.)
May, 1860 / NL William H. Page & Co. Supplementary Specimens of Wood Type Rules & Borders, Etc.
January, 1865 / CU William H. Page & Co. Price List for Wood Type, Borders, Reglet, Etc. (Affixed to 1859 Page specimen)
October, 1870 / NYPL William H. Page & Co. Specimens of Wood Type
1870 / CU William H. Page & Co. German Specimens of Wood Type
August, 1872 / CU / NL / NYPL William H. Page & Co. Specimens of Wood Type
August, 1872 / NL Marder, Luce (Page) Specimens of Wood Type
August, 1872 / CU Dauchy & Co. (Page) Specimens of Wood Type
July, 1873 / CU William H. Page & Co. Specimens of Wood Type
1874 / CU / NL William H. Page & Co. Specimens of Chromatic Wood Type, Borders, Etc. (CU copy is gift from Rob Roy Kelly)
September, 1876 / CU William H. Page Wood Type Co. Specimens of Wood Type (CU copy is gift from Rob Roy Kelly)
1876 / CU / NL William H. Page Wood Type Co. Poster Specimens (NL copy is gift from Hamilton Mfg. Co.)
1877 / CU Vanderburgh Wells & Co. Specimens of Wood Type, Borders, Rules, Etc.
April, 1878 / CU / NYPL William H. Page Wood Type Co. Specimens of Wood Type (CU copy is gift from Rob Roy Kelly, NYPL copy contains one additional page showing Aetna Extra Condensed and Egyptian)
1879 / NL Vanderburgh Wells & Co. Specimens of Wood Type, Borders, Rules, Etc.
April, 1879 / CU William H. Page Wood Type Co. Page’s Wood Type Album, Vol 1, No 1 (CU copy is gift from Hamilton Mfg. Co.)
July, 1879 / CU William H. Page Wood Type Co. Page’s Wood Type Album, Vol 1, No 2 (CU copy is gift from Hamilton Mfg. Co.)
October, 1879 / NL William H. Page Wood Type Co. Page’s Wood Type Album, Vol 1, No 3
1880 / NYPL William H. Page Wood Type Co. Specimens of Wood Type
1881 / CU Hamilton & Katz Specimens of Holly Wood Type
July, 1881 / CU Morgans & Wilcox Mfg. Co. Specimens of Wood Type, Printing Materials, Presses, Paper Cutters, Etc.
May, 1882 / CU William H. Page Wood Type Co. Specimens of Wood Type & Borders (CU copy is gift from Hamilton Mfg. Co.)
January, 1883 / NL American Wood Type Co. Specimens of Wood Type
1883 / CU Shniedewend & Lee Specimens of Page’s Wood Type & Borders (CU copy is gift from Hamilton Mfg. Co.)
April, 1884 / NL [microfilm] Hamilton & Katz Specimens of Holly Wood Type
1884 / CU / NL Morgans & Wilcox Mfg. Co. Condensed Specimen Book of Wood Type (NL copy is gift from Hamilton Mfg. Co.)
November, 1886 / NL [microfilm] Hamilton & Baker Specimens of Holly Wood Type
1887 / NL National Printers’ Materials Co. Specimens of Enameled Wood Type
January, 1887 / NL William H. Page Wood Type Co. Specimens of Page’s Wood Type
May, 1887 / CU Hamilton & Baker Specimens of Holly Wood Type (CU copy is gift from Rob Roy Kelly)
1888 / CU William H. Page Wood Type Co. Specimens of Machine Cut Wood Type (A facsimile was produced by David W. Peat in 2002)
July 1888 / CU Hamilton & Baker Specimens of Wood Type & Borders (CU copy is gift from Hamilton Mfg. Co.)
March, 1889 / CU The Hamilton Manufacturing Co. Specimens of Wood Type & Borders (CU copy is gift from Hamilton Mfg. Co.)
August, 1889 / CU The Hamilton Manufacturing Co. Specimens of Wood Type & Borders (CU copy is gift from Hamilton Mfg. Co.)
1889 / CU The Hamilton Manufacturing Co. Calendar Sets
1889 / NL Vanderburgh Wells & Co. Specimens of Wood Type, Borders, Rules, Etc.
1890 / CU Morgans & Wilcox Mfg. Co. Condensed Specimen Book of Wood Type
May, 1890 / CU / NL William H. Page Wood Type Co. Page’s New Process Wood Type (Reprinted by American Life Foundation in 1983)1890 / CU Vanderburgh Wells & Co. New Styles Wood Letter (3-color Broadside)
1890 / CU Heber Wells Specimens of Wood Type
1891 / NL Heber Wells Specimens of Wood Type
1894 / CU The Hamilton Mfg. Co. Perpetual Calendar Sets (Broadside)
November, 1895 / CU Heber Wells Specimens of Wood Type (Front matter indicates there was an 1893 catalog)
1895 / CU The Hamilton Mfg. Co. DeVinne Series Specimens
1899 / CU The Hamilton Mfg. Co. Specimens of Wood Type (No 14)
1900 / CU The Hamilton Mfg. Co. Specimens of Wood Type (No 15)
c. 1904 / NL Tubbs & Co. Tubbs Wood Type
January, 1906 / CU The Hamilton Mfg. Co. Specimens of Wood Type, With Ornaments, Fewer Issues, Dashes, Silhouettes, Catchwords, Corners, Fractions, Calendars & Borders (No 16)
1908 / CU / NL The Hamilton Mfg. Co. Specimens of Wood Type (No 17)
September, 1918 / CU / NL The Hamilton Mfg. Co. Wood Type & Borders (Hamilton re-used existing Tubbs Mfg. Co. specimen book)
before September, 1927 / CU The Hamilton Mfg. Co. Unit Gothic & Hamilton’s Series of Roman Borders (2 Broadsides)
1927 / CU The Hamilton Mfg. Co. Cheltenham Faces
1927 / CU The Hamilton Mfg. Co. Specimens of Wood Type
1928 / CU The Hamilton Mfg. Co. New Gothic Faces & Wood Type
1929 / CU The Hamilton Mfg. Co. Poster Cheltenham
1930 / CU The Hamilton Mfg. Co. Large Wood Type
1932 / CU The Hamilton Mfg. Co. Display Gothics
1938 / CU / NL The Hamilton Mfg. Co. Wood Type Catalog No 38
1957 / NL American Wood Type Mfg. Co. Interim Catalog 1957
1958 / NL American Wood Type Mfg. Co. Catalog 1958–1959
1961 / NL American Wood Type Mfg. Co. Catalog 1961–1962