Aetna

6 Line

Box 015

Roman | Fat Face | Uppercase & Figures

  • This type measures 6 line in size and was produced with the end-cut method. The type block does not have a manufacturer’s stamp.
  • William H. Page patented Aetna April 18, 1871 (US Design Patent 4820). This face was first shown as wood type by William H. Page in James Conner’s Sons Typographic Messenger, Vol.7 No.3 (July, 1872).
  • Aetna was shown in American Wood Type on page 235. This cut was shown in the folio on page 04.

Type name used by manufacturer:
Hamilton Aetna or No 62
Morgans & Wilcox Aetna [3146]
National Printers’ Materials Painters’ Roman
Page Roman Aetna [4062]
Tubbs Aetna or No 2101
Wells Painters’ Roman [5135]

This is the Wells cut.

Character Quantities

  • A
    3
  • B
    4
  • C
    4
  • D
    4
  • E
    3
  • F
    3
  • G
    3
  • H
    3
  • I
    5
  • J
    2
  • K
    2
  • L
    4
  • M
    3
  • N
    3
  • O
    4
  • P
    4
  • Q
    2
  • R
    4
  • S
    6
  • T
    4
  • U
    3
  • V
    2
  • W
    3
  • X
    2
  • Y
    3
  • Z
    2
  • a
    -
  • b
    -
  • c
    -
  • d
    -
  • e
    -
  • f
    -
  • g
    -
  • h
    -
  • i
    -
  • j
    -
  • k
    -
  • l
    -
  • m
    -
  • n
    -
  • o
    -
  • p
    -
  • q
    -
  • r
    -
  • s
    -
  • t
    -
  • u
    -
  • v
    -
  • w
    -
  • x
    -
  • y
    -
  • z
    -
  • 0
    5
  • 1
    4
  • 2
    2
  • 3
    2
  • 4
    3
  • 5
    1
  • 6
    2
  • 7
    2
  • 8
    3
  • 9
    3
  • &
    1
  • $
    1
  • !
    1
  • Open Apos/Comma
    3
  • Close Apos
    1
  • Period
    2
  • Question Mark
    -
  • Colon
    -
  • Semi-Colon
    -
  • Dash
    -
  • Ligature
    -
  • Other
    -

Additional Specimens & Other Content

antique original wood type specimen catalog from wood type manufacturers in the 1800s featuring Aetna type

Typographic Messenger, vol. 7, no. 3 (July 1872); Graphic Arts Collection, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

Aetna specimen book page from American Wood Type 1828-1900 by Rob Roy Kelly

Aetna, page 235, American Wood Type 1828–1900, Rob Roy Kelly (1969)

letterpress print specimen of wood type from the Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection Folio Revisited, black serifed type printed in a circle on top of a blue cross section of a tree to resemble a clock and the phrase tick tock

From RRK Folio Revisited
Kenny Ly & Nhu Phung, class of 2025
Folio Residency Session 3
2024

letterpress print specimen of wood type from the Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection Folio Revisited, black serifed type printed in a circle on top of a blue cross section of a tree to resemble a clock and the phrase tick tock

From RRK Folio Revisited
Kenny Ly & Nhu Phung, class of 2025
Folio Residency Session 3
2024