German

15 Line

Box 161

Script | Blackletter | Uppercase, Lowercase & Figures

  • This type measures 15 line in size and was produced with the end-cut method. The type block does not have a manufacturer’s stamp.
  • This face was first shown as wood type by Darius Wells and E.R. Webb in their 1854 Specimen of Wood Type.
  • This cut of German was not shown in either American Wood Type or the folio.

Type name used by manufacturer:
Hamilton German No 2 or No 615
Knox German
Morgans & Wilcox German [3226]
National Printers’ Materials German
Page German [4615]
Tubbs German
Wells German No 1 or No 697 [5247]

This is the Hamilton cut.

William H. Page showed a 54 page specimen book of wood type in 1870 dedicated to blackletter faces. Page showed 15 different styles, including 4 weights of German and also showed ornamented and chromatic blackletter styles. On the back cover of the specimen book Pages states, “The assortment of German Type here introduced will enable our German Printers to fit out their Job departments with a good variety of styles for all ordinary work. It will also been seen that we make no German characters or double letters to the Old English.”

simple specimen of German wood type from the Rob Roy Kelly collection, printed in the UT Design Lab
simple specimen of German wood type from the Rob Roy Kelly collection, printed in the UT Design Lab
simple specimen of German wood type from the Rob Roy Kelly collection, printed in the UT Design Lab
simple specimen of German wood type from the Rob Roy Kelly collection, printed in the UT Design Lab

Character Quantities

  • A
    3
  • B
    2
  • C
    2
  • D
    2
  • E
    3
  • F
    2
  • G
    2
  • H
    2
  • I
    2
  • J
    2
  • K
    2
  • L
    2
  • M
    2
  • N
    2
  • O
    2
  • P
    2
  • Q
    1
  • R
    2
  • S
    3
  • T
    2
  • U
    2
  • V
    2
  • W
    2
  • X
    1
  • Y
    1
  • Z
    2
  • a
    3
  • b
    2
  • c
    2
  • d
    2
  • e
    4
  • f
    2
  • g
    2
  • h
    2
  • i
    3
  • j
    1
  • k
    1
  • l
    2
  • m
    2
  • n
    3
  • o
    2
  • p
    2
  • q
    1
  • r
    3
  • s
    2
  • t
    3
  • u
    2
  • v
    2
  • w
    2
  • x
    1
  • y
    1
  • z
    2
  • 0
    5
  • 1
    -
  • 2
    -
  • 3
    -
  • 4
    1
  • 5
    -
  • 6
    -
  • 7
    -
  • 8
    1
  • 9
    1
  • &
    -
  • $
    12
  • !
    1
  • Open Apos/Comma
    2
  • Close Apos
    2
  • Period
    2
  • Question Mark
    1
  • Colon
    -
  • Semi-Colon
    1
  • Dash
    -
  • Ligature
    13
  • Other
    umlats - 3

Additional Specimens & Other Content

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

Specimens of Wood Type, Manufactured by Wells & Webb (1854); ATF Library Collection, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

letterpress print specimen of wood type from the Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection Folio Revisited, black script letters arranged in the shape of a figure eight or two circles stacked

From RRK Folio Revisited
Juleanna Culilap, class of 2023
Folio Residency Session 1
2022

letterpress print specimen of wood type from the Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection Folio Revisited, black script letters arranged in the shape of a figure eight or two circles stacked

From RRK Folio Revisited
Juleanna Culilap, class of 2023
Folio Residency Session 1
2022