Octagon

8 Line

Box 114

Gothic | Lineal | Uppercase

  • This type measures 8 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 Edwin Allen in George Nesbitt’s 1838 First Premium Wood Types Cut by Machinery.
  • This cut of Octagon was shown in American Wood Type on page 297 and was shown in the folio on page 85.

Type name used by manufacturer:
Allen Octagon

This seems to be the Allen cut.

Only Allen seems to have produced this design. The manufacturer of this block has yet to be decisively confirmed. Kelly believed it may represent the oldest sample in the collection.

simple specimen of Octagon 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
    3
  • 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
    2
  • Z
    1
  • 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
    -
  • 1
    -
  • 2
    -
  • 3
    -
  • 4
    -
  • 5
    -
  • 6
    -
  • 7
    -
  • 8
    -
  • 9
    -
  • &
    1
  • $
    -
  • !
    1
  • Open Apos/Comma
    2
  • Close Apos
    1
  • Period
    3
  • Question Mark
    -
  • Colon
    1
  • Semi-Colon
    -
  • Dash
    2
  • Ligature
    -
  • Other
    -

Additional Specimens & Other Content

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

First Premium Wood Types, Cut by Machinery (1838); Book Arts Collection, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

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

Octagon, page 297, 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, a yellow large octagon with black type layered on top

From RRK Folio Revisited
Coco Lai, class of 2023
Folio Residency Session 1
2022