William Hamilton Page (1829–1909) was a

type designer Type design is the art and process of designing typefaces. This involves drawing each letterform using a consistent style. The basic concepts and design variables are described below. A typeface differs from other modes of graphic production su ...

and owner of William Page & Company, a leading manufacturer of

wood type In letterpress printing, wood type is movable type made out of wood. First used in China for printing body text, wood type became popular during the nineteenth century for making large display typefaces for printing posters, because it was lig ...

for

letterpress Letterpress printing is a technique of relief printing. Using a printing press, the process allows many copies to be produced by repeated direct impression of an inked, raised surface against sheets or a continuous roll of paper. A worker comp ...

printing.

Life and career

Page worked as a printer for several newspapers before learning the trade of wood type manufacturing from John Cooley in

South Windham, Connecticut South Windham is a villagePrincipal Communities in Connecticut
Dept. of Economic and Commu ...

. In 1856 he and James Bassett purchased the assets of the defunct H. &. J. Bill & Company and went into partnership as Page & Bassett. In 1859 he withdrew from this partnership and became partners with Samuel Mowry, forming William Page & Company, near

Norwich, Connecticut Norwich ( ) (also called "The Rose of New England") is a city in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The Yantic, Shetucket, and Quinebaug Rivers flow into the city and form its harbor, from which the Thames River flows south to Long ...

. This firm quickly became the largest and most efficient manufacturer of wooden type in the United States. It was only in the 1880s that a serious rival, the

Hamilton Manufacturing Company Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

owned by J.E. Hamilton, emerged. When Page retired in 1891, he sold out to Hamilton for stock in that company, and Page's equipment and stock were consolidated with that of Hamilton in

Two Rivers, Wisconsin Two Rivers is a city in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 11,712 at the 2010 census. It is the birthplace of the ice cream sundae (though other cities, such as Ithaca, New York, make the same claim). The city's advert ...

Typefaces

Page was a prolific designer of typefaces, all of them typical of the heavily ornamented style of the mid-nineteenth century. The following types were designed by Page:Consuegra, David, ''American Type Design & Designers,'' Allworth Press, New York City, pp. 204-213. * Aetna (1870). * Antique#7 (1870) * Antique Tuscan Outline (1859). * Antique Tuscan#8 (1859); Adobe's virtual type version is called ''

Mesquite Mesquite is a common name for several plants in the genus ''Prosopis'', which contains over 40 species of small leguminous trees. They are native to dry areas in the Americas. They have extremely long roots to seek water from very far under grou ...

.'' * Antique Tuscan#11 (1859), also called '' Gothic Tuscan Condensed''; HiH's virtual type version is called '' Antique Tuscan No. 9.'' * Antique XXX Condensed (1859) * Beveled #142 (1882) * Celtic Ornamented (1870); Adobe's virtual type version is called '' Pepperwood.'' * Clarendon Ornamented (1859); Adobe's virtual type version is called ''

Rosewood Rosewood refers to any of a number of richly hued timbers, often brownish with darker veining, but found in many different hues. True rosewoods All genuine rosewoods belong to the genus ''Dalbergia''. The pre-eminent rosewood appreciated in ...

,'' while the FontMesa version is called ''

Country Western Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, old ...

.'' * Clarendon XX Condensed (1859) * Egyptian Ornamented (1870) * French Antique (1869) * French Clarendon XXX Condensed (1879); Adobe's virtual type version is called '' Ponderosa.'' * Gothic Tuscan Condensed#2 (1879) * Gothic Tuscan Pointed (1859); Adobe's virtual type version is called ''

Ironwood Ironwood is a common name for many woods or plants that have a reputation for hardness, or specifically a wood density that is heavier than water (approximately 1000 kg/m3, or 62 pounds per cubic foot), although usage of the name ironwood in E ...

,''. * Ionic (1859) * Latin #129 (1879); Adobe's virtual type version is called ''

Birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech-oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 30 ...

.'' * Painter's Roman (1870), cut in association with Darius Wells; Adobe's virtual type version is called ''

Juniper Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' () of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere, from the Arcti ...

.'' * Peerless #131 (1879) * Phanitalian (1879); HiH's virtual type version is called '' Gothic Tuscan One.'' *

Skeleton Antique Skeleton Antique is a slab serif wooden letterpress typeface A typeface (or font family) is the design of lettering that can include variations in size, weight (e.g. bold), slope (e.g. italic), width (e.g. condensed), and so on. Each of these ...

(1865). * Teutonic (1872). * #154 (1887). * #500 (1887). * #506 (1887). * #508, #510, #513 (1887); Font Bureau's virtual type versions are called ''

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

.'' * #515 (1887); ITC's virtual type version is called '' ITC Florinda''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Page, William Hamilton American typographers and type designers 1829 births 1909 deaths People from Tilton, New Hampshire American graphic designers