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M & H Type is currently accepting applications for the apprenticeship program: an intensive work/training experience in typography, typecasting, and Monotype composition. Apprentices also receive training in other aspects of printing and book making, including computer-generated typography, hand composition, operation of letterpresses, and bookbinding.
M & H TYPE, the oldest and largest surviving type foundry in the United States, offers training in typography, typecasting, and Monotype composition that can lead to long-term employment. The firm began as the Monotype Composition Company with equipment brought to San Francisco in 1915 for display at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition. In 1924 the owner, George W. Mackenzie, took in a younger partner, Carroll T. Harris, and the business became known as Mackenzie & Harris. It grew to be one of the foremost typographic houses in the country, providing foundry type, hand composition, and Monotype composition in a vast array of styles. With changes in printing technology the company, also known as M & H Type, expanded into photo-composition and computer-generated typography, while its foundry increased in importance as a primary supplier of high-quality type to customers throughout the world. M & H Type was purchased by the Arion Press in 1989. Now located in the Presidio, a new national park in San Francisco, it is part of a living museum that includes letterpress printing and bookbinding facilities. The non-profit Grabhorn Institute supports this apprenticeship program. Apprenticeship program: Intensive work/training for a minimum of two years, starting pay at $10.00 per hour for a forty-hour week, health benefits through Kaiser, paid holidays, one week vacation during first year, two weeks paid vacation during second year, with the commitment to work a minimum of two years beyond apprenticeship. Training is conducted by master type caster Lewis Mitchell, who has been employed by this company for 57 years and is the most knowledgeable person in this country on the Monotype system. Apprentices also receive training in other aspects of printing and book making, including computer-generated typography, hand composition, operation of letterpresses, and bookbinding. Qualifications: Candidates must have at least a high school education, proficiency in reading, understanding of grammar, competence in spelling and arithmetic, and mechanical aptitude. Applicants should send a brief letter telling their personal history, education, employment experience, qualifications, interests, and contact information to: Andrew Hoyem, M & H Type, 1802 Hays Street, The Presidio, San Francisco, California 94129, Tel: 415-668-2546, Fax: 415-668-2550, www.arionpress.com/mandh
