“K” pin mark identification

BillWhitley
on 24 Feb 20 (12:28)

I keep running into this pin mark, identified elsewhere as “Kelsey”, but in context, it seems rather unlikely. So far, found on examples of “Ecclesiastic” (c.1868, Besley, London?), and “Concave Extended” (c.1887, Marder, Luse).

Kpinmark.png

james bourland
on 24 Feb 20 (13:22)

Kingsport? All thought they began in 1927?
best james

BillWhitley
on 24 Feb 20 (22:55)

So now I’d like to know how early Kelsey is documented as selling type. They’re obviously selling presses in the 1870s, but I can’t find any references to early type sales, much less specimen books or the like. Logically, it should follow that there are type sales to be made along with presses.

mephits
on 25 Feb 20 (21:10)

From basically the very beginning. Steve Saxe and David MacMillan have posted a scan of an 1878 Kelsey catalogue which includes type for sale.
http://www.archive.org/details/Kelsey1878PrintingCatalogue
Kelsey both cast their own type and resold others. According to the below link (also David MacMillan’s), the blank circle with a small K in it does indeed mean the type was cast by Kelsey.
https://www.circuitousroot.com/artifice/letters/press/noncomptype/identi... (scroll down to “Chart, Probably by Harnish”)
—
Michael Hurley
Titivilus Press
Memphis, TN

BillWhitley
on 25 Feb 20 (22:47)

Michael - that is precisely what I was looking for - thank you. I confess I was surprised to see the range of faces available from Kelsey at that date - but it makes good sense if your primary business is selling presses.

The Arm NYC
on 26 Feb 20 (16:25)

Updated 26 Feb 20 (16:26)

Kelsey had a bunch of pivotal casters. I can’t recall what happened to them or the matrices but Sky Shipley would probably know. I would presume they were mostly, if not all, electros.

DGM

BillWhitley
on 26 Feb 20 (18:23)

Sky’s matrix vault does list one of the faces I was researching - in 1878, Kelsey referred to it as “196-1/2”. But in 1868, Reed & Fox called it “Ecclesiastic”. I believe Farmer offered a version as well. I plan to spend more time looking through Sky’s matrix holdings, though matching anything with Kelsey’s offerings is rather difficult due to their annoying naming conventions.

Foolproof546
on 2 Mar 20 (11:47)

The “K” Kelsey pinmarks are early castings by them. They eventually relied on repackaging fonts that were cast for them by ATF and on Monotype casters.

Rick

Dan J.
on 6 Mar 20 (18:11)

Updated 6 Mar 20 (22:49)

Rich Hopkins at the Hill & Dale Press has most of the Kelsey Mats, I believe Dave Peat has a few more as well. Rich has cast a few fonts over the years. I have two Kelsey faces and have cast one of them in two different sizes. If I recall correctly, the Kelsey mats are mostly electros fitted for pivotal casters.

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