Caslon Type Foundry
| File:William Caslon painting from Caslon specimen of 1915.jpg Portrait of William Caslon, founder of the Caslon type foundry, painted by Francis Kyte. He is depicted holding a specimen sheet of his typefaces. | |
| Industry | Type foundry |
|---|---|
| Founded | c. 1720 |
| Founder | William Caslon |
| Defunct | 1937 |
| Successor | Stephenson Blake |
| Headquarters | , |
| Products | Metal type Caslon typeface |
The Caslon type foundry was a prominent type foundry based in London specializing in the production and distribution of metal type. Established circa 1720 by the punchcutter and typefounder William Caslon I, it became recognized as London's oldest and most esteemed type foundry.
During the nineteenth century, the company expanded to include a printing equipment division, which persists today as Caslon Ltd. located in St. Albans. The original type foundry operations were acquired by Stephenson Blake in 1937.
Between 1793 and 1819, William Caslon III and IV operated an independent Caslon foundry after separating from the family enterprise; this separate entity was also eventually purchased by a forerunner of Stephenson Blake.
Background
Traditionally, metal type was crafted through the process of punchcutting, involving engraving steel punches to produce matrices for metal casting. Although London had early practitioners such as Arthur Nicholls and Joseph Moxon, it lacked the refined expertise in superior typefounding seen in regions like the Dutch Republic. As a result, institutions including Oxford University Press imported matrices from Dutch foundries during the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries.
William Caslon I and II
William Caslon (1692–1766), an engraver originating from Cradley, West Midlands, began his career in London by engraving royal insignia on firearms and tools used in bookbinding. Soon after, printers commissioned him to cut Arabic types, followed by roman types. Specimens issued under William Caslon II during his father's lifetime indicate the foundry’s establishment date as 1720, although some accounts place it between 1716 and 1723. His initial roman typefaces appeared around 1725; these designs are now synonymous with the Caslon style.
Initially operating from Vine Street, Minories, Caslon later relocated to Helmet Row, then Ironmonger Row (1727–1736), and ultimately settled at Chiswell Street from 1737—a location that served as headquarters for two centuries.
By 1730, the foundry had achieved commercial success and released its first specimen sheet around this time. Its types gained broader acclaim through inclusion in Chambers' Encyclopaedia, culminating in a comprehensive book-form specimen published by 1763.
Caslon’s letterforms were heavily inspired by seventeenth-century Dutch models favored in London, influenced by punchcutters such as Nicolaes Briot and the Voskens family. His designs aimed to provide unobtrusive alternatives to popular existing fonts. The foundry also incorporated types acquired from other founders, including a portion of Robert Mitchell's collection in 1739.
At William Caslon I’s passing, his typefaces remained traditional yet widely favored, resisting newer "transitional" styles emerging across Europe that drew on calligraphic and copperplate engraving influences. Alfred F. Johnson observed that a 1764 specimen "could have been created a century earlier," while Stanley Morison described Caslon’s work as "a happy archaism." His blackletter types adhered to conventional French textura patterns; Greek types were modeled on sixteenth-century Grecs du roi; Armenian types traced back to Dutch cuts made by Miklós Kis.
William Caslon II (1720–1778) apprenticed under his father and began producing punches independently by 1738. By 1746, the business operated under "W. Caslon & Son." William I retired to Bethnal Green in 1758.
The firm encountered labor disputes when apprentices Thomas Cottrell and Joseph Jackson contested wages and rights with William Caslon II, eventually departing to establish their own foundries. Additionally, William’s brother Samuel left following internal disagreements.
Despite these challenges, William Caslon II maintained commercial prosperity until his death in 1778. Around 1774–1778 he introduced large-scale poster types likely intended for use in stagecoach advertising campaigns.
Competitors
Over the years, the company's competitive landscape transformed significantly. At first, its primary challengers were based in London, particularly the James foundry, which had consolidated most of the earlier London foundries that existed before Caslon’s emergence but experienced decline following John James' passing in 1772. In Scotland, Alexander Wilson founded a type foundry during the 1740s, utilizing lower labor expenses to offer more affordable prices than those in London.
By the time William Caslon I passed away, design preferences were evolving. John Baskerville’s 1757 edition of Virgil, featuring typefaces inspired by calligraphy, attracted considerable attention. Although Baskerville's fonts were proprietary and circulated mainly within his Birmingham circle, other foundries soon began producing similar styles.
Despite these shifting tastes, Caslon’s designs maintained their popularity. The Fry foundry from Bristol entered the scene in 1764 by releasing Baskerville-style imitations but, after limited success, transitioned to replicating Caslon types—an action that caused discontent within the Caslon family. Dr. Joseph Fry, who founded this enterprise, also managed a chocolate manufacturing business whose brand survives to this day.
A specimen from Fry dated 1787 acknowledged that their initial intent was to enhance Baskerville’s types but eventually shifted toward closely copying Caslon’s work. Years later, Dr. Edmund Fry observed that printers favored Caslon’s typefaces supplied by foundries in London and Glasgow, motivating Fry to heavily invest in emulating Caslon’s Chiswell Street Foundry with strong market backing.
James Mosley characterized Fry’s reproduction of Caslon types as "a very close copy not easy to tell from the original." In 1907, Stephenson, Blake recast this near-identical style from original matrices and marketed it under the name Georgian Old Face.
1778 to 1809
Following William Caslon II's death without a will in 1778, control of the foundry transferred to his widow, Elizabeth (née Cartlitch) Caslon (1730–1795), along with their sons William Caslon III (1754–1833) and Henry Caslon until Henry's death in 1788. Henry’s widow was Elizabeth Rowe. An obituary published in the Freemason's Magazine (1796) commended Elizabeth Caslon for her capable management and business insight during this era.
Printer Thomas Curson Hansard described the period after 1778 as one of stagnation, noting minimal growth in the foundry’s punch inventory. He remarked that despite the competence of two women managing the company, they faced challenges against vigorous competition and that an overreliance on William Caslon I’s reputation impeded progress. The foundry issued a specimen book in 1785 showcasing intricate printers’ ornaments and interlocking patterns but introduced only two new typefaces since 1766—a script style and an additional Syriac size—reflecting limited innovation. This specimen also served as a defense against imitators who questioned the foundry's quality.
In 1792, William Caslon III exited the family firm by acquiring Joseph Jackson’s foundry. The following year saw major London type founders establish an association functioning as a cartel for price regulation; both Elizabeth Caslons represented their foundry while William Caslon III participated on behalf of his own company. Despite some depreciation, the Caslon foundry remained a member intermittently until at least 1820. Elizabeth Caslon passed away in 1795; by 1799, ownership changed hands when Mrs. Henry Caslon purchased the foundry at auction for £520—a notable decrease from its £3000 valuation in 1792—indicating depreciation alongside internal changes in shareholding.
Elizabeth Caslon spearheaded efforts to modernize the foundry’s offerings beyond William Caslon I’s increasingly outdated styles. Hansard observed:
Management fell to Mrs. Henry Caslon who, despite poor health, rejuvenated the business by commissioning new fonts from engraver John Isaac Drury, including a Pica typeface praised for its Bodoni-inspired enhancements. Later, due to health concerns, she collaborated with Nathaniel Catherwood to maintain operations.
Many of Drury’s creations are preserved at St Bride Library.
Beginning in 1807, the foundry produced a new "Porson typeface" for Greek characters at Cambridge University Press, modeled on classical scholar Richard Porson's handwriting and engraved by Richard Austin. This design achieved success and was widely emulated. Although the foundry cast matrices for this typeface, its involvement in punch cutting was limited; subsequent similar types were issued by their own cutters. Around 1802–1804, the foundry also developed Rusher's Patent Type, an experimental paper-saving font lacking descenders; however, it failed to gain traction due to unsatisfactory execution.
The second Caslon type foundry
William Caslon III departed from the family enterprise and took over Joseph Jackson's prosperous foundry located on Dorset Street, Salisbury Square, near Fleet Street. After Caslon III passed away without heirs in 1792, having purchased Jackson's foundry and divested his shares in the family firm, he relocated operations to Finsbury Square. Despite declaring bankruptcy in 1793, he later revived the business and moved it back to Salisbury Square. It is said that Caslon III transferred matrices for non-Latin and textura typefaces from the family foundry, which were featured in his specimen sheets.
In 1807, management passed to William Caslon IV, who introduced a novel matrix type known as Sans-pareil in 1810. These matrices were produced by cutting letterforms out of sheet metal and securing them onto backing plates, simplifying the casting of very large letters compared to earlier techniques such as sand casting. Some accounts attribute this advancement to Joseph Jackson or his successors.
Prior to 1816, Caslon IV launched the first sans-serif typeface marketed under the name "Egyptian." In 1819, the foundry was sold to Blake, Garnett & Co., which eventually evolved into Stephenson Blake of Sheffield. Beyond typography, Caslon was involved in other industrial ventures including a gasworks that later merged into the Gas Light and Coke Company.
1809 onwards
Following the deaths of Elizabeth Caslon (later Strong) and Nathaniel Catherwood in 1809, ownership transferred to Henry Caslon and John Hames Catherwood. Historian James Mosley credits them with updating the foundry’s materials, enabling it to compete effectively with contemporary modern-face text types and newly developed commercial letterforms of the early nineteenth century.
During this era, punchcutter Anthony Bessemer—father of industrialist Sir Henry Bessemer—was employed at the foundry. Henry Caslon served as godfather and namesake to Henry Bessemer, who would later establish his own type foundry.
In 1821, Caslon & Catherwood unveiled what is considered the earliest reverse-contrast typeface named 'Italian'. That same year introduced new Greek typefaces inspired by Porson’s style. After Catherwood left to join Bessemer’s foundry in 1821, foreman Martin William Livermore became a partner.
By 1841, the specimen book from the Caslon foundry displayed a wide array of types including fat face, slab-serif, and sans-serif display fonts alongside traditional text faces.
In the mid-1840s, the Chiswick Press revived original Caslon types for quality book printing, which increased their appeal among premium printers.
Due to Henry Caslon’s deteriorating health, the foundry was put up for auction in 1846. The sale catalogue emphasized its valuable original materials as well as an extensive stock of contemporary types. The auction did not meet its reserve price; consequently, ownership remained within the Caslon family. This catalogue is notable for listing punchcutters responsible for modern types dating back to around 1795.
After Henry Caslon’s death in 1850, his son Henry William Caslon assumed control. That year also saw acquisition of London operations from the Wilson foundry, significantly expanding their inventory; few types from the 1841 specimen remained by 1857.
Henry William Caslon faced challenges as proprietor; manager Thomas White Smith described him as kind-hearted but lacking business expertise. Financial difficulties led to wage reductions and labor strikes. One incident reportedly involved Caslon escaping worker unrest by exiting through a rear window onto Finsbury Barracks parade ground.
Henry William Caslon died in 1874; he was the last direct male descendant of William Caslon. Despite labor disputes during his tenure, employees contributed a memorial window in his memory.
Management then passed to Thomas White Smith who revitalized operations by launching Caslon's Circular, opening a branch in Paris, and licensing foreign display types. To preserve the brand heritage legally, he appended "Caslon" to his surname:
Regretting that "Caslon" might vanish...my sons...are now known as Caslon-Smiths...I keep my own name but sign myself Thos. W. Smith.
The Caslon-Smith family maintained ownership throughout the foundry’s remaining existence and as of 2021 continue to own Caslon Ltd.
By the late nineteenth century, much historic material was still retained including an eighteenth-century sales ledger and correspondence with family friend Philip Thicknesse. The company transitioned some original types branded as Caslon Old Face into machine-cast reproductions.
Twentieth century
By the end of the 1800s, large-scale printing predominantly utilized hot metal typesetting, which involved casting new type for each project; the Linotype machine produced entire lines as solid blocks. In 1897, James Figgins of the Figgins foundry lamented, "the Lino is ruining us entirely."
The Caslon foundry continued to thrive for several decades afterward, securing a license for the Cheltenham typeface from American Type Founders and releasing a specimen crafted by printer George W. Jones. The original foundry building, which had been in use for over 170 years, was demolished in 1910 to make way for updated facilities. Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, Caslon created multiple typefaces designed by Eric Gill intended for fine press publications.
Legacy
The Caslon foundry ended operations in 1936 and was fully liquidated in 1937. Stephenson Blake acquired the company name along with numerous punches and matrices, including popular types such as Caslon Old Face. Simultaneously, Monotype Corporation obtained other punches, including nineteenth-century designs and ornamental wood alphabets from the Pouchée foundry. These assets were eventually transferred to the St Bride Library, while Stephenson Blake’s collection was relocated to the Type Archive when they ceased metal type production.
Following these acquisitions, the printing equipment division and the French branch separated into independent entities. The Paris branch's materials, known as Fonderie Caslon, are currently preserved at the Musée de l'imprimerie in Nantes. As of 2022, Caslon Ltd., representing the printing equipment sector, remains operational and is headquartered in St. Albans.
Digital fonts
A variety of digital fonts inspired by William Caslon I’s original designs and subsequent Caslon Foundry creations have been introduced. Paul Barnes has extensively digitized early nineteenth-century British foundry types through his firm Commercial Type under the Commercial Classics label. This includes Brunel, a comprehensive family influenced by John Isaac Drury’s work, alongside revivals of multiple Caslon typefaces.
Jonathan Hoefler developed Parliament, a blackletter font drawing from early nineteenth-century Caslon Foundry blackletter styles. Another blackletter family influenced by Caslon Foundry’s designs is Avebury, created by Jim Parkinson.
List of names and proprietors of the foundry
- 1809–1821: Henry Caslon II and F. F. Catherwood
- 1821–1840: Henry Caslon II, H. W. Caslon and M. W. Livermore (operating as Caslon, Son and Livermore)
- 1840–1850: Caslon & Son
- 1850–1873: H. W. Caslon and Co.