Inland Type Foundry
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Type foundry |
| Founded | January 2, 1894 |
| Defunct | Template:End date and age |
| Headquarters | Saint Louis, Missouri |
Key people | William A. Schraubstadter, Oswald Schraubstadter, Carl Schraubstadter Jr. |
Inland Type Foundry was a United States-based type foundry established in 1894 in St. Louis, Missouri, with additional offices located in both Chicago and New York City. Created as a direct competitor to the "type trust" (American Type Founders), Inland maintained steady profitability until its acquisition by ATF in 1911.
History
The founding of Inland was undertaken by the three sons of Carl Schraubstadter, who previously owned the Central Type Foundry before it ceased operations following its sale to ATF in 1892. William A. Schraubstadter, who had served as superintendent at Central, initiated Inland alongside his brothers Oswald and Carl Jr. At first, Inland distributed typefaces produced by the Keystone Type Foundry and Great Western Type Foundry, but soon transitioned to manufacturing its own innovative type designs. The brothers developed the "Standard Line Type," which featured point-set fonts sharing a uniform baseline—an advancement at the time—that enabled printers to achieve consistent alignment without relying on older non-lining type styles.
To market their products effectively, Inland released publications such as Practical Printer and Printers' Wit & Humor. In 1897, they expanded by acquiring the Western Engravers' Supply Company based in St. Louis. Following the 1911 sale to ATF, Inland’s matrices were distributed between ATF’s facility in Jersey City and its subsidiary, Barnhart Brothers & Spindler, located in Chicago. While two of the Schraubstadter brothers retired after the sale, Oswald continued his career with ATF for several years thereafter.
Inland’s achievements were largely attributed to the Schraubstadter family’s deep industry knowledge, superior product craftsmanship, effective direct mail advertising strategies, and advantageous proximity to lead mining operations and key Midwestern printing centers. Furthermore, printers’ opposition to the "type trust" likely contributed to the demand for Inland’s products.
Typefaces
Distinctive among type foundries, Inland frequently named its typefaces after notable clients—for instance, Studley was named in honor of St. Louis lithographer Robert P. Studley. Important type designs released by Inland include:
References
- Eckman, James, The Inland Type Foundry, 1894-1911, PAGA, vol. 8, pp. 31–52, 1960.