The Virgin Wood Type Bible (Preorder)

NOTE: This is a preorder for the book. Estimated to be printed in December 2024.

This book strives to be the reference source for all the fonts currently understood to be in the lineage of Virgin Wood Type Mfg. Co., including those made by American, Acme, Allied, Empire wood type companies, including some of those from Stephenson, Blake by way of an exclusive US distribution agreement with American. Plus the book will include all of the fonts that Virgin Wood Type currently manufactures. 

The book begins with a brief history of Virgin Wood Type and its predecessors. Next a comparative specimen of the fonts known to be manufactured by all five of these companies. Over 400 individual type specimens are shown plus several pages of ornaments and sorts. The type specimens are arranged by styles to allow comparison of the various version of similar fonts made by these manufacturers. There are descriptions added for each of the style groupings, and captions on almost all specimens detailing the origin of the type designs. Appendixes with additional information about the makers and their type specimen books, and an index to allow you to easily look up any font by name or company of origin.

This book is intended as resource for not only letterpress printers, but also industrial, graphic, and typographic historians, graphic and type designers, and anyone who just loves letters. This book hopes to fill in a neglected gap in wood type history, and help the reader to better understand and identify wood type fonts from this era.