You asked: LONDON Traditional SIGNWRITER NEAR ME, near us,

Plucked from the world of London Lettering: blowing the dust off Caslon to the New Hallmark NGS Fonts.

As part of our heritage type foundry NGS are developing a wide classic range of bespoke Contemporary Urban type, Classic Romans, and New Puritan Humanist Fonts.

These include all the meticulous NGS renderings you would expect. Stand alone and Truecut describe well our original NGS restored Edward Johnston collection, Baskerville, classic Soho signwriter block letters: Soho Bold, Revival Bodoni Parmese, Truecut Gill Sans and a new incredible set of Trajan letters.

NGS BRANDON, for ‘EMPORIUM’ Walton Street.

NGS NEW BOLD FONTS

NGS BASKERVILLE TRUECUT HERITAGE

NGS BODONI PARMENSE

NGS JOHNSTON HIGHBURY, EBURY ST. BAKER ST. EARL’S CT.

Fun moment with then apprentice Tobi! 2013 saw me start up the first font as a restoration project.

NGS TRAJAN FAMILY

NGS TRAJAN TRUECUT, CATICH, STONE-CUT

Our Classic Trajan Roman really aims to recreate the original hand painted contours of the original piece from Rome.

Strollin’ around town… NGS Molto Bold

NGS Paribas Bold

NGS Caslon Bold Extended for Cliftonville, Margate

NGS Johnston Madrid for Fitzrovia.

NGS Richard Apps Memorial font.

REAL TYPE REAL FONTS | Origins in Caslon and beyond…

Article

Inside the world of the Caslon Foundry, Chiswell St

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By the Gentle author

22/23 Chiswell St

Chiswell St is a canyon lined with glass and steel buildings leading from Moorgate to the Barbican today, yet once this was the centre of printing in the City of London. The foundry established by William Caslon in 1737, Britain’s most celebrated type designer, stood here until 1937. For more than two centuries, Caslon was the default typeface for printing in the English language and when the Americans wanted to make their Declaration of Independence and publish their Constitution, they imported type from the Caslon Foundry in Chiswell St to do it.

These historic photographs from St Bride Printing Library, taken in 1902 upon the occasion of the opening of the new Caslon factory in Hackney Wick, record both the final decades of the unchanged work of traditional type-founding, as well as the mechanisation of the process that would eventually lead to the industry being swept away by the end of the century.

22/23 Chiswell St with Caslon’s delivery van outside the foundry

The Directors’ Room with portraits of William Caslon and Elizabeth Caslon

Sydney Caslon Smith in his office

Clerks’ office, 15th November 1902. A woman sits at her typewriter in the centre of the office.

You may also like to read about

William Caslon, Letter Founder

David Pearson, Designer

Roger Pertwee, Manufacturing Stationer

Gary Arber, Printer

Justin Knopp, Printer & Typographer