"From Punch to Printing Type” teaching kit.

R. Stanley Nelson.

"From Punch to Printing Type” teaching kit.

Columbia, MD:

1985.

Custom enclosure created by Amira Hegazy ca. 2018.

This kit provides a step-by-step look at how R. Stanley Nelson created a lowercase letter e for a typeface he designed called Robin. He began by creating a punch to form a matrix into which type metal was poured. Using a soft steel rod (1) that he shaped with files, he created a counterpunch (CP) to form the letter’s bowl (3). He then shaped the outside contours of the e using gravers and files. After hardening the punch in a hot fire, he struck it into a small copper bar, which was then filed down, creating a matrix (M) to insert into a type mould. Molten type metal was dropped into the mouth of the mould. The resulting sort was cast (6), the jet removed (7), and the surface finished and dressed (8).

From the collection of Rare Book School