Originally designed by Morris Fuller Benton for ATF in 1927, Sol Hess added a lower case in 1929. Hess also drew Broadway Engraved in 1928 for Lanston Monotype. Broadway has become somewhat of a classic icon as an “Art Deco” typeface.
Brief History of Lanston Type Company:
Lanston Type’s rich history dates back to 1887 when Tolbert Lanston received his first patent for a mechanical typesetting device. Later refinements led to the Monotype casting machine and the emergence of the Lanston Monotype Company as one of the most renowned type supply companies in the world. The Monotype caster was revolutionary and along with other automated typesetting machines helped to usher in a new age of printing technology. Typesetting had, until this time, remained the same as Gutenberg’s first hand-set movable type.
In the late 1800s, Tolbert Lanston licensed his technology to an English sister company and became a major international force. Lanston grew rapidly with America’s pre-eminent type designer, Frederic Goudy, holding the position of art director from 1920-1947. The Philadelphia-based Lanston Monotype eventually parted ways with its English counterpart. English Monotype became simply known as Monotype from that time forth. Lanston was acquired by American Type Founders in 1969. After a series of other owners, the company found its way in 1988 to master printer Gerald Giampa. The Giampa era of Lanston supplied Monotype fonts in metal, but as an early developer of PostScript fonts, he also digitized Lanston fonts true to their sources, using the brass and lead patterns. Giampa moved Lanston to Prince Edward Island, Canada in 1994. On January 21, 2000, the majority of Lanston’s machinery and historical records were tragically destroyed by a tidal wave. In late 2004, the remnants of the Lanston Company completed another journey back to the United States to come under the care of a new steward: P22 type foundry.
