Italic (Job) Case

This lay is shown in Hamilton Manufacturing Co, Catalog (1897) and American Type Founders, Desk Book of Type and Printing Materials (1900) and American Line Type Book (1906) and Barnhardt Bros & Spindler, Book of Type Specimens No.9 (1907) and Hamilton Manufacturing Company, Modern Cabinets, Furniture and Materials for Printers, Catalog 14 (c.1907). It is also shown in Hamilton Manufacturing Co, Modern Printing Office Furniture, Catalog 15 (1922) and Catalog 16 (c.1932) as model 2740, and in American Type Founders, Specimen (1923), Gujarati Type Foundry, Type Book (c.1928), Thompson Cabinet Co, Thompson Equipment for Printing Plants Catalog 47 (c.1949) and Missouri-Central Type Foundry, Price List (1959). In 1932 Hamilton replace £ and K- with @ and %. ATF show the lay in 1900, but with the two top upper case rows empty, and with no K- shown in the third row. Hamilton state that it is the old standard case universally used before the introduction of the California Job case, and that it is convenient for founts with accented letters. However, the older version would have had seven cap (upper case) rows of equal size, whereas the Hamilton 1922 and 1932 and ATF 1923 etc. version has three cap rows larger than the other rows. The actual lay is the same, however.

The box containing K- is of uncertain purpose, and only features in Italic and California case lays of the period, and not in equivalent bookwork (eg News Cap, Lower) lays. It may be for a | aligned left, or may be an em rule aligned low rather than centrally.

The empty case configuration is Italic Job as shown by Harpel, Typograph or Book of Specimens (1870), MacKellar, The American Printer (1885), and Barnhart Bros & Spindler, Pony Specimen (1890s), etc. having 7 equal size rows of boxes in the upper bay. This changed to three short rows, three tall rows, and one short row, with Hamilton (1922) and subsequently e.g. ATF (1923), Missouri-Central (1959) and American Printing Equipment & Supply Co (1983). The Italic case was superceded by the California Job case in the 1890s according to Pryor (c.f. Pryor: History of the California Job Type Case, in Journal of the Printing Historical Society No.7 1972), though the Italic case was still in use some 100 years later.

The typecase is distinguished by the seven rows of cap boxes, whereas the California Job case has five rows. Note there is also a version of seven rows, but with eight boxes per row, shown by De Vinne in 1904.