1827 - Darius Wells and William Leavenworth

Wood Type Letterforms

Pantograph Diagram

Pantograph in use.

Darius Wells

• "Founder" of wood type industry in America
• Developed the lateral router, establishing a means for mass producing wood letters.
• Created the first wood type catalog in 1828 - "In the preface to his first wood type catalog, Wells outlined the
  advantages of wood type. Wood type was half the cost of metal type, and when prepared by machine it had
  smooth, even surfaces, where the possibility of unequal cooling caused large lead type to distort." Hamilton Wood Type Museum Site​

William Leavenworth

• In 1834, introduced the pantograph to the manufacturing process; Adapting the pantograph to the Wells router, the combination formed the basic machinery required for making wood type on a production basis.
• See the pantograph demonstrated by Nick Sherman

Read more about the History of Hamilton Wood Type Museum and visit their YouTube channel for oral histories and Character Studies.
Tested Learns the Craft of Letterpress, YouTube.