Hoyt Script

This knockout “stub pen” script was cut by James West for the Cleveland TF and patented by Henry H. Thorpe (owner) in January–February 1883 [USPTO D13651].

 

William E. Loy writes that while Mr. West did not claim to be a type designer, he was one of the best punch-cutters in history and was known especially for scripts.¹ Indeed, he had started the “autograph script” craze the year before with Carpenter Script.

 

Likewise, this face imitates the handwriting of a real Mr. Hoyt, possibly A.C. Hoyt of New York, a manufacturer of printing inks.

 

Before migrating to Ohio, West had worked for the major New York TFs until the late 1870s: Conner (James Conner had recruited him from Scotland in 1860), Bruce and Farmer. Annenberg writes that he apparently returned to New York during the mid-1880s, when he helped the short-lived Manhattan TF to standardize their wares to comply with the American Standard Point System adopted in 1886.²

 

Digital archival of this beauty has been undertaken by a THP Partner: forums.typeheritage.com/topic/hoyt/

More about THP revival projects: forums.typeheritage.com/status/

More cool undigitized fonts: forums.typeheritage.com/undigitized/

 

¹Loy, W.E. (1898–1900): Designers and Engravers of Type. In The Inland Printer, March 1898.

²Annenberg, M.; Saxe, S.O. [Editor]; Lieberman, E.K. [Index] (1994): Type Foundries of America and Their Catalogs, page 189. Oak Knoll Press, New Castle, DE.

Done