Lewis Mitchell 60

This keepsake was printed by David Johnston and Norman McKnight of Philoxenia Press in Berkeley, California, celebrating Lewis Mitchell’s sixtieth anniversary as Master Typecaster at Mackenzie-Harris in San Francisco. Established in 1915, M & H Type is the oldest and largest surviving type foundry in the United States. Mitchell has been employed by the company since February 12, 1950. See him in the video that Mike Kepka made in 2012 for the San Francisco Chronicle (below).

The type was cast by Mitchell himself. It is Goudy Thirty (Monotype, 1953), designed by Frederic W. Goudy (1965–1947) in 1942 with the intention to be released posthumously – “thirty” being a newspaper term for “end of story”. Imre Reiner’s Reiner Script (Lettergieterij Amsterdam, 1951) is used for the name. Both typefaces are also available in digital form, from Lanston Type Company and Font Bureau, respectively.