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The ATF Troyer Ornament MatricesSky Shipley, Skyline Type Foundry LLC

Johannes Troyer (1902-1969) was an Austrian artist, calligrapher and book illustrator. On the eve ofwar he fled to Lichtenstein, where he continued his art, including the design of postage stamps.Troyer came to the United States in 1949. In 1953 he drew a series of decorative ornaments forAmerican Type Founders; these consisted of 59 elements, of which eight were furnished in L-R

but shows a 1955 calendar. ATF claimed that they “mark a distict and refreshing departure from themotif of earlier ornaments, and add a crisp touch to your finer printing”.

The same brochure also shows a set of 12 zodiac typecuts called Troyer Zodions. Like the Orna-ments, these were available in both 36 and 48 point, and six of the elements appeared in L-R pairs.

The 1961-dated edition of the same brochure continued to show the Ornaments and Zodions, andalso advertised a new series called Troyer Christmas Ornaments, consisting of 27 holiday-themedtypecuts, and shown in three sizes: 24, 36, and 48 point.

In 2013 Skyline Type Foundry purchased a substantial lot of ATF matrices from Paul Ritscher ofSanta Cruz, California. He had acquired them from Dan Solo who got them (directly or indirectly)from the ATF liquidation auction. This lot contained no complete fonts, but accessory items such asswashes, typographic symbols, fraternal seals—and Troyer mats. The Zodions and Christmas sets were complete, but alas, there were numerous mats randomly missing from the Ornament series.

A year later I became acquainted with Mark Knudsen of Campbell, California when he attendedThompson Tech here at Skyline. Mark has created a small hobby typefounding operation with someitems obtained from the estate of Monroe Postman, including, he commented, “the ATF Troyer mats”.Eureka! The lost mats have been found!

Mark has graciously allowed Skyline to have possession of these mats on indefinite loan. Acomprehensive evaluation has shown that with the exception of one (1) matrix, the entire collection isnow intact. Several of these mats cannot be cast on a Thompson due to size or set exceeding themachine's capability, but the opportunity to produce type from all the rest now exists. MonroePostman also fabricated a matrix holder for the Thompson caster that can accommodate ATF mats,and he actually did some trial casts. Skyline completed a casting of all the 36 point Ornaments inOctober, 2015, and on November 1 they were released for sale in Collections No. 31, 32 and 33.

All the Troyer matrices are stamped “STL 3” indicating a depth of 0.084”, as against the standardMonotype drive of 0.050”. This necessitates milling the type to 0.918”. The nominal set width forcasting is also stamped on the mats, but we found it necessary to increase this on several elementsin order to avoid kerns.

The element number is found stamped both on face of the matrices (right-reading) and on thecounter or shoulder (wrong-reading) to be cast into the type.

From MK = Skyline TF < Mark Knudsen < Monroe Postman < Dan Solo < ATFFrom PR = Skyline TF < Paul Ritscher < Dan Solo < ATF

mirrored pairs. These are shown in a brochure titled ATF Typographic Accessories which is undated

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Mat No. Size Image Notes From1L 36 x 36 Eagle Head in Circle MK1R 36 x 36 ” MK2L 36 x 42 Cardinal MK2R 36 x 42 ” MK3L 36 x 30 Snake MK3R 36 x 30 ” MK4L 36 x 18 Fish MK4R 36 x 18 ” MK5 36 x 36 Dragonfly in Circle MK6 36 x 54 Fruit #1 MK7 36 x 66 Fruit #2 MK8 36 x 30 Grapes MK9L 36 x 36 Foliage MK9R 36 x 36 ” MK10L 36 x 24 Flower #1 MK10R 36 x 24 ” MK

11 36 x 24 Hourglass MK12 36 x 18 Torch MK13 36 x 30 Harp MK14 36 x 18 Tulip in Frame MK15 36 x 24 Chalice MK16 36 x 30 Bell MK17 36 x 18 Inking Balls MK18 36 x 42 Ship MK19L 36 x 18 Feather #1 See Note #1 MK19R 36 x 18 ” See Note #1 PR20 36 x 36 Cross with Loops PR

21L 36 x 48 Lamp MK21R 36 x 48 ” PR22 36 x 36 Anchor PR23 36 x 48 Book PR24 36 x 36 Cross on Shield PR25 36 x 66 Flowers in Pot See Note #2 MK26 36 x 42 Fruit in Basket PR27 36 x 48 Apple on Branch PR28 36 x 48 Cherries on Branch MK29 36 x 30 Pear MK30 36 x 36 Flower #2 MK

† †

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Mat No. Size Image Notes From31 36 x 30 Flower #3 MK32 36 x 24 Flower #4 PR33 36 x 48 Mercury Head MK34 36 x 42 Globe PR35 36 x 36 Alpha Omega MK36 36 x 42 Bow & Arrow MK37 36 x 42 Crown MK38 36 x 42 Sun PR39 36 x 24 Caduceus PR40 36 x 36 Crescent Moon MK

41 36 x 24 Interlocking Rings PR42 36 x 54 Dove PR43 36 x 42 Balance Scale PR44 36 x 36 Interlocking Hearts MK45 36 x 42 Stork MK46 36 x 30 Mortar & Pestle PR47 36 x 24 Amphora PR48 36 x 18 Key MK49 36 x 18 Feather #2 See Note #1 PR50 36 x 12 Candle PR

51 36 x 60 Twin Bells PR52 36 x 48 Candle on Pine Bough PR53 36 x 42 Menorah PR54 36 x 36 Pine Cone PR55 36 x 30 Chapel PR56 36 x 36 Beribboned Eggplant PR57 36 x 36 Star of David PR58 36 x 24 Globus Cruciger MK59 36 x 24 Latin Cross MK

1L 48 x 48 Eagle Head in Circle PR1R 48 x 48 ” PR2L 48 x 54 Cardinal MK2R 48 x 54 ” MK3L 48 x 36 Snake MK3R 48 x 36 ” PR4L 48 x 24 Fish PR4R 48 x 24 ” PR5 48 x 48 Dragonfly in Circle PR6 48 x 72 Fruit #1 PR7 48 x 84 Fruit #2 PR8 48 x 36 Grapes MK9L 48 x 42 Foliage PR9R 48 x 42 ” PR10L 48 x 24 Flower #1 PR10R 48 x 24 ” PR

†

†

† Casts on 72pt body † Casts on 84pt body

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Mat No. Size Image Notes From11 48 x 36 Hourglass PR12 48 x 18 Torch Plus 1 Duplicate Mat PR13 48 x 36 Harp PR14 48 x 24 Tulip in Frame PR15 48 x 30 Chalice PR16 48 x 42 Bell PR17 48 x 18 Inking Balls PR18 48 x 54 Ship PR19L 48 x 24 Feather #1 PR19R 48 x 24 ” PR20 48 x 42 Cross with Loops PR

21L 48 x 60 Lamp PR21R 48 x 60 ” PR22 48 x 42 Anchor PR23 48 x 60 Book PR24 48 x 42 Cross on Shield PR25 48 x 84 Flowers in Pot PR26 48 x 60 Fruit in Basket PR27 48 x 60 Apple on Branch PR28 48 x 60 Cherries on Branch PR29 48 x 42 Pear PR30 48 x 48 Flower #2 PR

31 48 x 42 Flower #3 PR32 48 x 36 Flower #4 PR33 48 x 60 Mercury Head PR34 48 x 54 Globe PR35 48 x 42 Alpha Omega PR36 48 x 54 Bow & Arrow PR37 48 x 54 Crown PR38 48 x 54 Sun PR39 48 x 36 Caduceus PR40 48 x 48 Crescent Moon PR

41 48 x 30 Interlocking Rings PR42 48 x 72 Dove PR43 48 x 60 Balance Scale PR44 48 x 48 Interlocking Hearts PR45 48 x 54 Stork PR46 48 x 42 Mortar & Pestle PR47 48 x 30 Amphora PR48 48 x 24 Key PR49 48 x 24 Feather #2 PR50 48 x 18 Candle PR

† Casts on 60pt body

† Casts on 60pt body

† 84pt body; Note #2 † Casts on 60pt body † Casts on 60pt body † Casts on 60pt body

† Casts on 60pt body

† Casts on 72pt body † Casts on 60pt body

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Mat No. Size Image Notes From51 48 x 72 Twin Bells PR52 48 x 60 Candle on Pine Bough PR53 48 x 54 Menorah PR54 48 x 42 Pine Cone MK55 48 x 42 Chapel MK56 48 x 48 Beribboned Eggplant MK57 48 x 48 Star of David Missing58 48 x 30 Globus Cruciger PR59 48 x 36 Latin Cross MK

* * *

† Too large to cast on Thompson, due to size and/or set.

Note #1 Cast 6pts wider than ATF nominal set to eliminate kerns.

Note #2 Element No. 25 does not appear in the ATF showing of Troyer Ornaments.The 36pt matrix is unplated and shows no evidence of ever having been cast.

† Casts on 72pt body † Casts on 60pt body

From ATF Typographic Accessories (1961)

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From ATF Typographic Accessories (1961)

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