The Filmotype Corporation was established by Allan and Beatrice
Friedman in Chicago in 1950. In 1951, it introduced the Filmotype,
a small-scale portable machine for display typesetting that
operated with two-inch filmstrips. In addition to adopting existing
typefaces, Filmotype built a large library of original designs,
incl. many hand-lettered styles provided by artists like Ray
Baker. Many competing machines were later designed to use the
same two-inch filmstrips, benefitting from Filmotype’s groundwork.
Most blatantly, VGC included the fonts
with their
Photo Typositor, renamed to alphanumeric codes. The Filmotype
was sold through the mid-1970s. By that time, the font department
was integrated into Alphatype, a sister company formed in 1956, initially
to market a body text typesetter. Alphatype was sold in the 1980s.
The Filmotype name was revived by former employee Harry Brodjian
between 1986 and 2001. [Stuart Sandler: Filmotype
by the Letter, 2009]
In November 2006, Stuart Sandler acquired the trademark and assets
and started digitizing many of the Filmotype faces, with the help
of Rebecca Alaccari, Mark
Simonson, Rian
Hughes, Patrick More…
The Filmotype Corporation was established by Allan and Beatrice Friedman in Chicago in 1950. In 1951, it introduced the Filmotype, a small-scale portable machine for display typesetting that operated with two-inch filmstrips. In addition to adopting existing typefaces, Filmotype built a large library of original designs, incl. many hand-lettered styles provided by artists like Ray Baker. Many competing machines were later designed to use the same two-inch filmstrips, benefitting from Filmotype’s groundwork. Most blatantly, VGC included the fonts with their Photo Typositor, renamed to alphanumeric codes. The Filmotype was sold through the mid-1970s. By that time, the font department was integrated into Alphatype, a sister company formed in 1956, initially to market a body text typesetter. Alphatype was sold in the 1980s. The Filmotype name was revived by former employee Harry Brodjian between 1986 and 2001. [Stuart Sandler: Filmotype by the Letter, 2009]
In November 2006, Stuart Sandler acquired the trademark and assets and started digitizing many of the Filmotype faces, with the help of Rebecca Alaccari, Mark Simonson, Rian Hughes, Patrick Griffin, Charles Gibbons, Alejandro Paul, Neil Summerour, and others.
