Appleton Coated has become an official sponsor of Hamilton Wood Type and Printing Museum, demonstrating its commitment to the enduring power of printed communication. In celebration, Hamilton Wood Type will create a series of specimen sheets highlighting classic typefaces, letterpress printing, and Utopia coated papers and Curious Collection papers.

Located in Two Rivers, Wisconsin, the Hamilton Wood Type and Printing Museum is the only museum dedicated to the preservation, study, production and printing of wood type. With 1.5 million pieces of wood type and more than 1,000 styles and sizes of patterns, Hamilton's collection is one of the premier wood type collections in the world. In addition to wood type, the museum is home to an array of advertising cuts from the 1930s through the 1970s, and all of the equipment necessary to make wood type and print with it, as well as equipment used in the production of hot metal type, tools of the craft and rare type specimen catalogs.

"Hamilton Wood Type's vast collection and hands-on approach make it a one-of-a-kind destination for design and print professionals, historians, and creative people of all ages," says Ferkó X. Goldinger, advertising and promotion manager at Appleton Coated. Incorporated in 1889, Appleton Coated is only one hour away from Two Rivers.

"We're a little older than Appleton Coated, Hamilton was formed in 1880," adds Jim Moran, museum director. "Appleton Coated has been a strong supporter of the museum's mission in Two Rivers and of our outreach efforts throughout North America. We feel fortunate to have this long-standing relationship and are excited by the ongoing opportunities made possible through this formalized sponsorship."

Appleton Coated's sponsorship supports the museum's type specimen sheet archiving program and documentation of its type collection. As part of this partnership, Appleton Coated also will be providing Utopia coated papers and Curious Collection papers for selected projects and events.

The first in the series of the type specimen sheets will be printed on Utopia Premium 150-pound Silk Cover using Hamilton's typeface No. 90. "This is one of Hamilton's original fonts," says Jim Moran. "It's a rounded, decorative Tuscan font from the post-Civil War era. In its time, it was used for posters and announcing special occasions such as a farm auction or a dance."

Bill Moran, Jim's brother and artistic director for Hamilton Wood Type and Printing Museum, continues, "We took a playful approach in designing the specimen sheet. We don't get to see a lot of these more decorative fonts, and we don't often get to see coated paper used in letterpress. The combination produced some surprising results. The type really pops off the page."

Goldinger also is excited by the results and notes that Utopia Premium's "single-ply, heavyweight 150-pound cover is unique to the industry. Its triple-coated, super-smooth surface optimizes it for heavy ink coverage due to surface levelness and superior ink hold out." Utopia Premium also is acid-free, elementary chlorine free (ECF), manufactured with electricity in the form of renewable energy, and certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).

The 12x18-inch sheets are printed on a Vandercook Proof Press. The type specimen's alphabetic letterforms are complemented with a small selection of ornaments including a pointing finger, known as a "manicule" by typographers, printers and other creative professionals. Typeface No. 90 is part of the Graham Lee collection donated to the museum in the last decade.