| Former type | Defunct |
|---|---|
| Industry | Type foundry |
| Founded | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1796 |
| Defunct | sold to Lawrence Johnson and George F. Smith in 1883 |
| Headquarters | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Key people | Archibald Binny, James Ronaldson, founders, Lawrence Johnson, president |
Binny & Ronaldson established the first permanent type foundry in the United States. Founded in Philadelphia in 1796 by the Scots Archibald Binny (1762/3-1838) and James Ronaldson(1769-1841).[1]
Archibald Binny, of Scotland, emigrated to Philadelphia in the United States in 1795. Binny had been a printer and had some experience in type-founding in Edinburgh. Binny, in partnership with James Ronaldson, a baker who had lost his business in a fire, established a type-foundry in 1796.[2][3] While operating under the name Binny and Ronaldson, the foundry itself was known as The Philadelphia Type Foundry.[4] The foundry was quite successful and for a time the only type foundry in the United States. [5]
In 1806, Binny & Ronaldson acquired from William Duane some tools and equipment that Benjamin Franklin had purchased from Pierre Simon Fournier in France twenty years earlier.[1] In 1812 the foundry issued the first type specimen book ever produced in the United States. Archibald Binny created a spring lever, which improved the efficiency of type casting.[3] Binny patented three improvements to type-founding: an improved printer's mold, a method of "smoothing or rubbing printers' types", and molds for casting printing types.[1]
Archibald Binny retired from the business in 1815, selling his share of the foundry to his partner, James Ronaldson.[5][1] Ronaldson continued the business until 1823 when he retired, passing the foundry to his brother Richard Ronaldson.[1] The foundry was under the ownership of Richard Ronaldson, when it was purchased in 1833 by Lawrence Johnson and George F. Smith.[4][3] The foundry was combined with Lawrence Johnson’s existing stereotype foundry and greatly expanded and improved.[2] Although it was known as The Johnson Type Foundry well after Johnson’s death in 1860, The foundry was owned and operated by Johnson and Smith for ten years[5][4] until 1843 when Smith retired. Johnson operated the business on his own until 1845 when he brought in three junior partners: Thomas MacKellar, John F. Smith and Richard Smith. Then the Johnson Type Foundry operated under L. Johnson & Company until 1897 when it became MacKellar, Smiths and Jordon, upon the addition of Peter A. Jordon as a partner.[5][2][4] In 1892, the firm was incorporated with the American Type Founders’ Company.[5][3]