Composition caster, by the Lanston Monotype Corporation Ltd, 1897

Composition caster, known as the 'limited-font' Size A machine, Lanston Monotype Corporation Ltd, Washington DC, 1897; serial number 44.

A machine which automatically casts and delivers perfectly spaced lines of hard, new, deep-cut single types, being controlled by the perforated paper ribbon produced on the keyboard. The resulting products are transferred to a chase and printed by letterpress printing. This two-part system of Monotype keyboards and casters were manufactured from the late 1890s until 1989.

Invented by Tolbert Lanston in 1897; made in America extremely early in the company's history, before the UK company was founded or the Surrey factory was built. A patent application was filed on the last day of 1897 and the patent granted in 1899. US patent 633088 of 1899. This machine is the only known example. This machine is written about in the 'History of the Monotype Corporation' by Slinn, Carter, Southall (2014) and the nameplate is pictured on the frontispiece.