Berthold Type Foundry

H. Berthold was founded in Berlin in 1858 by Hermann Berthold, initially to make machined brass printer's rule. It then moved into casting metal type particularly after 1893. The company played a key role in the introduction of major new typefaces and was a successful player in the development of typesetting machines. The production premises were on Wilhelmstrasse No. 1 until 1868, and then on Mehringdamm 43. In 1979 the factory moved to another location between Teltow Canal and Wiesenweg in Lichterfelde.

The H. Berthold foundry's most celebrated family of typefaces is arguably Akzidenz-Grotesk (released 1898), an early sans-serif which prefigured by half a century the release of enormously popular neo-grotesque faces such as Helvetica. In 1950, type designer Günter Gerhard Lange embarked upon a long affiliation with the company, for which he designed various original typefaces, including Concorde and Imago, and oversaw the foundry's revivals of classic faces such as Garamond, Caslon, Baskerville, and Bodoni.

In 1996, Harvey Hunt (1949–2022) and his wife Melissa, claimed to have reestablished the company as Berthold Types. However, there is no evidence to support that this was a reestablishment. The bankrupt company had incredible debts, and any legal successors would have had to take on those debts. As no one was interested in taking over those debts, the bankruptcy court in Berlin decided to liquidate the company. There is no legal successor.

In 1997, Berthold Types acquired all of the copyright, trademark and design rights associated with the Berthold Exklusiv Collection. Günter Gerhard Lange, Berthold Exklusiv Collection type director during H. Berthold AG era, worked for Berthold Types Limited as an exclusive artistic consultant until his death in 2008.

Following Harvey Hunt's death, Monotype announced the acquisition of Berthold Types's inventory of typefaces (but not legal entity) in August 2022.

Lawsuit controversy

During Harvey Hunt's tenure at Berthold Types Limited, the company was accused of sending (frivolous) legal letters usually related to alleged trademark violations. This led to discussions of issues of Berthold not paying the original designers, such as Albert Boton.