A photography blog on type found along the streets of Berlin.
Collected by Jesse Simon since 2016, each instalment concentrates
on a particular concept: street signs, shop and advertising signs,
bridges, colors, umlauts, ..., the variety is nearly endless.
Not just a museum, this is the home of a printing club, located
in a former printing house.
All facilities required for composition and printing are available
on site: fonts of type (lead and wood), a Linotype and a Ludlow
machine, photosetting equipment, and several presses of various
sizes and purposes.
Scheduled events include workshops for members and for visitors,
as well as demonstrations of the equipment
Also in
Dutch, in
French, and in
German
(as well as a video with some lovely images of the interior).
Many interesting objects from the museum's holdings are shown online,
for example the matrices for Claude Garamont's
'Gros Canon Romain'.
The search facility is well designed and easy to use.
Trebbiner Straße 9, 10963 Berlin
Phone: ++49 (0) 30 90 254 0
Permanent printing-related exhibition in a comprehensive
technical museum.
Exhibits, multimedia presentations, and demonstrations illustrating the
development of printing techniques since Gutenberg.
Tuesday to Saturday from 9.00 to 17.00. Sunday from 11.00 to 17.00
The museum is closed on the official holidays in Germany.
In addition to the expected coverage of Gutenberg's work and examples
of printing through the ages, the Gutenberg Museum offers a variety of
hands-on workshops on book-related crafts, as well as guided tours and
topical exhibits drawn from their extensive holdings.
Comments by Karel van der Waarde: “Certainly worth a long visit
(one full day). The Dom next to it is worth a visit as well”.
Herrnstraße 80, 63065 Offenbach am Main
Phone: 069 8065 2164
Comments by Karel van der Waarde:
A major collection of book and writing and printing materials. The
basis in 1953 was the library of the Klingspor foundry. Other
specialities are calligraphy, book illustrations, the work of Rudolf
Koch, Eckmann, Peter Behrens. Basically they have far too much to show
everything, and it depends a bit on the exhibition in the main
area. However, the standard collection upstairs is worth a
visit.
Hours:
Monday to Friday (except holidays) from 10:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.
On Sunday from 11:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.
Guided tours for individuals or groups by appointment.
Ottmar-Mergenthaler-Straße 19, 97980 Bad Mergentheim (Hachtel)
Hours: First Sunday of month, 13:00 to 17:00
Guided tours for groups are possible on request
The museum is housed in a structure built as a replica of
Mergenthaler's birthplace.
Born in 1854, Mergenthaler migrated to the U.S. in 1872. Recognizing
the desire to publish legal briefs more quickly, he conceived the
idea of casting metal type in lines, and, based on this idea, he
developed a machine that could accomplish that task. In 1886, the
first commercial Linotype was installed. This machine, frequently
improved, was used for newspaper composition into the 1970s.
The museum holds original records from the early days, described in
“The Box at the Museum”, by the maker of
Linotype: The Film.
Piazza di S. Agostino 8, 00186 Roma, Italy
Phone: 39 06 6840801
Comments by Klaus E. Werner:
In Italy there are easily accessible (identity card).
Right around my corner there is such a library (Biblioteca Angelica, Roma)
that possesses -- among other things -- 1.100 incunabula (books before
1500), 20.000 books of the 16th century, 519 books of Bodoni etc.
You just go there, show your passport at the entrance and they will give
you what you want. Even the editions of Aldus Manutius (Hyperotnomachia
Poliphili) and Nikolaus Jenson (Plinius' Naturalis Historia).
Netherlands
Huis van det boek in The Hague, Amsterdam,
formerly Meermanno-Westreenianum museum (and that name is still
over the door) (In Dutch)
Excerpted from the original “Welcome” --
“In 1994 A Hundred Highlights from the Koninklijke Bibliotheek
was published. In this book a selection of manuscripts, printed works,
book bindings, and specimens from the paper history collection in the
Department of Special Collections is presented with explanatory notes,
mainly provided by staff of the Department.
“Members of the staff of the Library Research Department have adapted
the book for digital distribution. The result may be seen on your
screen: a digital book of plates with comments.
“Just like the version of the Highlights published in book form, the
digital Highlights can be browsed and provide an extensive
introduction and index. Moreover, the electronic presentation offers
you the opportunity of joining a number of selected guided tours. If
you are interested in the ways the Library's treasures on paper or
parchment were made, there are tours, for instance, of miniatures in
medieval manuscripts, modern typography, bookbindings and paper
making. For those interested in the contents of these works of art,
there are tours of literary, religious, historical, art historical and
other subjects.
“The copyright of this edition is deposited at Waanders Uitgevers
and the Koninklijke Bibliotheek.”
Comments by Bruno Maag:
It is more like an old papermill –
fully working – than a museum about type.
It does workshops in papermaking, hand setting and printing.
It is also gorgeously located on the river Rhein with a little cafe in front
of it. So, if you're there in the Summer it is an ideal place to unwind.
Excerpted from the
“Digital Library/Treasures Digitisation” pages:
“The British Library Exhibition Galleries house some of the
world's most famous books and documents, including the Diamond
Sutra, the world's first recorded printed document, produced in
China in the 8th century AD; two version of Magna Carta,
internationally considered to be the foundation of civil
liberties; the Lindisfarne Gospels, the pinnacle of Anglo-Saxon
artistry; and Gutenberg's 42-line Bible, Europe's first printed
book, c.1455. ”
The
Early Printed Collections Web site has links to many scanned books
from incunabula through the 16th century, catalogues of such books, and
instructions on using the resources.
Comments by Tom Chadwin:
Having recently started occasional work in London, I have had the chance to
visit the new British Library at St Pancras.
Although not in possession of a reader’s ticket, and hence unable to
enter the reading rooms, I still regard the library as my favourite place
in London, and have revisited it every time I have returned.
There is a splendid exhibition on print and type in the basement, and, of
course, the public galleries.
Needless to say, I cannot recommend a visit to the Library highly enough.
It seems to me that there is a great deal more on display than there was
in the Manuscripts Room at the British Museum, and to be able to see works
by Gutenberg, Caxton, Aldus, and Wynkyn de Worde side by side is a joy.
14 Bride Lane, Fleet Street
London EC4Y 8EQ
Phone 020 7353-3331
Hours (reading room): Wednesday, noon-3pm, 3:30pm-6pm, by appointment.
Comments:
St Bride Printing Library opened in 1895 as a technical library, and
since 1992, has built its international reputation as one of the
world’s foremost printing and graphic arts libraries.
Now a subdivision of the St Bride
Foundation, its hours are limited. However, the
online catalogue enables users to explore its holdings.
The former premises in South London have been relinquished, and
options are being explored for a long-term home. The collections
are in temporary locations; for details, see the website.
The Type Archive is home to the art of printed words. We hold an
amazing collection of letterpress fonts in metal and wood which
celebrates the joy of printing: the craft that has served as the
fundamental basis of modern civilisation and graphic design.
[Appears to be the reincarnation of the London Type Museum.]
The Type Museum explores type and man’s use of graphic symbols,
and holds a world-renowned typographic collection.
NOTE: The museum is currently under development and there is limited
access. Call for further information...
Students were taught to set type, operate the press, and perform
other printing functions.
They printed the first newspaper published west of the Rocky
Mountains here, as well as textbooks and teaching aids.
This article, from The Atlantic, tells the story of
how this printing establishment was used to good effect.
The website does not report the condition of the museum following
the disastrous 2023 Lahaina fire, but does have information regarding
recovery efforts on other historic buildings.
In addition to historical types, the Hamilton Wood Type Legacy Project is a collaboration between
the museum and designers to make contemporary designs for Hamilton's
use in the production of new wood types.
315 W. Torrance Blvd., Carson, CA 90745
Phone: (310) 515-7166
The International Printing Museum was founded in 1988. It features
the Lindner Collection of Antique Printing Machinery.
The museum is devoted to bringing the history of books, printing, and
the book arts to life for diverse audiences, interpreting the
collection through working demonstrations and theater presentations.
770 Las Vegas Blvd. N, Las Vegas, NV 89101
Phone: (702) 387-6366
Las Vegas has been lit by neon signs for more than a hundred years.
But these examples of graphic design are expendable when the reason
for their existence closes. The neon museum preserves this
heritage.
Samuel Clemens was a major investor in the development of the
Paige Compositor, intended as a competitor to the Linotype. However,
the project failed to live up to its promise and was never offered
commercially. An exhibit in the Visitor Center holds
the only surviving specimen.
A description of the machine can be found in
a Wikipedia entry.
The Museum of Printing is dedicated to preserving the rich
history of the graphic arts, printing and typesetting technology,
and printing craftsmanship.
The collection contains hundreds of antique printing, typesetting,
and bindery machines, as well as a library of books and
printing-related documents.
A unique holding is the Mergenthaler Font Library, the original
drawings that were the starting point for manufacturing matrices
for Linotype machines. Other font libraries are those for the
Intertype Photosetter and the remains of the font library of the
Photon Corporation (after the unfortunate destruction of much of
this resource).
The Museum will also become the home for the archives of the
TUGboat editor, including many items related to TeX and
to the typography of mathematics.
3121 San Jacinto Street, Houston, Texas 77004
Phone: (713) 522-4652
Hours: Tuesday through Friday, 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.,
by appointment only.
Exhibits in the Printing Museum’s permanent gallery spaces
demonstrate how printing has significantly contributed to the
development of civilization-transforming our lives to the present
day.
Highlights include precursors to the advent of printing in Europe;
the Johannes Gutenberg Gallery and the impact of printing on
European society; early newspapers and the founding of a nation;
printing history in Texas; and innovations into the 21st century.
Daniel Berkeley Updike was proprietor of the Merrymount Press in
Boston.
In addition to thousands of books (among them many early type
specimen books), prints, ephemera, and some artifacts (including the
matrices for the Montallegro and Merrymount types, commissioned by
Mr. Updike for his own use), the collection includes Mr. Updike’s
personal correspondence from 1878 to his death in 1941.
90 Lomb Memorial Drive, Rochester, NY 14623-5604, USA
Phone: (585) 475-3961
Fax: (585) 475-6900
Dedicated to graphic communication history and practices, this
library is included in the curriculum of several courses offered by
RIT's College of Imaging Arts and Sciences.
Among the holdings is the most substantial collection in America
on the work of Hermann Zapf, who held the Melbert B. Cary
Distinguished Professorship at RIT from 1977-1987.
Toppan Koishikawa Head Office Building 1-3-3,
Suido, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 112-8531
The museum has widely publicized the role that printing has
played in our lives, raising the question “What exactly is
printing?” It examines the history of hitherto properly
unexamined relationships between printing and mankind.
22004 | 217 Central-ro, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon
located in Songdo Central Park
Phone: +82-32-290-2000
Hours: Tuesday through Friday, 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.; closed holidays
The museum, which opened in 2023, seeks to present the diversity
of global writing culture throughout history.
The oldest known book to be printed with moveable type was printed
in Korea.
The permanent exhibit follows a timeline in the development of the
written word from pictures on rocks and incised clay objects up to
the present day.
