Museums of Typography
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electronic -
Worldwide museum finder
Belgium -
Canada -
France -
Germany -
Greece -
Italy -
Japan -
Netherlands -
Switzerland -
United Kingdom -
United States.
Electronic
- Early modern digital collections
- Digital collections of early printed books that are
primarily high-resolution public domain images.
- Lists both open digital collections (individual libraries and museums)
and aggregators (cities and archives), all with useful annotations.
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Berlin Typography
- 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.
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Celebrating Berlin’s Typography, Before It Vanishes is
an article describing the blog's origin.
- Typemuseum
- DMC Design for Media and Communication GmbH
- The Typemuseum virtually collects photographic findings and documents
of and about typographical signs.
Worldwide museum finder
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Association of European Printing Museums
- Printing and related museums in Europe and worldwide
- Use the Museum finder to explore the region that interest you.
There are many more possibilities than those listed below.
Europe
Belgium
-
Plantin Moretus Museum in Antwerp
A UNESCO World Heritage site
- Vrijdagmarkt 22, 2000 Antwerp
Phone: +32 (0)3 221 14 50
- 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.
The search facility is well designed and easy to use.
France
Germany
-
Deutsches Technikmuseum, Drucktechnik
- 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.
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Gutenberg-Museum in Mainz
- Liebfrauenplatz 5, 55116 Mainz
Phone: +49 (0)6131 - 12 2640 / 2644
- 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".
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Herzog August Bibliothek Wolfenbüttel
- In English
- Lessingplatz 1, D-38304 Wolfenbüttel
Phone: (05331) 808-0
- Has permanent exhibition of Hermann Zapf's work.
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Klingspor-Museum Offenbach
- 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.
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Museum für Druckkunst Leipzig
(Museum of the Printing Arts Leipzig)
- Nonnenstraße 38, 04229 Leipzig.
Phone: +49 341/2 31 62-0, +49 341/2 31 62-20
e-mail: info@druckkunst-museum.de
- Hours
Monday to Friday (except holidays) from 10:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.
On Sunday from 11:00 a.m. until 5ŧ:00 p.m.
Guided tours for individuals or groups by appointment.
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Niedersächsische Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek
Göttingen (SUB)
Greece
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Museum of Typography in Chania, Crete, Greece.
(Μουσείο Τυπογραφίας)
- Chania Park of Local Industries Building 13-03, Chania, Crete, Greece
Phone: 28210 80090, 28210 51003(115)
Email: info@typography-museum.gr
Italy
-
Museo Bodoniano in Parma, dedicated to Giambattista Bodoni
- The new Museo Bodoniano opened 30th November 2022
Entrance is from the ground floor of the Bibilioteca Palatina of Parma.
Piazza della Pilotta 5, 43100 Parma, Italy
Phone: 0521-282217
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Biblioteca Angelica, a public library in Rome
- Piazza di S. Agostino 8, 00186 Roma, Italy
Phone: 39 06 6840801
-
An illustrated tour of the library
- Comments by Klaus E. Werner:
In Italy there are _e_a_s_i_ly_ accessible (identity card).
Right around my corner there is such a library (Biblioteca Angelica, Roma)
that possesses — among other things — 1.100 incunaboli (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).
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Tipoteca, a type and printing museum
tif, Tipoteca Italiana Fondazione
- Via Canapificio 3, Cornuda (Treviso), T 0423 86338, Italy
Phone: 0423.86338
Email: museo@tipoteca.it
- Not just a museum, but also an archive, library, print shop, gallery
and auditorium — all are ways Tipoteca offers visitors the chance to
discover and experience the beauty of letterpress.
Tipoteca Museum arranges several workshops: typesetting and
letterpress printing, handwriting and creative bookbinding. The
purpose of these activities is to encourage the experience of
letterpress printing. All the equipment in use is original: hand
presses, movable types, type cases and composing sticks.
Netherlands
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Huis van het Boek (House of the Book)
Meermanno-Westreenianum museum, in The Hague
- Prinsessegracht 30, 2514 AP Den Haag, Netherlands
Phone: 070-34 62 700
- The oldest book museum in the world
The museum is located in the attractive former residence of the
Baron Van Westreenen van Tiellandt (1783–1848) and is devoted to
the hand-written and printed book of the past and present. The external
aspects of the book and the development of book design are the main
focus. The museum organizes three to four temporary exhibitions a year
on themes related to both the old and modern book.
Switzerland
-
Basler Papiermühle,
Swiss Museum for Paper, Writing and Printing
- St. Alban-Tal 37, 4052 Basel, Switzerland
Phone: +41 61 225 90 90
Email: info@baslerpapiermuehle.ch
- 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.
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Typorama
- Fabrikstrasse 30a, 9220 Bischofszell
Phone: +41 (0)71 422 28 20
Email: info@typorama.ch
- Hours: Wednesday, 2pm-4.30pm (no guided tours)
Guided Tours: every first Sunday of the Month, at 2pm and 4pm
Guided tours for groups or individuals by appointment.
United Kingdom
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The British Library at St Pancras.
- 96 Euston Road, London NW1 2DB
- 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. "
- In November 2000, the British Library presented
two complete copies of the Gutenberg Bible for online access. See
The Gutenberg Bible online digital facsimile Web site
and BBC November News
Gutenberg Bible goes online
- 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.
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St Bride Printing Library
- 14 Bride Lane, Fleet Street
London EC4Y 8EQ
Phone 020 7353-3331
Hours: The Reading Room is open by appointment every Wednesday,
12:00–3:00 p.m. or 3:30–6:30 p.m.
Email: library@sbf.org.uk to book a space.
- The 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 Type Archive
- 100-100A Hackford Road, London SW9 0QU
- At the end of 2022, the Type Archive is in the process of
relinquishing its premises on Hackford Road (the former London Type
Museum) and moving its collections to other locations. Check back
for current information.
- 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.
The collections comprise the hot-metal plant and stock of the
original Monotype Corporation, the holdings of Stephenson Blake &
Co., and Robert DeLittle (wood type).
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Type Museum, London
- 100-100A Hackford Road, London SW9 0QU
Phone: 1+ 020 7735 0055
- The Type Museum explores type and man's use of graphic symbols,
and holds a world-renowned typographic collection.
NOTE: The museum was subsumed into the Type Archive, q.v.
North America
Canada
United States
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Hale Pa‘i Printing Museum
- Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii.
On the campus of Lahainaluna High School.
- 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.
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Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum
- 1816 10th Street, Two Rivers, WI 54241
- 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.
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The International Printing Museum
- 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.
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Museum of Printing (MoP)
- 15 Thornton Avenue, Haverhill, MA 01832
- Email: info@museumofprinting.org
- 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.
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The Printing Museum
- 3121 San Jacinto Street, Houston, Texas 77004
Phone: (713) 522-4652
Email: frontdesk@printingmuseum.org
NOTE: Closed until early Spring 2023 for relocation to midtown.
Hours: Friday and Saturday, 10:00 a.m. through 4:00 p.m.
For group tours, Tuesday-Thursday, call for information.
- 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.
- Providence Public Library Special Collections
The Updike Collection on the History of Printing
- 150 Empire Street, Providence, RI, USA
- 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.
- An annual event is the
Updike Prize for Student Type Design
- For more information, call +1 (401) 455-8021.
- It is best to plan ahead and make arrangements to see this collection.
- Rochester Institute of Technology
Cary Graphic Arts Collection
- 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.
- They have many
videos posted on their YouTube channel, including a tour of the press
room and use of their Goudy printing press.
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Stanford University Library
Information about opening hours and library locations can be found
here.
Pacific Region
Japan
-
Printing Museum in Tokyo, Japan.
- 1-3-3 Suido, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 112-8531, Toppan Koishikawa Bldg.
Phone: +81 3-5840-2300
Email: info@printing-museum.org
- A tour of the museum at TUG 2013 included a demonstration of how
to set math expressions by hand. On exhibit were not only examples
of text, but also the wood blocks that had been used for some of the
iconic prints of the 19th century, including the great Hokusai wave.
Print can come in many forms, and the variety is well repreented here.
$Date: 2023/01/18 21:45:12 $;