Museums of Typography

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electronic - Belgium - Canada - Czech Republic - France - Germany - Greece - Italy - Japan - Korea - 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.
• 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.
  • 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.

Europe

• Association of European Printing Museums
  • Printing and related museums in Europe and worldwide
  • Use the Museum finder to explore the region that interests you.

  Belgium

• Plantin Moretus Museum in Antwerp
  A UNESCO World Heritage site
  • Vrijdagmarkt 22, 2000 Antwerp
    Phone: 0032 (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, for example the matrices for Claude Garamont's 'Gros Canon Romain'. The search facility is well designed and easy to use.

  Czech Republic

• National Technical Museum (Národní technické muzeum)
  • Kostelní 42, 170 78 Praha 7
    Phone: 220 399 111
    Email: info@ntm.cz
  • Permanent printing exhibition
    The journeys of polygraphy from Gutenberg to digital printing.

  France

• Musée de l’Imprimerie et de la Communication graphique in Lyon
  • 13, rue de la Poulaillerie, 69002 Lyon
    Phone : +33 (0)4 78 37 65 98
    Fax : +33 (0)4 78 38 25 95
    
  • The museum for English-speaking visitors

  Germany

• Buchstabenmuseum e.V.
  • Stadtbahnbogen 424, 10557 Berlin
    Phone: +49 177 420 15 87
    Email: bindabei@buchstabenmuseum.de
  • Hours: Thursday to Sunday, 13:00 to 17:00
  • The “letter museum” is devoted to preserving the letters from commercial signage that is disappearing as old establishments close.
• 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.
• Gutenberg-Museum in Mainz
  
  • Liebfrauenplatz 5, 55116 Mainz
    Phone: +49 (0)6131 - 12-25 03 or 12-26 44
    
  • 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”.
• Herzog August Bibliothek Wolfenbüttel
  • In English
  • Lessingplatz 1, D-38304 Wolfenbüttel
    Phone: (05331) 808-0
  • Has permanent exhibition of Hermann Zapf's work.

• 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.
• 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
    Email: 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 5:00 p.m.
    Guided tours for individuals or groups by appointment.

• Ottmar-Mergenthaler Museum (German only)
  
  • 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.
• Niedersächsische Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Göttingen (SUB)
  
  • Platz der Göttinger Sieben 1, 37073 Göttingen
  • The GUTENBERG DIGITAL project has the complete Göttingen Gutenberg Bible available on the Web.
    Enter the site at www.gutenbergdigital.de/gudi/start.htm.
    Available in German and English.
• Pavillon-Presse Weimar
  
  • Scherfgasse 5, 99423 Weimar
    Hours: Monday, 1pm–5pm; Friday, 1pm–5pm

  Greece

• Museum of Typography in Chania, Crete, Greece.
  (Μουσείο Τυπογραφίας)
  • In English
  • Park of Local Industries in the municipality of Suda
    Phone: 28210 80090, 28210 51003
    Email: info@typography-museum.gr

  Italy

• Museo Bodoniano in Parma, dedicated to Giambattista Bodoni
  • next to the Bibilioteca Palatina of Parma.
    Piazza della Pilotta 5
    Phone: 0521-282217

• Biblioteca Angelica, the oldest public library in Rome
  • 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.”

  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
  • Hours: Tuesday-Friday, 11am-5pm; Saturday, Sunday, 1pm-5pm; closed Monday
  • 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.
• Typorama
  • Fabrikstrasse 30a, 9220 Bischofszell
    Phone: +41 (0)71 422 28 20
    Email: info@typorama.ch
  • Hours: Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm

  United Kingdom

• 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.
• St Bride Printing Library
  • 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 Type Archive
  • 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.]

• 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 is currently under development and there is limited access. Call for further information...

North America

  Canada

• Howard Iron Works
  • 800 Westgate Road
    Oakville, Ontario L6L 5N2
    Phone: (905) 821-0000
    Email: info@howardironworks.org
  • Printing museum and restoration in Oakville, Ontario, north and west of Niagara Falls.
  • Focus on printing machinery from the 1830s to 1950s.

• Mackenzie Printery & Newspaper Museum
  • Hands-on museum in Queenston, Ontario, a little north of Niagara Falls.
  • Open seasonally; Niagara Parks page shows open days and times and more information.

  United States

• 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.
  • 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.
• Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum
  • 1816 10th Street, Two Rivers, WI
  • 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.
• 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.
• Las Vegas Neon Museum
  • 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.
  • Two videos introduce different facets of the site.
      Las Vegas Neon Museum (Neon Boneyard)
      Behind the Signs of The Las Vegas Neon Boneyard
  • The museum is planning a move to a more central location.
• The Mark Twain House
  • 351 Farmington Avenue, Hartford, CT 06105
    Phone: (860) 280-3122
  • 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.
• Museum of Printing
  • 15 Thornton Avenue, Haverhill, MA 01832
  • 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.
• The Printing Museum
  • 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.
• Providence Public Library Special Collections
  The Updike Collection on the History of Printing
  • 150 Empire Street, Providence, RI 02903
  • 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.
• Stanford University Library
  Information about opening hours and library locations can be found here.
  • Department of Special Collections
  • Donald E Knuth papers, 1962-2015 - Held offsite; must be reserved at least 48 hours in advance.

Pacific Region

  Japan

• Printing Museum, Tokyo
  • 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.
  • Excursion at TUG 2013.

  Republic of Korea

• National Museum of World Writing Systems, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon
  • 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.