Robert Warner was a shopkeeper and master printer at the Seaport Museum's Bowne & Co., Stationers between 1995 and 2020. During this time, Warner operated the Museum’s 19th century historical printing presses while stocking the shelves with a selection of hand-printed paper goods and publications on lower Manhattan and its maritime history. He prided himself on providing customers a human touch with his wares and sought to communicate the intricacies of paper and assemblage through his work.
This collection encompasses a series of collages, paper sculptures, and letterpress ephemera representing Warner’s creative endeavors. His works on paper feature visual elements from the Museum's typography collection, as well as vintage postcards, tintypes and cabinet cards, stamps, and many other found objects. Warner’s work brings together traces of New York’s economic history, images of famous locales, and the art of other prominent photographers and illustrators.