Objects
Sort By:
Bowne & Co., Workshop Area, 207 Water Street
05/25/2019 - 02/23/2020
The Printed Port illuminates an industry central to the development of New York City: job printing. Printers were a mammoth force in the 19th-century Port of New York; they produced all manner of printed materials for the businesses flourishing on South Street, including those in the maritime trades. Bowne & Co. founded in 1775 and part of the South Street Seaport Museum since 1975, was one of hundreds of shops that made up characterized the seaport district.
The exhibition features original and reproduced artifacts from the South Street Seaport Museum’s collection, including 19th-century and early-20th century printing presses. A survey of printed ephemera presents the tools and techniques involved in their production. An iron-hand press made by R.Hoe & Co., and part of the Museum’s collection is activated daily, during live demonstrations and workshops hosted by the professional printing staff at Bowne & Co. Paper-based ephemera were shown in reproduction due to their fragility.
