The Museum of Printing (MoP), located at 15 Thornton Ave., Haverhill, Massachusetts in the United States, is a non-profit institution dedicated to preserving and illustrating the history of printing, graphic arts, and typography.
Mission & Focus
The Museum’s mission is to document and showcase how printing and typography have influenced culture, literacy, communication, and the graphic arts. It does this by collecting, preserving, and exhibiting printing equipment (from hand‐presses to early electronic typesetting), typefaces and fonts, printing materials, and related artifacts.
It emphasizes not only what printing was historically, but also how it continues to shape modern culture and visual communication.
History & Organization
- The institution was incorporated in 1978 as “The Friends of The Museum of Printing, Inc.” — a Massachusetts non‐profit formed by printers and publishers aiming to save equipment and library materials associated with the graphic arts.
- Over time it grew into a fully accessible museum, with public exhibitions, workshops, and a catalogue of machines and artifacts.
- According to Wikipedia, in its early years the collection was housed in various spaces and warehouses before settling into a publicly accessible facility.
The Collection & Exhibits
- The Museum houses hundreds of antique printing, typesetting, and bindery machines, plus extensive libraries of books and printing-related documents.
- The exhibit route is chronological in many respects: starting with foundry type (dating back ~500 years) moving through mechanized hot-metal typesetting (e.g., Linotype, Monotype, Ludlow), progressing to phototypesetting, and ultimately digital/offset technologies.
- Unique holdings include what is described as the only collection of phototypesetting machines, fonts, and ephemera in the world.
- The museum also features typewriters, office duplication equipment (mimeographs, addressographs), strike‐on type, and other devices that bridged printing and communication technologies.
- The facility includes a main gallery with presses, two art galleries (rotating exhibits), a museum store, and meeting/workshop areas.
Visiting & Programs
- The Museum is open every Saturday, year-round, from 10 am to 4 pm, and is open on other days by appointment or for special events.
- General admission is ~$15, with reduced rates for seniors, free for certain groups (students/military) and free for holders of a Haverhill library card.
- They offer special tours, museum rental (for events), workshops (for example letterpress printing, papermaking), interactive talks, and rotating exhibitions — these help engage not only historians but also artists, designers, typographers and the general public.
Why It’s Significant
- The museum preserves technologies that are rapidly disappearing; many devices, machines and methods from the “hot‐metal” era of printing no longer have functioning examples elsewhere.
- It connects the craft of printing (making things with presses, fonts, type) with the broader story of how communication evolved — from hand‐set type to mechanical systems to digital tools.
- For scholars of typography, graphic design, printing history, and media studies, MoP is a rich resource.
- For the general public and educational groups, it offers a tangible way to appreciate how printed matter (books, newspapers, posters) was created before the fully digital era — providing context for how our current tools evolved.
Summary
In short, the Museum of Printing is a specialized but deeply rich institution that offers a window into the historical backbone of printed communication. From hand‐moved typefaces to mechanical linecasters to early phototypesetters, the museum presents a living archive of the craft and technology of printing. If you have an interest in typography, media history, book arts, or printing technology, it’s a compelling place to visit (physically or virtually).
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