with poster show, documentary screening, open house, workshops

Two Rivers, Wis. — Hamilton Wood Type and Printing Museum celebrates a decade as the only museum dedicated to the preservation, study, production and printing of wood type. With 1.5 million pieces of wood type and more than 1,000 styles and sizes of patterns, Hamilton’s collection is one of the premier wood type collections in the world.

Hamilton began producing type in 1880 and within 20 years became the largest provider in the United States. Today, volunteers of the Two Rivers Historical Society preserve this legacy and host educational demonstrations, field trips, workshops and offer opportunities with this vast wood type collection. The museum also illustrates antique printing technologies including the production of hot metal type, hand-operated printing presses, tools of the craft and rare type specimen catalogs.

“Hamilton has hosted a terrific range of artists, printers and designers in the 10 years since we opened our museum. Our anniversary will be a chance to reconnect and celebrate,” says the museum’s founder, Jim Van Lanen, Sr.

Upcoming special events include:

Workshop with Jim Sherraden of Hatch Showprint
May 22-24, Memorial Day Weekend
Jim Sherraden of Hatch Show Print, Nashville, Tenn., is known internationally and regularly leads letterpress workshops throughout the country.
The cost is $400 per person for a weekend-long opportunity to work side-by-side with one of the world’s premier letterpress printers and designers. To register contact the museum for more information.

Type Face Sneak Preview
May 29, 9 p.m.
An advance screening of Kartemquin Film’s “Type Face” documentary showcases the successes and challenges facing Hamilton Wood Type. Directed by Justin Nagan, the one-hour film will be shown at the Washington House, 1622 Jefferson St., down the street from the museum. Learn more about the documentary and its filmmakers at http://typeface.kartemquin.com/. To register contact the museum for more information.

Open House at the Museum
May 30 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
The first of several events throughout the coming months welcoming local, regional and national visitors to Two Rivers, Wis. Throughout the day, demonstrations of wood type being cut on a pantograph, and printers printing with wood type.
Free, no registration required.

Tenth Anniversary Commemorative Poster Show
May 30 – September 7
All summer, letterpress printers and designers from across the country will exhibit their original poster designs. Specially selected by the museum’s directors, a partial list of printers includes Dennis Ichiyama, Richard Zauft, Nick Sherman Bill and Jim Moran, and others.
Also on display is an 1893 plaque that Hamilton made for the Columbia Exposition in Chicago. It features 48 different wood fonts, measures 51×22-inches and boasts the smallest wood type ever created. The plaque is the only known copy that exists and needed to be printed without being inked. See more at http://www.woodtype.org/columbia-exh.shtml
Hamilton Wood Type and Printing Museum is located at 1619 Jefferson St., Two Rivers, WI  54241. In addition to the special events, the museum is open May – October, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m., Monday – Saturday, and 1 p.m. – 5 p.m. on Sunday. Those planning to visit during these normal hours of operation are encouraged to call ahead, 920-794-6272.
For more links and images, please visit http://www.flickr.com/groups/hamiltonwoodtypemuseum/

Filed under: Events, Type-Paper-Print