Hamilton Wood Type and Printing Museum will no longer reside in the building that bears its name. The property owners recently informed the museum that the 1619 Jefferson St. building in Two Rivers, Wisconsin will close and must be vacated, perhaps as early as February 2013.
Hamilton Wood Type and Printing Museum will no longer reside in the building that bears its name. The property owners recently informed the museum that the 1619 Jefferson St. building in Two Rivers, Wisconsin will close and must be vacated, perhaps as early as February 2013.
Hamilton Wood Type is urgently seeking donations to address this sudden need and to protect its vast collection of wood type, antique printing equipment and rare type specimen catalogs. The museum’s director Jim Moran, artistic director Bill Moran and assistant director Stephanie Carpenter remain committed to transitioning to a new space.
“We are definitely moving and will be staying in Two Rivers,” says Jim Moran. “Unfortunately, the hopes of staying in the Hamilton building are not an option. It will be an important break in continuity for Hamilton as a manufacturer going back to 1880. However, this is an opportunity to find a location where we can better protect, preserve, organize and demonstrate this enormous and valuable collection.”
Moran estimates it will require at least $250,000 and an army of volunteers to physically move the millions of pieces of type, plates, presses, tools and raw materials. He adds, “We are humbly, but aggressively asking for cash donations.”
Donors already have pledged more than $65,000. Contributions may be made online at http://www.woodtype.org/support.When a final date has been determined, workshops and other events at the museum will cease at least one month prior to the move. Hamilton Wood Type intends to host a farewell party with celebrated authors, professors and practitioners among the guest speakers. Hamilton will publish key dates for the move and volunteer opportunities as they are established.
Hamilton Wood Type 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.
Follow Hamilton Wood Type and Printing Museum on Twitter at @hamiltonwoodtyp, on Facebook, on Flickr or on YouTube.