South Street Seaport Museum’s 19th century-style letterpress printers, Bowne & Co. offers Fresh Prints open houses and Print Your Own Stationery workshops for you to learn about letterpress printing and get hands-on with the Museum’s working printing history and graphic arts collection at their shop at 211 Water Street in the South Street Seaport Historic District.

Bowne & Co. uses historic moveable type, images, and letterpress printing equipment from the South Street Seaport Museum’s working collection to design and print bespoke stationery, cards, and more. Designs are created with metal type, linocuts, and engravings, which give each piece unique old-world characteristics. bowne.co

Fresh Prints Open House | 6–7:30pm | 211 Water Street | Free

Join Bowne & Co. for a one-of-a-kind New York experience! These open houses feature a breadth of printing equipment that you will be invited to use. You’ll get to see how the designers at Bowne lock up limited edition designs that showcase some of the more eccentric parts from the Seaport Museum’s printing and graphic arts collection. Advanced registration is required for this free workshop but walkups will be accommodated as possible. Anyone ages 12 and up is welcome. All participants get to take home the items they print during the afternoon. You don’t have to stay for the full event, but you might miss out on taking home something special. seaportmuseum.org/fresh-prints

Upcoming 2023 Open Houses:

Thursday, November 2, 6pm

Thursday, December 7, 6pm

Print Your Own Stationery Workshops | 12–3pm | 211 Water Street | $100

If you would like to be even more hands-on, or are looking for a fun experience to share with your friends and family, join the immersive three-hour “Print Your Own Stationery” workshop. The designers of Bowne & Co. invite you to set type, mix ink, cut paper, and print your own edition of 35 note cards using the Seaport Museum’s collection of historic printing type, equipment, and presses. Anyone ages 12 and up is welcome. Tickets are $100 per person. Registration is required. All participants get to take home the items they print. seaportmuseum.org/stationery-workshop

Upcoming 2023 Workshops:

Saturday, October 28, 12pm

Saturday, November 4, 12pm

Saturday, December 2, 12pm

Open houses and workshops will continue through Fall 2024.

 About Bowne & Co.

Established by Robert Bowne in 1775, Bowne & Co. holds the distinction of being New York’s oldest operating business under the same name. After growing as a financial printer throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, Bowne & Co. Inc. partnered with the Seaport Museum in 1975 to open a 19th century-style print shop at 211 Water Street in the South Street Seaport Historic District. Today, it is comprised of the Bowne & Co. Printing Office––a workspace that continues the age-old tradition of job (or small batch) printing using historic presses from South Street Seaport Museum’s working collection––and Bowne & Co. Stationers, a19th century-style emporium selling gifts and fine goods. seaportmuseum.org/bowne-co-stationers

About the South Street Seaport Museum

The South Street Seaport Museum, located in the heart of the historic seaport district in New York City, preserves and interprets the history of New York as a great port city. Founded in 1967, the Museum houses an extensive collection of works of art and artifacts, a maritime reference library, exhibition galleries and education spaces, working 19th century print shops, and an active fleet of historic vessels that all work to tell the story of “Where New York Begins.” seaportmuseum.org