Letterpress fun around the Twin Cities

No trip to the Great Minnesota Get-together is complete without a tour of the Minnesota Newspaper Museum (I wrote about last year’s visit over here). Tucked away in the back corner of Heritage Square, itself in the back corner of the vast fair grounds, the museum offers visitors a peek at the past with its fully operational old-school print shop. This year I am proud to be volunteering at the museum. Monday August 25th and Monday September 1st, I’ll be spreading the good letterpress word from 2:30 to 8:00 p.m. I’ve signed up to run their platen press. I hope you’ll stop by to say hello! Hopefully, I’ll be standing near the front door, right where this dude is standing.

As the Minnesota Newspaper Museum celebrates the functional aspects of letterpress printing, a new exhibit at the Minnesota Center for Book Arts in downtown Minneapolis explores the cultural significance of letterforms. Face the Nation: How National Identity Shaped Modern Typeface Design, 1900-1960 explores how the desire to reinforce, redefine or transcend national identities influenced typeface design around the world. There’s a small proof press in the gallery, and guests are invited to try their hand at printing – the picture to the left shows both a flyer for the exhibit and the print I made.

The exhibit includes type specimen books, exquisite prints, and artifacts from type design and manufacturing. Of particular interest is the signage, which explains how cultural issues have influenced type design in various countries and cultures. This exhibit is interesting and informative, and highly recommended! While you’re visiting MCBA, be sure to dart across Washington Avenue to visit the new location for CorAzoN, a great shop full of jewelry, clothes, home accessories, original artwork, and paper goods (including Lunalux cards, of course)

The Minnesota Newspaper Museum is located on the Minnesota State Fairgrounds in St. Paul. The museum will be open from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., August 21-September 1, 2008. Face the Nation is on display through September 21, 2008. MCBA is located in the Open Book center at 1011 Washington Avenue South.