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

Resident printers at Bowne & Co. create bespoke designs produced using the Seaport Museum’s extensive working collection of historic printing presses, moveable type, illustrations, and additional equipment. Bowne & Co. is a prime example of how the Seaport Museum is dedicated to preserving New York’s history as well as the skills and expertise it took to run a turn-of-the-century business like this. bowne.co

Fresh Prints Open House | First Thursday of Every Month | 6–7:30pm | 211 Water Street | Free

Come to Bowne & Co. for a one-of-a-kind New York experience! These monthly open houses will 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 encouraged for these workshops 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. Can’t stay the full 90-minutes? No problem! Leaving a bit early is fine, but you might miss out on taking home something special. seaportmuseum.org/fresh-prints

Upcoming 2024 Open Houses:

Thursday, January 4, 6pm

Thursday, February 1, 6pm

Thursday, March 7, 6pm

Thursday, April 4, 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 2024 Workshops:

Saturday, March 30, 12pm

Saturday, April 27, 12pm

Open houses and workshops will continue through Fall 2024.

About Bowne & Co.

The original Bowne & Co. was established by Robert Bowne in 1775 and is one of New York’s oldest printing firms. In 1975, the 19th-century-style print shop that you can visit today was created to honor the Bicentennial of Bowne & Co., Inc., in partnership with the South Street Seaport Museum and the Bowne Foundation. Today, it weaves together New York’s maritime and printing heritage through 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 gift emporium selling a carefully-curated selection of unique wares including books, stationery, and oddities, as well as house-designed and -printed paper goods. seaportmuseum.org/bowne-co-stationers