Melbourne Museum of Printing

DID YOU KNOW ?

[ FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ]
WRITTEN AROUND 2002

WHAT IS THE MUSEUM?

The Melbourne Museum of Printing is one of the world's largest collections of preserved printing machinery and artefacts. It was saved from an uncertain future by enthusiasts and is now being restarted by volunteer labour and management.

WHY HAVE WE MOVED? WHY ARE WE CLOSED?

Look at our moving page to find out what has happened. [Phone number and PO Box unchanged!]

CAN YOU VISIT THE MUSEUM?

The Museum is now open on limited days, with longer opening times expected when more volunteers become involved.

The new premises as 36 Moreland Street, Footscray, carry a small but well chosen fraction of the Museum's collection. The General Admission program shows how printing was done without a computer and many other facets of this fascinating industry.

Classes, school visits and club group visits can be arranged.

Please see our

• contact page for the address, phone number etc.
• general admission page for days, times and prices.
• volunteering page for opportunities to help the Museum while learning something.

Artists and writers regularly book the studio to typeset and print their books and prints. Full training is provided. But you don't have to be a writer or artist: just keen to learn, or perhaps wanting to experience what printers had to do before computers or even before the Linotype!

See our access studio page for details.

The archival material in the collection includes typesettings, engravings, artwork, negatives and printing plates. These relate to jobs printed by many printers for thousands of customers over the years from mid 20th century. In addition, there are documents relating to printed jobs and to the business of printing.

These may be accessed by academics and post-graduate students with an idea to develop and the intention of publishing their findings. Students will require an introduction from their department.

Those wishing to access this material should bear in mind that much of the material is packed away without adequate description, so finding it will require dedication. Some assistance will be given by Museum volunteers.

If you think this may interest you in the future, say so now! If enough people say it's of value for research it may be saved. We have to convince potential sponsors to fund the storage costs before the landlords lose patience and destroy the collection.

See our research page for details.