Andy Volpe Lecture: “Printing Revolution”

Saturday, Dec. 20, at 11:30 am and 2:00 pm

Andy Volpe (center) holding his copperplate engraving of Paul Revere’s promissory notes of May 1775, with members of the Historical Society of Old Yarmouth, Cape Cod, where he gave this presentation back in October.

The Museum of Printing’s Andy Volpe will give his presentation: “Printing Revolution” at the Museum this Saturday, Dec. 20, at 11:30 am and 2:00 pm. The program is about 1 hour in length and is free with Museum admission.

The talk looks at not just what was printed being “revolutionary,” but how it was printed. Andy will discuss developments of printing techniques and technologies in the 1600s and 1700s that were revolutionary, and point out some of the books, broadsides and graphic prints that were themselves considered revolutionary, with an emphasis on the American Colonies in the 1600s to the Declaration of Independence.

Replica of the Declaration of Independence, as printed by Mary Katherine Goddard in 1777 for Congress. This was meticulously typeset by hand by Gary Gregory, the Printing Office of Edes & Gill, and printed on his replica English Common Press, currently on loan at the Museum of Printing.