IN PERSON - Bookmark Printing Party

Join Brazos Bookstore and The Printing Museum for a Bookmark Printing Party! The Printing Museum will be providing an interactive demonstration on a Kelsey Press as well as information about printing history.

This event is part of our Spring Break 2023: Exploring Art History! Click here to see our full lineup!

We will be printing bookmarks on a cast-iron Kelsey Press that is over a hundred years old!  William A. Kelsey (1851-1923) founded his company in 1872, developing a business that directly manufactured, marketed, and sold presses and printing supplies to the amateur printer.  While other press companies catered to the changing business needs of nineteenth-century America, where small shopkeepers and private households demanded small presses for small-run productions, Kelsey fully capitalized on this market and actively worked to cultivate and expand it.  Much like Steve Jobs in the late twentieth century brought the desktop computer into the home of the average American family, Kelsey popularized printing to the masses, eventually bringing the tabletop press into the home of the late-nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century American family. 

The Printing Museum explores the intersections of the history, art, and technology of printing and demonstrates its enduring impact through exhibitions, interactive tours, and creative workshops. With over 10,000 items in its permanent collection—including one of the earliest printed documents, fine-art facsimiles such as the Gutenberg Bible, and contemporary limited-edition works on paper—the Museum is an engaging place for kids and adults alike. Click here to learn more.