South Street Seaport Museum's Bowne & Co., Stationers Reopens In-Person

After a pandemic hiatus, South Street Seaport Museum announces the reopening of Bowne & Co., Stationers brick and mortar storefront beginning June 18, 2022. The store will be open in-person from Wednesdays through Sundays from 11am to 5pm at 211 Water Street. Stop by to see the presses in action, restock desk supplies, and step into a little slice of New York's history. Entry to visit the Bowne & Co. store is FREE and you do not need museum admission. For more information, visit seaportmuseum.org/bowne-co-stationers/. 

Since 1975, Bowne & Co., Stationers has been a purveyor of staple and fancy goods, supplying Lower Manhattan with stationery, art supplies, unique gifts, and letterpress printed items. Using the Seaport Museum's collection of 19th century printing presses and movable type, Bowne & Co. continues to preserve the tradition and skill of job printing by continuing to produce a range of notecards, and broadsides, as well as custom-printed stationery, invitations, business cards, and other printed items. 

Bowne & Co. was established by Robert Bowne in 1775 and is New York's oldest operating business under the same name. By 1900, New York City boasted over 700 printing offices. Most were located in Lower Manhattan and the South Street Seaport Historic District to facilitate shipping, trade, and finance. Maritime trade industries—growing each year as their goods reached the entire country through the Erie Canal—found themselves in need of a flurry of printed materials for conducting business, causing the demand for stationery, invoices, advertisements, and other printed materials.

Two hundred years after its founding, Bowne & Co. Inc. partnered with the Seaport Museum to open a 19th-century-style print shop at 211 Water Street in the South Street Seaport Historic District. Today, in addition to the letterpress printing collection, Bowne & Co. embodies the spirit of a turn-of-the-century store that is unique, eclectic and like none other in the city.

Custom 19th-century Letterpress Printing By Appointment

Bowne & Co. continues the age-old tradition of job (or small batch) printing. Using seven historic presses from South Street Seaport Museum's working collection, resident printers create individual designs using custom plates or historic fonts. Email bowne@seany.org or stop by 211 Water Street to learn more.

Online Shop

For those who are unable to visit Bowne & Co. in-person, check out the Bowne & Co. Online Shop which features a special selection of core offerings from Bowne & Co.: journals, writing paper, books, and of course, house-designed notecards and broadside posters. Seaport Museum branded merchandise like totes are also available for purchase. Orders can be shipped anywhere in the United States via UPS Ground and are also available for local pickup. Visit bowne.co for more information.

Seaport Museum Memberships include unlimited admission to museum exhibitions, invitations to special events, and great discounts year-round, including 20% off on purchases at Bowne & Co.. Memberships start at $50 and help support Museum's exhibitions, preserve the ships and the collections, grow public programs, and serve over 12,000 students annually through education initiatives. To join the Museum as a Member, visit seaportmuseum.org/membership.

Be sure to review the latest COVID-19 protocols at seaportmuseum.org/covid-19-updates. Please note that masks are required at all times within indoor spaces across the Seaport Museum campus.

About the South Street Seaport Museum

The South Street Seaport Museum, located in the heart of the historic seaport district in New York City, preserves and interprets the history of New York as a great port city. Founded in 1967, the Museum houses an extensive collection of works of art and artifacts, a maritime reference library, exhibition galleries and education spaces, working nineteenth century print shops, and an active fleet of historic vessels that all work to tell the story of "Where New York Begins."

http://www.southstreetseaportmuseum.org

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