COLLECTIONS

Machinery and exhibits that date from the Middle Ages and the start of european Printing are on display in the first wing of the museum, alongside automatic printing presses of the 20th century. a true copy of the Gutenberg printing press gives the mark of that era. Foot-operated Victoria printing presses, bought from Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland, as well as one donated by a Greek typographer, mark the course of typography in time, while numerous, smaller, hand-operated Boston-type printing presses adorn the museum areas.

Typesetting benches where the typesetter would compose the text, letter by letter, using cast iron type, dating from Gutenberg’s time in the 15th century to the beginning of the 20th century, coexist with the machine of mechanical typesetting which dominated the largest part of the 20th century, linotype.

This is the “industrial” wing of the museum, since until 2008 it housed the printing presses of the newspaper “Haniotika Nea”, today located at a nearby building.

Almost every technique related to printing is on display here: Book binding, copper engraving, wood egraving, silk screen printing, monotype typesetting machine, offset, telex, engraving machine and one offset tower from the old web press of the newspaper.

A unique exhibition consisting of 40 panels with artistic and informational material on the history of Writing. From cave drawings to computers, the artist-typographer Antonis Papantonopoulos narrates cleverly through his work the evolution of man’s effort to communicate through written words.

A hall dedicated to photography, with a large number of donated cameras, rare equipment, photography accessories and visual material from the archives of the “Chaniotika Nea” newspaper, including photographs from the late 19th century.

In the same space, there is also a volume that includes the first example of a photograph converted into an engraving for printing in “L’ Illustration” newspaper, as mentioned in a report from 1848.

There is yet another interesting donation from an old photo studio in Chania called “Foto-minos”, featuring residents of Chania who lived back in the mid-20th century on glass negative film on a light table.

Precious books, typewriters, polygraphs, rare editions, the first newspapers that were published in Crete, maps, stamps, currency, greek and foreign publications on printing are just a few of the treasures of the museum library.

Part of the educational programs takes place here as well as video projections on printing and the cultural events organized by the museum.

In the welcoming area of our self-service café, visitors can relax after the tour in the museum, while also having the opportunity to choose from a carefully selected range of exclusive souvenirs from the Museum of Typography of Giannis and Eleni Garedaki, such as publications, posters, postcards, etc.