Welcome to

The Virtual Museum of Printing

Exploring Printing History and Heritage

The Virtual Museum of Printing is an online heritage collective that aims to bring together the printing-historical resources of the British Isles in one site. It is a platform for printing historians, practitioners, curators, and other heritage professionals to contribute data, images, video, and narrative relating to their collections.

We have several exciting printing collections already confirmed as contributors and are working hard to ensure we include content from many more.

The importance of printing in the history of civilization can hardly be exaggerated. Printing preserves and carries information and ideas. Whether in the form of books, periodicals, printed images, or ephemera, print is an interface, allowing one intellect to communicate with another, and with many. The printed word has shaped the modern world. Print is a medium capable of effecting large scale change: through increases in literacy; the spread of scientific and other knowledge; the fomenting of revolution; the dissemination of political, philosophical, and religious ideas; the waging of war; the development of mass media; the vast world of advertising.

Without printing, there would be no typewriters, no computers … no internet!

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Executive Members

Dr Caroline Archer

Caroline Archer-Parré is Professor of Typography at Birmingham City University, Co-director of the Centre for Printing History and Culture, and Chairman of the Baskerville Society.
Lee Hale

Lee is currently Director of Winterbourne House and Garden, the University of Birmingham’s botanic garden and Arts Council accredited museum.
Dr David Osbaldestin

David is a senior lecturer at the Birmingham School of Art, Birmingham City University, an executive member of the Centre for Printing History and Culture, the Virtual Museum of Printing, the Printing Historical Society, and Print Networks.
Joshua Poole

Josh is a International Heritage Management graduate and Senior IT professional, and Executive member of the Virtual Museum of Printing and the Centre for Printing History and Culture.
Dr Rachel Stenner

Rachel is Senior Lecturer in English Literature 1350-1660 at the University of Sussex. She is the editor of Publishing History journal, the co-lead of the People of Print project, and she chairs the National Printing Heritage Committee.