The Grabhorn Institute is a

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

formed in October 2000 for the purpose of preserving and continuing the operation of one of the last integrated facilities for typefounding, letterpress printing, and

bookbinding Bookbinding is the process of physically assembling a book of codex format from an ordered stack of ''signatures'', sheets of paper folded together into sections that are bound, along one edge, with a thick needle and strong thread. Cheaper, b ...

in the fine press tradition, as a living museum and educational and cultural center. It is named in honor of the brothers Edwin and Robert Grabhorn, who established the Grabhorn Press in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

in 1920. The press was "one of the foremost producers of finely printed books in twentieth-century America." The Grabhorn Press Building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places in San Francisco, California. The Grabhorn Institute was founded when

Andrew Hoyem Andrew Lewison Hoyem (born 1 December 1935) is a typographer, letterpress printer, publisher, poet, and preservationist. He is the founder (in 1974) and was the director of Arion Press in San Francisco until his retirement in October 2018. Arion Pr ...

, the proprietor of the

Arion Press The Arion Press in the United States book publishing company founded in San Francisco in 1974. It has published 120 limited-edition books, most printed by letterpress, often illustrated with original prints by notable artists. Minneapolis Star Tri ...

(the successor to the Grabhorn Press), and the type foundry M & H Type, facing eviction from their location in San Francisco in 2000, confronted the logistical and financial problem of moving over 140 tons of metal type plus heavy iron and steel printing presses and typecasting and bookbinding equipment to a suitable new facility. The press and foundry comprised a complete, traditional bookmaking facility, including the last large-scale

hot metal ''Hot Metal'' (1986–88) is a British sitcom produced by London Weekend Television about the newspaper industry. Written by David Renwick and Andrew Marshall, it is very much a continuation in style from their previous sitcom '' Whoops Apoc ...

type foundry in the country. Support raised by the Grabhorn Institute enabled Arion and M & H to relocate to the

Presidio of San Francisco The Presidio of San Francisco (originally, El Presidio Real de San Francisco or The Royal Fortress of Saint Francis) is a park and former U.S. Army post on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula in San Francisco, California, and is part o ...

as a cultural tenant in April 2001. In recognition of its work to preserve the typecasting and letterpress printing operation, the Grabhorn Institute was designated by the

National Trust for Historic Preservation The National Trust for Historic Preservation is a privately funded, nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that works in the field of historic preservation in the United States. The member-supported organization was founded in 1949 by ...

as part of "the nation's irreplaceable historical and cultural legacy" under its Save America's Treasures program. Activities of the Grabhorn Institute include exhibits and lectures related to fine printing and book arts and an

apprenticeship Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a Tradesman, trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners ...

program to preserve the crafts of typecasting, letterpress printing, and bookbinding. It also conducts tours of the historic production facility, which includes the M & H Type foundry, established in 1915 with Monotype typecasting machines that came to San Francisco for the Panama–Pacific International Exposition; twelve letterpress printing presses; a bindery for hand bookbinding; and a large collection of rare typefaces passed down from the Grabhorn brothers and the noted San Francisco printer John Henry Nash. According to ''Preservation'', the magazine of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, "The collaboration among Arion Press, M & H Type, and the Grabhorn Institute is a model for preserving historic manufacturing equipment, keeping alive disappearing crafts, and printing beautiful artifacts—all in one enterprise." The Grabhorn Institute received a California Heritage Council Award in 2002 for "preservation of the last fully functioning type foundry and integrated letterpress printing facility."http://www.californiaheritagecouncil.org/chcpastawards.html

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External links

Grabhorn Institute

M & H Type

Finding Aid to the Grabhorn Press Records, 1917–1973

The Bancroft Library The Bancroft Library in the center of the campus of the University of California, Berkeley, is the university's primary special-collections library. It was acquired from its founder, Hubert Howe Bancroft, in 1905, with the proviso that it retai ...

Grabhorn Press Collection
Rare Book and Special Collections Division,

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

{{Authority control Non-profit organizations based in California Book arts 2000 establishments in California Organizations established in 2000

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