Conference news – AEPM
Our printing history and culture researchers in CPHC are excited to be hosting the Association of European Printing Museums Conference, in Birmingham at Winterbourne House & Garden this September. The Association of European Printing Museums conference looks at the interdependent relationship between historians of printing and the museums and archives that are custodians of the material that enables the research.
Prof Caroline Archer-Parré and Associate Professor Ann-Marie Carey will be presenting their paper “Small Performances: investigating the typographic punches of John Baskerville through heritage science and practice-based research”. We are certain that participants will be excited and intrigued by the Small Performances project and this update on its progress.
The Baskerville typeface is familiar to billions of readers and users of standard computer software across the world. However, the story behind its creation by John Baskerville (1707-75) is much less widely known. This interdisciplinary project seeks to make a substantial contribution to the history of printing technology, while ensuring this is a living process that will continue into the future. At its heart is the exceptional collection of typographic punches designed, cut, and used at Baskerville's workshop in Birmingham, which are now held at Cambridge University Library.
Bringing together printing historians, heritage scientists, craftspeople, and type designers the Small Performances project is reconstructing eighteenth-century punch-cutting using a combination of pioneering scientific and artisanal methods that will benefit current industrial and craft applications as well as educational projects. Professor of Typography Caroline Archer-Parré’s longstanding research into Baskerville has been central to the development of Small Performances. Ann-Marie Carey brings experience in utilising craftsmanship expertise to deconstruct and recreate heritage artefacts. The project is led by the University of Cambridge and funded by an Arts and Humanities Research Council research grant (2024-2026).