Education is a human right ; this modern idea is only conceivable in a world where printed books are common . The development of movable type made it possible to print numerous , various , and inexpensive books : literacy became the norm . Without printing , general education and the land-grant , school would never have existed .
“ My mission has been to relate printing history to the life of contemporary students through juicy examples and provocative comparisons .”
~ Tracy Honn , Silver Buckle Press
Education is a human right ; this modern idea is only conceivable in a world where printed books are common . The development of movable type made it possible to print numerous , various , and inexpensive books : literacy became the norm . Without printing , general education and the land-grant , school would never have existed .
In 1973 , Department of Art professor Walter Hamady successfully encouraged the UW – Madison Libraries to purchase the Silver Buckle Press collection from the estate of Mr . Shaftoe . Robert Runser came to Madison and spent time helping the newly-hired library staff printer , Elizabeth Coberly Benforado , set up the collection in a room on the first floor of College Library . They researched and identified types and presses and printed a small edition of type specimen books showing the metal , wood , and ornamental types and decorative materials available for composition — producing essential reference works for anyone using the collection . Together they also printed a handsome declarative specimen broadside announcing the launch of Silver Buckle Press . It reads , in part :
Mr . Shaftoe ’ s one expressed wish for his collection was that it not be broken up and disposed of piecemeal ; that it be preserved intact and be established in and operated by a museum , library , or historical institution .
In providing a home for The Silver Buckle Press , the University has become the fulfillment of that wish . It should be emphasized , however , that the Press , despite its historical significance , is not intended as a museum piece , but rather as a working tool to be used to support instruction and to provide material access for a limited group of interested persons to the craft of hand-press printing .
This original mission statement has been a touchstone for me . It grounded my thinking about what Silver Buckle Press was , and helped me shape what it could do as a working museum of printing history dedicated to the idea of preservation through use . My mission has been to relate printing history to the life of contemporary students through juicy examples and provocative comparisons . Though working with letterpress printing materials is highly specialized , I ’ ve never thought of it as arcane or sentimental . Silver Buckle Press was never a Ye Olde Presse — I didn ’ t have to dress like Ben Franklin . What was printed at the Press , exactingly and well , were almost exclusively original texts with new designs . In rare cases , and then very deliberately , we reprinted a text or produced a facsimile . It ’ s been essential to my goals as an educator that our printing history collection be put to lively use for a current audience .
Stewardship of the Silver Buckle Press on campus has been my enormous privilege for more than two decades . With the General Library System ’ s decision to partner with Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum , and move the collection to Two Rivers , I have been in the unusual position of planning my own obsolescence . The decision to transfer the Silver Buckle Press collection to another institution was serious . Budget
“ My mission has been to relate printing history to the life of contemporary students through juicy examples and provocative comparisons .”
~ Tracy Honn , Silver Buckle Press
University of Wisconsin – Madison | 13
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