This exhibition, displaying the fascinating story of printing in St Albans, was the first to inhabit the newly-created Weston Gallery.
It explored the rich history of a vital industry, charting the development of printing techniques, technologies, and typographic design through the centuries. Taking pride of place, it revealed the local, national, and sometimes international, impact of the City’s 500 year old printmaking heritage.
Visitors were invited to learn how St Albans became home to the third printing press in the country in 1479 and how it aided the spread of enlightenment and knowledge by supplying the University of Cambridge with its texts. To witness the birth of an industry and see up close one of the first texts to have been printed in colour.
From printing now iconic London Transport posters to producing fake Daily Telegraph newspapers as part of the war effort, the printing history of St Albans is rich and surprising at every turn.
