With a motto like 'By Labour and Constancy', you can be sure this former publishing house was a trailblazer in its time
The Museum Plantin-Moretus is a UNESCO Heritage Site that offers a peek into the living quarters of its owners and their workshops, as well as the evolution of print in the 16th to 18th century. The entire premises, tools used for printing and print products have been thoughtfully preserved, restored and displayed. It is clear that in its heyday, it was a cutting-edge printing press that dabbled in Intaglio (on copper or zinc plates), woodblock, movable type, and colour printing. Printing any thing was tedious in those days, but this meant that only what was worth printing, was printed. And what was printed was valuable then, and even more so today (Note to self: Stop wasting paper and ink in the office).
I enjoyed the walk from Grokt Markt to Museum Plantin-Moretus - peaceful, vibrant and eclectic. In Singapore, although we have preserved historical buildings and 5-foot way shophouses in districts such as Lavender and Bugis, I'm more used to skyscrapers and cookie cutter-like residential buildings (aka HDB flats). The architecture of Antwerp (and every other place in Europe) was a breath of fresh air.
The Plantin-Moretus House-Workshops-Museum Complex was inscribed as a cultural site on the World Heritage List in 2005. As such it forms part of the cultural heritage which the UNESCO - Convention of 1972 considers as having outstanding universal value.
This inscription appeals to the international community for its protection and conservation.This complex is a printing plant and publishing house dating from the 16th - 18th century, which remained in activity here until 1867 and became a Museum thereafter. Its name refers to Christoph Plantin, the first industrial printer-publisher and the most famous from the second half of the 16th century, and his successors the Moretus family. The monument is of outstanding architecture value. It contains exhaustive evidence of the relationship between the living environment of the family and the world of work and commerce of what was a world renown printing and publishing house, active in Europe for more than 300 years. The building preserves in situ furnishings and fittings, including the original printing equipment of the two oldest presses in whole of the world, a significant library of rare books, invaluable archives which are part of the "Memory of the World" register (UNESCO) since 2001, and an important art collection.
Yes, there are free lockers for your use!
The museum leads you one-way around the premises, starting with the living quarters of the Plantin and Moretus family, which is interspersed with key printing works.
If you are lucky, you will even be able to observe volunteers restoring books.
(I actually have a minor obsession with stamping, so although I gave the Cathedral of Our Lady a miss, I couldn't miss this UNESCO museum.)
Labore et Constantia (By Labour and Constancy) - a simple and easily-forgotten motto we should live by
Leather wallpaper! Fancy and ages so well.
Did you manage to spot intaglio, woodblock, movable type, and colour prints?
The life of the founder of the printing press, Christophe Plantin, is also worth a read. Such foresight of his descendants to sell and the city to acquire, an integral piece of Antwerp's and print's history.
The advent of new print techniques has made it easier to produce prints, yet without labour and constancy, something feels amiss. A must-visit if you want to experience the difference for yourself!
No comments:
Post a Comment