The first Museum of Typography in Greece is located in Chania, Crete, in the heart of the Mediterranean sea. It is a private initiative by Yannis Garedakis, founder of the newspaper “Haniotika nea”, with the support of his wife Eleni. He has been collecting, for more than thirty years, machines and other exhibits that mark the evolution of European typography.
Since it’s opening in 2005 to this day, the museum has continuously enriched it’s collections, widened it’s field of interest and expanded it’s premises to cover every aspect of the art that was born in the 15th century in Gutenberg’s workshop and literally changed the course of history.
The Museum of Typography started its operation as a small private collection, next to the printing facilities of the newspaper “Haniotika nea”, to which it belonged until 2015.
In April 2012, it was expanded to a new wing with exhibits related to the evolution of the graphic arts as well as two special exhibitions related to the evolution of typography and the history of writing.
In 2015 another exhibition room with rare publications (16th – 19th century) that connect the history of printing to the local history of Crete was added and today the Museum is developed in two large wings, two exhibition rooms, its remarkable library, a bright amphitheater with a capacity of 80 seats, a museum shop and a coffee shop, covering a total area of approximately 1,500 sq.m.
The Museum is a member of the Association of European Printing Museums (AEPM), of the International Association of Printing Museums (IAPM) and of the European Route of Industrial Heritage (ERIH), a Cultural Route of the Council of Europe.
In 2016 the Museum of Typography had the honor to be nominated for the distinguished prize “European Museum of the Year Award 2016“, (EMYA 2016) awarded by the European museum Forum (EMF), under the auspices of the Council of Europe.
The Museum of Typography is a modern and unique museum that presents to all guests the history of printing and typesetting. Through the interactive tour, guests come to understand the course of typography from middle ages up to the present days. During the tour all visitors are encouraged to print at printing presses of the 19th century.
Alongside, the museum organises and hosts cultural events all year long, such as conferences, book presentations, theatrical plays, musical events, and an annual international poster contest about typography. The winning posters are presented at a poster exhibition, at the amphitheatre of the museum, for a year.
