[Archives Alive] “Wherein She Plainly Shews:” Women of the Printing Trades in the Hand-Press Era

The centuries following the advent of the printing press in Europe were characterised by an overwhelmingly male print industry. Guild rules, social norms, and financial pressures conspired to keep women out of the printing workforce. In spite of these obstacles, many thousands of women were involved in the printing business, with some rising to own and operate their own presses.

This exhibition will focus on women working in the printing trades and the output of woman-owned presses — including those of Mary Clark, Elinor James, Anne Dodd, Sarah Harding, Sarah Cotter, la veuve Mazières, and the completely woman-operated École Typographique des Femmes established under French Revolutionary auspices in 1791.

Please join us for an online talk from the curators: Ruth-Ellen St. Onge, Distinctive Collections Cataloguing Librarian, and Myron Groover, Archives and Rare Books Librarian.