Exhibition/event has ended.
Gaby Bazin - Le Typographe
Ichigaya Letterpress Factory
Finished
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When you open the door, you are greeted by rows of old printing presses and the smell of ink and cleaning solvents. The heavy drawers are packed full of small metal type. You are in a print shop in France. Books and posters are printed here using letterpress printing, a craft that has a more than 500-year history. You are greeted by a typographer who works in the shop. "Welcome to my studio! ... I'll show you how it all works!"
This exhibition features the picture book, Le Typographe (éditions MeMo), written and illustrated by France-based artist Gaby Bazin. Through the vivid colors and witty illustrations in this picture book, readers can learn about everything from the culture of handwriting before printing to Gutenberg's invention of the printing press, and also about the entire process of making, setting, and printing with movable type (true craftsmanship!).
While studying graphic design, Bazin became particularly enthralled with the process of printing and binding books by hand. She started creating this picture book to show people the workings and the allure of the craft of printing through simple words and illustrations. Since it was published in France by MeMo in 2022, this book has been translated into many languages other than French, including Japanese (Dezain no atorie kappan insatsu, Graphic-sha Publishing Co., Ltd., 2023), English, and German, sharing the appeal of letterpress printing with more and more people. It was followed by Bazin's picture book about lithography and a new picture book about intaglio printing in May 2025.
The exhibition will display all of the sketches and preliminary drawings for Le Typographe. Although this is a colorful picture book, the preliminary drawings were only in black and white. We will take you behind Bazin's creative process to show how she makes a preliminary drawing for each color.
After learning something about French letterpress printing in this exhibition, please also take a look at our Japanese letterpress printing equipment. The technology used for letterpress printing has evolved little by little, depending on the region and the language. Surely the typographer who shows us round his studio in Le Typographe would have been astonished to see the type cases full of the enormous number of kana and kanji characters used in Japan. Have a look at them. Stand in front of the cases and start picking up the type!
This exhibition features the picture book, Le Typographe (éditions MeMo), written and illustrated by France-based artist Gaby Bazin. Through the vivid colors and witty illustrations in this picture book, readers can learn about everything from the culture of handwriting before printing to Gutenberg's invention of the printing press, and also about the entire process of making, setting, and printing with movable type (true craftsmanship!).
While studying graphic design, Bazin became particularly enthralled with the process of printing and binding books by hand. She started creating this picture book to show people the workings and the allure of the craft of printing through simple words and illustrations. Since it was published in France by MeMo in 2022, this book has been translated into many languages other than French, including Japanese (Dezain no atorie kappan insatsu, Graphic-sha Publishing Co., Ltd., 2023), English, and German, sharing the appeal of letterpress printing with more and more people. It was followed by Bazin's picture book about lithography and a new picture book about intaglio printing in May 2025.
The exhibition will display all of the sketches and preliminary drawings for Le Typographe. Although this is a colorful picture book, the preliminary drawings were only in black and white. We will take you behind Bazin's creative process to show how she makes a preliminary drawing for each color.
After learning something about French letterpress printing in this exhibition, please also take a look at our Japanese letterpress printing equipment. The technology used for letterpress printing has evolved little by little, depending on the region and the language. Surely the typographer who shows us round his studio in Le Typographe would have been astonished to see the type cases full of the enormous number of kana and kanji characters used in Japan. Have a look at them. Stand in front of the cases and start picking up the type!
Schedule | Jun 28 (Sat) 2025-Oct 19 (Sun) 2025 Opening Hours Information
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| Fee | Free | ||||
| Website | https://ichigaya-letterpress.jp/gallery/000458.html | ||||
| Venue | Ichigaya Letterpress Factory https://ichigaya-letterpress.jp/index.html | ||||
| Location | 1-1-1 Ichigayakaga-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-8001 | ||||
| Access | 10 minute walk from exit A1 at Ushigomekagurazaka Station on the Toei Oedo line, 10 minute walk from exit 7 at Ichigaya Station on the Yurakucho and Namboku lines, 15 minute walk from exit 1 at Ichigaya Station on the Toei Shinjuku line, 15 minute walk from Ichigaya Station on the JR Sobu line. | ||||
| Phone | 03-6386-0555 | ||||
| Related images | Click on the image to enlarge it |
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