Printshop Tour | Arion Press and M & H Type
Last week we had the pleasure of touring the galleries and production facilities at Arion Press in San Francisco with their Founder Andrew Hoyem. Established in the early 1970s, Arion was built on an already formidable printing legacy that the city of San Francisco first cultivated during the gold rush.
The Press publishes two to three limited edition, conceptually unique books each year. These editions bring typically together a significant text with a contemporary artist, or in other cases, a purely typographic interpretation. Artists they have recently worked with include John Baldessari, Kara Walker, William Kentridge, Jim Dine and Julie Mehretu.
Arion moved into their current headquarters in the Presidio back in 2001 and it houses all of their own printing and binding equipment as well as the production facilities for M & H Type, the oldest and largest surviving typefoundry in America.
It was a remarkable space and left us pretty overwhelmed by the storied history that the machinery and processes continue to embody. For more information about the press, visit the Arion Press website. They have also included a couple of wonderful videos on the site that I highly recommend spending time watching.
