First Thursday of the Month | 6pm | 211 Water Street | Free
Join a special adults-only edition of Fresh Prints, presented in collaboration with the Seaport Museum and Downtown Alliance!
Explore the Museum’s collection of historical printing equipment, watch the professional designers Bowne & Co. lock up limited edition prints, and use rare pieces from the Museum’s printing and graphic arts collection. Then, step outside to the cobblestones of Water Street, where you can learn maritime skills!
Sign up today for this special community open house to try your hand at letterpress printing and see demonstrations of different printing presses. You’ll also get to learn how to coil a line, tie a secure knot using 3D models, and practice lassoing a bitt, just as sailors do to secure ships at port.
The evening will also offer complimentary bites, wine, beer, and soda. This free event is a fantastic opportunity to meet neighbors, discover new skills, and take home a freshly printed keepsake. Please note that this event is exclusively for individuals aged 21 and above. No one under the age of 21 will be admitted and IDs will be checked. Advanced in-person registration is encouraged, but walkups will be accommodated as possible.
In November, Fresh Prints returns to its monthly format. Come to Bowne & Co. for a one-of-a-kind New York experience! This open house will feature a breadth of printing equipment that you will be invited to use. You’ll get to see how the designers at Bowne lock up limited edition designs that showcase some of the more eccentric parts from the Seaport Museum’s printing and graphic arts collection.
Established in 1775, the original Bowne & Co., Inc. was one of New York’s oldest printing firms. The Bowne & Co. that you can experience today at the Seaport Museum is an offshoot of the original and continues the age-old tradition of job (or small batch) printing.
Advanced registration is encouraged for this free open house but walkups will be accommodated as possible. Anyone ages 12 and up is welcome. All participants get to take home the items they print during the afternoon. Can’t stay the full 90-minutes? No problem! Leaving a bit early is fine, but you might miss out on taking home something special. Access to this open house includes walking up and down a few stairs.
If you don’t see tickets available for a specific first-Thursday date, pre-registration for that date has reached capacity. You are welcome to try joining the event as a walkup but space is not guaranteed. These popular workshops fill quickly, so claim your tickets today!
Enjoy More That the Museum Offers
This event occurs outside of the Seaport Museum’s regular open hours. Access to the Museum’s historical ships and introduction galleries is not included with this free event. To see more that the Museum has to offer, ask Museum staff about our Wednesday–Sunday, 11am–5pm, Pay What You Wish General Admission tickets when you check in.
Pay What You Wish General Admission tickets include access to all current exhibitions on view in the introduction gallery space at 12 Fulton Street and access to the 1885 tall ship Wavertree. Free timed tickets for a tour of the 1908 lightship Ambrose are available separately at no additional cost.
The 2024 sailing season will come to an end on Sunday, October 6! There are still tickets available to sail New York Harbor on the 1885 schooner Pioneer and 1930 tugboat W.O. Decker and range from $15–$70.
Bowne & Co.
Bowne & Co. is New York’s oldest operating business under the same name. Using seven historic presses from the Museum’s working collection, our resident printers continue the age-old tradition of job (or small batch) printing, creating individual designs using custom plates or historic fonts.