November 20 | 6–9pm | 207–213 Water Street | Free
Kick off the holiday season with an evening of creativity, community, light refreshments, and cheer at the Seaport Museum’s annual Wayzgoose—a 500-year-old printers’ tradition marking the change of seasons. This year’s celebration expands across even more of the Museum’s spaces to include the Bowne & Co. Printing Office, Stationers shop, and the Museum’s newly restored 1868 landmark, A.A. Thomson & Co.
All evening long, you are invited to step into the Printing Office at 207 Water Street to roll up your sleeves and make your own impressions. Using historical printing presses and movable type from the Seaport Museum’s working collection, you’ll pull your own festive, holiday-themed keepsakes. Next door, at the gift emporium at 211 Water Street, get a head start on holiday shopping and check out a particularly noteworthy and highly anticipated new arrival alongside this season’s delightful selection of holiday gifts, cards, and more paper goods.
From 6pm to 8pm check out the stunning three-floor exhibition Maritime City at 213 Water Street. For a special holiday treat, join members of the curatorial working group for guided tours of the exhibition from 6pm to 7pm. Of the more than 540 artifacts on display, your guide will focus on elements of the exhibition that highlight Lower Manhattan’s rich connection to printing history and showcase treasures from the printing history and graphic design collections—including clipper cards, trade cards, collage and paper sculptures from the Robert Warner Works on Paper Collection, and a vibrant array of tools, type, ephemera, and graphic art.
You’re welcome to drop in anytime between 6pm and 9pm, but you won’t want to miss two big announcements and remarks at 7:15pm inside the first-floor galleries at 213 Water Street—exciting news you’ll want to hear hot off the press!
Sign up today to lock in your space for this charming evening—a night for printers, friends, and fellow enthusiasts to share the fruits of their labor, raise a glass, and celebrate the craft, community, and creativity that keep letterpress printing’s rich history alive. Preregistration is encouraged. Walkups will be accommodated as space allows. Anyone ages 12 and up is welcome. Please note that access to the Printing Offices and Stationers shop includes walking up and down a few stairs.
A Brief History of Wayzgoose
Legend has it that when Johannes Gutenberg and his team completed the first edition of the Bible, he invited them to his countryside residence for a celebratory dinner where he served a roast goose—they went away to eat a goose, giving rise to the term Wayzgoose.
Wayzgoose is a traditional printer’s party that coincides with Bartholomewtide, the feast of St. Bartholomew, celebrated on August 24. St. Bartholomew is the patron saint of both bookbinders and butchers. In Northern Europe, the season began to change around this time, and papermakers would take a break from their work to produce waxed paper, used to cover windows in homes and workshops that couldn’t afford glass. While this wax paper provided insulation, it also blocked sunlight, marking the shift to working by candlelight. Wayzgoose celebrations recognized this seasonal transition.
About Bowne & Co.
Established by Robert Bowne in 1775, Bowne & Co. holds the distinction of being New York’s oldest operating business under the same name. After growing as a financial printer throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, Bowne & Co. Inc. partnered with the Seaport Museum in 1975 to open a 19th century-style print shop at 211 Water Street in the South Street Seaport Historic District. Today, it is comprised of the Bowne & Co. Printing Office––a workspace that continues the age-old tradition of job (or small batch) printing using historic presses from South Street Seaport Museum’s working collection––and Bowne & Co. Stationers, a 19th century-style emporium selling gifts and fine goods.
About Maritime City
The Seaport Museum’s latest exhibition Maritime City highlights how New York City, as we know it today, arose from the sea. Throughout the extensive three-floor exhibition, 540 deliberately-selected objects on view underscore how the city’s identity as a global capital of culture and finance is rooted in its origins as a seaport. By sharing the material culture of New York and its people, the exhibition highlights stories of the working class people employed by ships, shipping lines, and other local industries throughout history, as well as the emigrant workers and immigrant families that came through the port as their first stop in America.
About A.A. Thomson & Co.
This Italianate cast iron and stone warehouse, located at 213 Water Street, was designed by the renowned New York City architect Stephen D. Hatch (1839–1894) in 1868 for Alexander and William A. Thomson of A.A. Thomson & Co.. Before the structure was built, this lot was occupied by two three-story buildings, originally part of a 1750 water lot grant, on what would have been considered one of the principal streets in New York City. At the Building Rededication Ceremony for the warehouse in October 2024, the Museum rededicated the historic warehouse to a renewed purpose, converting this former industrial space to an education venue, welcoming all to see themselves reflected in the Museum.
Enjoy More That the Museum Offers
Access to the historic ships and exhibition galleries at the Seaport Museum is not included with this event. If you would like to explore more that the Museum has to offer, book in advance or ask Museum staff about admission tickets, available Wednesday through Sunday from 11am to 5pm when you check in.
Museum admission tickets grant access to the 1885 tall ship Wavertree and 1908 lightship Ambrose at Pier 16 as well as all current exhibitions on view in the introduction galleries inside Schermerhorn Row located at 12 Fulton Street. Admission tickets also include entry to the three-floor exhibition Maritime City in A.A. Thomson & Co. located at 213 Water Street.
And, make sure to check out the temporary outdoor exhibition Signs of Origins while it is on view from October 1 through November 30!
Ready for more?
Head over to our Programs and Events page to see what else is happening at the Museum. Sign up for an upcoming talk, learn more about visiting Wavertree, or explore our virtual offerings.