Rare Collection Of Type Connected To Hollywood Film Industry Acquired By The International Printing Museum

The latest acquisition by the International Printing Museum, Carson, is a rare collection of antique printer's type and printing blocks from the Earl Hays Press, the oldest printing shop in Los Angeles and the leading producer of "fakes" and "inserts" for the Holly- wood film and television industry for 100 years.

The walls of Earl Hays Press are covered in memorabilia from over a century of printing for film

Earl Hays Press, located in Sunland, CA (near Hollywood) was first established in 1913 and has made everything from the old newspapers seen in every Western movie or in The Godfather films, to Astronaut Jack Nicolson on a fake Time Magazine cover, even the printing plates used to make the police decals on Beverly Hills 90210; all of these are the creative work of the iconic Hollywood printing shop known as Earl Hays Press. Over the years, the Printing Museum has collaborated with Earl Hays Press, with the Museum renting the actual working antique presses needed as props in the films while EHP created the inserts.

The Earl Hays Type Collection comprises nearly 1,000 fonts of metal and wood type dating from the mid- 19th century to the mid-20th century. "This is probably the last known collection of type of this rarity and historical significance still in the same working printing shop for one hundred years!" commented Mark Barbour, curator of the Printing Museum. "And for the collection to have this connection to our entertainment culture makes the acquisition all the more important and noteworthy."

On Saturday August 24th (5:30 pm) Curator Mark Barbour will give a visual presentation about the history of the Earl Hays Press, detailing the history of the shop that continues to produce the "fakes" for Hollywood, and show off many of the typographical and printing gems from the Earl Hays Type Collection. The talk is part of the museum's LETTERPRESS WAYZGOOSE CELEBRATION and is open to the general public with free admission. (www.printmuseum.org/wayzgoose)

An exhibit of the Earl Hays Type Collection will premiere on Saturday October 19th in conjunction with the Museum's annual LOS ANGELES PRINTERS FAIR, an annual celebration of Letterpress, Printmaking and the Book Arts. (www.printmuseum.org/fair)

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