DESPITE THE growth of the internet and an increasingly paperless world, the National Print Museum in Dublin has seen a significant increase in young visitors in recent years. As a result, for the first time this summer, it will have a full-time education officer to co-ordinate events with schools.
The museum has also begun a new programme for all ages which includes workshops in printing techniques, lectures and temporary exhibitions.
An attack on a postboy on the road from Castleblayney to Monaghan by a gang of men "armed with bludgeons" on a November night in 1835, is just one incident detailed in a new exhibition of post-office reward notices. In this case, the boy was beaten with sticks but he managed to save the bag of mail. A reward of £20 was offered for anyone with information leading to his attackers' arrests.
The notices span half a century from 1820 to 1870. They reveal that the post office offered rewards from £5 to £100 for the return of stolen mail bags or information on robberies of letter carriers and horse-drawn mail coaches. The documents were found in the archives of the GPO and are rare survivors of the post office's pre-1916 administrative records, many of which were destroyed during the Rising.
The posters offer an insight into transport, criminal activity and life in the late 19th century. They detail incidents such as the burning of a Ballymena postbox and the search for a rogue postman described as "rather stooped" with "small whiskers".
A poster about the robbery of half banknotes between Mullingar and Ballymahon reveals that banknotes were often transported in separate halves for safety.
The Robbery on the Road exhibition continues at the museum until May 18th.
Also taking place at the museum is a lecture on the Freeman's Journal, which will explore a different aspect of 19th-century Irish life. The insight into the nationalist newspaper will be provided by Felix Larkin of the National Library of Ireland Society on April 17th.
Printmaking will be the subject of another lecture in the museum's series. The revival of the art in Ireland will be discussed by Brian Lalor, chairman of the Graphic Studio Dublin, on May 8th.
An exhibition of artworks created using printmaking techniques will be on display from May 22nd. The artists featured in the show - Gráinne Dowling, Mary Canty and Margaret Kallen - use methods such as intaglio, in which an image is etched or engraved on to a metal surface.
Dowling will run introductory weekend workshops on the printmaking process and the techniques of etching and drypoint. Students will have the opportunity to use their own ideas to make artworks. They will also learn drawing techniques and the tutor will help to develop their artistic expression, according to the museum's curator and manager, Maireád White. This course is for "anyone who has an interest in art, even if they don't have a background in it", she says.
A series of beginner workshops on print-related crafts such as Japanese woodblock printing will also be held at the museum over the next few months.
The method dates back to the eighth century and is used in iconic Japanese artworks such as Hokusai's 36 Views of Mount Fuji series. Participants will use the completely handproduced method by carving an image out of wood and pressing it on to the page. The course tutor, Debra Bowden, spent a sabbatical in Japan last year to learn more about the technique.
In a series of summer origami classes, students can learn the Japanese art of paperfolding to make cards, boxes and hanging decorations.
Another ancient Asian art process, batik, will be the subject of workshops this summer. Batik is an Indonesian word for dyeing fabric by covering parts of it with a dye-resistant wax. The technique is more than 1,000 years old but reached its peak in Java in the 19th century. Both traditional and contemporary methods of batik will be covered in the courses.
Batik will also be taught at monthly children's craft classes. The museum will host two weeklong summer craft camps for children during the summer.
More traditional and back-to-basics print workshops are also being offered by the museum, with courses in letterpress printing and bookmaking in April and May.
The course on traditional letterpress printing and typesetting is for people without any printing experience.
Using the museum's traditional machinery, participants will get to set lead type by hand to create personalised letterheads or business cards.
Basic print techniques will be taught at a bookmaking workshop on April 13th, when students will learn simple binding methods to create their own books.
The museum is sponsored by the printing industries and newspapers, including The Irish Times. It also raises funds from an annual golf outing, which takes place in Clontarf in May.
National Print Museum
Beggars Bush, Dublin 4.
Telephone: 01 660 3770
E-mail:
npmuseum@iol.ie
Opening Hours
Monday to Friday 9am-5pm; Saturday 2pm-5pm (closed
bank holidays).
Entry Fee
Adults €3.50, children €2, families
€7.
Temporary exhibitions:
Robbery on the Road - Post Office Reward Notices
1820- 1870, until May 10th; prints from artists Gráinne
Dowling, Mary Canty and Margaret Kallen, May 22nd-August 15th.
Temporary exhibitions are free.
Lecture series
The Freeman's Journal 1763- 1924 by Felix Larkin,
April 17th at 7.30pm. Graphic Studio Dublin and the revival of fine
art printmaking in Ireland by Brian Lalor, May 8th at 7.30pm.
Lectures are free to attend.
Adult workshops
Printmaking, March 29th, March 30th and June 7th,
June 8th. Cost: €125.
Japanese woodblock printmaking, April 5th to May 6th and May
10th, 11th. Cost: €110. Bookmaking, April 13th and June 14th.
Cost: €55. Papermaking, April 26th, 27th. Cost: €90.
Batik, June 21st, 22nd. Cost: €90. Letterpress printing, May
17th, 18th. Cost: €55. Origami: Making cards with origami,
May 24th. Make your own Japanese box, May 25th. Make your own
hanging decorations, May 25th. Cost: €45.
Children's craft classes
Easy print, April 13th. Batik, May 11th.
Papermaking, June 29th. Cost: €20.
