Learn Letterpress Printing, Bookbinding, and Book Arts

Common Press will be demonstrating hand papermaking, pulling sheets of paper from our vat of cotton and linen fibers. The paper pulp was made from fabric collected from our fall 2025 community-wide rag collection, and beaten during our spring 2026 residency at Historic Rittenhouse Town. We invite you to come understand the ancient craft of papermaking, and to make a sheet or two of paper for yourself!

To honor the 250th anniversary of the Declaration, Common Press will host a 12 hour, two day community typesetting event during which all are invited to hand-set metal type to help create a historically-accurate replica. The final forme of metal type will remain available for printing on our 19th-century hand press through August 2026.