The online exhibit Lasting Impressions: The Private Presses of New Mexico is a virtual journey across two centuries of New Mexico’s literary history told through the work of artisan printers whose enduring love of the book and commitment to time-honored techniques have given us works of art that we can hold in our hands.
The full scope of their vision can be seen in the actual exhibition of six presses, 25 publishers and more than 200 objects and graphics, all on display at the Palace of the Governors in Santa Fe, New Mexico, through February 7, 2007.
Virtual exhibit highlights include the Virtual Print Shop, where traditional printing methods merge with today’s technology; a Reading Room, where you can hear celebrities and authors read from books on display; and the Virtual Cuaderno, which allows you to turn the pages of a book printed on New Mexico’s first press.
Additional components of the show are in mini-exhibits circulating to public libraries and museums in New Mexico and also on Bookmobiles and the Van of Enchantment that travel the state.
Lasting Impressions, in all its forms, is a cooperative effort by the Palace of the Governors, New Mexico State Library, Literacy Volunteers of Santa Fe, New Mexico Coalition for Literacy, Museum Outreach, New Mexico Highlands University, and TREX, Traveling Exhibitions Program. The majority of our work is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), a federal grant-making agency dedicated to creating and sustaining a nation of learners by helping libraries and museums serve their communities.
