Pied Type: Letterpress Printing in Providence, 1762–Today

Pied Type: Letterpress Printing in Providence, 1762–Today

Guest Curated by Lois Harada

The exhibition will be on view in the Joan T. Boghossian Gallery at the Providence Public Library, third floor, during regular library hours from October 2, 2024, through January 11, 2025.

Please join us for the opening reception on Wednesday, October 2; details here!

Pied Type: Letterpress Printing in Providence, 1762–Today is an exhibition highlighting the robust history of commercial printing in Rhode Island. In a printshop, pied type refers to jumbled or unsorted letters—usually created by accidentally dropping or spilling metal type. The exhibition will reveal the various roles of craftspeople in the letterpress printing process and delve into the techniques and equipment still used by contemporary printers in Providence today.

Pied Type will feature materials from PPL’s Updike Collection, Tomaquag Museum, RI Black Heritage Society, and Rhode Island Historical Society, as well as works from AS220, DWRI Letterpress, and artist Jacques Bidon.

Lois Harada is an artist and letterpress printer based in North Providence, RI. She has worked in commercial printing for over a decade. She also teaches letterpress printing at Rhode Island School of Design. Her studio is in Providence, and she incorporates letterpress printing, etching, and silkscreen printing as part of her artistic practice. Visit her Instagram to see more of her work.

The featured image was designed by Lois Harada. 

“Pied Type: Letterpress Printing in Providence, 1762–Today” is supported in part by a major grant from RI Humanities.