Exhibit Display – “Wherein She Plainly Shews:” Women of the Printing Trades in the Hand-Press Era (November 2023-April 2024)

The centuries following the advent of the printing press in Europe were characterised by an overwhelmingly male print industry. Guild rules, social norms, and financial pressures conspired to keep women out of the printing workforce. In spite of these obstacles, many thousands of women were involved in the printing business, with some rising to own and operate their own presses. This exhibition will focus on women working in the printing trades and the output of woman-owned presses — including those of Mary Clark, Elinor James, Anne Dodd, Sarah Harding, Sarah Cotter, la veuve Mazières, and the completely woman-operated École Typographique des Femmes established under French Revolutionary auspices in 1791. This exhibit will be curated by Ruth-Ellen St. Onge, Distinctive Collections Cataloguing Librarian, and Myron Groover, Archives and Rare Books Librarian. Exhibit runs from November 2023 to April 2024. 

Location: Archives & Research Collections vestibule, Mills Memorial Library 

Promo Image: Detail of engraving by J.B. Scotin in Office de la Semaine Sainte, published in honour of Queen Marie of France by la Veuve Mazières and Garnier in 1728.  
Archives & Research Collections, C 1846 

Transformative Stories: Year of Gender and Justice is presented by McMaster University Library in collaboration with campus and community partners and will feature a lineup of free, public programming from fall 2023 through summer 2024. The series is part of McMaster University Library’s biannual “Year of” celebrations, which are aimed at highlighting the library’s unique collections, resources, and expertise and emphasizing its vital role in supporting the research, teaching, and learning mission of the university.