The Museum of Printing History was founded in 1979 by Raoul Beasley, Vernon P. Hearn, Don Piercy, and J. V. Burnham, four printers with passions for preserving their vast collections and sharing them with the community.  It was chartered in 1981 and had its official opening in 1982 with Dr. Hans Halaby, Director of the Gutenberg Museum in Mainz, Germany, cutting the ribbon.

The mission of the Museum is to promote, preserve, and share the knowledge of printed communication and art as the greatest contributors to the development of the civilized world and the continuing advancement of freedom and literacy.

Featured in the July 2006 issue of Texas Highways, the Museum is described as “a honeycomb of intimate gallery spaces . . . with a stunning collection of objects and artifacts devoted to the history, science, and art of printing."  The portrait of the Museum concludes with the observation that "printed text may be taken for granted these days, but a visit to the Museum of Printing History somehow makes it seem magical once again.”

The Museum of Printing History wishes to thank the following foundations and corporations for their generous support:

Houston Endowment
Houston Arts Alliance
Brown Foundation
Wortham Foundation
Bauer Foundation
Simmons Foundation
Albert and Ethel Herzstein Charitable Foundation
National Endowment of the Humanities
Bank of America Charitable Foundation
Hamman Foundation
Cameron Foundation
Knox Foundation
Humanities Texas
Exxonmobil Foundation
Heidelberg USA
The Houston Chronicle and Hearst Direct
Que Imaging
Graphic Chemical
Copy.Com
InfoVine

Here's Where You Get to Stop the Presses
Houston's Hidden Museums
As 'Night Hawk', Marvin Zindler Chronicled Seedy Houston
QWERTY: A Typewriter Retrospective
Engines of our Ingenuity, No. 1848
Engines of our Ingenuity, No. 2106
Engines of our Ingenuity, No. 2259
Houston Arts View
Houston Business Journal
Texas Highways

MPH Staff

Ann Stool Kasman, Executive Director, 713-522-4652, ext. 202
Keelin Burrows, Curator, 713-522-4652, ext. 207
Charles Criner, Artist-in-Residence, 713-522-4652, ext. 206
Marilyn Davenport, Administrative Assistant, 713-522-4652, ext. 203
Jessica Pham, Front Desk Attendent, 713-522-4652, ext. 201,
Carly Morgan, Front Desk Attendent, 713-522-4652, ext. 201,
Lena Villavicencio, Volunteer Bookbinder
Kathy Gurwell, Volunteer Papermaker

Board of Directors:

Chair: A. John Harper III, Attorney
Chair Emeritus: Tom B. Eaton, Jr., Eaton Manufacturing Co.
Immediate Past Chair: Ruth Brett Downes, Attorney
First Vice-Chairman: Jeff Smith, Houston Community Bank
Second Vice-Chairman: Jerry J. Waite, Ed.D., University of Houston
Secretary: G. Riley Hetherington, Attorney
Treasurer: Jeff Smith, Houston Community Bank
Treasurer Emeritus: J.V. Burnham, Community Volunteer
Assistant Treasurer: Margaret N. Davis, Community Volunteer
Todd A. Brooks, ZaZa Energy, LCC
Charles R. Eskridge, III, Attorney
Caroline Graham, Community Volunteer
Anna Holliday, Honorary Vice Consul, Denmark
Angel Jimenez, Community Volunteer
Sandra H. Johnson, Computer Consultant
Wea Lee, Southern Newspaper Group
Kenneth I. Starr, Centerpoint Energy
Margrit Young-Zellweger, Honorary Consul General, Switzerland

Advisory Directors:

William C. Blackwood, Community Volunteer
Karen Burke, Texas Monthly
Shannon Chapin, The Houston Chronicle
Martha Justice, Community Volunteer
Anita Kiperman, Lecturer Emeritus, Rice University
Gene McDavid, The Houston Chronicle
Richard O. Wilson, Engineer