Save Bowne & Co., Stationers
Bowne & Co., Stationers was a beloved re-creation of a small nineteenth-century printing and stationer's shop in the South Street Seaport area of Lower Manhattan. It was a living museum, a working press that still took custom orders, a destination for researchers and school groups, and a beautiful neighborhood shop that inspired passionate responses from visitors from around the world.
On February 14th the shop was closed without warning by the Seaport Museum New York. We are working to reopen and revitalize Bowne under independent management.
Petition EXTENSION!! Given that we continue to receive new signatures every day, we have decided to extend the petition indefinitely -- or at least until the changes we seek for Bowne have been implemented. So, if you never got a chance to add your name or send out that mass email asking friends to do the same, you've been granted a reprieve! Jump on it while you can!
By signing this petition, I state my belief that Bowne & Co., Stationers should:
*Reopen in its existing location with its existing collection kept intact
*Be self-managed, by persons with knowledge of printing history and design
*Be a center for type and printing history, for public service and profitability
*Remain accessible/visible to students and interested members of the public
*Use its unique collection to develop products that financially support the shop
I submit my statement to the President and Board of the Seaport Museum New York, representatives of the City of New York, and, via the press, members of the public as an affirmation of my commitment to Bowne's long-term survival.
