Photograph by Catie Viox
Gary Walton fell into printing by accident. Two accidents, really. In 1968, he was a junior high student looking to fulfill a requirement that every male student complete a shop class. He tried woodshop but was swiftly kicked out after sending a chunk of wood through the wall. In small engine repair class, he busted an engine. Kicked out again, Walton was resigned to the print shop. “And nothing went wrong,” he says. Nearly half a century later, the printing expert is still getting his hands dirty at the Cincinnati Type & Print Museum, which celebrated its fifth anniversary in Lower Price Hill in November. Visitors will find a carefully curated shrine to local printing history. All of the museum’s presses—even the ones that date back to the 1800s—are in working condition, thanks in part to the constant use they receive from volunteers and visitors, who can expect a hands-on experience. Roll your own ink onto the Franklin Type Foundry Iron Hand Press, press a 50-cent ticket to an 1869 Reds game, and leave with a newfound appreciation (or maybe disdain) for your boring old office printer. Tours are free, but Walton says donations support BLOC Ministries’s mission to provide jobs, training, and dignity to the people of Price Hill.
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