No doubt everything “vintage” is here to stay; from popular culture to crafts to fine art. Vintage imagery is valued by both generations: to the older, the genre evokes nostalgia and a connection to history; to the young, vintage products communicate a retro appeal reinterpreted for contemporary times.
Vintage imagery and type can especially be seen in the resurgence of letterpress printing in wedding invitations, event announcements, business cards, fine stationery and limited-edition prints and artist books. Decorative enhancements such as flourishes, swirls, ornaments, patterns and 19th century images are being used to communicate just the right feel and tone in specialty printed pieces.
Through a mutual passion and commitment to provide education and resources about print and paper, Envelopments and The International Printing Museum have teamed up to develop the Vintage Artwork Collection debuting in April…
Inspired by the deep treasure-trove of the Printing Museum’s library, Envelopments’ team of artists and designers have created artwork offered exclusively in this collection created from a rich ensemble of public-domain images from rare type and image catalogs of the 19th and early 20th century.
The Printing Museum’s Library holds 7000+ volumes of materials dedicated to printing, presses, papermaking, type design, typography, book arts and more. Images included are from resources such as the Hansen Type Foundry catalog of 1909 and The Harmonizer printing specimen catalog from 1897.
It was an amazing journey to look through the thousands of choices to find those that spoke to the design crew at Envelopments. Once the selection was refined for the first release all images were scanned at the highest resolution and professionally-adjusted to create high-quality artwork to be used in customized projects.
The artwork has been turned into new original patterns printed on Envelopments luscious stocks with accompanying icons as well as a variety of graphics to apply to invitations and announcements.
It’s truly exciting to see these old resources brought back to life by the team at Envelopments. I wonder what the originators would be thinking if they were around today to see how the ink now hits the page and their designs are applied across the multitude of mediums.
Related Links:
The International Printing Museum, breathing life into history of printing
All intellectual properties are the exclusive property of Envelopments, Inc. Envelopments, Envelofolds, Pocket Folds and Portable Pockets enclosures are registered trademarks of Envelopments, Inc in the U.S. and other countries. Copyright
4 Comments
Oh, I am so excited. I’m jumping up and down inside, my heart is racing! Just looking at these pictures-I know this collection will be so inspired and amazing.
Hi Grace…thank you, we too are very excited! The International Printing Museum is an amazing place full of history. Our reaction at discovering all the resources at the museum was like kids in a candy shop. The first manifestation of designing with this treasure trove of vintage art is seen in our new print pattern “Bloom.” Our designers created this beautiful spring pattern by putting together a variety of vintage floral graphics. Accompanying artwork for Bloom is available to Envelopments Dealers/Designers in Envelopments Original Artwork collection. More vintage graphics will be unveiled as they are used in our featured recipes, such as the sample that was recently seen in Martha Stewart Weddings.
Grace thanks for your comment…my heart is racing too because I adore the Museum’s treasure trove of books and the new patterns coming out this spring from Envelopments are truly inspired. “Bloom” is a fresh artistic interpretation with a throw-back to history. Everyone will love it.
Ann Bancroft’s role in “84 Charring Cross” says it all, I think. There is something special about old books that I find fascinating and very enjoyable.