The International Printing Museum, in Carson, California, has one of the largest collections of antique printing presses in the United States. It offers educational programs for school groups at the museum, and also has a Ben-Franklin-type printing press on a trailer that travels to schools and public events for living history programs.Located in Southern California, the museum consults for Hollywood and has provided rentals of vintage printing presses for numerous television and movie productions.History and CollectionDavid Jacobson of Gutenberg Expositions and collector Ernest A. Lindner started the museum in 1988 to house the Lindner collection of antique printing machinery. The collection has grown with significant donations and acquisitions under the leadership of the museum's board of trustees and its founding curator and executive director, Mark Barbour.The museum's collection includes a replica Gutenberg press. Gutenberg's invention of movable type was rated by Time magazine as one of the most important developments of the millennium. Prior to his invention, ordinary people could not afford to own a book. With the efficiencies created by Gutenberg, printing costs dropped dramatically, and book ownership became common in Europe. People could now buy their own Bible, and interpret it themselves, rather than have to rely on their priest or minister. This led to people thinking for themselves as well, which led to the Protestant Reformation, the Enlightenment, and democracy.
