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April 27, 2010

The plate of an traditional printing press at the Plantin-Moretus Museum. - Antwerp, Belgium - Daily Travel Photos
(Antwerp, Belgium)
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The plate of a traditional printing press at the Plantin-Moretus Museum.

This past Sunday was Antwerp's Heritage day. I didn't manage to make heads or tails out of their all-Dutch website but I gleaned one important piece of information about the day from a local; that all museums and churches would be free admission. Furthermore, certain important parts of Antwerp's heritage, generally closed to the public, would be open for only that day. My first stop was the Plantin-Moretus Publishing/Printing Museum, whose exterior was covered on a previous day of shooting.

movable type printing
A close-up of a traditional printing press and plate at the Plantin-Moretus Museum.  - Antwerp, Belgium - Daily Travel Photos
(Antwerp, Belgium)
f/1.8 ▪ 1/80s ▪ @50mm ▪ ISO400 ▪ Canon 5D ▪ Canon 50mm f/1.4
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A close-up of a traditional printing press and plate.

If you have time for only one tourist activity in Antwerp, make it the Plantin-Moretus Museum. The objects they have on display are incredibly fascinating, including fully operational printing presses. The museum was the former workshop and living quarters of the printing family, hence, it's possible to see an intimate glimpse into the way the upper class lived in 16th-century Belgium.

woodblock printing
A traditional printing press at the Plantin-Moretus Museum. - Antwerp, Belgium - Daily Travel Photos
(Antwerp, Belgium)
f/1.8 ▪ 1/80s ▪ @50mm ▪ ISO400 ▪ Canon 5D ▪ Canon 50mm f/1.4
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A traditional printing press at the Plantin-Moretus Museum.

movable type press
The printing room at the Plantin-Moretus Museum. - Antwerp, Belgium - Daily Travel Photos
(Antwerp, Belgium)
f/2 ▪ 1/100s ▪ @50mm ▪ ISO400 ▪ Canon 5D ▪ Canon 50mm f/1.4
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and similar images at

Dreamstime Microstock Agency Logo

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The printing room at the Plantin-Moretus Museum.

Movable type letters were held in the desks on the left. The printing was done on the presses on the right. Unfortunately, I was pressed for time so I wasn't able to take a guided tour of the museum.

Plantin-Moretus Museum