Written by Alice McClintock and Evan McMurtry A few weeks ago, we had the great pleasure of heading out to a hidden gem of a museum in Oakville. Howard Iron Works is an expansive printing museum, with a myriad of artifacts and pieces all related to the history of printing. Howard Iron Works is primarily a business for offset printing equipment, but husband-and-wife owners Nick and Liana Howard are devoted to restoring and preserving printing presses from the nineteenth century up until the mid-twentieth century. We had a conversation with both Nick and Liana, who spoke about the difficulty of salvaging these presses and artifacts, and the fact that they take great pride in preserving these pieces of technology. In our conversation together, Nick and Liana said that they often rescue presses from old factories, garages, and the like, Liana emphatically stating: “sometimes the cast iron was rusted, sometimes we found mold growing in certain places”. What happens is a real labour of love; the presses are cleaned, polished, and sometimes repainted according to specifications from the time. While some historians disagree with this treatment of the presses, preferring to leave the ‘patina of history’ intact, Nick in particular said that he wanted to emphasize the quality of the machines as they were when they were being used on a daily basis. The museum is still in its early stages; in an email correspondence prior to our visit, Nick said that the museum was always in a state of flux, and agreed that any museum is a work in progress. Ultimately, what the Howards hope is to get their private museum fully off the ground, with experienced interpreters demonstrating on the equipment, and a more complete showroom. They’re not far off from their goal, having an impressive showroom of around one hundred presses and other artifacts. What struck both of us is that the museum follows a relatively uncommon governance model, being a privately owned and operated enterprise. The Howards agreed that a positive of such a model is less red tape and less time spent writing grant applications. There are no strings attached to grant money, such as is the case with Community Museum Operating Grant funding requiring museums to have various collections management policies in place. Not having a de-accession policy that bans selling items from the collection, for instance, means that Howard Iron Works can and does sell its restored presses to clients in the U.S. and elsewhere. The Howards expressed a concern, however, that after they are gone there will be no one to carry forward their work and maintain the collection, since they are the sole driving force behind the museum. Rather than leave the accumulated wear-and-tear of the centuries present on the presses, the Howards work with a skilled team to restore the presses to their original lustre, including gold leaf details and bright paint. We found this an interesting approach, prompting the question of what is more historically accurate; the dirt and grime of years of neglect or a showroom quality press as it was meant to be seen and used in the nineteenth century? As museum-goers, do we look for the patina of history on each artifact, or do we appreciate the beauty of a fully restored object? Which, if either, is more authentic? Regardless of questions of historical subjectivity and the “patina of history”, what really comes across at the Howard Iron Works is Nick and Liana’s sense of pride in their work, and a sensibility that chronicling printing history is much more than documenting a series of technological advances. One aspect of the museum that appealed to both of us was the inclusion of group photographs of members of the Typographical Unions; seeing images of those who regularly worked with the equipment displayed brought an important human element to the fore. Howard Iron Works follows the trajectory of one of the most complex and absorbing parts of human history, with a rich, wonderfully restored collection. The Howards are always happy to receive visitors who have an interest in the printing industry. Their impressive collection is located in Oakville, a few blocks from the Bronte GO station, and is free admission. The museum is currently open by appointment only, from 10 AM to 4 PM, Monday to Friday. You can learn more about the collection and the museum at www.howardironworks.org.
All photographs property of Howard Iron Works.
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