Between the Lines – The Legends of Hong Kong Printing

1/F, Thematic Gallery 5
7 October 2020 – 26 July 2021

Jointly presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department and the Hong Kong Open Printshop
Jointly organised by the Hong Kong Heritage Museum and the Hong Kong Open Printshop
Curated by the Hong Kong Open Printshop

Can you imagine how books, posters, and other printed matters were made before the emergence of computerised typesetting and offset printing? “Between the Lines – The Legends of Hong Kong Printing” presents an array of interesting stories about two traditional printing methods: movable type and lithography. In addition to showcasing the lost art of traditional printing techniques, the exhibition illustrates how young designers are injecting their creative ideas into a new generation of printed products, reviving and transforming the tradition of movable type and letterpress printing.

The exhibition goes back to the beginning of the 19th century, when Robert Morrison left the UK and came to China as a missionary, where he led the development of letterpress printing in modern China. In those days, the “Ming typeface” designed by Anglo-Chinese College was known as the “Hong Kong Type” and was considered to be the most beautiful Chinese type. It was sold overseas and was used in The Chinese Classics, translated by James Legge, the English and Chinese Dictionary, with the Punti and Mandarin Pronunciation, compiled by Wilhelm Lobscheid, the Universal Circulating Herald, founded by Wang Tao, and The Self Educator, written by Johnson Sun to help Chinese labourers working in Australia learn English.