The AMI, the impossible article...
Here, words are a bit outdated! Overwhelmed by the gigantism of the project, by the gigantism of its realisation. We are, no more and no less, in the largest museum in Europe dedicated to printing, and, what's more, it is not only a museum, far from it!
5000 m² with a documentation centre, a production workshop, permanent exhibitions, countless educational workshops, a unique collection of 150 perfectly maintained machines, shows, conferences, meetings... today, AMI's collections include more than 1000 pieces.
So go and sum it up in a few words! Mission impossible, hence the presence of many photos accompanying this article, for the evocation...
An association for evolution and memory
Faced with the profound changes in the printing trades, it was decided in 1994 to create the Artegraf association. This association, led by a handful of enthusiasts, was to accompany the changes, while preserving the living memory of gestures, know-how, techniques...
Moreover, Serge Pozzoli, a car enthusiast and son of printers, who in the fifties ran the company "le Matériel Moderne", built up a private collection of about a hundred printing presses by recovering old machines as they were replaced. In this way, almost two centuries of history are preserved.
The Artegraf association's ambition is to acquire this unique collection and the goal is achieved in 1996, thanks to the help of Jean-Paul Maury, CEO of the Maury group, huge printing works that own two factories not far away.
The city of printing
In the end, it was quite logical that the Atelier Musée de l'Imprimerie should be located in Malesherbes, nicknamed the "City of the Printing Book", the city that has been home to publishing, bookbinding, papermaking, printing and distribution companies since the 1960s.
A visit to the Atelier Musée de l'Imprimerie is a chance to encounter the very long history in which the tradition of the worker, his work and his machines, and culture, in many aspects, intersect and intertwine.
AMI - Atelier-musée de l'imprimerie
70, av. du Général Patton
45330 Malesherbes
Tél. : 02 38 33 22 67
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