Book Arts: Strasbourg, France

Strasbourg, France, besides being the capitol of the European Union, has a wonderful history relating to crafts and craft guilds, which includes a strong connection to Johannes Gutenberg. Gutenberg lived in Strasbourg for a time, and is commemorated in various ways:


Here is a statue of Gutenberg that resides in the Place Gutenberg:



The decorations on the statue were very interesting. They focus on the symbolic value of the printing press -- how it opened up a world of music and literature and ideas:



In the historic centre of Strasbourg, I visited the Palais Rohan, which houses the Decorative Arts Museum, Fine Arts Museum and Archaeological Museum:



There are some finely worked bindings made by local craftspeople there, including this one made by Johannes Beck in 1731:



After stopping off for a bit of refreshment at a wonderfully mad little cafe full of birds (artificial) and fairy lights.....



....I went on to the Strasbourg historical museum, located at 2 rue du Vieux-Marché-aux-Poissons.

They have information about Gutenberg's time in Strasbourg, and about the history of printing in the city. Strasbourg had a number of printing establishments in the early days of the printing press. There are also some beautiful books from the late 1400s on display:





If you know of any other interesting book arts-related places to visit in Strasbourg, do feel free to share them in the comments.