A significant exploration of Hebrew and Yiddish type casting will take place this summer at the Bixler Letterfoundry in Skaneateles, New York. The intensive workshop will feature seminar components and training in the basics of Monotype type casting and letterpress printing. This four-day intensive hands-on workshop will feature an in-depth experience on all aspects of Hebrew letterpress printing but will focus on the Hebrew matrices in the collection of Michael and Winfred Bixler.

Led by noted scholar Shani Avni, participants in this workshop will engage in the setting and printing of Hebrew type using fonts cast during the workshop as well as Hebrew Wood type recently made by Virgin Wood Type of Rochester New York. The geographic convergence of Avni’s visiting curatorship at the Cary Graphic Arts Collection at the Rochester Institute of Technology, along with the Bixler’s typecasting facilities in Skaneateles (and recent additions to their Hebrew mat collection)—as well as the added proximity of Virgin Wood Type and letterpress printing instructor Richard Kegler—all located in the Finger Lakes region of New York State, allow for this unique concentration of experts in their fields to share their knowledge. As a pilot program, the limited capacity of the workshop was quickly filled before the workshop was announced in March 2023. With additional support from APHA, The Upstate NY Chapter of APHA, and the Delmas Foundation, a follow-up series of similar workshops at the Bixler Letterfoundry will be offered in the near future. An upcoming chapbook published with support of APHA will also document the proceedings and feature specimens of the type produced at this workshop. There will be a public evening open house reception during the workshop on Wednesday, July 26 from 6–8 pm. For details on attending the open house, please email richard@dry-inc.com