For those of us in love with the weight, feel, and smell of real books, San Francisco’s Arion Press is an antidote for our digital times. Charitable giving sustains this “temple of the book,” one of the world’s last complete letterpress printing workshops and the resource behind Arion Press’s literary classics illustrated by top artists.
Preserving Arion’s unmatched collection of metal type, presses, bindery tools, and a working type foundry for future generations is the mission of the San Francisco nonprofit the Grabhorn Institute. It also sponsors public tours and apprenticeships—in typecasting, printing, and bookbinding—that keep bookmaking crafts alive. Its workshop is designated an “irreplaceable cultural treasure” by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Donations may be made to the Grabhorn Institute and are tax deductible. Its annual spring benefit has featured such honorees as Ed Ruscha, John Baldessari, and Julie Mehretu.