La Liberté de la presse, 1797. Engraving. (c) Lyon MICG

The Musée de l’imprimerie et de la communication graphique (Lyon’s Museum of Printing and Graphic Communication) has a new exhibition documenting 400 years of history of the press. http://www.imprimerie.lyon.fr/imprimerie/sections/fr/expositions

Seven years ago, Bernard Gelin, a local bibliophile, donated a collection of around 30,000 newspapers from France and other countries. Only the French papers have been catalogued so far but this represents a remarkable 5,473 titles. Highlights include the very first French newspapers, rich coverage of the revolutions of 1789 and 1848, the Paris Commune, and the First World War.

Drawing on this newly acquired collection, Scoop: A Graphic History of the Press documents the history of paper newspapers in France, from the smallest (La Dépèche) to the largest (Le Grand Journal, Paris). Open to the public until January 21, 2016, the show focuses on the historical design, layout, and printing of the paper page, with special attention to illustrations as they were printed first from wood engravings and then, from photographs.

The exhibition catalogue should be on Princeton Library shelves soon. For more information about the remarkable gift, the museum has posted this interview with the donor: