Since 4 July 2018, the Luxembourg Printing and Playing Card Museum has been hosting a permanent exhibition on the history of book printing. It is named "Gutenberg revisited" and features numerous original objects and documents.
The permanent exhibition is spread over two floors, with the first floor dedicated to a clear and accessible presentation of the history of printing. The chronological framework covers a period from the third millennium BC to the 21st century.
The most important milestones in this history are illustrated on a timeline with 14 large didactic panels, featuring images and original objects. Parallel to this, the key events in the national and international history of modern book printing are presented on a chronological axis.
The printing of the Bible by Johannes Gutenberg in 1452 represents a milestone; in Luxembourg, it was not until 1598 - almost 150 years later - that the first printing licence was granted to Mathias Birton in Luxembourg City.
The exhibition also draws a parallel between the effects of the invention of printing and today's digitalisation. Both represent revolutionary turning points in society.
On the ground floor is an impressive collection of historical machines related to letterpress printing, with two in particular being highlighted: the Linotype, which revolutionised newspaper printing in particular, and the original Heidelberg platen press, which represents the pinnacle in the development of platen printing. The functioning of both presses is visualised using historical film material. The noises of the machines in operation are also fascinating; these can be played by pressing a button on all the machines on display.
"Print is alive". If visitors or readers now think that these machines have had their day, they are far from it. In fact, the museum is committed to keeping letterpress printing alive and therefore organises courses for the general public as well as artist residencies at the museum, which include working on the historic presses. The works created as part of artist projects are exhibited in the museum's ExpoCube. Visitors can also try their hand at letterpress printing and have the opportunity to print their own souvenir on a hand press. The designs change every month.
Dieudonné exhibition
The exhibition is dedicated to Jean Dieudonné, the founder of a dynasty of card makers who settled in Grevenmacher in 1754 and produced mainly for the foreign market.
The tax advantages in Luxembourg created optimal sales conditions for a flourishing trade and his successors continued to run the manufactories until 1880, when Jean-Paul Dieudonné ceased to produce cards. During this time, the company had to withstand major political changes. For example, following the French Revolution and the annexation of Luxembourg in 1795, crowned figures were no longer allowed to be depicted on playing cards. When the French government introduced the playing card tax in 1797, this was a major challenge for the commercial fortunes of the Dieudonnés. The playing card tax was abolished by the subsequent Dutch government and only reintroduced much later, in 1905, by the Luxembourg government. By this time, the Dieudonné manufactories were no longer in business.
Numerous printing plates, printing sheets, individual cards and tools document the production process and the varying techniques over the course of time. Most of the objects on display are on loan from the Musée national d'archéologie, d'histoire et d'art of Luxembourg.
Another focus is placed on playing cards from the Dieudonné manufactory. Thanks to the help of the town of Grevenmacher, a complete deck of playing cards from the Antoine Dieudonné manufactory was purchased in 2006 and is available as a reproduction in the shop.
The collection also includes playing cards with Luxembourgish references and representative playing cards "from all over the world". In the future, the inventoried playing cards in the archive will be digitally accessible to the public.
As part of the special exhibition "Spillkaarten made in Luxembourg", the Kulturhuef revived the old game "Mënsch". Documents show that this game was widely played until the beginning of the 19th century. Today, it is only known to a few members of the older generation from Luxembourg and the Greater Region. Mostly played in cafés, it is a trump game with 4 players. The biggest challenge is to find your partner, as this is random ( Queen of Clubs plays with Ace of Spades). The game instructions are available (in Luxembourgish) in the shop, but can also be downloaded here...
