Bowne & Co Stationers

If you like paper goods, cute stationary, ephemera, rare books and publications this is one of the best shop downtown NYC, and a not-​to-​miss stop in the Seaport historic district.
It’s managed by the South Street Seaport Museum, and it has a working collection of 19^th century printing presses and types really beautiful and unique. The staff is super friendly, and most of time I was there, if you show them interest, they demonstrate how printing press works.
I never exit without buying something. Everything is made locally, or within Europe. Nothing mass-​productive or made in China.

Lapin and I came across this store when we were attending the Taste of the Seaport event. The cute stationary store offers prints, letterpress cards, stationery goods, along with a couple of odds and ends. Lapin found a vintage map of NYC for $ 7 (in the same dimensions as Ikea frames), which he ended up getting. The proprietor of the store was friendly but at times he kept repeating the same things and didn’t quite understand what we were asking him. He was friendly and did offer us a free bookmark that was leftover from an event the other night. He mentioned that couple of the products were produced in the store using the letterpresses in the back. A cute store with decent and affordable selection, we would definitely visit again.

I love everything about this historic shop. As soon as you walk in you’re hit by the smell of incense, old creaking wooden floors and the feeling of stepping into your grandparents house. Next store they do all of their letter pressing, it’s amazing to see all of their machines and to watch them work. A great shop for stopping in and picking up a little fun present for anyone!

This is the type of place that makes trekking downtown worthwhile. Part of the South Street Seaport Museum, this store displays printing-​related machinery, so its a pseudo-​museum of its own, but sports lots of old-​fashioned/​modern-​day memorabilia. You’ll find greeting cards made my local artists from the area, books related to the waterfront, postcards featuring old-​time pictures of the area, in addition to gift quality sort of stationary items.
The person behind the counter was super-​friendly, and was also informative as to the museum and happenings related to the museum.
Places like this give the Seaport an authentic feel, rather than feeling like you’re at the mall. Finding an Abercrombie & Fitch isn’t what makes the Seaport special, but the hidden treasures like Bowne & Co.

The best place in the whole seaport complex. Beautiful UNIQUE gifts to purchase. Nothing made in China here!

Dropped in from the connected Seaport Museum and appreciated the presses and history here far more. Well, aside from the supremely rude staffer who thrust his attitude upon folks who didn’t even so much as look in his direction. Just one of those days, I suppose…

Loved this store, lots of fun

A very cute little shop and a feel-​good place to shop because revenue goes to support the adjacent museum. The cards and accoutrements were of excellent quality and they had some nifty little knick knacks. I withheld a star because I would expect a stationary store to have stationary! They have beautiful cards and a few writing pads, but no letter-​sized stationary or envelopes, which is what I was looking for. I was very pleased with the thank you cards that I ended up purchasing though!

Wonderful! Everything is beautiful and mostly handmade on location. The selection changes all the time and is the best place to find a special gift or unique card.

This place is awesome and deserves some neighborhood love (read: please spend money there). On a recent visit, I overheard the shopkeeper regretfully turn down a potential order for wedding invitations because right now he’s a one-​man operation, running the shop during the day and the letterpresses at night. He mentioned he’s looking to hire a job printer to pick up the backlog. —ATTENTION BOOK ARTS PEOPLE.
Years ago, I had change of address cards printed here. The quality was excellent and I got exactly what I wanted.

I highly recommend you stop by. I went in because I needed some inspiration and typography is what had brought me into the Design world. I was in the shop for a good hour taking in all I could and speaking with Robert, the shopkeeper. He told me so much about everything. He is very knowledgable and loves printing. You will be very very impressed with everything that catches your eye. Look at the presses and the typefaces. For me it was a magical experience, I could feel myself being drawn into the 19^th century. I learnt so much, I wish I could be able to go beyond the front of the store though. lool :(When you go in, purchase something. everything is just beautiful:)

Everyone reviewing this store is right… Bob is the nicest shopkeeper ever! This store is not only quaint, but its stationery and gift items are tastefully curated… the selection is superb. The prices are also affordable and much more competitive than other gift shops. Bob is very helpful and explained to me that the item I was interested in was made by Indian women and it helps their community (perfect find for making wedding favors). I highly recommend his store if you are looking to do crafts and DIY projects because he has tons of unique items for sale. Lastly, I asked about a flier with an art exhibit at a university museum (my alma mater) and it turns out Bob curated the exhibit. Not only is he a great shopkeeper passionate about printing and stationery, he also is an artist! Like everyone else on Unilocal,I intend on going back to support this store, and I think you’ll love it too.

This place is part of the South Street Seaport Museum, and kinda functions as their gift shop. It’s also a working example of an old-​fashioned print shop — you can take a look at the old moveable type and the letterpress printers.
Browsing around, I got an intense sense of nostalgia. I really never thought I’d be nostalgic for seventh grade… but back in middle school we had a half-​semester printing class, where we learned to set type and use a printing press just like the one on display here. In retrospect… what a totally useless, but yet rather cool thing to learn. And how bizarre to think that it was just the next year that we were all required to learn BASIC programming… (which, in the long run, turned out to be about equally useful.)
The souvenir items here are pretty cool, and mostly printing-​oriented. I really liked the reproductions of antique postcards. They’ve also got old-​style paper dolls, rubber stamps, pencils, and, yes, stationery.

Very cute, albeit tiny, old-​fashioned print shop. The man behind the counter looked like he stepped out of the 19^th century. If you’re into this sort of thing then it’s definitely worth a trip to the Seaport to see it, and if you’re not, I think it would still be fun to visit if you’re in the area. Picked up a few Valentine’s Day postcards for something like $ 2, and they were much nicer than what’s available at most cookie-​cutter card stores. They also had some neat gifting items like little books/​journals, stamp sets (which we got to play with!), etc. Would definitely go back if I had a need for custom printing, or more cards/​presents.

if you like the smell of ink, this is the place to go. i love letterpress, so naturally this is one of my favorite newly reopened places in south street area. they sell cards and misc letterpress goods, and the staff was super-​nice. the guy running the press said they had been closed for a while and just reopened. hopefully i can catch a workshop here some day soon.

My groom and I had visited the South Street Seaport while we were dating. We instantly liked Bowne & Co. and said that we would come back if we ever had the opportunity. We met with Robert who was delightful and offered great suggestions. He really understood the tone we were trying to convey on our announcements. He also overran our order a little, so we had a few more printed pieces than we paid for which was lovely of them to do. In fact, my husband was so impressed with the work, he has since gone back to order business cards from them!

Wonderful stationery store.
Best part, it is a working print shop. I loved seeing the huge letterpress machines.
The selection of cards is really unique and worth the trip.

First heard about Bowne’s in the Downtown Broadsheet newsletter and was amazed that I didn’t know about it sooner! The history about the shop is part of it’s recreation charm. It’s a good place to buy small, unique gifts.

This place is a stone’s throw away from my workplace so I enjoy paying a visit. It’s actually the faux birthplace of Bowne Corporation but I appreciate that they give a nod to their humble beginings. The souvenirs up front are really touristy but they do have some more original greeting cards. The guy working the counter on my most recent visit started out as a volunteer and stayed on as a printer, loved it that much.
The minimum for print orders is 50; they mostly do wedding stationary etc. but if you fancy some fancy business cards they do that too. Also social stationary. I really want some custom printed goodies so I will either be sending fake wedding invitations or take up letter writing.

It’s places like this that make me love New York. Travel a mere half-​block from the tourist hell that is South Street Seaport, down a cobble-​stoned street and into Bowne & Co. Stationers, and you’ll feel like you’ve stepped back in time. Last time I was there, there was a grizzled old man wearing, I kid you not, an apron and a pair of spectacles, cranking out beautiful wedding invitations on an antique letterpress.
This is a pretty tiny shop, and unless you’re fascinated by printmaking like I am, it won’t take you longer than 10 minutes to look around. But this is definitely the place to find a birthday card for your quirky friend who’s obsessed with Jane Austen (I remember one that says something like «Best Wishes to you, Madam, On Your Special Day» with a silhouette of a long line of people bearing gifts for a lady wearing a big hat). There are also some cute old-​timey toys, posters, journals, and of course stationery. The staff are incredibly friendly and know all about how everything is made.
Conversely, this place makes me depressed when I have to return to contemporary New York. I’m looking on their website now and seeing that you can volunteer here and be trained as an apprentice printmaker. Hmm…