For over 120 years St Bride Library in London has been an invaluable resource of printing and typographic history. It is the largest print and publishing library in the world and contains 10,000 type specimens and over 80,000 books.

Yet in recent times it has increasingly relied on support from the wider creative community in order to continue its work – and today it relaunches its £5-a-month membership scheme.

The benefits of signing up as a Friend of St Bride include discounts on lectures and conferences, free retrieval on items from the ‘closed access’ collections in the library and a bi-annual newsletter that provides updates on how donations are helping the organisation.

“All donations received will be directed into the Library to help fund its general up keep, expand its collections, contribute to ongoing conservation projects and more,” says the Library. “We really need as much support as possible to keep our unique and invaluable resource alive for current and future generations to use and enjoy.”

For more details on the membership scheme, visit sbf.org.uk/friends. The Library is open on the first and third Wednesday of each month between midday and 8pm (call or email in advance).

The flyer shown above, designed by Alistair Hall of We Made This, makes use of a sample of Louis Jean Pouchée’s 9-line no. 2 alphabet. A set of Pouchée’s original woodblocks, dating from c.1820, are held at the St Bride Library.