As I mentioned in my first post, Crane & Co. was founded in 1801 and has been producing paper and stationery in western Massachusetts ever since.  As you can imagine, the company has quite a history.  So it’s only fitting that Crane would have a public museum to help tell its story – and I’m sharing a few photos from the museum for the final installment in our tour.

{a portrait of founder Zenas Crane}

{a short explanation and model of the paper making process}

{I thought these watermark portraits were amazing}

{all of the Crane social occasions albums}

In addition to making paper for personal stationery, Crane supplies the United States and other countries with currency paper.  Crane has supplied U.S. currency paper since 1879.  If you ever visit the Crane museum, make sure to ask about how to identify counterfeit bills – there’s a neat little demo.

{entries in the Crane ledger book date back to the American Revolution and Civil War}

{an old scale}

{a model of a paper mill}

A Crane museum wouldn’t be complete without examples of the various stationery, invitations, and announcements the company has printed over the years.  The invitation below features a 7-color engraved monogram at the top.  Seven colors!

Did you know that Crane does all the printing for Tiffany & Co.?  In addition to the collections with Kate Spade and Martha Stewart Weddings, Crane also prints all the stationery and invitations for Cartier  (check out a few photos from our stop at Cartier last year right here)

That just about does it for the tour!  I hope you enjoyed the photos – and a big thanks to Crane for the opportunity to visit their facilities!

{all photos by me}

*Dis­claimer – Crane & Co. pro­vided my accom­mo­da­tions dur­ing this visit; but this is not a spon­sored post.  For more on my edi­to­r­ial poli­cies, please click here.