The Berlin Buchstabenmuseum is taking a different approach in a bid to raise funds for a new home and for the preservation of their collection: a temporary shop and a fund-raising campaign on betterplace.org have been set up to secure the continued existence of this unique museum.  For the next three months the Buchstabenmuseum will be setting up shop on the roof terrace at Bikini Berlin. As well as many type-based products, the go-getting museum creators have brought part of the exhibition with them to light up the terrace at Bikini. Instead of Christmas trees, from December onwards they’ll be using historic neon letters to light up their shop front – just look for the letter B: B for ‘Buchstaben’.

The Buchstabenmuseum, well-known in places far beyond the boundaries of Berlin, closed the doors of its previous home in the old DDR supermarket at Jannowitzbrücke at the start of November. The next task will be moving their vast collection.

Give me an A!

It’s not just typophiles who can expect to find fantastic Christmas gifts in our Buchstabenmuseum shop. Even for those tricky-to-buy-for loved ones, who always seem to have everything, you’re guaranteed to find something. After all, everyone’s name begins with a letter, and here you’re sure to find a present to match.  So what do we sell?

Well, beautiful letter-based objects, as well as letters themselves: second-hand signage for a personal present that will light up any home or office, glassware with alphabet engravings, alphabet stamps, sketch books or books about typography. Eight screen-print motifs of a number of exhibits from the museum’s collection form the basis of a series of font posters, produced by the Buchstabenmuseum in collaboration with Mosaik, a Berlin-based workshop for the disabled.  The easiest way to get to the Buchstabenmuseum shop is up the flight of steps leading from the Zoo-Palast cinema to the roof terrace: we’re the first on the right hand side. From the start of December you’ll be able to see our illuminated installation lit up there!

Donate ‘to the letter’

For those wishing to support the Buchstabenmuseum’s collection directly, you can do this by making a donation through betterplace.org. Over 1000 historically valuable exhibits need to be moved. The packing and transportation of an individual letter costs 8 euros. A receipt will be provided for all donations, so your good deed can also be tax-free. To donate now, click here: www.betterplace.org/p34549

The Buchstabenmuseum has captured the imagination of visitors from all around the world for over 10 years: Berlin’s tourists, university and college students, former typesetters and trend forecasters from large companies. The Buchstabenmuseum is typical of the metropolis: it stands for a new Berlin that is a hotspot for creative and cultured types. The Buchstabenmuseum does not receive any kind of public funding and exists entirely because of the dedicated volunteer work done by both founders, Barbara Dechant and Anja Schulze, as well as by many helping hands.