New Mexico History Museum: Orchids & exhibits

The New Mexico History Museum in Santa Fe is featuring “Printed at the Palace,” an exhibition that opened on May 9 and runs through Dec. 1, 2027. The show centers on the Palace Press, the working letterpress shop inside the Palace of the Governors, and arrives as the museum continues daily public hours at 113 Lincoln Ave. The Albuquerque Journal included the exhibition in its May 21 roundup of seven events happening that week in Albuquerque and Santa Fe. The museum’s website says the exhibition includes handbills, pamphlets, prints and handbound books produced on historic nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century equipment. ### What is “Printed at the Palace” showing inside the museum? “Printed at the Palace” showcases work produced at the Palace Press, according to the New Mexico History Museum’s current exhibitions page. The museum says the selection ranges from flyers and prints to books, tracing letterpress from its earlier use in large-scale commercial production to its current role in limited-edition fine prints and books. (abqjournal.com) The Palace Press is described by the museum as “a working exhibit dedicated to the history of the state’s printing traditions.” That places the exhibition inside a broader museum campus that includes the Palace of the Governors, a National Historic Landmark on the north side of the Santa Fe Plaza. ### Where does the letterpress connection fit into the museum itself? (nmhistorymuseum.org) The Palace of the Governors houses the print shop that anchors the exhibition, the Journal reported in its events listing. The article described the show as centered on “the letterpress print shop located inside the Palace of the Governors.” (nmhistorymuseum.org) The museum’s homepage says the Palace of the Governors was erected in 1610 by order of the Spanish Crown and calls it the oldest public building in continuous use constructed by European settlers in the continental United States. The same page lists the Palace Press among the site’s permanent attractions. ### What else can visitors see while they are there? (abqjournal.com) The New Mexico History Museum lists several other current exhibitions alongside “Printed at the Palace.” They include “A Question of Power,” about three Diné women who opposed the proposed Desert Rock coal-fired power plant; “Tierra o Muerte: The Tierra Amarilla Conflict,” created by Cobre High School students about the 1967 courthouse raid and land-grant activism; “Americana at 250: Eagles, Flags, and Uncle Sam”; and “Chimayó: A Tradition of Faith.” (nmhistorymuseum.org) The museum also says its core exhibition, “Telling New Mexico,” covers roughly 400 years of regional and state history, from Indigenous life before European contact through Spanish colonization, the territorial period and major twentieth-century events. ### When is the museum open, and what does admission cost? The New Mexico History Museum says its summer hours, which run from May through October, are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (nmhistorymuseum.org) Sunday through Thursday and Saturday, with Friday hours extended to 7 p.m. The museum’s address is 113 Lincoln Ave., Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501, and it lists a main phone number of 505-476-5200. (nmhistorymuseum.org) The Albuquerque Journal reported that admission is $7 for New Mexico residents and $12 for nonresidents, with free admission for qualified individuals through the museum’s website. ### Are there related programs tied to the print shop? The museum’s events calendar lists “Palace Press Presents: Letterpress Demonstration” on June 5 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. (nmhistorymuseum.org) The listing says visitors can see historical printing presses in action and take part in hands-on activities suitable for all ages. The same calendar shows additional public programming in early June, including a June 3 Friends of History lecture on Amelia White by Harry Werksman in the museum auditorium. (abqjournal.com) Visitors looking for current schedules, ticketing and program updates can find them on the museum’s visit and events pages as the exhibition continues through December 2027. (nmhistorymuseum.org)