From the Contact form:

I’m looking for more information about the publisher C[harles?] S. Webb, in particular anything that relates to the Narrative of the capture, sufferings, and miraculous escape of Mrs. Eliza Fraser that he printed in 1837. Information about his career, other books he printed/published, or any suggestions as to where I can find more would be really helpful. Thank you so much! —Alice Procter

Stephen O. Saxe and Amelia Hugill-Fontanel discussing the frisket of his foolscap Albion iron handpress. White Plains, New York, 2018. Photograph by Richard Kegler.

Stephen O. Saxe, a collector and historian whose canon of writings on printing history set the standard for contemporary practice in the field, died on April 28, 2019 at his home in White Plains, New York. He was 89 years old. He succumbed to complications after a heart attack, confirmed his longtime friend Karen Horton.[1]  [Read more]

I am pleased to announce that the board of the American Printing History Association has appointed both a new editor and a new designer for Printing History, the organization’s flagship publication. Brooke Palmieri is the new editor and Michael Russem of Kat Ran Press is the new designer. Brooke and Michael are hard at work on Printing History 21, which will be published in January 2017.  [Read more]

(Nina Schneider)

The Book Club of California celebrated its 235th publication with a lecture tour, of sorts, for members and friends up and down the Golden State during the month of May. Robert Bringhurst’s Palatino: The Natural History of a Typeface is an important and elegantly produced book that is as much about the typographer as it is about the typeface. Hosted at the new Hoffmitz Milken Center for Typography at Pasadena’s ArtCenter College of Design, Bringhurst gave an illustrated talk about his book, Hermann Zapf and the typographer’s sixty-year devotion to the Palatino typeface. Spanning the major eras in printing history, Zapf’s compulsion, dictated by his uncompromising attention to detail, resulted in Palatino being designed for foundry type, redesigned for film, and redesigned again for digital typography. Bringhurst’s exploration of these modifications was the impetus for the book and he shared some of the highlights during his lecture. As he explained, he wrote a natural history of a typeface through the life of Hermann Zapf.  [Read more]

Does anyone have a good obituary of Morris Arthur Gelfand (1908-1998) that would give me a sketch of his career? 

Richard M. Candee  

[Read more]

Mortimer and Warde posed in front of the plaque bearing Warde’s text, which still greets visitors in the lobby of the Government Publishing Office in Washington, DC. (GPO)

Some time ago, I stumbled across a photo on the Internet of Beatrice Warde, the famed typographic publicist and writer, posed in front of the “This is a Printing Office” plaque in the lobby of the Government Publishing Office in Washington, DC. She is standing with GPO’s longtime director of typography, Frank H. Mortimer. The photo caught my attention for a couple of reasons, and sent me off down a couple of interesting paths.  [Read more]

Isaac Gewirtz, of the New York Public Library, has asked that this sad news be forwarded to APHA members.

On December 8, Stephen G. Crook, a long-time member and Executive Secretary of APHA, who retired from the New York Public Library’s Berg Collection in 2010, died. A memorial for him will be held on a weekday evening, at NYPL, in late January or February. The APHA membership will be notified as soon as arrangements have been finalized.

For twenty-one years, Steve brought passionate commitment, broad knowledge of English and American literature, careful attention, and a highly developed set of reference and descriptive skills to his work as a librarian in the Berg Collection, which was his calling. Legions of researchers benefited from his wise guidance. It was a privilege to work with him.

Isaac Gewirtz
Curator of the Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection
of English and American Literature

Andrew Franklin Wanner (1855–1935) was a central figure on Chicago’s printers row. Letterpress printers might know his company as the original maker of Poco and Potter proof presses. It was also one of the earliest selling agents for Vandercook, the most sought after brand of proof press today. [Read more]

Via the contact form:

I am writing my dissertation on the printing enterprise of the American Anti-Slavery Society, 1833-1840, and am trying to find information on one of the printers it used by the name of William S. Dorr. Do you know of any archives or sources in New York City that might have information on Dorr or the printing industry in New York City in the 1830s? Thanks, Paula Hunt.

Via the contact form:

I am trying to find information pertaining to a John A. Gray who owned a publishing house in New York City in the mid to late 19th century. There is a lot of information on Gray’s company but very little on Gray himself. If you have any information regarding Gray’s biography I would greatly appreciate it if you could point me in the right direction. I look forward to your swift reply. Thank you.