Saxe, Stephen O., 1930-2019

Stephen O. Saxe; died at his home in White Plains, N.Y., on April 28 at 89; graduate of Riverdale Country School, Harvard College, and Yale Drama School; began career in summer stock doing set design; moved to television where he designed sets for soap operas; later designed books for Harcourt Brace; after he retired at 55, Saxe turned to a study of 19th century typography and printing; was a founder of the American Printing History Association, 1974 and editor of its newsletter; wrote numerous articles and assembled a personal collection of vintage type foundry specimen books and metal type; also wrote or edited books including: American Iron Hand Presses (1991), Nineteenth-Century American Designers & Engravers of Type (2009), and Travels with Pat (1994), a tribute to his late wife, Patricia Singleton Saxe; son of Helen Fields Saxe and Leonard Spier Saxe and brother of the late Robert Leonard Saxe

Stephen O Saxe in the New York, New York, U.S., Birth Index, 1910-1965; Birth Date: 24 Feb 1930; Birth Place: New York City, New York, USA

Stephen Oscar Saxe in the New York, New York, U.S., Marriage License Indexes, 1907-2018;Marriage License Date: 1989; Marriage License Place: Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA; Spouse: Patricia Ann Foster

Stephen O. Saxe; collector and historian of printing history; died April 28, 2019 at his home in White Plains, New York.; at 89; graduate of Riverdale Country School, Harvard College, and Yale Drama School; began his career in summer stock doing set design; moved to television where he designed sets for soap operas; became a book designer and graphic artist for Harcourt Brace in New York City; tetiring at 55, Saxe turned to full-time study of letterpress printing and the collecting of type specimen catalogs; founding member of the American Printing History Association (APHA), 1974; expertise was nineteenth-century type manufacturers and the mechanics of foundry machines and printing presses; published several in-depth articles in the early issues of APHA’s journal, Printing History; served as the Association’s newsletter editor from 1986 to 1990; notable works include: Saxe's historical descriptions were paired with wood engravings by John De Pol in American Iron Hand Presses (1991) edited a new edition of Maurice Annenberg’s Type Foundries of America and their Catalogs (1994); Saxe improved the book by adding eight appendices with checklists of important specimen collection and also collaborated with Elizabeth Lieberman on an index; son of Helen Fields Saxe and Leonard Spier Saxe and brother of the late Robert Leonard Saxe; predeceased by his wife, Patricia Singleton Saxe; cremated and buried in the family plot at Temple Israel Cemetery, in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York.

Stephen Saxe; expert on American type foundries from the 19th century; founding member of the American Printing History Association; the Cary Graphic Arts Collection at Rochester Institute of Technology received a donation of books and printing equipment from the estate of Saxe, a noted historian of typography and early printing technologies; the Stephen O. Saxe Collection includes rare books; printed ephemera, and business correspondence relating to printing history, as well as metal printers’ type, presses, and other printing equipment; Saxe was a friend of the Cary Graphic Arts Collection and selected the Cary Collection to preserve his books and archival papers, and his metal type collections; executors of Saxe’s estate, the Horton Family (Karen, James, and Sara Horton), made the donation on behalf of their friend and established the Stephen O. Saxe Endowed Research Award, an iannual research grant to support scholars and students conducting research in typography, printing processes, or related areas