author
Robert Seaver
1873–1922
A respected New England bookmaker and typographical expert, he helped shape Boston’s fine-printing tradition through the Seaver-Howland Press. His work blended technical skill, craftsmanship, and a lively interest in illustrated books.
1 Audiobook
About the author
Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1873, Robert Seaver was the son of educator Edwin P. Seaver. He graduated from Boston’s English High School in 1892 and later remained active in its alumni affairs, serving as secretary of the committee that organized the school’s centenary celebration.
Seaver trained in book printing under his uncle, Stearns Cushing, at the Norwood Press, then spent about sixteen years with the Riverside Press in Cambridge. Around 1913, he founded the Seaver-Howland Press in Boston and became known as one of New England’s leading authorities on typographical art and bookmaking.
He also took an interest in book illustration, creating an original woodcut for a Christmas reproduction of “The Yarn of the Nancy Bell.” Seaver died at his home in Waverley, Massachusetts, on May 4, 1922, after a short illness.