H. George Taenzer Collection

Hanz George Taenzer was born in Frankfurt, Germany in 1929. He spent most of his early life in Germany, training to become a type setter. During his time in Germany he worked at the Stempel Type Foundry in Frankfurt. He met and married his first wife in Germany, but she died due to leukemia. Taenzer then immigrated to Canada in 1954, where he met and married his second wife in 1956.

In 1956 he moved to the United States to continue his work as a typographer and became the supervisor of a composing room at Case-Hoyt. He would later move to Rochester, New York and become an apprentice to Herman Zapf. Taenzer then joined Kodak in 1982 to become a specialist in identity and nomenclature in communications and public affairs. He also became a committee member of the Rochester Club of Printing House Craftsman Inc., the Rochester Turners, and the Federation of German Societies Inc.

Taenzer was the recipient of many awards and honors, including the Craftsman of the Year award in 1962; the Printing Industries of America Man of the Year in 1981; the Premier Craftsman of the International Association of Printing House Craftsman in 1982; and three Life Mambership awards from the same aforementioned association over his lifetime.

Taenzer had 3 children: Patricia, Karin, and Stephen. He died on November 20, 1991 at age 62.