Leo Bensemann

Leo Vernon Bensemann OBE (1 May 1912 – 2 January 1986) was a New Zealand artist, printer, typographer, publisher and editor.

Bensemenn was born in Tākaka, New Zealand, on 1 May 1912[1] the son of Victor Bensemann, a blacksmith, and his wife, Ruby Arnold.

[3] Rita Angus also lived at the Cambridge Terrace address which became a meeting place for the Christchurch art scene with people like Louise Henderson, Olivia Spencer Bower, Allen and Betty Curnow, Francis Shurrock, Frederick Page and Evelyn Page, Denis Glover and Douglas Lilburn regular visitors.

[4] In 1935 Denis Glover and John Drew set up the Caxton Press and in 1937 printed their first art publication, Bensemann's Fantastica: Thirteen Drawings.

Bensemann assisted with the printing of the book and this led to his joining Caxton Press as a partner 1937[5] and staying with the business until 1978.