Books & Printing in the Netherlands 2003

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Mathieu Lommen

Books & printing in the Netherlands 2003

january

In the series Nederlandse affichekunst part four was published, written by Henk van Gelder: Charles Verschuuren: affichekunstenaar 1891-1955 (71 pp.). This publication accom- panied the exhibition ‘Charles Verschuuren, volkstheateraffiches [popular theatre posters]’, which was on view from 4 until 27 January in Pulchri, The Hague. [NRC Handelsblad, 16.01.2003] With the exhibition ‘Proforma: 15 jaar design in Rotterdam’ the Kunsthal Rotterdam presented from 18 January until 16 March the first retrospective exhibition of the graphic and industrial design of this bureau. ‘Proforma Ontwerp en Advies’ was founded by graphic designer Joop Ridder, communications consultant Els van Klinken and industrial designer Huibert Groenendijk. [Vormberichten, 2003, no. 1-2] On 23 January Tel Design in The Hague celebrated its 40th anniversary in the gem, the Hague museum for contemporary art. Tel Design is a bureau specialized in the development of visual identities and it was responsible for instance for the house styles of the Nederlandse Spoorwegen [Netherlands Railways] (1968), the Gasunie (1990) and [insurance company] Achmea (2001). On the occasion of this anniversary Tel Design published privately, in the final editing of Stijn van Diemen: Emmapark: het geheim van het begrijpelijke: Tel Design 1962-2002 (71 pp.). [www.teldesign.nl; Vormberichten, 2003, no. 3] On 30 January the winner of Het Mooiste Boekomslag [The Best Book Cover] of last year was announced, the second time this prize was awarded. The ceremony took place in antiquarian bookshop joot in Amsterdam. This award is an initiative of the Stichting Best Verzorgde Boeken [Foundation The Best Dutch Book Designs] and the booksellers’ trade journal Boekblad. The members of the selection panel are the booksellers, who are all entitled to vote. This time the winning cover was that on a publication of Anthos/Manteau: Het boek van Gould by Richard Flanagan. This cover was adapted for the Dutch edition by Marry van Baar. [press release Stichting Best Verzorgde Boeken 09.01.2003] The two-day conference ‘Pas op voor de paratext’ [Mind the paratext], which took place on 30 and 31 January in Amsterdam, made an attempt to describe the impact and function of paratext in historical perspective, and wanted to find out whether there is more to say about paratext than what its significance is for a sin- gle literary work or œuvre. The conference took place in the P.C. Hoofthuis and the Allard Pierson Museum, locations of the University of Amsterdam. The Anne Frank Stichting in Amsterdam commissioned the manufacture of facsimiles of Anne’s original diary writings. For this purpose the handbookbinder Pau Groenendijk of Atelier Mooie Boeken worked closely together with Drukkerij Rosbeek in Nuth, which often gets this kind of commissions that cannot be rated among the usual graphic production. In the brochure Uniek in meervoud ([16] pp.), with text by

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Jaap Tanja, the realization of the facsimiles is described. ‘The theatrical eﬀect of this object had to be perfect’, said Groenendijk, who directed the project. Special paper was produced for this project, photographs were pasted in as photographs and tears were made in just the same way as they occurred in the originals. And all this for a print run of two copies. But the Anne Frank Stichting very much wanted to have these unusually accurate facsimiles: in order to spare the vulnerable originals and, in the event of a calamity, to have something with the appearance of the originals. [de Volkskrant, 30.01.2003; Items, 2003, no. 2 (April-May)] Esther Kokmeijer received the Chris Leeﬂang Prijs of the Stichting De Roos (€ 2,500), a publishing house of bibliophile books in print runs of 175 copies. The selection panel awarded her proposal for a publication of texts by H.N. Werkman, which will now be realized as a De Roos publication. [Vormberichten, 2003, no. 1-2] Design bureau Total Identity was founded in 1963 as Total Design (although the real founding date is 17 December 1962). Now this Amsterdam design bureau celebrated its fortieth anniversary, among other things with the jubilee volume Total identity (237 pp.), which was published by bis Publishers in Amsterdam. [Vormberichten, 2003, no. 3; de Volkskrant, 21.08.2003]

february

Among the awards of the Best Book Design From All Over The World, organized annually in Leipzig, there was a remarkably large number of prizes for Dutch publications this year. A ‘Goldene Letter’ went to Nynke M. Meijer for Jan Palach: morgen word je wakker geboren: ‘The combination of personal engagement as also of form and contents make this book into something extraordinary. The choice of materials, a vulnerable recycling paper and the modesty of print-technical means – photocopy – let this book seem even more personal. The design of the illustrative part, the typographical elements, which blend in unpretentiously, the pages rough- cut at the side and the softness of the whole book-block turn this work into a haptic and visual experience.’ In addition, on 14 and 15 February there were awards for publications of Irma Boom, Corina Cotorobai (Werkplaats Typograﬁe), Bram de Does and Tessa van der Waals among others. [Items, 2003, no. 2 (April-May)] On the occasion of the Second Conference of European Manuscript Librarians an exhibition of remarkable manuscripts from the 9th until the 20th centuries was on view in the Amsterdam University Library. For ‘Geschreven, getekend en geschilderd’ [Written, drawn and painted] (17 February until 14 March) curator Jos A.A.M. Biemans selected from the library’s own collection among other things a Carolingian manuscript, water colours of plants of about 1700 from the Amsterdam Hortus Botanicus and the designs for the Lexicon (1992), the typeface made by Bram de Does. For the public space of the newly built Amsterdam district IJburg the Amsterdams Fonds voor de Kunst [Amsterdam Art Fund] had also commissioned graphic designer René Knip (b. 1963) in the past six months. Following his commission for the let- tering of the street signs he was commissioned to execute a series of numerals (€ 4,500, provisional design). [Nieuwsbrief Amsterdams Fonds voor de Kunst, 2003, no. 17 (February)]