Vignet van Atelier voor Boekversieringen te Hilversum after 1910

This is Reinier Willem Petrus de Vries's vignette for the Atelier for Book Decorations in Hilversum. We cannot be sure exactly when it was made, but it advertises the gold medal the Atelier won in Brussels in 1910. It’s a simple yet evocative drawing on graph paper, a sign of the modern workshop, organized around rational principles of design and production. De Vries’s lettering is heavily stylized, referencing medieval and early modern illuminated manuscripts. At the top of the page, he sketches out possible letterforms, experimenting with different styles. The early twentieth century saw a revival of interest in the book as a designed object. Private presses flourished in many European countries, and the Netherlands was no exception. Artists and designers sought to elevate book production to the level of the fine arts. Art historians can explore the social and institutional context of this drawing by studying the history of design in the Netherlands, and the role of institutions like the Brussels world’s fair in promoting Dutch design.