Opened on weekdays from 1 to 5 pm

In February 2005 an exhibition will be opened in the University Library Amsterdam dedicated to three recently acquired designers’ archives. It concerns the collection of Harry N. Sierman, who retired not long ago, and the collections of Reynoud Homan and Irma Boom, both in their forties and fully occupied with their work as designers. The two ‘living’ collections will continue to be regularly complemented with printed matter and archival material. In the exhibition the three designers and their work are shown in relation to very diverse clients: a literary publisher (Querido), an architect (Wim Quist) and an entrepreneur (Paul Fentener van Vlissingen).

Best designed books
Harry N. Sierman (*1927), Reynoud Homan (*1956) and Irma Boom (*1960) are specialized in making books and together they have earned tens of Best Dutch Book Designs, Schönste Bücher aus aller Welt and other awards. Graphic products are a natural part of these collections, but it also includes archival material such as drafts, sketches and administration. These acquisitions are important to the University Library, which owns one of the largest international collections on graphic design and printing techniques.

Well-known books and series
Sierman has worked for Querido for many decades; he made countless covers for the Amsterdam literary publisher. If it concerned ‘difficult’ books, he was often asked to do not only the cover but the interior of the book as well. The most complex and possibly the most beautiful book he made for Querido was Battus’s bestseller Opperlandse taal- en letterkunde (1981).

Reynoud Homan got to know the architect Wim Quist via the `Monografieën van Nederlandse architecten’ (Monographs of Dutch architects), a series published by 010. Now they collaborate on various projects, among which is the Museum Beelden aan Zee in The Hague, where Homan did the typography of a glass wall.

From the beginning of her career Irma Boom has been making books in collaboration with Paul Fentener van Vlissingen. The best-known work that she designed for him is undoubtedly the monumental company book SHV, which by the way is rarely found in public collections.

Research
With this exhibition the University Library wishes to underline the possibilities archives offer for research. By collaborating right now with young designers in setting up an archive, we take care that research material will be preserved for the future. The books from these collections are described individually; the archival material will be  retrievable  via online inventories.

A small brochure (40 pages; € 7,50) accompanies this exhibition. It will be on sale in the exhibition room or can be ordered from Nijhof & Lee international booksellers in Amsterdam.

All books are from the Special Collections of the University Library Amsterdam. The Universiteit van Amsterdam manages the most important collection of academic heritage in the Netherlands.