The second recipient of The Capital is bookbinder Herman van Waarden. As the scion of a bookbinding family, he has taken bookbinding in the Netherlands to great heights. Together with his brother Theo. He has always – without concession – striven for the very best quality. To transform stacks of printed sheets into a tangible object that opens beautifully, time after time. That sits so well in the hand you don’t want to put it down. Van Waarden manages to translate the idea of the perfectly bound book that lives in the imagination of the designer into reality. A reality in which machines have replaced working by hand, making big print-runs possible. Making the impossible possible: this talent for translation brought the books business a technical innovation recognised far beyond the boundaries of our small country. For his indispensable contribution to Dutch book design and making, Herman van Waarden is the recipient of The Capital 2025.
Interview Herman van Waarden by Ed Boogaard
foto © Gerlinde de Geus, 7 november 2025