Greet ten Holte – Wegbereider van het internationaal cultuurbeleid, 1945-1973

Book coverGreet ten Holte – Wegbereider van het internationaal cultuurbeleid, 1945-1973
Book coverGreet ten Holte – Wegbereider van het internationaal cultuurbeleid, 1945-1973
Book coverGreet ten Holte – Wegbereider van het internationaal cultuurbeleid, 1945-1973
Book coverGreet ten Holte – Wegbereider van het internationaal cultuurbeleid, 1945-1973

This is really two books in one: on the one hand it’s a detailed record, presented in facsimile pages, of an archive; on the other, a cultural-historical study. The archive in question belonged to Greet ten Holte, an official with the Rijksbureau voor Moderne Kunst (Netherlands Modern Art Agency), who between 1945 and 1973 went from a secretarial role to a pioneer of Dutch international cultural policy. The study takes this archive as the starting point for a discourse on the pioneering days of international cultural policy – a subject as yet little explored, and therefore of great topical interest. Although the content is aimed primarily at a more informed readership, this book still manages to feel inviting and accessible. The decision to print the archival documents actual size not only results in beautiful pages, but almost gives the impression of diving into her actual archives. Letters, postcards – everything is printed clearly and legibly, allowing for follow-up study. The typography used for the text section is pleasantly modest, allowing the archive itself to shine. The design in general is functional, serving the content without overshadowing it. The tabs are a useful aid to navigation. The long length of the lines is probably a visual reference to the many letters that play a major role in the archive. From a functional point of view, this is less handy: some members of the jury would have liked more space to make marginal notes, especially given the subject matter of this study. The jacket is disappointing, looking a little untidy and reminiscent of a previous Irma Boom book (a Best Dutch Book Design 2021) on Ray Johnson.

Edition: 2022
Date of publication: July 2022
Author: Roosmarijn Hompe, Marieke Sanders-ten Holte, Jan Teewisse
Language: Dutch
Final editor: Loes Visch
Image editor: Irma Boom, Roosmarijn Hompe, Anna Moschioni, Loes Visch
Photographer: Jan Gisolf
Publisher: Waanders Uitgevers, Zwolle
Available through: Bookshop, webshop
Graphic designer: Irma Boom Office (Irma Boom & Anna Moschioni) (Amsterdam)
Lithographer: Wilco Art Books, Amersfoort
Printer: Wilco Art Books, Amersfoort
Binder: Wilco Art Books, Amersfoort
Size book block (w x h x d in mm): 230 x 305 x 19 mm
Number of pages: 304
Print run: 1050
Price: € 35
ISBN: 9789462623835
Font and foundry: Letter Gothic STD (Adobe Originals)
Binding style: Sewn softcover with minimal gluing at the sides (cold-glued), with a jacket folded in the American style glued to the spine
Paper for interior (grammage): 100gsm Greentop, Igepa
Material cover (grammage): 400gsm Parelgrijskarton, Koninklijke Moorman Karton
Special features: Dust jacket and interior printed in CMYK, the interior has been partly cut back to 215 mm on the cut and is partly provided with a cut-in index (Agia, Amsterdam)