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Long term loan from the Netherlands Board of Tourism & Conventions
Acquisition 2003
Date Period 1926-1998
Signature TRN
Ask foreign tourists about their idea of the Netherlands and you are bound to hear about clogs, windmills and tulips. Not surprisingly, these clichéd images have regularly been used to promote the country. The collection of posters from the Netherlands Board of Tourism & Conventions (NBTC) certainly features these elements in abundance, but other scenes have also been pressed into the service of their country. Scheveningen and the North Sea coast, water sports, the polder landscapes of Holland and cycling on the heath are also presented as possible leisure time activities.
For almost a century the Netherlands has been systematically promoted as a holiday destination. Starting out as the ANVV [Dutch Tourist Association], the NBTC has been conducting its campaign to alert tourists to the many opportunities that the Netherlands has to offer since 1915. Fortunately, the NBTC and its predecessors have kept most of their promotional posters. The collection was administered by the organisation's library and was stored in their headquarters in Leidschendam.
In 2002, in search of better preservation conditions for the collection, they contacted the Koninklijke Bibliotheek. The collection was officially given on loan to the Koninklijke Bibliotheek in April 2003. At that time, the posters in the collection spanned the period from 1926 to 1998. The loan agreement stipulates that new posters will be added to the collection in the future.
The oldest posters in the collection, designed by the artist Jos Rovers, date from 1926. Most posters are not signed, however. Those that are signed include well-known designers, such as Joop Geesink, Jan Lavis and Cor van Velsen. The collection clearly traces design trends during the twentieth century. For example, we see an increasing use of photographic images from the 1950s onwards. The Koninklijke Bibliotheek has digitised the collection and made it accessible through the Memory of the Netherlands.
(TV)
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