ABSTRACT
Peter de Voogd pays due attention to transition’s typography as an aspect of modernism too often neglected. As he points out, the house style of the Servire Press was inspired by De Stijl and ‘based on the Dutch “New Typography” created by typeface designers such as Cesar Domela-Nieuwenhuis, Theo van Doesburg, and S. H. de Roos’ (de Voogd 2013, 233). A tinge of chauvinism was part of Verhulst’s mission as a publisher, as a page-long advertisement for his own company in transition 21 illustrates. It opens with the word ‘PRINTING’ in large sans serif letters, followed in smaller font by: ‘THE EIGHTH ART / 500 YEARS OLD / CRADLED IN HOLLAND / AT THE HAGUE WE HAVE / STATUES TO PRINTERS / OUR PRINTERS ARE ARTISTS’. As a sort of motto, the following statement preceded the Servire Press’s address: ‘IN OPTICAL DELIGHT / A PAGE CAN COMPETE / WITH A PAINTING’. The company presented itself explicitly as ‘PRINTERS TO MODERNS’ and advertised its expertise: ‘SPECIALISTS / IN / EDITIONS DE LUXE / ALL ART PRINTING / AT PLEASING PRICES’.
