‘W.H. Gispen (1890-1981) established his company in Rotterdam in 1916, and in the first eighteen years the company built up a reputation as a company that made modern lamps and furniture that should not be missing in any prominent building.
The fame of these world-renowned furniture and lamps is largely due to the way in which they were marketed in the 1920s and 1930s: leading so-called New Photographers and Typographers such as Jan Kamman and Paul Schuitema produced the product catalogues and advertising printed matter. for the company Gispen. These advertising activities were an undeniable stimulus for the modernization of typography and photography.
This publication focuses on photos, catalogues and posters from the 1920s and 1930s. In an extensive essay by Hetty Berens, the Rotterdam period of the Gispen firm is particularly highlighted. Aaron Betsky places Gispen in an international perspective.’