Gedenkboek van den historisch allegorischen optocht 1910

This cover for a book about a historical parade in Amsterdam in 1910, credited to Holbert & Co, is like a heraldic garden. Look at the repeating motifs, like the crowns and heraldic shields nestled among foliage and fruit. I imagine the designer, maybe someone used to working with stone or metal, having to think very differently in order to create this design. It must have been a challenge to take these solid, historical, and monumental images and try to create something that felt less fixed, something decorative. The designer's solution seems to be repetition and distribution: the printerly application of the design creates a surface that feels light and playful, while still recalling the seriousness of royal emblems. I wonder if the orange fruit is a nod to the House of Orange-Nassau? I think about the contemporary graphic designers and illustrators who were inspired by botanical illustration and how they created a new visual language of nature and abundance, while alluding to history and power. This object seems to be part of that conversation.