Hare Majesteit en het Nederlandsche Volk gedurende de 40 regeeringsjaren 1938

This cover by Haagsche Drukkerij en Uitgeversmaatschappij is so simple it is perfect. The dark typeface floats on a ground of pale orange paper and celebrates Queen Wilhelmina's 40 years on the throne. I can imagine them in the printing house carefully setting the type, and the paper itself, what did it feel like in their hands? You know, sometimes the most basic materials are the best. Like, the ink is just dark enough to contrast with the ground, and the ground itself becomes a kind of presence. Did the printer choose the shade of orange, or was it prescribed? It is really lovely. The lines above and below the title add just the right amount of formality, but the rest is space, and the beauty of the materials and how they sit together on the page. It’s not about grand gestures here, but more about a kind of quiet confidence.