SHV Think Book 1996-1896
“SHV Think Book is unconventional not only in its approach but also in its typography, layout, materials, and printing…The commission proved to be fertile ground for Boom’s experiments, and her vast and diverse body of work demonstrates a lasting commitment to questioning and challenging conventions of book design. For Boom, books are a sensory, tactile experience—an object to hold and discover and thus a unique information-delivery medium, especially in the digital age.”
-”MoMA Highlights: 375 Works from The Museum of Modern Art, New York”
“Irma is a genius at combining form and content. She finds formats and materials that perfectly match her subjects. Her books are beautiful, satisfying objects that aren't simply exercises in formal skill. She uses design to deliver content in a brilliant fashion, interweaving stories, creating tension and surprise.”
-Emily King, graphic design historian
Irma Boom’s Limited Edition SHV Centennial Book: A Watershed Moment in Book Design.
Acclaimed Dutch designer Irma Boom, often referred to as “The Queen of Books”, has designed more than 300 books over the last 30 years, all exemplifying her striking talent and imbued with her ground-breaking artistic style. Boom challenges conventional design, believing that the architectural form, quality, and beauty of a book is as important as its content. “At a time when the Internet is so powerful, making books is more and more important…That’s why I’m always looking for new things to do with books,” explains Boom. (Rawsthorn) She is internationally recognized as a pioneer in the field of bookmaking, winning many international accolades, and is the youngest person to have been honored with a Gutenberg Prize for achievement in printing. Her work has been featured in numerous international exhibitions and museums including at the Museum of Modern Art, the Riijksmuseum in Amsterdam, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Venice Biennale, and the United Nations. Top international brands that are driven by their aesthetic like Chanel, Ferrari, and Camper have commissioned work by Boom.
While working at a government printing office in the 1980s, Boom met Paul Fentener van Vlissingen, CEO of the Dutch conglomerate Steenkolen Handels-Vereeniging (SHV). In 1991 she opened her own studio, Irma Boom Office. Soon after, van Vlissingen commissioned Boom, and art historian Johan Pijnappel, to produce a book to commemorate SHV’s centennial. They were given an unlimited budget with the instructions to “make something unusual” and make it last for at least five centuries. We have on offer Boom’s resulting work: the breakthrough SHV Think Book 1996-1896, a renowned example of contemporary book design.
Boom and Pijnappel spent five years traveling the world, attending shareholder meetings, conducting employee interviews, and researching corporate archives. The result was a 2,136 page book documenting the origins and growth of SHV with images and original documents — memos, meeting minutes, price lists and press releases — as well as the social, political, and cultural backdrop over those 100 years. Scattered throughout are jokes, pictures of the van Vlissingen family dogs, and questions like ‘Where do our emotions separate from our thinking’ and ‘Has change produced progress?’ The heft and complexity of the interior stands in stark contrast to the sleek exterior. SHV Think Book 1996-1896 exemplifies Boom’s experimental approach to book design and quickly became her most celebrated work. A copy was acquired by the Museum of Modern Art as an internationally recognized icon of Dutch design.
Art and the making of books are inextricably linked for Irma Boom and SHV Think Book 1996-1896 is considered a masterpiece in its field. Presented in reverse chronological order without page numbers, a table of contents, or an index, it pushes readers to explore and discover information in their own way. It is printed on special, ultra-durable cotton paper that Boom invented herself (after being told that her first choice of Japanese paper would take 14 years to make) and has a reflective steel plate attached to the hollow spine. It is a ‘fat book’ printed all the way to the edges of its pages, revealing a tulip field when angled from left to right, and the lines of a poem by Gerrit Achterberg (De Bolero van Ravel) when angled from right to left. Those who spend more time with the book will find hidden treasures, among them: eight red bookmarks that, if placed correctly, reveal the book’s hidden title Think Book and a hidden title on the white cover of the book which becomes visible after excessive use—SHV: WHAT TOMORROW?.
The design plays with text size, spacing, and alignment to create a visually striking and thought-provoking reading experience. The laser print, perforations, and complex imaging and typography are seldom seen in books. In total, 1.3 million euros were spent to design and produce the book, making it the most expensive commemorative book created to date. There were 4,000 copies published in English with a white cover and 500 copies published in Chinese with a black cover.
The publication of the SHV Think Book 1996-1896 reinvented book design. It was never sold commercially and there was only a limited run given to employees as a collectors item. Highly coveted by museums and collectors, it has inspired designers to push the boundaries of traditional book formats and experiment with typography, layout, and content presentation.
English-language issue. Utrecht: SHV Holdings, 1996. Very thick octavo (22.5 x 17 x 11 cm). Original cloth, complete with the original black box with SHV logo, and original cellophane bag with SHV logo. A few finger smudges to cloth and very slight wear to box. A fine copy.
References:
Joshua Barone. “Irma Boom’s Library, Where Pure Experimentalism Is on the Shelf.” The New York Times. January 16, 2017.
Irma Boom. “Manifesto for the book.” TED, November 26, 2011.
Carel Kuitenbrouwer. “A Monument Made of Money.” Eye. Spring 1997.
“MoMA Highlights: 375 Works from The Museum of Modern Art, New York.” New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 2019.
Alice Rawsthorn. “Reinventing the look (even smell) of a book” The New York Times. March 18, 2007.
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