“Reve” appeared 70 times in 100 years. “De Avonden” is a novel that was not found in the 47th edition.

The novel’s title word is surprising in many ways night And the author’s name can be written on the cover of the book. Night, night, night exist night. Author: From Simon van het Reve to Simon van ‘t Reve and GK van het Reve, the complete Gerard Kornelis van het Reve to the simple Gerard Reve.

December 14, 2023 marks the centenary of Gérard Levy’s birth, and right in the middle of the Gérard Levy Year, there is now an exhibition on view featuring all the prints and covers from his debut nightappeared in 1947: 70 x Night, 100th anniversary of ReveThe novel is a classic of Dutch literature and is well-loved by readers. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Declare it as one of dThe ten most important novels in the Dutch-speaking world.

The exhibition at the Hague’s Book House was the initiative of Albert Wulfers, who owns the most complete collection of prints and covers. “I bought De Avonden on December 5, 1963, when I was 15,” says Wulfers. “A teacher at school thought I should read that book.” And that’s how it all started. Wulfers was a graphic designer, then a filmmaker and teacher at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy. It wasn’t until 1997 that Wulfers decided to sell all the editions. night There must be. Why, in fact? Wolfers: “I sometimes try to explain this to my wife.” He mutters something about a great writer and the history of books, but the reasons remain partly unanswered. Wolfers also admits that he sometimes has doubts. For example, in 2001 a very special 50th edition was published. There, the typescript with corrections was included in the facsimile as well as various extra editions – price: 1000 guilders.

Surprising discovery

Anyone who thought that bringing together all 70 editions was a simple activity was mistaken. Kees Aarts and Piet van Winden also helped organize the exhibition, and the makers made a surprising discovery. The fourth edition was produced three times, twice as the 59th edition and twice as the 61st edition. The 25th edition was skipped because it corrected an error. The 47th edition, which probably had a cover designed by Robert Nix, was lost because it could not be found. (Call: Who has an in-house copy of the 47th edition? Mail to aafke.boerma@huisvanhetboek.nl ) The archive of the publisher De Bezige Bij does not offer any relief, on the contrary it is striking for its incompleteness. On top of that, it was discovered at the last minute that the 70th event, scheduled for Reve’s birthday in November 2023, had already been held for the 71st in February of this year.

English translation and comics

Dozens of versions are arranged in order night. From the first version designed by Ies Spreekmeester to the latest version designed by Bill Bragg. Remarkably, they look very similar and both depict dark houses in the south of Amsterdam in late December. Bragg did the design for the English translation but insists he had never seen Spreekmeester’s design.

There are about twenty other designers and suspected designers, as not all are neatly documented. The edition published in South Africa in 1986 is striking: an authentic text in an African style. The comic edition by Dick Matena is also a special case. The complete Avonden text is shown here, with a cover design by Studio Jan de Boer. Portfolio also got a spot, though Woolvers hesitated. “It’s not really a separate cover design. night“, he thinks.

return

Leif’s centenary is still in full swing. The first edition of the “CJ Aarts” brochure was published at the exhibition, which caused a sensation and advertising after publication. night 1947. This is a preview of the complete Reve bibliography that Aarts is preparing. Wulfers is preparing a brochure on the first designer, Ies Spreekmeester (A man wearing a hat must be a young man without a hat). This culminated in the Revent event at the House of the Book on December 14, the end of the anniversary year.

exhibition 70 x Night, 100th anniversary of Reve House of the Book, The Hague, until 5 January Book: CJ Aarts, “First Edition”, Uitgeverij Fragment € 10

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