Architect E.J. Kuipers (1877-1943). Arts and crafts portfolio 1902-1903

Collection of ca. 130 leaves with a multitude thereof in drawn designs of furniture, bags and other arts and crafts, walls, interiors and ornaments in various media, partly signed and partly dated 1902-1903 and with place names such as Prague, Neuhaus and Spalato, several with stamp of the Kunstgewerbeschule at Prague, 18 original photos in various sizes of various pieces of furniture (incl. 1 double and several signed 'Kuipers' in pencil), and 4 photos of the interior of a room, of which 3 with a gentleman in fancy dress (almost certainly Kuipers himself), and finally a notebook with 179 letters in pen by Kuipers addressed to various people on ca. 100 leaves, dated 15 April 1902 to "Prag, 6 mei '03", occ. with small illustrations, original cardboard, large 4to size, together in modern portfolio, large folio.

Very little information can be found on the highly skilled designer and architect E.J. Kuipers, even the RKD does not mention him. He is mostly known as a designer of covers of the Wendingen periodicals and several bookbindings nowadays present in the Royal Library. He was also a trained architect and secretary of the Bond van Nederlandsche Architecten in Amsterdam. This beautiful and very special archive is a reflection of the time that E.J. Kuipers spent as a student at the famous Kunstgewerbeschule in Prague. According to the calligraphed title page, the notebook is a memento of literary evenings with friends, with the dedication: "Vertrouw uw gedachten hier aan toe, beschrijf de indrukken in den vreemde en waardeer beproefde vriendschap meer dan spoedig ontwikkelde sympathie". Kuipers describes his experiences in a small handwriting and largely in two columns, in great detail and in detail per day, in the form of letters to many different people. Several of the letters are addressed to the artist Willy Sluiter (1873-1949) in Katwijk aan Zee. There are also letters to "Het gezellige Hoekske - beste vriendinnen en vrienden" [he was the secretary of this little club], Carel Jilleba, "Beste nicht en To", juffrouw Van Loon, "Beste vader", "lieve Jan en Marie", "Waarde Sparnaay", "Waarde heer Sjenneweg", "Waarde vriend LeGrand", "Beste Litteraire", "Waarde Ruttenberg", "Geehrte Frau Prof." etc. etc. No. 171, addressed to "waare heer Tollens", contains a list of furniture that Kuipers had designed for his brother's home, and of which he asks for photos. Given the descriptions, these are the photos that are included in the archive. Some of the original designs of this furniture are also present.