Holland-Africa Line Poster by Reyn Dirksen, Netherlands, 1955

A poster for the Holland-Afrika lijn, designed by Reyn Dirksen in the Netherlands around 1955. The poster shows a large dark blue ship with in front an image of the routes of the ship. Underneath it states “N-V Vereenigde Nederlandsche Scheepvaartmaatschappij” ( United Dutch Shipping Company ). It’s bright colours and beautiful shape are very fitting for it’s purpose at the time (drawing attention) and make it a wonderful addition to the decor now! It remains in very good, vintage condition with minor wear consistent with age and use, preserving a beautiful patina. Reyn Dirksen (1924–1999) studied at the Institute of Applied Arts Education, which is now the Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam. He has created dozens of posters for a wide range of products. Many large companies as well as the municipality of Amsterdam made use of his design talent. For Amsterdam, he made a lot of posters for events, of which the most famous ones include HISWA, Fashion week, KLM and Schiphol, Heineken, Bols, Verkade, Rizla, Holland-America and Dutch Railways, Red Cross, etc. His most sought-after fairground posters, such as the LUNAPARK, also date from that time and have become a real collector’s item. This includes the famous “All Colours tot he Mast” poster that was designed for the “Intra-European Cooperation for a Better Standard of Living Poster” by the George C. Marshall foundation. It was picked as the winner out of more then 10.000 designs from all over the world! The poster was seen as a visual metaphor of the poverty in Europe during and after the Second World War and the value of uniting the European countries, like a ship in raging water.