Please Touch — Amsterdam
While the works of celebrated Dutch book designer Irma Boom are part of many museum collections, this one doesn’t do well in glass cases and doesn’t need to be handled with white gloves. Boom, with editorial support from art historian Johan Pijnappel, spent five years working on this private-edition book for the large Dutch coal conglomerate SHV Holdings, in celebration of its 100th anniversary. One feature of this 2136-page book is that the title is printed on the white linen cover in a transparent adhesive that attracts dust and collects fingerprints, so that the type is revealed only through intense use. Please touch. Preferably with dirty fingers.