Jan van Krimpen

Jan van Krimpen (born Jan. 12, 1892, Gouda, Neth.—died Oct. 20, 1958, Haarlem) was an outstanding modern designer of typefaces for books and postage stamps.

Van Krimpen received an art education at the academy of art at The Hague. An early interest in poetry led him in 1917 to publish the poetic works of his friends in a series for which he designed the format. He received a commission from the Dutch post office to draw the lettering for a special commemorative stamp to be printed by the prominent firm of Enschedé in 1923. The success of the design led Enschedé to invite him to design a new typeface for the firm. The typeface he produced, Lutetia (the Roman name for Paris), was the official lettering for an exhibition of Dutch art in Paris in 1927, and its reception led to his lifelong association with the firm. In addition to Lutetia, van Krimpen’s well-known faces include Antigone Greek (1927), Romanée (1928), Romulus (1931), Cancelleresca Bastarda (1935), and Spectrum (1943). His types became well known in the United States through the Limited Editions Club and in England through the Nonesuch Press.