Fré Cohen Collection. 1923-1938

Frederika Sophia Cohen (1903-1943), known as Fré Cohen, was a prolific Dutch graphic designer. The collection offered here spans almost her entire career (1923-1941), from the age of 20 until shortly before her suicide in Nazi custody. Gathered are many of her best-known pictorial covers and in-text illustrations from wood- and linocut. Cohen was an unusual woman in a male-dominated field and her outstanding designs reflect the urgent, political subjects of the interwar period. Despite substantial attention to her work in the Netherlands, and a significant archive of her original artwork at the Stedelijk Museum, Cohen and the books she designed are virtually unknown in the United States. Of the 25 titles listed here (36 items), only 2 have North American holdings listed in OCLC; at least 2 items are unrecorded in OCLC or Cohen’s catalogue raisonné.

Cohen grew up in a working-class Jewish family in Amsterdam and was self-taught, receiving her first design commissions through her office work at a socialist publishing house. Later Cohen received a scholarship to attend the Institute for Applied Arts, but only after she was already a professional designer. Her first major body of work was for the Arbeiders Jeugd-Centrale (AJC), a socialist youth movement founded by the Dutch national socialist party (SDAP) and the national trade union (NVV). At the AJC she designed covers, illustrations, and typography for radical political pamphlets, songbooks, serials, posters, and more. Her early work was often highly stylized, referencing elements of Expressionism and the Arts and Crafts movement. Later exposure to the Amsterdam School, influenced by Neue Sachlichkeit and constructivism, led to many innovations in her graphic design.

Her mature style is found in book designs and illustrations for numerous socialist and labor organizations, and for the City of Amsterdam municipal press, where she worked as a designer from 1926-1941 (in-house 1929-1932). There she demonstrated her signature versatility, incorporating photomontage, modern lettering, and complex infographics for departments including Housing, Banking, and the Schiphol airport.

In 1941, following the Nazi invasion of the Netherlands, Cohen was forced into hiding. She continued to work illegally, on projects for Jewish organizations among others, until her discovery by the Dutch SS in June 1943. She committed suicide on her way into custody.

The list below is organized into three chronological sections: designs for the AJC; miscellaneous works including letterhead, advertisements and bookplates; and designs for the Amsterdam Municipal Press.

Full catalogue with further description, condition, and catalogue raisonné numbers available on request.

Designed for Arbeiders Jeugd-Centrale:

1. Arbeiders Jeugd-Centrale. Onze paasheuvel: Vrolike lotgevallen en aangename herinneringen. Amsterdam: Arbeiders Jeugd-Centrale, [1923]. Oblong 8vo, 31 pp.; illustrated wrapper and 10 cuts by Cohen (signed Fré).

2. Heide, Mien van der. Aan de jonge werksters! Amsterdam: Arbeiders Jeugd-Centrale, 1924. 8vo, 16 pp.; color wrapper illustrated with linocut? by Cohen (signed FC recto).

3. Vorrink, Koos. Achter de Vaandels!: een nieuwe jeugd, een nieuwe taak. Amsterdam: Arbeiders Jeugd-Centrale, [1925]. First edition. 8vo, 23, [1] pp.; orig. pictorial wrappers by Cohen (signed FC recto).

4. Toornstra, Klaas. Het lichtend verschiet: een bonte rij van beelden die u tonen wat het zomerleven brengen kan, als je maar vakantie hebt en je deze op de juiste wijze weet door te brengen. Amsterdam: Arbeiders Jeugdcentrale, n.d. [c. 1925-26]. 8vo, 20 pp.; 3 linocut? illustrations and 6 initials by Cohen; color illus. wrapper with photomontage and typography by Cohen.

5. Het Troelstra-Oord: ter gelegenheid van de eerste steenlegging van het Troelstra-Oord op de Vrijenberg te Beekbergen op dinsdag 19 october 1926. Amsterdam: Vooruitgang, 1926. 8vo, 19, [3] pp.; 4 b/w plates; color wrapper with illustration by Cohen, who is credited with the book design and six rubricated initials.

6. Engelhardt, Viktor, et al. Op de kentering der tijden: Vijf opstellen van Viktor Engelhardt, Adolf Behne, Jul. Blasche, Fritze Jöde, E.R. Muller, en een inleiding van Koos Vorrink. Amsterdam: Arbeiders Jeugd-Centrale, 1926. 8vo, 48 pp.; 4 b/w illustrations; color wrapper with design and typography by Cohen (signed FC verso).

7. Vorrink, Koos. Stormtij. Amsterdam: Arbeiders Jeugd-Centrale, 1926. First edition. Small 8vo, 36 pp.; color geometic wrapper by Cohen (signed FC verso).

8. Man, Hendrik de. Het sosialisme als kultuurbeweging. Amsterdam: Arbeiders Jeugd-Centrale, 1928. 8vo, 48 pp.; color wrapper with design and typography by Cohen (signed FC verso).

9. Tiggers, Piet. De lijster: Jeugd- en volksliederen, met aanwijzingen voor luit- of gitaarbegeleiding. Amsterdam: Arbeiders Jeugd-Centrale, 1928. Third edition. Oblong 8vo, 151 pp.; the first edition of Tiggers revolutionary folk songs appeared in 1926; green publisher’s cloth with figurative illustration by Cohen (signed FC recto). Includes bookplate likely by Cohen, not previously recorded.

10. Vorrink, Koos. Doel en wezen van de Arbeiders Jeugdbeweging. Amsterdam: Arbeiders Jeugd-Centrale, 1929. 8vo, 32 pp.; color wrapper with design and typography by Cohen (signed FC verso).

11. Sachs, Hans. De diuvel en het oude wijf. Amsterdam: Arbeiders Jeugd-Centrale, 1931. 8v0, 16 pp.; color wrapper with design and typography by Cohen (signed FC verso).

12. Toornstra, Klaas. Daarom juist! Lid worden van de AJC. Amsterdam: Arbeiders Jeugd-Centrale, [1933]. First edition. 8vo, 16 pp.; color illustrated wrapper by Cohen (signed Fré Cohen recto).

13. Vorrink, Koos. De Rode Valkenwet en haar toelichting. Voor de Rode Valken en het Rode Valken Kader. Amsterdam: Arbeiders Jeugd-Centrale, 1932. Oblong 8vo, 16 pp.; book design and wrapper with photomontage by Cohen (signed Fré Cohen verso).

14. Vorrink, Koos. Het vuur dat niet wordt uitgeblust: Afscheidsrede op het Pinksterfeest 1934 der A.J.C. Amsterdam: Arbeiders Jeugd-Centrale, 1934. 8vo, [16] pp.; 7 b/w photographic illus.; photomontage and color wrapper illus. by Cohen (signed FC recto).

15. Dijk, Henk van and Jo Boetje, Eds. 20 jaar AJC in vogelvlucht, 1918-1938. Amsterdam: n.p. [Arbeiders Jeugd-Centrale], 1938. 4to, [32] pp.; profusely illustrated commemorative booklet, including vignettes and design by Cohen; color illustrated wrapper by Cohen (signed Fré Cohen).

Miscellaneous AJC and Arbeidersontwikkeling:

16. Voorink, Koos, ed. De Wilde Roos: een bonte rij kleine geschriften onder leiding van Koos Vorrink. No. 1 (1927) through No. 11 (1930) (all published). Amsterdam: Instituut voor Arbeidersontwikkeling, 1927-1930. A complete series in 11 issues of single author essays, nos. 1-10 published 1927-1928; no. 11 published in 1930. Each issue small 8vo, most ranging from 24-36 pp.; no. 10, 61 pp., no. 11, 96 pp. Cover design on wrappers by Cohen (signed FC recto).

17. Zomerboekje: Reisgids van de “natuurvrienden” afdeeling van het Instituut voor Arbeidersontwikkeling. Amsterdam: Instituut voor Arbeidersontwikkeling, 1934. 4to, 220, [72] pp.; back cover with an illustrated advertisement by Cohen for camping equipment (signed Fré Cohen).

18. Example of AJC letterhead designed by Cohen for the Pinksterkamp 1931, 24.5 x 16 cm. Includes instructions for tent commanders.

19. Tiggers, Piet. Zeven Liederen. 10.3 x 15 cm, 16 pp; small songs booklet for the Pinksterfeest 1933; cover typography by Cohen.

20. Tiggers, Piet. Acht Liederen. 10.5 x 15 cm, 12 pp.; small songs booklet for the Pinksterfeest 1935; cover typography by Cohen.

21. Ex-libris. Herman Molendijk. Woodcut on wove paper, trimmed, 1935. 11.5 x 6.5 cm.

22. Ex-libris. De Paasheuvel. Woodcut on wove paper, printed in red, trimmed, and mounted to card, 1925[?] (1924 written in calligraphy at bottom of card). 10 x 6.9 cm.

Designed for the Municipality of Amsterdam:

23. Municipalité d’Amsterdam. Le port maritime et le port aérien d’Amsterdam. Amsterdam: Imprimerie Municipale, [1931]. Small 4to, 28 pp.; ten reproductions of drawings and diagrams by Cohen, including five in color, one full page; cover photomontage and typography by Cohen (signed FC recto).

24. Graaf, W.A. de, et al. Rapport der Commissie, ingesteld door Burgemeester en wethouders van Amsterdam, ter bestudeering van het vraagstuk van het bouwen, al dan niet op opgehoogden grond. Amsterdam: Stadsdrukkerij, 1931. 4to, 84 pp. with 7 documents laid-in: 1 folding map; 5 technical drawings (2 folding); and a short booklet of additional conclusions; orig. paper wrapper with illustration and typography by Cohen (signed FC).

25. Schiphol: luchthaven der gemeente Amsterdam, municipal airport of Amsterdam. Amsterdam: Dienst der Gemeente Handelsinrichtingen, [1936]. 8vo, 55, [9] pp.; profusely illustrated with typography and 12 illustrations from drawings by Cohen (signed FC), most in color, many half-page or full-page route maps and infographics; stiff card wrapper with continuous illustration on both faces and front flap, also illustrated verso; inner wrapper of heavy blue paper with silver design by Cohen.

SOLD