Staaltest Vijf en twintig jaar van kijken & kiezen an Icon of Dutch industrial photography books Ed Suister

Staaltest. Vijf en twintig jaar van kijken & kiezen
Publisher: Röntgen Technische Dienst nv RTD, Rotterdam
Year of publication: 1962
Binding: perfect binding
Size: 230x210mm
Number of pages: 62
Number of illustrations: 16 black & white photographs
Type of illustrations: company profile; documentary photography
Printer: Drukkerij Hooiberg, Epe
Type of reproduction: letter press printing
Photography: Ed Suister
Design: Charles Jongejans
Text: Jan Elburg (literary contribution)
Type: commemoration book (25 year anniversary)

Jan Elburg (1919-1992) was a poet and lecturer at the Institute for Arts and Crafts Education in Amsterdam. His poetry was brisk and locked into the dynamics of post-war optimism as proclaimed in the company photobook. Elburg is the author of two important company photobooks published in 1962: De verbinding [The connection], commissioned by the PTT, and staal test [steel test] (1962), commissioned by the X-ray Technical Service (RTD). The commemoration book contains full bleeding images of twenty-five years of (professional) looking and choosing, tasting and testing, in everyday life. The language is proverbial and the text fragments are reproduced on thin transparent paper. The edition includes an English language academic text on the book topic.

The heyday of Dutch industrial photography books 1945 1965

Photographer Paul Huf Paul Huff: Highlights (English and Dutch Edition) once commented succinctly on his work as follows: 'They get what they ask for, but I deliver damn good work' - the very thing that makes industrial photography books so attractive. The books show work from a period during which photographers could not make a living as artists/photographers and depended on such prestigious commissions. With this highly professional approach, photographers like Violette Cornelius Violette Cornelius and Ata Kando: Hungarian Refugees 1956, Cas Oorthuys 75 Jaar Bouwen, Van ambacht tot industrie 1889-1964, Ed van der Elsken , Ad Windig Het water - Schoonheid van ons land and Paul Huf established their reputations and influenced our present-day impression of workers and entrepreneurs in the postwar Netherlands. Experimental poets and well-known writers also contributed to these books, fifty of which are on show. 'Het bedrijfsfotoboek 1945-1965. Professionalisering van fotografen in het moderne Nederland' Het Bedrijfsfotoboek 1945-1965 . 

See also 

The Icons of Dutch industrial photography books 1945 1965