“Verkeer en vervoer” – Dutch transportation stamps
Dutch stamp series depicting three types of freight traffic – road, rail and inland waterway haulage – designed in 1980 by Ben Bos at Total Design for the Dienst voor Esthetische Vormgeving PTT. The chosen typeface is Stencil, originally designed in the 1930s by Gerry Powell for ATF. This version has more robust serifs and a less static leg for ‘R’ than the digitally available ones — maybe an optimization made for the small size. Both the fragmented letterforms and the seemingly random placement on an angle allude to the typical ad hoc stencil lettering seen on cargo. The online archive Memory of the Netherlands has a preparatory study showing that Bos first tried out Glaser Stencil, which was probably discarded as too slick. The collection also features original photographs, color studies, and an unused alternative design.
