Amsterdam 52°22'38.5"N 4°52'52.5"E
Amsterdamse Krulletters
They belong to Amsterdam like the pubs belong to London: Bruin Cafés, cosy pubs where the locals hang out and which remained largely untouched by gentrification and the excesses of tourism. What these cafés have in common is not only the preserved local character, but often playful lettering on their portals, the Krulletters.
I only had a few hours to visit some of the cafés, but Ramiro Espinoza, typeface designer and author of the book De Amsterdamse Krulletters, took me on a tour of his favourite letterings and gave me a deep insight into the past and present of the curly letters. Letters and beer, what a great combination!
Café ‘Karpershoek’, Martelaarsgracht 2
Café ‘Hoppe’, Spui 18-20
Café ‘’t Molentje’, Singel 278
Originally, the Amsterdam tradition of the Krulletters originates from the sign painter Wim Visser, who from the 1940s onwards designed many of the Bruin Cafés on behalf of the Amstel Brewery. It was later continued by Leo Beukeboom until he had to give up painting in 2003 due to a stroke.
In his highly recommendable book De Amsterdamse Krulletter, Ramiro Espinoza traces the typographical roots of the Krulletters, tells the story of the two sign painters in great detail and, thanks to the atmospheric photographs of Rob Becker, gives an impressive overview of the approximately 50 remaining original inscriptions.
Since the book was published in 2015, he has received repeated hints of supposed new finds. Although most of them are not real Krulletters, some new locations have appeared. Others have been lost forever, be it through renovation, new takeovers or simply through broken glass. In one particularly blatant case, a guest smashed all the shop windows of a restaurant after a dispute – and thus destroyed the krulletters.
With his book, Ramiro has succeeded in creating Awarness for this previously little-noticed visual heritage of Amsterdam, hopefully contributing to its preservation. A visit to the Bruin Cafés and their Krulletters is doubly worthwhile, as they provide an insight into the everyday culture of the city far from the tourist crowds..
Café ‘Chris Scholten’, Van Woustraat 104
Café Café ‘Café De Nieuwe Lelie’, Nieuwe Leliestraat 83
Ramiro Espinoza’s typeface “Krull” is based on the Amsterdam Krulletters and appeared in his Retype Foundry.
