The Vereeniging ter Bevordering van de Belangen des Boekhandels (The Association for the Promotion of Booksellers’ Interests, or, the Netherlands Book Trade Society) was founded in 1817 by a group of publishers, book wholesalers, booksellers, importers of books and book-club operators. Based in Amsterdam, its object was to “protect the common interests of booksellers and publishers and to promote cooperation in the book trade in the widest sense, in particular by laying down and administering … standards and practices for bookselling in the Netherlands.”
The Association celebrated its 75th anniversary with an international exhibition held in the Amsterdam Palace of Industry over the summer of 1892. Exhibits featured all aspects of the book trade and the show’s catalogue, pictured here, includes an especially valuable section of advertising such as the page above for the lithographic firm Tesling & Co. Here are a few examples.
