A. A. M. Stols (usually called Alexander or Sander, 1900–1973) was a Dutch printer and publisher, known best for his limited bibliophile editions of Dutch poetry.

Biography

Stols was born in

Maastricht Maastricht ( , , ; ; ; ) is a city and a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital city, capital and largest city of the province of Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg. Maastricht is loca ...

, 28 January 1900. He was a son of Ludovicus Hubertus Alexander Stols (1870-1942), printer and publisher, and Alida Alphonsine Fermin (1874-1960); his father was the co-founder and co-owner of the Maastricht publishing house Boosten & Stols, which was later run by Sander's two younger brothers. In 1928 he married Margaretha Wilhelmina Kroesen (1908-2002). They had three children. Stols finished the

Hogere Burgerschool The ''Hogere Burgerschool'' (''HBS'') (Dutch: Higher Civic School) was a secondary school type that existed between 1863 and 1974 in the Netherlands and the Dutch Empire. These schools, with a five- or sometimes six-year program, continued in 1 ...

in 1917, and soon immersed himself in the local cultural world, becoming fascinated by books and joining a circle of friends including Charles Nypels, a typographer who had studied in Amsterdam under

Sjoerd de Roos Sjoerd Hendrik de Roos (14 September 1877 – 3 April 1962), better known as S. H. de Roos, was a Dutch type designer, book cover designer and artist. Life and work De Roos was born in Drachten to a cobbler, but moved to Amsterdam at an earl ...

. The group combined a love for typography and books with a passion for art, especially French literature. At that time he began experimenting in his father's print shop, and his first printed book, a text from

Joost van den Vondel Joost van den Vondel (; 17 November 1587 – 5 February 1679) was a Dutch playwright, poet, literary translator and writer. He is generally regarded as the greatest writer in the Dutch language as well as an important figure in the history of Wes ...

, was printed with the assistance of Nypels. Having taken exams in Greek and Latin he went to Amsterdam to study law in 1919, with the ultimate goal of training to be an archivist, but never attained his degree.

Publishing career

Stols was a prolific publisher of many Dutch authors including

Adriaan Roland Holst Adriaan Roland Holst (Amsterdam, 23 May 1888 – Bergen, North Holland, 5 August 1976) was a Dutch writer, nicknamed the "Prince of Dutch Poets". He was the second winner, in 1948, of the Constantijn Huygens Prize. He was nominated for t ...

J.C. Bloem Jakobus Cornelis (Jacques) Bloem (10 May 1887, Oudshoorn – 10 August 1966, Kalenberg) was a Dutch poet and essayist. Between 1921 and 1958 he published fourteen volumes of poetry. In 1949 he won the Constantijn Huygensprijs, one of the country ...

, E. du Perron, J. Slauerhoff,

Antoinette Hendrika Nijhoff-Wind Antoinette Hendrika "A.H." Nijhoff-Wind (9 June 1897 – 22 May 1971) was a Dutch writer. At her home in the hamlet of Little Valkenisse at Biggekerke, she provided a meeting place for artists. Biography A. H. Nijhoff-Wind was born Antoinetta "Net ...

Simon Vestdijk Simon Vestdijk (; 17 October 1898 – 23 March 1971) was a Dutch writer. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature fifteen times. Life Born in the small Frisian town of Harlingen, Vestdijk studied medicine in Amsterdam, but turned t ...

, M. Vasalis,

Jan van Nijlen Joannes Joannes-Baptista Maria Ignatius van Nijlen (10 November 1884 – 14 August 1965) was a Belgian writer and poet. He was born at Antwerp and died at Uccle. Bibliography * ''Verzen'' (1906) * ''Het licht'' (1909) * ''Naar 't geluk'' (1911) ...

Karel Van de Woestijne Carolus Petrus Eduardus Maria "Karel" van de Woestijne (; Ghent, 10 March 1878 – Zwijnaarde, 24 August 1929) was a Flanders, Flemish writer and brother of the painter Gustave van de Woestijne. He went to highschool at the ''Koninklijk Athenaeum' ...

Gerrit Achterberg Gerrit Achterberg (20 May 1905 – 17 January 1962) was a Dutch poet. His early poetry concerned a desire to be united with a beloved in death. Achterberg was born in Nederlangbroek in the Netherlands as the third son of a family of eight ch ...

, and

Marnix Gijsen Marnix Gijsen (20 October 1899 – 29 September 1984) was a Belgian writer. His real name was Joannes Alphonsius Albertus Goris; his pseudonym relates to Marnix van Sint Aldegonde and the surname of his mother (Gijsen). Early years Gijsen ...

, as well as French authors such as

Valery Larbaud Valery Larbaud (29 August 1881 – 2 February 1957) was a French writer and poet. Life He was born in Vichy, the only child of a pharmacist Nicolas Larbaud and Isabelle Bureau des Étivaux. His father died when he was 8, and he was brought up ...

Paul Valéry Ambroise Paul Toussaint Jules Valéry (; 30 October 1871 – 20 July 1945) was a French poet, essayist, and philosopher. In addition to his poetry and fiction (drama and dialogues), his interests included aphorisms on art, history, letters, m ...

, and

André Gide André Paul Guillaume Gide (; 22 November 1869 – 19 February 1951) was a French writer and author whose writings spanned a wide variety of styles and topics. He was awarded the 1947 Nobel Prize in Literature. Gide's career ranged from his begi ...

. Between 1922 and 1942 Stols published over 550 books, which were known for their attractive typography and design, with the assistance of

Jan van Krimpen Jan van Krimpen (12 January 1892, in Gouda, South Holland, Gouda – 20 October 1958, in Haarlem) was a Dutch typographer, book designer and type designer. He worked for the printing house Joh. Enschedé, Koninklijke Joh. Enschedé. He also wo ...

and later

Helmut Salden Helmut is a German name. Variants include Hellmut, Helmuth, and Hellmuth. From old German, the first element deriving from either ''heil'' ("healthy") or ''hiltja'' ("battle"), and the second from ''muot'' ("spirit, mind, mood"). Helmut may refer ...

John Buckland Wright John Buckland Wright (1897–1954) was a British printmaker, painter and draughtsman. He worked principally as an etcher and engraver, and was self-taught. Biography Buckland Wright was born on 3 December 1897 in Dunedin, New Zealand. He moved ...

illustrated a number of his books. In 1951, Stols left for Latin America where, until 1962, he worked for

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

in Ecuador, Guatemala, and Mexico. He established a friendship with

Alfonso Reyes Alfonso Reyes Ochoa (17 May 1889 in Monterrey, Nuevo León – 27 December 1959 in Mexico City) was a Mexican writer, philosopher and diplomat. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature five times and has been acclaimed as one of the ...

. In Mexico, Boudewijn Ietswaart was his assistant for two years. After a brief stay in the Netherlands, Stols returned to Mexico in 1963 where he worked until his retirement in 1965 as a

cultural attaché Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, attitudes, and habits of the individuals in these groups ...

at the embassy of The Netherlands. He then moved to

Tarragona Tarragona (, ; ) is a coastal city and municipality in Catalonia (Spain). It is the capital and largest town of Tarragonès county, the Camp de Tarragona region and the province of Tarragona. Geographically, it is located on the Costa Daurada ar ...

, Spain, where he died in 1973.

References

Notes

Bibliography

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stols, Alexandre A.M. 1900 births 1973 deaths Dutch printers Dutch graphic designers People from Maastricht UNESCO officials Herzogenbusch concentration camp survivors