Reformvoeding reformschoeisel reformhuis
Henny Cahn
Dutch
c. 1936
A 1936 letterpress flyer advertising a ‘‘reformhuis’’ (reform house) where Henny Cahn uses modern, pared‑down typography and a red‑and‑black palette to organize information and promote hygienic, corrective services.
It looks almost like a tiny architectural plan: tilted blocks of red type, slim black rules and a hand‑written note slant across cream paper, producing a lively tension between precise lines and rotated, playful words.
This piece exemplifies interwar modernist graphic design—using asymmetry, scale, and limited color in letterpress to turn printed ephemera into a clear, functional visual language for social reform and commercial communication.
Medium
Letterpress
Dimensions
5 7/16 x 4 5/16" (13.8 x 11 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Jan Tschichold Collection, Gift of Philip Johnson
Accession
638.1999
Palette
Exhibitions
