Studio Spaarnestad

June 5 – October 3, 2021

Comics with a paycheck

De Spaarnestad was a publishing house and printing house Haarlem, founded in 1906, with one of its main publications being the magazine Catholic Illustration. In addition to well-known magazines such as Panorama, Dragonfly, Beatrijs, Revu, Margriet en Story, comic magazines and albums such as it were also published – partly through subsidiary publisher Oberon Weekly for the Roman Youth, Taptoe, Okki, Billie Turf, Sjors respectively. Sjors and Sjimmie, Donald Duck, Tina, Winnetou, Asterix en Bobo.

It is remarkable that in the 50s, 60s and 70s many cartoonists were employed by De Spaarnestad - they were comics makers with a paycheck, something that is unthinkable today. Frans Piët was the illustrator of the very popular comic series Sjors & Sjimmie head of that studio, where many cartoonists have worked over the years: Harry Balm, Bert Bus, Theo Funke Küpper, Boy Ten Hove, Frans Lammers, Henk Rotgans, Piet Broos, Carol Voges and Nico van Dam.

The exhibition Studio Spaarnestad – comics with a paycheck, provides an overview in three rooms of an important episode in the Dutch (and certainly also Haarlemse) comic history. Relevant images from and about the cartoonists involved provide insight into the themes that were characteristic of the period 1950 - 1975. The exhibition was created in collaboration with the Netherlands Cartoon Foundation.

Because the museum is still not allowed to open, we would like to let you enjoy some images of the exhibition: