Title Page for Apollo's Kermis-gift, Part 2 - Jan van den Bergh

A 1743 Dutch title page featuring elegant typography and a delicate Rococo engraved vignette.

This print reproduces the title page for the second volume of 'Apollo's Kermis-gift', a publication issued in The Hague in 1743. The work provides a clear example of mid-eighteenth-century Dutch printing practices, where the aesthetic focus remained on clarity, balanced layout, and the integration of modest decorative elements within the text block.

The composition is anchored by a central typographic arrangement, which details the title, the target audience of the youth in The Hague, and the publication information. Jan van den Bergh, identified here as the bookseller located on the Schoolstraat, utilised a standard serif typeface common to the period. The text is punctuated by a small, engraved vignette positioned between the volume number and the location of the publisher. This ornament displays characteristic Rococo features, including shell-like motifs and symmetrical foliate scrolls, which provide a decorative break in the otherwise austere presentation.

Such title pages were essential components of the book trade, designed to convey information efficiently while maintaining a professional appearance. The use of negative space around the text block reflects the conventions of the era, prioritising legibility and the quality of the paper stock. The inclusion of the date in Roman numerals, M.D.CC.XLIII, adheres to the formal traditions of eighteenth-century European publishing. This print offers an insight into the material culture of the Dutch Republic, documenting the intersection of commercial book production and the refined graphic sensibilities of the time. It is a piece of historical ephemera that captures the specific visual language of a mid-eighteenth-century Dutch printing house.