SPAARNESTAD-FOTOGRAFEN: Broodfotografen of unieke beeldkunstenaars?

Between 1910 and 2000, the Dutch illustrated magazine publisher ‘De Spaarnestad’ employed a team of fulltime photographers for its publications (including magazines such as Katholieke Illustratie, Libelle and Panorama). This was a unique phenomenon within the industry, as most publishers hired freelance photographers or purchased images from press agencies. This research thesis sought to describe the unique production process of the Spaarnestad editorial teams and assess whether this unique process might have led to a unique kind of photographs. The necessary context was provided through literature study, in which a brief history of photography and more extensive history of Dutch press photography and illustrated magazines are presented. The core research involved interviewing former employees of the publishing house and combining as many perspectives as possible, such as that of the head editor, the visual designer, the art director and of course the photographer. The studied period was divided in two distinctive phases, the period of 1910- 1964 and the period of 1965 until 2000. The dividing line between these two periods is marked by the restructuring of the company (a merger with a competing publisher) and the introduction of the newly introduced function of art-director. For these periods, the production process is described and analyzed, structured by the themes ‘the photographer’, ‘the editorial team’, ‘the assignment’ and ‘the company’. Followed by a brief analysis of the visual style of the publisher’s most renowned photographer this thesis concludes that, although the production process and company-structure was very unique, it did not result in a unique kind of photographs. Included in the appendixes are historical descriptions of the publisher’s most important magazines and biographies of the most important photographers.