Leo Beukeboom's beautiful script lettering can be found adorning the windows of many an Amsterdam café. Here David Quay (aka the Type Tourist) picks his top five must-see ‘Krulletter’ cafés in the Dam.
Leo Beukeboom has probably carried out more branding in Amsterdam than any design group could possibly do. Over thirty years he has painted thousands of traditional ‘bruin’ cafés using his own particular lettering style. Leo had three basic sign-writing styles but his special ‘Krulletters’ curly letters are easily the most recognisable. He worked freelance on commission from Heineken for over thirty years, and wherever they sold their beer Leo’s letters can be seen. Leo based his krulletters on the script of Jan van den Velde, who is widely considered to be the greatest master-calligrapher of the Dutch Golden Age.
Leo says, “Looking back I always enjoyed my work and made a good living from it. I always started my working day at noon. It was freedom, to have my sleep, drink my coffee, read the papers…start work started at noon. In the summertime I worked sometimes until nine, nine thirty. Just how it suited me, I didn’t bother. Most cafés weren’t open till noon so I went there in the afternoon, and worked till sunset, fine. In cafés they don’t have strict working hours, and it suited me perfectly.”
Leo had a stroke fifteen years ago which stopped him working. Since then nobody has been able to follow in his footsteps. The cafés are slowly disappearing but there are still plenty left to drink a glass of Heineken in. Here are a few of my favourites:.
1 Café Helmers, 1e C Huygensstraat 59, Oud West, in the Helmersbuurt
Local ‘stam’ café, a dark shabby interior with the usual gruff and friendly Dutch hospitality. The food menu is very limited but the barman on a tiny stove will make you a fine ‘uitsmijter’ – the Dutch slang for a ‘bouncer’, which was the last meal pub patrons would often get before they were booted out. If you’re hungry an ‘uitsmijter’ is a good, cheap and very filling meal consisting of three fried eggs on top of a slice of ham, served on two slices of toast. A great way to begin the day after a few beers the night before.
2 Café Chris, Scholten. Van Woustraat 104, in the Nieuwe Pijp
A very lively, friendly family-run local ‘stam’ café, big enough inside for a billiard table and a darts-board. You can see that Leo painted two billiard cues and billiard balls in the café name. It has a large terrace outside which gets very crowded in the summer. I really recommend this place if you want to see a slice of Amsterdam life.
3 Café de Doofpot
Another local ‘stam’ café with a billiard table, which you can see again in the lettering. In the day it is fairly quiet but it is also a night café, and after all the other bars have closed it is still open for one last beer. A ‘doofpot’ is a metal canister or water stored to put out fires –literally a ‘cover-up’. 4 Café de Zon, Nieuwmarkt 2 in de De Wallen
This is a busy bar not far from the ‘De Wallen’ in the red light district. It is a passing-through bar without much atmosphere. I do not like it, I would never drink there and never have. Watch your wallet. 5 Café van Wou, Van Woustraat 25, in De Pijp
A quirky little bar, a bit of a dive and for older local people, friendly but locals keep themselves to themselves. De Pijp is becoming hip which means there are less places for the locals now. It is a slice of old A’dam, good for a beer, but I wouldn’t stay long there. The lettering is slowly fading away, as will the bar one day. Leo Beukeboom lives just around the corner in Govert Flinkstraat…
For more of David's daily typographic adventures, and news of his very popular type tours in the Netherlands and Spain, follow his Type Tourist page on Facebook here.