The cover of this travel brochure of the Koninklijke Paketvaart-Maatschappij (KPM) was designed by the Dutch advertisement artist Jan Lavies (1902 – 2005). Lavies lived in the Dutch East Indies from 1925 to 1932 and was best known for his Art Deco posters for Dutch shipping and import companies.

Lavies was going to be an art teacher, but he found advertising more interesting; he withdrew for the exam at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague and went to Germany to master the profession of advertising designer. In 1924 he signed up as a dishwasher on a ship bound for New York. In the United States, he saw the latest advertising techniques and concluded that one clear image is more impressive than a multitude of illustrative elements.

Succes in the Dutch East Indies
In 1925 Lavies established himself as a freelance advertising artist in the Dutch East Indies, where he soon made his breakthrough with a cover design for the weekly magazine d’Oriënt. In Java, Lavies designed exhibition stands, folders, suitcase labels for hotels, magazine covers, advertisements and posters for import companies. His clients were mainly the KPM, General Motors, Shell and Esso.

One of his finest designs is this travel brochure for the KPM, which was published in 1930. The unfolded cover depicts a woman carrying an offering bowl on her head, with the outline of a Balinese temple in the background. Typical of Lavies’ work in the Dutch East Indies are his stylized depiction of local scenes and his bright yet sophisticated color palette.

Back to the Netherlands
Lavies returned to the Netherlands in 1932. Because of his contacts in the Dutch East Indies, he had many clients who had a connection with the Dutch colony. For example, he designed two posters for the Royal Dutch Indies Airways. He also drew advertising postcards for Indonesian restaurants in The Hague and Amsterdam.

During the war years, Lavies forged identity cards and earned his living restoring paintings. After the liberation of the Netherlands he went back to work as an advertising artist. In the period 1950-1970, the Holland-America Line was his most important client. Lavies designed menus, wine lists and music programs for this shipping company for use on the ships.

Jan Lavies, two advertising postcards for Indonesian restaurant Waroeng Djawa in The Hague