Love Letters

Love Letters presents 44 uniquely designed envelopes created by renowned Dutch graphic designer Karel Martens between 1962 and 1963. These envelopes, sent to his love, Lous, were manually printed while Martens was stationed in the drawing room of the Welfare Service at the Frederik Hendrik Barracks during his military service. At the time, he was tasked with designing the poster “Don’t croak about military service matters, the enemy is listening.” This collection offers an intimate glimpse into Martens’ early creative process and his distinctive approach to printmaking.