Ko Verzuu and other designers
The vast majority of the ado toys were designed by Ko Verzuu (1901 – 1971). He began in the twenties and did not stop until 1955. Less known is that other designers were also asked to design toys for ado. After Verzuu’s departure, Pieter van Gelder (1902 – 1984) and Monika Buch (1936) took over. Read all about these three designers below.
Ko Verzuu’s hundreds and hundreds of toys
Ko Verzuu, as the leader of the ado workshop, was responsible for the designs of the toys. Over thirty years, he developed an extensive collection comprising of hundreds of toys. Before starting production of a model, Verzuu consulted his eleven children, ensuring the cars, the dollhouse furniture, and the building blocks, were both engaging and durable. Verzuu attentively observed and incorporated contemporary artistic trends, skillfully adopting a formal language inspired by the likes of the Hague School (Dutch art deco), De Stijl, and expressionism. Now, let’s explore some remarkable examples!
Corner chair No. 599
Gerrit Rietveld
It is evident from this corner chair that Verzuu shared design principles with De Stijl man Rietveld. The chair is asymmetrical and the ends were painted in a contrasting colour, as with many of Rietveld’s furniture pieces.
Armchair No. 596
Primary colours
De Stijl is particularly known for the use of the three primary colours. Verzuu also used these bright colours, but certainly not always. Sometimes he even applied them to furniture that was distant from De Stijl in terms of form. In addition to the primary colours, Verzuu also applied orange, green and purple often.
Sideboard No. 577
Dutch Art Deco
Stylistic characteristics of Dutch Expressionism and Art Deco are also echoed in Vezuu’s furniture. The straight lines, cubist shapes and cubes as handles in Verzuu’s toys are also widely used by Dutch Art Deco (Hague School) designers.
Verzuu’s chairs, tables and cabinets have often been compared with furniture from the De Stijl art movement. This is not surprising, as the toys were sold in department store Metz & Co. alongside the designs of De Stijl men Gerrit Rietveld and Bart van der Leck. Verzuu looked closely at his surroundings, but not just at De Stijl!
Ko Verzuu’s keen observation of his surroundings extended to his trucks and trains as well. His commercial cars, such as the ‘construction company,’ ‘delivery service,’ and ‘moving company,’ were inspired by the vehicles that traversed the streets. Verzuu also designed his own VW Beetle and Jeep.
Moreover, Verzuu incorporated developments in automotive engineering into his toy designs, with his cars becoming more aerodynamic during the 1930s. The flat rectangular cab gave way to an angled and ‘fast’ design. Similarly, Verzuu’s train designs directly reflected the novelties in the railroad industry, featuring both unwieldy steam trains and modern streamlined diesel trains.
Construction company No. 964 and No. 984
Less is more
The cars are rather minimalist in their designs. For instance, the detailing frequently consists of just an inscription. By leaving out as many details as possible, Verzuu allowed space for the imagination of the child.
Pieter van Gelder
The decorative artist Van Gelder had been designing toys since the 1920s. His early models bear some resemblance to the early designs by Verzuu. But it wasn’t until 1957 that Van Gelder was commissioned by ado. He designed five toys, including an Ice Cream Cart (No. 1002) and a Rocking Horse (No. 1005). Van Gelder’s models are quite realistic and so, are different than Verzuu’s stylized designs. The rocking horse could also serve as a flower stand, it can hardly be called a toy at all!
Ice cream cart No. 1002
Rocking horse and Flower stand No. 1005
Monika Buch
Entirely different are the toys by Monika Buch. Of her designs, a dozen were executed by ado. Unlike Van Gelder, and like Verzuu, she allows plenty of space for the child’s imagination. In her designs there is always a connection with the existing ado product range.
Stacking cubes
Buch deemed Verzuu’s cubes to be too limiting; you could only stack them. So Buch came up with an oblong version with two open sides, lacquered in yellow, blue and red. Now, the possibilities are endless!
Wood, not plastic
In the 1950s, ado made a wooden cart with a plastic horse made by the West German firm Steha. Buch disliked the realistic animal and created her own stylized wooden variant.
The designs by Buch and Van Gelder had a relatively short production period as the sanatorium approached its closure. This period coincided with the decline in popularity of wooden toys, as metal die-cast cars gained popularity and inexpensive plastic toys emerged. The commissions to Van Gelder and Buch seem to represent a final, albeit futile, effort to revive ado’s prominence in the changing toy landscape.