Ko Verzuu
The design of ado toys
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 (1901 – 1971)
Ko Verzuu, as the leader of the ado workshop, was responsible for the design. 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.
Modern furniture
Verzuu was the man to arrange a complete suite of furniture for the doll house. He designed an entire series of pieces, including chairs, tables and cabinets. His modern designs were sold at the progressive department store Metz & Co. alongside the designs of De Stijl men Gerrit Rietveld and Bart van der Leck. It is therefore not surprising that Verzuu’s furniture has often been compared with designs from the De Stijl movement. While there are clear similarities, Verzuu had his own preferences in form and colour, focusing primarily on the development and play of the child.
Corner chair No. 599
Planes and lines
Verzuu’s chairs are often a play of planes and lines, accentuated by colouring the ends in a contrasting tone. This, together with the asymmetry of this chair, evokes a comparison with the chairs and cabinets of De Stijl designer Gerrit Rietveld.
Armchair No. 596
Colours
Verzuu liked to apply the primary colours yellow, red and blue, just like the De Stijl-artists. Sometimes he applied them to furniture that was distant from De Stijl in terms of form. Verzuu was also fond of using orange, green and purple. The colours had to be bright, to stimulate the senses of the child.
Sideboard No. 577
Volumes and blocks
Verzuu believed toys should remain simple. Instead of intricate mesh handles for the doors, he used simple wooden blocks. This, and the use of straight lines and cubist shapes, is also characteristic of furniture by the designers of Dutch Art Deco.
Speedy vehicles
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 (1902 – 1984)
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 (1936)
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.