The Ramses Shaffy Archive

Ramses Shaffy is an icon of Dutch pop music. The legendary chansonnier, composer, songwriter and actor, of Egyptian and Polish/Russian descent, bestowed on our country such classics as "Sammy," "We Shall Continue," "Let Me," "Sing, Fight, Cry, Pray, Laugh, Work and Admire. As fascinating as his music was, his life offstage was at least as fascinating. 

Fifteen years after his death will soon be released; "The Ramses Shaffy Archive," a collector's item for fans of the folk singer. The XXL coffee table book contains exclusive archival material by and about Ramses Shaffy. The book including USB stick with 20 minutes of previously unpublished sound recordings is 100% Ramses: a cacophony of images, music and stories, as chaotic as his life. He had bravado, joie de vivre, was handsome and charismatic, but he was also a free spirit, someone who stood on the seamy side of society and knew much tragedy. This publication illuminates all sides of Ramses Shaffy, the man who was - and is - loved by all of the Netherlands.

'The Ramses Shaffy Archive' offers a special glimpse into the world of Ramses Shaffy (1933-2009). Anyone who wants to find out who Ramses Shaffy was can spend hours browsing through the thousands of images collected in this collector's edition. Handwritten letters, song lyrics, drawings, record sleeves, his collection, household goods and so on. An example of one of the curious discoveries, was a large envelope on which was written, "Straight full ashtray. While cleaning out his house, the ashtray including its contents was shoved into the envelope and stored in the archives.

Measuring 32 x 46 cm in size and 10 cm thick, this coffee table book, published by Komma Publishers and the Allard Pierson Museum, is a true collector's item. On the cover of the luxury box, a lenticular print shows the young Ramses as well as Ramses in the autumn of his life. The golden cover and the gold on cut are a reference to the beautiful 'Pastorale'; a song Ramses sang together with Liesbeth List, in which he represented the sun shrouded in gold.

Specifications
Title: The Ramses Shaffy Archive
Publisher: comma
Size: 320 x 460 x 10 mm
Size: 608 pages
Language: Dutch
Material: Hardcover
ISBN: 9789083367316
Print run: Limited edition of 500 copies
Release: November 1, 2024