Print Passages: Colonial Book Culture in the Dutch East Indies

Just published!

Lisa Kuitert

Print Passages researches the history of the coming of the printed book in Indonesia and the consequences this new technology brought with it. Never before has the book culture in Indonesia been studied this thoroughly. Although printed material has become intertwined with everyday life in the 21st century, book culture has not always been as self-evident. During the occupation by the Netherlands, the printing press was introduced in Indonesia (Dutch East Indies), after which the cultural and intellectual life around books and other printed matter could flourish, especially after 1816. Although printed matter was used to colonise and control the land, it also gave the resistance a voice and the possibility to spread that voice and its message. 

Through an exploration of selected themes, Kuitert answers practical questions such as how Dutch language researchers and printers found their way to and in Indonesia, but also dives into the parallel printing culture that was entirely run by Indonesians, often with a Chinese background.  Based on research that often included obscure documents, secret notes, and reports, Kuitert brings the history of the book to life in a way that almost reads like an adventure novel. The book is beautifully illustrated.

“This book opens a new horizon in the history of print culture in the Dutch East Indies. Drawing on her deep expertise in Dutch and European book history, Lisa Kuitert bridges European and indigenous publishing worlds, showing how colonial print culture emerged through dynamic interactions between European printing traditions and local linguistic and social contexts.” – Mikihiro Moriyama, Nanzan University

“Lisa Kuitert draws on her skills as a book historian to immerse the reader in the print culture of nineteenth-century Batavia. She carefully illuminates the problems of print production in a colonial, multi-lingual and multi-script setting, from paper procurement to censorship regulations and ubiquitous Chinese printers. Thanks to Kuitert, book history in south-east Asia finally receives the scholarly attention it deserves.” – Martyn Lyons, University of New South Wales

Lisa Kuitert is Professor of Book Studies at the University of Amsterdam and specialized in nineteenth- and twentieth-century printing and publishing.

Publication Year: 2026
334 pp, 229 x 152mm
72 b/w illustrations
Paperback
ISBN: 978-981-325-295-0