In 1985 Jan Bons was asked to design the Vrijheidszegels, a series of stamps to commemorate the liberation. He responded quickly and proposed 3 concepts. One of them featured a fingerprint torn in two to symbolize the resistance on the one hand and even more specifically the destruction of human life on the other. Unfortunately the Dutch Post (PTT) was afraid it would evoke unwished associations. In short, this design was ‘too sensitive’. Bons returned the commission and printed the stamps himself including an essay on this process by William Rothuizen: The Freedom of the Designer.
