Shoe's Black Book

(2025)

Shoe's Black Book − Graffiti in the 1980s by Niels Shoe Meulman offers a window into an artist’s formative years. Before the galleries, the recognition, his development as a typographer and founding the Calligraffiti art movement, there was this: a worn and relentless black book filled with tags, pieces and outlines. Between 1985 and 1987, Niels Shoe Meulman (Amsterdam, 1967) documented his growth from wide-eyed newcomer to an artist who has fully developed his own style.

More than just a sketchbook, this black book is a testament to when Shoe tagged along with New York artists like Rammellzee, Dondi White and Keith Haring. It’s a record of learning: part diary, part playground, part testing ground. Here is a facsimile of a book that was stolen and mysteriously returned. But it’s also adorned: Shoe's additional notes and sharp recollections bring the era into focus. Each page captures graffiti knowledge, passed down mouth-to-mouth and hand-to-hand. Shoe's Black Book is both document and artefact: immediate, unpolished, authentic. While other books record a culture, this one helped build it.

Regular edition (€55) with 8-page gatefold paperback cover.

Special edition (€299) with hardcover and dust jacket that includes an original art work by Shoe on the inside. Limited to 200 copies, numbered on the back of the hardcover. Early-bird pre-order of the special edition was exclusive available at the Unlock Book Fair 2025 in Chemnitz. ISBN of the special edition: 9789083349367.

Book launch was on Saturday 6 December at the Amsterdam City Archives with a viewing of the original book, book presentation and drinks.

Authors: Niels Shoe Meulman, Carlo McCormick
Publisher: Ruyzdael Publishing
Printer: Graphius
Published: 6 December 2025
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Size: 24 x 33 cm
Pages: 232
ISBN: 9789083349343
Retail price: €55
Instagram: @nielsshoemeulman
Website: https://ruyzdael-publishing.com/

Amsterdam Shoe Black book Blackbook