The special edition ‘Ramses Shaffy - Didi; Het Ramses Shaffy archief’ (Ramses Shaffy - Didi; The Ramses Shaffy archive) is an 'inverted shoebox', but in the most positive sense! Exclusive archive material from and about Ramses Shaffy has been collected from various sources to bring Ramses to life. The book 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 freebooter, someone who stood on the fringes of society and knew a lot of tragedy. This publication highlights all sides of Ramses Shaffy, the man who was – and is – loved by the whole of the Netherlands.

'Ramses Shaffy -Didi’ offers a special look into the world of Ramses Shaffy (1933-2009), Holland's most legendary chansonnier, composer, songwriter and actor, who has left us classics such as 'Sammy', ‘We zullen doorgaan’, ‘Laat me’, ‘Zing, vecht, huil, bid, lach, werk en bewonder’ en ‘Shaffy cantate’. The gold cover and gold on the edges are a reference to the beautiful 'Pastorale'; a song that Ramses sang together with Liesbeth List and in which he represented the sun, dressed in gold.

In cooperation with Stichting Ramses Shaffy, Allard Pierson and Ramses' friends and family, we have obtained exclusive access to Ramses Shaffy's archive. Anyone wanting to discover Ramses Shaffy can spend hours browsing through the thousands of images displayed in this special edition. Handwritten letters, song lyrics, drawings, record sleeves, his collection, household effects and so on. An example of one of the peculiar discoveries was a large envelope on which was written: ‘Rechthouden volle asbak’ (Keep straight full ashtray). While clearing out his house, the ashtray including its contents was shoved into the envelope and stored in the archive.