Dairy plant 'De Volharding' in Hem

Company envelope sent from Hem on the 6th of November 1949 

The small village of Hem in the southern part of West Frisia established its own dairy plant in the early 1900s to streamline the condition of making cheese and other dairy products in the Zuiderkogge Polder. Farmers who supplied the plant with milk had each their share in the products and profit. The 'Coöp'. abbreviation stands for 'cooperation'. 

Dairy plant 'De Volharding' in Hem after it operations  in the 1960s. 

Volharding can be translated as 'perseverance'. The postwar building and especially its chimney still dominate the skyline of Hem in 2019. 

Juliana 'En Face' tied by a Hem (Noord-Holl.) 'Long Beam' postmark reading 6.XI.49.6.

Hem and surrounding villages and countryside in the 1950s. The red arrow points to the location of the dairy plant.  

1952 Child Welfare Fund

Order Postcard (bestelkaart) franked with a 1952 Child Welfare Fund 2c + 3c tied by a so-called 'Short Beam' Hoogkarspel cds 13-IV-5n 1953. Posted at 5pm on the 13th of April that year.

Verso of the order card

The 1952 Child Welfare Fund stamps were designed by Ms Janzen-Dalenoord. She produced 5 different designs for 5 different values. 

1864 issue tied by Hoog-carspel straight-line mark on cover - a stunning discovery!

Folded letter from Hoogkarspel to Tourcoing (France) 28-12-1866 franked by two Willem III 5c stamps (1864 issue) both tied by a HOOG-CARSPEL straight-line mark. The letter was sent to France but the sender/postal clerk put insufficient stamps on the item for a letter of this weight (up to 7½ grams). I suspect a sample of seed was included but not charged... If the sample would have been charged a letter up to 7½ grams to France in 1866 meant that 30c should have been put on the letter. The French Post taxed 12 decimes (120 centimes) which the recipient had to pay (60 Dutch cents (2x the original 30c rate)). The exchange rate Franc-Guilder was about 1:½ in 1866. The French post had already been warned by two Dutch ONTOEREIKEND (insufficient) marks in both black and red. Another mistake was certainly made by the postal clerk at Hoogkarspel, since the stamps shouldn't been cancelled by the HOOG-CARSPEL straight-line mark at all as the letter was sent to a destination located outside the rayon of Hoorn (franked letters sent within the Hoorn district were allowed to be cancelled by local straight-line marks). In Hoorn they corrected the mistake by placing two Boxed Franco cancellations over the stamps. Bureaucracy at its finest. A proper gem. 

Yesterday I came across this item by chance. By the kind permission of its owner I'm allowed to use several scans of it to demonstrate a rare - maybe even unique - item in West-Frisian philately.

Years of searching finally came to an end yesterday, when this letter surfaced. Since I live in Hoogkarspel, finding an item cancelled by one of Hoogkarspel's straight-line markers (either Hoog-carspel or Hoogcarspel) topped my search lists on Ebay and Delcampe for years. But due to the small and largely illiterate population of Hoogkarspel in the 3rd quarter of the 19th century (a dozen persons?) I had already given up hope of ever finding such an item. And now this letter crossed my path by pure chance! And what a gem it is.

Reverse with transit postmark Lille 29 DEC 66 and faint arrival mark Tourcoing 30 DEC 66  

Hoogkarspel was upgraded to a sub-post office in 1866 and the Hoog-carspel postmark had been delivered on the 28th of June that year - just 6 months prior to the date on which the cover was sent. Maybe this novelty in the village caused the postal clerk to accidentally cancel the stamps... How many franked letters would have been sent with a destination outside the rayon of Hoorn since the introduction of the Hoog-carspel postmark only a couple of months earlier. A dozen again? We don't know, but it's properly rare.

1864 issue (Utrecht printing) with HOOG-CARSPEL straight-line cancel. 

Apart from very early use of this straight-line postmark, the stamps on the cover also gave me a little shock. The 1864 issue were to be replaced by a totally new design the next year. The stock of the blue 1864 5c stamps would have dried up soon - even in a small village like Hoogkarspel - after they stopped printing them. So the combination of the Hoog-carspel mark on this issue and this stamp in particular could have only been possible for a few months to one year at most... Extraordinary that this entire survived! I just cannot imagine there would have been sent over a 100 franked letters from Hoogkarspel in 1866-1867 cancelled by the Hoog-carspel mark. Moreover, they all should have been addressed to people/businesses within the Hoorn district, if not the mark should have been placed on the letter instead. So this mistake or happy accident was probably already unique in 1866. I repeat: extraordinary that this item survived all these 153 years largely unscratched. Extraordinary it turned up.

From mayor of Hoogkarspel to representative in The Hague

Letter written by Klaas Harshoorn de Jong. Transcription:

                                                                                                                    Hoog carspel, ce 28 Dec. 1866

                               Monsieur J Toulemonde

                                        à Tourcoing

                               Après un absence de quelques semaines, j'ai trouvé votre honoré [?] des 19 de l'écoulé.

                               Selon votre desire je vous envoie un Prix courant des graines de notre pays. Moi je fais le commerce de                                                                             Carvis et Moutarde brun tandisque c'est un des mes cousins qui cultive  tous les autres graines. 
                               Je serai bien heureux si vous pouviez me donner des ordres.

                                     En attendant le plaisir de vous lire Agnecy [?] Monsieur mes salutations sincères.

                                                                                                                   K. H. de Jong

Klaas Harshoorn de Jong (1815-1866) was born in the so-called Medemblikker Tolhuis on the 14th of December 1815. This toll house had been constructed in 1729 on the new junction of the old paved road between Hoorn and Enkhuizen (Streekweg) and the newly built Tolweg to Medemblik. Napoleon travelled to Medemblik over this road 4 years prior to De Jong's birth. His father Melchert farmed several pastures in Hoogkarspel and was innkeeper of the toll house. After having finished school Klaas de Jong became wholesaler and merchant in cheese, wine and liquor in Hoorn which he combined with his occupation as farmer and agriculturalist in Hoogkarspel. Besides this already busy lifestyle for a person in the early 1800s he trained himself to become a teacher. A remarkable person!

Contemporary map of Hoogkarspel and surroundings which dates from ca. 1864. In the red balloon you could just read Medemblikker Tol. The red arrow points to the location of the Medemblik Toll House and the blue arrow to the Church and Ons Huis of Hoogkarspel.



Location of Hoogkarspel in West Frisia in 1866 

Klaas also aspired a political career in later life which culminated in his function as representative of the Hoorn District between 1871 and 1884 and again between 1884 until his death in 1886. Before this he had been local council member of the Hoogkarspel municipality and he even served as mayor of Hoogkarspel between 1859 until his death. Apparently he had established himself as a popular political figure in the 3rd quarter of the 19th century and in the light of his various additional functions (Poldermeester, i.e. chair of a the Grootslag polder water board; church warden of the Dutch reformed church of Hoogkarspel; agricultural consultant to the Dutch Lower House etc. etc.) on may conclude Klaas Harshoorn de Jong certainly thrived as public man.

Klaas Harshoorn de Jong and (I suppose) his second wife Ietske Rodenburg with his children (f.l.t.r. Aaltje, Grietje and Melchert de Jong). Klaas' first wife Elisabeth Pool died after Grietje was born in 1848. I assume the little girl holding Ietske's hand is a child of a previous marriage of her... The painting dates from 1855 and was allegedly painted by H. Vorderman. All rights reserved Het Westfries Museum Hoorn.      

  
On the painting above you can see the old reformed church of Hoogkarspel through the window. Klaas convinced the church board of replacing this medieval church by a new one in 1860. Above his sons head you could see a fictional (?) painting of 'Ons Huis' (Our House). Klaas thrived as business man as well and his earning allowed him to construct this large and modern mayor's residence/wine storage right beside the old church. After Klaas died in 1886 (he survived all his 3 wives) his house was subsequently owned by Klaas Koster, his son-in-law who was a merchant in wine too. He sold the building in 1903 to 't Nut (Society for Public Welfare) for fl. 5000,- The specific purpose of t' Nut in Hoogkarspel was to educate the villagers in things culturally and several rooms were used to exhibit photo's, moving images etc. Alas, Ons Huis was demolished in 1970, along with several other buildings in the center of the village to make room for a modern shopping mall, church and town hall. 

Sadly Klaas de Jong would not have been able to recognize his Hoogkarspel if he would be alive today. Not only his own house is no more: his newly constructed church was demolished in 1966 - it's said the foundations were in such a bad shape the building was beyond repair. His birthplace managed to survive until 1973 when fire ruined this historical building. Although in 1881 Medemblik had stopped levying the tolls over the Tolweg, the Toll House remained a place of community and an inn to its last days when it accommodated as snack bar. Only a few buildings which were built prior to De Jong's death in 1886 survive - most remarkable is the so-called Zonnehuis which he had commissioned in 1860 - but most of them have been replaced by modern structures, all inferior to their predecessors... Below I've attached a few photo's of the Toll House, De Jong's church and his house when they were still intact and palatable to observe. 

Medemblikker Tolhuis (Toll House and inn) looking eastwards  around 1900-1910 - birthplace of mayor and representative Klaas Harshoorn de Jong

Another image of the Medemblikker Tolhuis now looking westwards again between 1900-1910. The chariot right seems to have come from Medemblik over the Tolweg and is about to turn on the paved road between Hoorn and Enkhuizen. Also notice the way how the Toll House inn is described on the card: as an Hotel and Café Restaurant - brilliant. 

Reformed Church of Hoogkarspel which replaced the older medieval church on Klaas de Jong's initiative of 1860. This Gothic Revival place of worship barely survived its centenary - it was demolished in 1966. The tree in the front - a variegated Norway maple - still exists and is probably the oldest tree of Hoogkarspel by now.   

Ons Huis (lit. Our House) where Klaas de Jong lived and had his office as merchant in wine and cheese. The name Ons Huis is coined after 1903 when the building was purchased by 't Nut (Society for Public Welfare). It was demolished in 1970.

Another photograph of Ons Huis looking to the east which almost resembles the 'painting in the painting' of Klaas de Jong's family from 1855.  

Both the very interesting philatelic and historical value of this letter from 1866 make it a true document of note for Hoogkarspel. 

With special credits to a friendly collector and the Westfries Museum for making this blog understandable and attractive. 

Curaçao Postal Stationery used in Medemblik?

Postal Stationery Envelope G.31 sent to Voorburg which was cancelled by the Medemblik 3 so-called 'Short Beam' postmark type on the 28th of November 1951 at 7 PM.  

This item lingered in my mind after I first saw it on Delcampe awhile ago. Not an extremely attractive entire I thought back then: a bit smudgy and bleak in a certain way. I scrolled on. For some reason I bumped into the cover again and fortunately I then did some actual research on the stationery envelope type. In the unsurpassed Geuzendam catalog for Dutch postal stationery, I found that the original envelop (without overprint) was purposed to be used on Curaçao from 1940 onwards, but for some reason the cover is only known to have been in circulation there between 1946 and 1956.

Postal Stationery Envelope G.31, recognizable because of the 'Nederland 10 cent' overprint in red.

Out of the 222.400 (!) envelopes which were printed, 122.400 received the 'Nederland 10 cent' overprint in 1950. Confusingly enough, another number in the same catalogue states that the were only 92.803 envelopes which were overprinted. Let's - for the sake of clarity- just take the fictional but not incorrect number of 100.000 as the golden mean. Postal stationery has always suffered from unfair competition with stamps on cover, so I think it's fair to say about 1% or even less of this number of envelopes survives. 100.000/100 gives 1000. So in practice that means that less than 1000 of these envelopes might have made it into 2019: most of them even likely in unused state. That simple calculation made me realize how rare this stationery type of envelope actually is. A G.31 cancelled by a Medemblik short beam postmark is probably unique. And Geuzendam rates this envelop used at a mere € 2,- !

The 1936 stamp (NVPH 126) which is similar in design to the envelope. 

The weather on the 28th of November 1951 was stormy (5/6 bft) with severe gusts of wind along the coast (bft > 10). According to an article in the Dutch Leidse Courant of 29-11-1951, the storm reached its apogee during the evening - precisely the moment our stationery envelope was sent to Voorburg, a town near The Hague and therefore close to the coast. The severity of the storm and its sudden character caused the British S.S. Teeswood to break in twain after having grounded a sandbank near the island of Rottum.  

The route which the crow might have flown between Medemblik (north) and Voorburg (south) if  the weather would have been calm on the 28th of November.   

Frisian Knighthood

Cover sent from Leeuwarden and addressed to a member of the Frisian Knighthood in The Hague bearing the first Dutch date cancel type (type I) reading LEEUWARDEN 14 MEI.

This printed cover sheet could have contained quite some heavy papers since the rate was 30 cents. Alas, the contents have been removed from their cover at some point in history, and therefore we cannot really deduce what the Frisian Knighthood shared with the addressee. Robert van Breugel esq. received the letter in the latter half of the 1820s or early 1830s, as the first recorded use of this Leeuwarden postmark dates from 1829. Moreover, because Robert van Breugel is still being addressed as Jonkhr. (Jonkheer) here, the letter cannot be younger than the 1st of June 1833 when his title was upgraded to 'baron'.

Robert van Breugel Douglas in his function as corporal
of the Frisian Volunteer Force of 1815

Robert van Breugel Douglas as member of the Dutch Council of State, engraving made by J.H. Hoffmeister (1823-1904)

Robert van Breugel Douglas (1791-1873) as his full name goes was a member of the Dutch Council of State between 1842 and 1862. This body advises the Dutch government and States General on numerous topics and consists out of members of the Dutch royal family and crown-appointed members. So Baron van Breugel Douglas was a very eminent figure indeed. His mother was a member of the Scottish gentry and his father was granted the title of 'baron' in 1826. In 1821 he married jonkvrouwe Louisa Albertina Glinstra van Sminia (1799-1837). I think we should place this letter in her context as she is the only Frisian connection to Robert van Breugel.

Van Breugel studied Roman and Contemporary Law in Leiden and became lawyer in The Hague in the early 1810s. In this politically unstable times he probably met dame Glinstra van Sminia and subsequently he joined the Frisian Knighthood in 1811 (he even became the Chairman of the organisation at some point). Since Van Breugel was very interested in Dutch gentry, especially due to his own ancestry, he advocated in 1867 that the Dutch nobility wasn't abolished in 1795, but that it had rather ceased to exist. Only in 1956 professor W.F. Prins proved him wrong... Moreover, Van Breugel addressed the issue that British nobility couldn't be incorporated in the Dutch nobility under Dutch law of 1867. A major flaw in reasoning, he argued, because foreign nobility could be incorporated in British nobility. 

Wax seal of the Frisian Knighthood on the back of the cover

When the timing is wrong - postcards to E.W. Rose 1931

In this blog entry I will try to understand why the five picture postcards below were initially unsuccessful in reaching their proposed addressee: E.W. Rose. A philatelist approached me during our last auction because he had read somewhere that I fancied postal items with a story attached to them. Well, this blog is quite a testimony to this gentleman's statement, so I replied that I indeed write about interesting postal items from time to time. To my great surprise he handed me over the five postcards below, placing his confidence in me that I would deduce an interesting story from them. His initial feeling was right, since these five interlinking postcards presents us indeed with a telling view on how correspondence could still literally miss the boat as late as in 1931.

MS Johan van Oldenbarnevelt, the cruise ship which fared regularly between the Netherlands and the Dutch Indies in the 1930s and became a Dutch troop ship after WWII 

Saddles and Sugar      

A certain E.W. Rose had a saddlery on the Nieuwendijk in Amsterdam between 1903 and 1915 according to the archive of Amsterdam. I do not know if this E.W. Rose is the same Rose as our addressee, but my gut feeling says that our Rose would be his son. In the Dutch Indies newspaper De Indische Courant d.d. 30-12-1926 we read that E.W. Rose has departed a sugar factory called 'Wonolangan' (northeastern coast of Java) where he worked as first engineer. I cannot find anything about him or his family until 1931 where he appears in De Indische Courant again since he is listed amongst the boarding passengers for the Johan van Oldenbarnevelt which would return from the Dutch Indies to the Netherlands on the 14th of October. His son and daughter ('Dear papa') sent him various postcards which I guess where meant to entertain him whilst he was on route back to the Netherlands.

I've posted scans of them below as the Johan van Oldenbarnevelt would have travelled from the Netherlands to the Dutch Indies (in reverse order) instead however, since the postcard with destination Colombo would have arrived sooner than the one to Batavia obviously. Miep and Fik (?) sent their 5 cards to Colombo, Sabang, Singapore, Belawan and Batavia. 

       

Picture postcard sent from Amsterdam 09-09-1931 to Colombo 

Since all their postcards were sent on the same day (9 September 1931) one would expect the would all arrive at their proposed destinations on time. And I think in all cases there arrived way ahead on schedule (Sabang: 27-9-1931, Belawan: 28-9-1931 etc.). I even think E.W. Rose did actually board the MS Johan van Oldebarnevelt on the 14th of October since the postcard addressed to Singapore and Belawan seems to have been delivered without any problems although the pinkish cachet "on board Joh. van Oldenbarnevelt undeliverable" seems to suggest otherwise at first. But at a closer look we see that this cachet was crossed out with pencil. This might indicate he was on board the ship contrary to all the markings on several postcards.

Crossed out cachet reading "Aan boord 'Joh v. Oldenbarnevelt' ONBESTELBAAR" (on board Joh. van Oldenbarnevelt undeliverable) on postcard with destination Belawan. 

Picture postcard from Amsterdam 09-09-1931 to Sabang (27-09-1931) 

Several postcards, if not all of them, seem to have been addressed a bit carelessly since they were  sent without a clear indication if the addressee was heading for Batavia or Amsterdam (outbound or homebound). The Johan van Oldenbarnevelt departed Amsterdam on the 2nd of September 1931 so caused confusion, i.e. to the postal authorities on resp. Ceylon and in Sabang it was not clear what to do with the postcards.  A Colombo postal agent readdressed the card to c/o Stoomvaart Maatschappij Nederland in Singapore and indeed it was finally handed over to the S.M.N. Passage on the 12th of October: it functioned i.a. as the dead letter office for post addressed to passengers on the Netherlands-Dutch Indies steamboat lines. The Sabang postcard was readdressed to Batavia since E.W. Rose was not on board of the Van Oldenbarnevelt destined for Batavia. They probably thought E.W. Rose was on the boat to Batavia whereas he was only to leave the Dutch Indies on the 14th of October. In the end the markings in red on the Sabang postcard (return to sender, not on board) where crossed out because they noticed the hastily added instruction (van Batavia 14 October) whereupon they forwarded the card to Batavia.

Picture postcard from Amsterdam 09-09-1931 to Singapore

There was less confusion in Singapore and Belawan as the postcards weren't forwarded but just patiently had to wait until the homebound journey of the Van Oldenbarnevelt would pay his visit to these ports.

Picture Postcard from Amsterdam 09-09-1931 to Belawan (28-09-1931)

The postcard addressed to Batavia caused some confusion as well, since the sender wrote down "8 October" which might indicate E.W. Rose was a passenger on the outbound journey from Amsterdam. For some reason the postcard was readdressed to Soerabaja then, the main city on eastern Java. It travelled 400 miles in one day, so it was probably carried by train. Why did the postal authorities in Batavia decide to forward the postcard to Soerabaja? Somebody wrote Soerabaja below Batavia: did the children of E.W. Rose did this? The handwriting doesn't seem to match... Maybe the Van Oldenbarnevelt would have payed a visit to this major port as well before departing Batavia on the 14th? Or did E.W. Rose stayed in Soerabaja during his time in the Dutch Indies? As always we cannot find all answers on our questions.  

Picture Postcard from Amsterdam 09-09-1931 to Batavia (06-10-1931)

The SM Johan van Oldenbarnevelt in the harbour of Tandjoengpriok (harbour of Batavia) at some point in the 1930s. The white building was the main office of the Stoomvaart Maatschappij Nederland (S.M.N.), the Dutch Steamboat Company. 

Leeuwarden - Sint Annaparochie 1844

Folded letter sent from Leeuwarden to Sint Annaparochie on the 10th of September 1844 bearing the first Dutch date cancel type (type II) reading LEEUWARDEN 10 SEPT.. 

In the Netherlands the first 3 postage stamps were introduced on the 1st of January 1852, prior to that date the sender or addressee of letters, documents and printed matter etc. had to pay the due amount of the services provided to the courier or postman. In 1829 the Dutch postal service had introduced the first Dutch postmarks which denoted the exact date. These so-called date marks (I rather do not prefer to label them as cancels since such a 'cancel' would require a stamp to be devalued) were circular, bore the name of the city and indicated the day and month. A rosette or small cross can be found beneath the month. In our Leeuwarden postmark the rosette seems a bit blurred, which is a shame since the rosette makes this kind of marks aesthetically pleasing. Despite this minor deficit I decided to show you this entire nevertheless since it was posted exactly 150 years before my birth!  

This particular folded letter was sent from Leeuwarden on the 10th of September 1844 and according to the unrivalled reference work Postmerken & Postinrichtingen the Leeuwarden date mark belongs to subtype II of the 1829 type. Subtype I (used between 1829-1836) had the day and month indicators placed somewhat higher and more central in the actual postmark. Our example though clearly shows that the day and month are placed in the lower half of the mark.

Leeuwarden to Sint Annaparochie in red

The distance between the city of Leeuwarden  (23,400 souls in 1840) and the farmer's village of Sint Annaparochie is a mere 12 km as the crow flies, but for some reason it took the post 2 to 3 days to reach St. Annaparochie in 1844. The weather couldn't have delayed the Frisian letter-carrying flat bottoms boats, which were responsible for most of the traffic in Frisia back then, but I can imagine the post office in Leeuwarden had some difficulties in finding a 'pieton' (messenger) for taking the letter to Sint Annaparochie. There  was no distribution office in the village (i.e. a small, local sub post office with a distributor arranging incoming and outgoing mail), so a private messenger had to be found. A messenger earned 2 stuivers by delivering a similar letter sent from Leeuwarden to Sint Annaparochie in 1832. The weather should not have been an issue: it hadn't rained for a while and the wind was calm albeit a tat unsettled on the 10th of September.

'Received 13 September 1844' as stated on one of the folds of the letter

The letter is addressed to the council of the 'Grietenij' Het Bildt. On the map below it's obvious St. Annaparochie is situated in the heart of the Bildt. 'Grietenij' is the Frisian equivalent for the Dutch 'Gemeente': a municipality. I haven't found any marks on the letter which reveal something about a possible rate between the two places. I therefore suspect this particular entire was free of any postage, since the addressee seems to have been the director of the post office in Leeuwarden: a certain Mr De Graaff. Could the cross on the front indicate this special service? 

Indication distance between Leeuwarden and Sint Annaparochie on contemporary map

The postal service strongly advised their employees to use a reddish colour to impress the mark on letters etc. I guess that this colour resulted in the starkest contrast possible on beige paper, or was it just a cheaper option to use red ink instead of black? In 1844 a similar albeit smaller circular postmark replaced our type. They can easily be distinguished since the smaller type has the month placed above the day, whether the 1829 marks have the day placed above the month.

LEEUWARDEN 10 SEPT.

I hope to continue this story in the near future since many Dutch pre-philately items come in the shape of folded letters, i.e. their contents are preserved...:

    

The contents seem to involve the costs for 8 lots for an exhibition to be held somewhere in Frisia, most probably in Leeuwarden. De Graaff writes: "On behalf of his excellency Mr Straatzand, Gouvernor of the Province of Frisia, I have the honour to present to you, my lord, 8 lots on request in favour of those participants named below, for which you, my lord, will send me the sum of fl. 24,- by post to my address after their collection." Then follows a list of 8 names and lot numbers. The only clue that the purpose of these lots was for an exhibition to be held, hides in the subscript the addressee wrote down on the 13th of September. He signs the letter with his function: Secretary of the Commission of the Exhibition. At the moment I'm still searching for information about the kind of exhibition this would have been.      

A helpful and learned preacher - Dekema State 1880

Postcard tied by a Medemblik 'Two-letter' cancel reading 3 JAN 1880 (12M-4A). This means the card was sent between 12 and 4 p.m. 'M' stand for Morgen (morning) and 'A' for Avond (evening). The card travelled probably by boat and a transit mark in Leeuwarden was applied as well as a postman mark (A). I cannot imagine postmen in the small village of Jelsum had their own marks, so I think a Leeuwardian postman was responsible for carrying this mail to Jelsum (3,5 km north of Leeuwarden). 

In May of this year I made my annual journey to Gouda to look for some interesting items on the stamp fair there. Many (foreign) stamp dealers, philatelic organisations etc. all assembled in two spacious sport halls. A large stamp exhibition 'Gouda 2019' was also organised as well as a regional meeting of the Royal Philatelic Society London and various lectures about philatelic aspects. Recently one of the organizers told me the 'Brievenbeurs' as we call it will move to Veenendaal next year due to increasing parking problems around the hall in Gouda. They rebranded the fair as well - I presume to lure more visitors? - since they advertise with the name 'Winter Stamps' now. Maybe the Brievenbeurs with its emphasis on brieven (lit. 'letters' or covers) put off stamp collectors only interested in MNH? I hope the new location in Veenendaal will attract even more visitors: I will report my experiences back to you next year. Fortunately my journey to Gouda paid off. I acquired several interesting items and one of them features in this blog.

This rather unattractive postcard was sent from Medemblik to the small village of Jelsum in Frisia on the 31st of January 1880. Since my initial focus during my stay in Gouda was to seek for items within my specialist field (West Frisia, region of Holland), I first didn't look for the postmarks of the city of Medemblik. I already had identical (and better quality) postmarks of Medemblik of the type on postcard. Nevertheless, after having combed out every dealer's box for smaller places and towns like Hoogkarspel, Venhuizen and Westwoud and I thought fortune was not on my side this time in Gouda, so I finally turned my attention to the larger cities (Hoorn, Enkhuizen, Medemblik). Maybe something interesting would turn up. Happily I made the right decision.

Message for Mr Van Wageningen regarding his family tree by genealogist P. Leendertz.

The postcard should not be seen in a truly philatelic context as the Medemblik postmark (Two-letter type) as stated above is not rare at all. The very faint (quite terrible really) Leeuwarden transit mark isn't of interest either. So, why did I end up buying this postcard then? The scribbled subscript under Jelsum on the address side made me do it: Dekema-State.

Dekema State in Jelsum - front with its charming bridge

I visited Dekema State in Jelsum about three times already and I was about to make a visit again two weeks after the Gouda stamp show. So I was very surprised, quite literally stupéfait when this postcard turned up: why wasn't it stored in the Dekema archives for instance? But first let me explain what Dekema State is before I zoom in on one of its 19th century inhabitants.

Dekema State

The small estate of Dekema State with its 6 hectares of adjacent grounds was built in late medieval times as a fortified moated manor house. Written sources from the 15th century speak of a house called 'Fetsa State' in Jelsum. State is Frisian for Stins (stone house) and obviously related to the English estate. In 1468 a certain Pieter Camstra became lord of the house and since then it became known as Camstra State. In 1492 the old mansion was demolished in a battle between factions calling themselves Schieringers and Vetkopers. I assume you could see this conflict as a sort of Dutch version of the Wars of the Roses but today only 1 out of 100 Dutch people have heard of this complex civil war. Truly a forgotten history. Regarding the ruined estate: a new house was erected almost immediately, sadly to be attacked again in the last year of the conflict in 1498. Luckily it survived. Several parts of this late 1490s building are incorporated in the current State. Pieter Camstra's only granddaughter and heir Reynsck van Camstra married Hette Dekema. The following centuries the Dekema's and their heirs took care of the building and lands. There name was to last, but the Dekema family disappeared from the gentry stage. In 1791 the family Van Wageningen inherited the place by marriage. Our postcard was addressed to the great-grandson of the first of the Van Wageningen clan: Gerardus van Wageningen (1764-1852). In 1814 he stripped the mansion from its former glory by demolishing its first floor. A considerable loss of the grandeur of the State, but in those poor economical times it was probably a forced decision. From then on the estate got its current looks. In 1996 the Van Wageningen family handed their mansion and lands over to the Dekema trust, which has renovated the building and took care of its wonderful garden ever since. Today you could visit the estate every weekend between April and October (every day except Monday between mid June and mid September).   

              

Dekema State - sideview with older part (red brick) and
newer 1814 part (yellowish brick).

Dekema State - across the field 

Frisian roots  

The postcard was addressed to Gerardus van Wageningen's grandson: Jan Hendrik Jetse van Wageningen (1860-1908). He was the son of Gerard van Wageningen (1828-1901) en Harmannia Maria Wichers. Jan Hendrik Jetse inherited the State from his great-uncle and son of Gerardus: Jacobus van Wageningen (1795-1870). So our addressee Jan Hendrik Jetse was only 10 years old when he de jure became the lord of Dekema State...strange times. Still, according to the New Dutch Biographical Dictionary Jan had literary ambitions. Whilst taking courses in law at the university of Groningen the Frisian writer P.J. Troelstra inspired him to take interest in the Frisian language and folklore. He wrote for the Frisian magazine For Hûs en Hiem (For Home and Hearth) and he ventured to unravel his complex genealogy. There's where our sender comes onto our stage. Jan Hendrik Hetse always wore Frisian costumes and - according to the dictionary - insisted to be known as a member of the Frisian gentry. A true Frisian landlord I suppose.

Jan Hendrik Hetse van Wageningen (1860-1908) by O. Schreuder

To complete his long family tree Jan Hendrik Hetse probably asked our sender about the husband of his great-aunt, daughter of Gerardus van Wageningen: Juliana Lucia van Wageningen. She married to a certain Jacobus Baart de la Faille. Because of his portrait in Dekema State and his exotic sounding name Jan Hendrik Jetse asked preacher Pieter Leendertz for help: back then the authority on Frisian names.    

A versatile preacher: Pieter Leendertz

Pieter Leendertz (1817-1880) interests weren't restricted to God's words, rather on the contrary as we will see. As a very gifted young man in the Netherlands though there were only limited possibilities to gain knowledge in the early to mid 1800s. He graduated on the topic of Seneca's death in 1834 from his school to the Academy (University) of Amsterdam. The following year he decided to become a preacher. In 1840 he moved a 'proponent' (preacher) from the Seminar in Amsterdam to Woudsend, Frisia. In 1855 he moved to Den Ilp (North-Holland) and in 1864 he moved again to Medemblik where he died on the 10th of September 1880. We can only guess why Pieter Leendertz chose to become so closely affiliated with the Dutch Reformed Church (essentially as a Theologian+), but I think a position a preacher/theologian gave him the opportunity to focus on his real passion: poetry. He was particularly influenced by the 18th century Dutch Poet Bellamy. His sermons weren't characterized by heavy dogmatism, but rather by enlightened ideas, ethics, hermeneutics etc. Leendertz really was the odd one out. He researched Dutch Renaissance (play) texts and advocated for a scientific approach of the Dutch language. His knowledge of the Frisian language helped him to understand the Dutch linguistic aspects better. After he left Woudsend for Den Ilp more and more dignified Dutchmen began to approach and like the self-made professor. They wrote him for numerous reasons: questions regarding faith, Dutch history, but especially matter about the Dutch language and its literary products. He produced a list of Frisian proper-names, old Frisian songbooks etc., but he also took care of a new publication of Dirc Potter's 15th century Der Minnen Loep. In February 1863 a heavy storm all but ruined Pieter Leendertz. Lightning set his church and rectory ablaze where he kept i.a. valuable manuscripts of P.C. Hooft, his whole library and his thousands of pages of annotations. He could save P.C. Hooft's manuscripts but all his other belongings turned into charcoal. His almost ready Scientific Grammar of the Dutch language was gone, musical manuscripts, medieval poems etc. lost for ever. However, with a truly Christian imperturbability he continued his never-ending strife for more knowledge. In his later years he wrote for the Dutch periodical De Navorscher in which readers could ask questions about history, genealogy and linguistic issues. He also successfully advocated to establish a Dutch organisation for the history of music. Pieter Leendertz was never shy to help readers or effectively any person if they had questions about history and genealogy. He has been characterized as an extremely benevolent responsive man.

No wonder why Jan Hendrik Hetse contacted him then in the last year of Leendertz's life. Even then, at age 63 (fairly old these days), he was still readily available to help you. They probably knew each other for their shared passions of Frisian folklore and genealogy, although Jan Hendrik Hetse hadn't even reached the age of 20 when writing him. Pieter Leendertz replied:

 

~

Weledelgb. heer! Mij wordt gemeld door de heer A. Van Sasse van IJselt dat R. de Nerée van Babberich de gevraagde genealogie [La Faille NW XXXX blz. 482] bezit. Als v.D. zich persoonlijk tot hem wendt om die te mogen inzien of af te schrijven , dan geloof ik niet dat zulks hem zal geweigerd worden!

Hoogachtend P. Leendertz

Medemblik

31 januari 1880

~

Transcription from Dutch:

~

My honorary lord! Me is being told by mr A. Van Sasse van IJselt that R. de Nerée van Babberich owns the genealogy you have asked for [La Faille NW XXXX p. 482]. If v.D. would ask him if he might see it or copy it, I cannot believe this would be refused to him!

Yours sincerely P. Leendertz

Medemblik

31 January 1880   

~     

Well, one questions remains: who is the mysterious 'v. D.' Leendertz speaks of? A middleman, a friend or just an ordinary copier? We will probably never know... 

The Church in Den Ilp which so fatefully burned down to the ground in 1863. This (only) drawing of the church dates from 1726, so quite possibly the church would have looked different in Leendertz's years. Source:

Doopsgezinde of Mennistenkerk in Den Ilp, 1726 1 topogr. tek.: pen in zwart, penseel in grijs. l.o.: A.S. r.o.: J.S. 114 x 182 mm, door: Stellingwerff, Jacobus (1667-1727), Schoemaker, Andries (1660-1735), Noord-Hollands Archief / 

Provinciale Atlas - Prenten en Tekeningen, NL-HlmNHA_359_001769_K

To a country overlooked - Montenegro 1913

Dutch parcel card attached to three packages sent to Cetinje in November 1913, then the capital of Montenegro. The parcel card is franked with 3 x 1g, 50c and 25c Wilhelmina Fur collar. This was the correct rate for 3 parcels weighing up to 5 kg. For a single parcel/package weighing  2-5 kg to Montenegro you would have to pay ƒ1.25g between 1904 and 1914. So 3x 1.25 makes the correctly applied postage of 3.75g.            

When Slavo Ramadanović brought the Montenegrin declaration of war to Austria-Hungary in the summer of 1914 he probably realized how reckless this move could be. As General Director of the department of foreign affairs of this small Balkan nation he was in charge of all things foreign, but in most cases his tasks were limited to do business with Montenegro's neighboring countries and his duties didn't have profound impact. A declaration of war surely did shake things up. Although Montenegro had been an independent nation since 1878, its location and modest population size (about 500,000 souls in 1913) made it nevertheless an easy target for large empires such as the Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman one. The long Ottoman domination and inhospitable mountains though nurtured stout-hearted folk which was very keen to remain independent. Slavo's declaration of war however put Montegro in a global conflict and grave danger. The outcome of this war (in favour of allied nations) would paradoxically made a messy end to the country's short lived independence.

Christian corner of the Ottoman Empire

For centuries Montenegro balanced on the fringes of the large Ottoman Empire. For centuries too a Prince-Bishop ruled over this Ottoman province, since the bishops of Cetinje defied Ottoman overall rule in the early 16th century and thus the first Metropolitan was elected in 1515. From then onwards this Prince-Bishop continued to rule roughly the shape of Montenegro, albeit paying taxes to the Ottoman sultan in order to remain semi-independent and  even more important - christian. Often they had to fight the Sultan's troops, but in most cases the mountains and the mountaineering spirit prevented the Ottomans to sweep the Montenegrins off the face of the earth.

Having said this, I should add that it took almost 400 years for other European nations to formally recognize Montenegro as an independent country. as late as the 19th century the ruling elite in western Europe payed any attention to the Prince-Bishopric, probably due to a languishing Ottoman empire as well to an interest in the so-called 'Balkan spirit'. The clans which defied the Islam for so long were welcomed by British and France romantics who uncovered a proto-European, christian (and at times Homeric) 'race' in these windswept mountains and alongside the rugged Adriatic coast.

So, on the 13th of July 1878 Montenegro finally was granted 'official' recognition from other nations. Prince Nikola ruled over the country since 1860 and continued to secularize the Montenegrin state-apparatus; a process started under the rule of his uncle Danilo who had abolished his title as bishop of Cetinje in 1852. Montenegrin rulers were bishops no more since that year. His nephew Nikola led the now independent nation (about the size of Wales) to a tranquil fin de siècle and grew in esteem amongst other European nobility and monarchy each year. He even payed a visit to the grande dame of Europe herself in 1898 - Queen Victoria. In 1903 there was a political crisis in neighboring Serbia: king Alexander and queen Draga were murdered. Prince Nikola was afraid that a new Serbian monarch would usurp his position as Montenegrin ruler. Luckily his fear remained unfounded. The new king of Serbia, Petar I, was a friend of the Montenegrin court since he had spent some years in exile in Cetinje. In 1905 Montenegro became a constitutional monarchy and to strengthen a democratically elected parliament now king Nikola organized the first proper elections in the country. This new system appeared to work fine, although it showed a few discrepancies at first.

The future of Montenegro seemed therefore bright if not prosperous at the dawn of the 20th century. A mere 20 years onwards this view was to be considered an utopian one.     

Slavo Ramadanović

Slavo Ramadanović

Meanwhile Slavo Ramadanović had maintained several positions in the prince- and kingdom since the early 1900s. According to my own modest digital research I found that he had been consul to the city of Shköder which is situated in what's now modern Albania. The 1st and 2nd Balkan War invigorated king Nikola's idea's of enlarging his realm's size. Already in 1876 he was free to conquer Montenegro's seaboard which was then still part of the Ottoman Empire. In 1913 he was keen to occupy northern Albania and add the rich city of Shköder to his country. With help of Serbia the Ottomans finally surrendered on April 21 1913.

King Nikola observed the surrender of Ottoman troops in April 1913

When the 2nd Balkan War was drawn to a close, king Nikola had to transfer the city again into Albanian hands. The Great Powers were rather keen to stabilize the region and prevent a possible longtime resentment between the new nation of Albania and Montenegro. And thus the Montenegrin occupation of Shköder was short-lived.

Ramadanović probably influenced the Shköder (or Scutari) debate and campaign by giving the king advice and information he gained in his years as consul there. He wrote a letter on the 23rd of April 1913 to the Great Powers concerning the occupation and Montenegro's position. He signed the letter with the title of Le Directeur General so I assume he worked at the department of foreign affairs then already. In another source he is called court marshal Ramadanović, which implies the ties between him and king Nikola were even stronger than I thought. I do not know whether he combined his position as court marshal and director general of foreign affairs or if he was promoted to the department of foreign affairs after having been court marshal to king Nikola. Unfortunately I haven't found any more details on mr Ramadanović yet... Information about him - at least online - seems to be very sparse and most available documents are in Montenegrin or Serbian. Languages I do not even dare to translate.

3x 1g Wilhelmina Fur collar stamps cancelled with the large round Amsterdam 2 postmark between 7-8 p.m. on the 27th of November 1913. Amsterdam 2 was the sub-post-office at Amstel 212. 

Dutch parcels for the Black Mountain Kingdom

Now we return to the postal history bit of this blog entry. The Dutch parcel card (or for English readers parcel post label) is franked with a lovely combination of 3 Wilhelmina fur collar 1 guilder stamps, alas all detached from each other, but nevertheless a rather handsome trio. To make up the postage of 3.75g the postal clerk added a 25 cent and a 50 cent stamp from the same series as well.

Wax seal of the Bataafsche Hypotheekbank Amsterdam

The parcel card was addressed to the wife of S. Ramadanović, but what the 3 parcels exactly contained remains a bit of a mystery. We only know that one of them was a packet (un paquet) and the other two were (small) boxes (deux boîtes). It took my some time to decipher the craquelé wax seal which could have helped me further trace the contents of the parcels. Unfortunately the sender tuned out to be the Bataafsche Hypotheekbank in Amsterdam, a mortgage bank located in Amsterdam. Mrs Ramadanović could have owned a so-called covered bond, a very strong bond covered by the mortgages issued by the bank. Still, it remains a bit curious what a Dutch mortgage bank could have possibly sent to a woman (!) in Montenegro at the time. Valuable items? I guess not, since the parcel card doesn't mention any declaration of value and postage for an avis de récepetion hasn't been applied (10c).

At least S. Ramadanović signed on the reverse of the card that she/he(?) received the parcels. Alas, there is no arrival postmark present, although various transit postmarks are in place: Emmerich (28th of November), Dresden (30th of November) and Vienna (1st of December).

A smart vanishing act

At the beginning of December 1913 the citizens of Montenegro and inhabitants of Cetinje couldn't have predicted that within 3 years Montenegro was on mercy of neighboring Serbia. After a disastrous campaign the Serbian army gave way to Austro-Hungarian troops in January 1916. King Nikola who sided his troops with the Serbians surrendered, fled to France and went into exile there. In July 1917 a declaration was signed on Corfu, which the Serbian army had chosen as their place of exile. The allied nations which were present barely mentioned the existence of Montenegro. They eagerly wanted to have things sorted on the Balkan and therefore were in favour of the Serbian idea to create a 'Yugoslav' union. Moreover, the allied nation rather focused on Albania than on the rest of the Balkan at the end of 1917. On the 29th of October 1918 the Yugoslav project came to life in Zagreb, Croatia. A mock referendum was organised in Montenegro by a newly created 'Grand National Assembly'. The old parliament (which wasn't in favour of joining Serbia or a referendum) was sidetracked in these turbulent times. The outcome of this Serbian led referendum was hardly surprising: Montenegro seemingly wanted to join Serbia in the Yugoslav project. The allied nations mistakenly held the so-called National Assembly at Podgorica as the old legitimate parliament in Cetinje and so the deal seemed settled. A grave mistake retrospectively, but it suited the allied nations well back then: better a strong, unified Yugoslavian state than a fractured Balkan again. On the 24th of November 1918 Nikola was dethroned and the states of Serbia and Montenegro merged - or rather: Montengro was annexed. It took the country almost ninety years in order to regain independence. On the 3rd of June 2006 Montenegro declared itself independent again.

The so-called Podgorica Grand National Assembly in 1918

What would Mr Ramadanović have thought about this swift vanishing act? Could Montenegro be seen as victim of the 'Friendly ally syndrome', in order to please Serbia for its sacrifices? It seems likely, although Ramadanović himself couldn't have known that himself. The British envoy who worked in Cetinje between 1911-1916, Sir John De Salis-Soglio, was charged with the Serbian annexation of Montenegro in 1919. He uncovered how Serbia had annexed Montenegro by illegal means and reported his observations back to London. He advised the government not to believe the Podgorica assembly, but listen to the legitimate Cetinje government and king in exile instead. In Westminster they suppressed his report in order not to provoke interference. Only at the end of the 20th century his report was made fully public and the unveiled details do not spare Serbia's intention a bit. The UK deliberately blocked his advice and was therefore compliant with Serbia in Montenegro's vanishing act. So how could you summarize Montenegro's turbulent WWI years ? I've come to the following tricolon: A country overlooked? Partly. A country forgotten? Hardly. A country sacrificed for the sake of others? Undoubtedly.