The Zuiderkogge in 1924

Hem to The Hague - 1924

In a previous post I already mentioned the increasing importance of agriculture for West Frisia during the 18th and 19th centuries. Although seed trade became a very lucrative business for many farmers and smart entrepreneurs, dairy trade did certainly not vanish altogether. On the contrary! West Frisian farmers were as adventurous as the seed traders and advertised their cows by promoting the excellent milk yield of their Dutch Friesian cattle. Farmers across the Atlantic payed staggering amounts for good quality West Frisian bulls, making some farmers fabulously rich during the 1880s.

This postcard travelled from Hem (literally meaning 'Him' in Dutch, which always causes ambiguity when referring to this place...) to The Hague in February 1924. Hem is a corruption of 'Heim' or 'Heem', which indicates a place where people live. Although farming was still the most important livelihood in Hem and neighboring village Venhuizen, here too the agricultural boom slowly transformed many meadows into ploughed fields during the early 20th century. Although this 'agricultural' revolution began later in Hem than some villages more to the north, in 1924 many green fields had become 'white' there as well, as the map below illustrates.

Map of the southeastern part of West Frisia

The interest in agriculture only grew by the introduction of so-called 'co-operative auctions' in the region. These joint ventures of local agriculturists increased the attractiveness and range of their products: many West Frisian products found their way to other provinces and even destinations in Germany and the U.K.!

The auctions halls were often located in proximity of water and rail. Since many agricultural products were transported to these auctions by schuiten (barges), these halls were designed in such a fashion that a barge could enter the building in order to let dealers inspect the crop. The photo below shows my great-grandfather (left) who was on the committee of Auction the Eendracht (concord) in Hoogkarspel. You could discern the 'gate' through which the barge entered the building. The man on the right - who stands on his barge, probably carried cauliflower by the looks of  it - offered him a cigar box.

Frans Brieffies (left) and agriculturist in auction house the Eendracht - Hoogkarspel

Back to the postcard. As you might have seen, this card was addressed to "Het Centraal Bureau van de Veilingen in Nederland - groep veilingsverenigingen". A mouthful, but roughly translated you will find out that this was the Central Office of Agricultural Trade in the Netherlands.

When we flip the card, we find the following message:

 ~

Hem, 23 Feb. 24

M.

Met deze bericht ik U dat 't omzetcijfer van de veiling 

"De Zuiderkogge'" over 1923 bedraagt ƒ226466. 

Hoogachtend,

~

In English:

~

Hem, 23 Feb. 1924,

Mr

Hereby I report to you that the sale figure of auction 

"De Zuiderkogge" over the year 1923 amounts to ƒ226.466.

Yours faithfully,

~

Big numbers for 1923! The Zuiderkogge auction was located near a new railway (see red arrow on the map), which was specifically built for the agricultural trade in this part of West Frisia. Alas, this railway was defeated by road transport in the early thirties and therefore was never really worth its investment. Although the Eendracht in neighboring Hoogkarspel usually expected to sell for ƒ600.000 annually, for a village which still largely relied on farming ƒ226.466 is a considerably profit.  

Typenrader postmark of Hem on Wilhelmina Fur Collar 7,5c stationery. It reads 23 II 24 2-3N, meaning the 23th of February 1924 between 2-3 afternoon. The abbreviation (Noord-Holl.) stands for the Dutch province of Noord-Holland. It was probably added to prevent any confusion about such a short name.