Figure 1.--This postcard was postally used in the Netherlands during 1916. It has been very carefully colorized. The colors involved are somewhat less fanciful than those seen in Belgium and France. Still I am not positive that this is a color combination that would have actually been worn by a boy. The outfit appaers to be a sailor tunic with above the knees bloomer pants. Note the prominent belt that is purely ornamental. |
HBC has noted some Dutch post cards, but we do not yet have enough information to make any assessments. As in the rest of Europe, smartly dressed children were popular subjects for these cards. The fashions portrayed seen more similar to German fashions than French fashions. One constant is the sailor suit which is the most common style to appear in these postcards. The images of well-dressesd children appear to follow the general pattern of being most popular from the turn of the 20th centuty to the mid-1920s. One subject which must be addressed in the accuracy of the fashions shown. The colors involved in the Dutch postcards are somewhat less fanciful than those seen in Belgium and France at the time, but we have also noted rather fancifal colors. Still I am not positive that the color combinations shown were the ones that would have actually been worn by a Dutch boy. One popular subject was children as well as adults in folk costume. We know nothing about the Dutch postcard industry. The collecting of post cards is quite popular in the Netherlanfs as is the case in many European countries.
HBC has noted some Dutch post cards, but we do not yet have enough information to make any definitive assessments. As in the rest of Europe, smartly dressed children were popular subjects for these cards.
The fashions portrayed seen more similar to German fashions than French fashions. One constant is the sailor suit which is the most common style to appear in these postcards.
The images of well-dressesd children appear to follow the general pattern of being most popular from the turn of the 20th centuty to the mid-1920s. While the cards may not be the most accirate represention of what styles boys commonly wore, one valuable aspect of the cards is that they can be dated. Postcard specialists can provode information on when certain cards were made. Even without this information, many of these cards are postallybused and the post marks provide valuable chronological information. While postcards with children as subjects declined in popularity in the 1930s, they did not disappear. HBC has noted cards from the 60s and 80s. One important difference is that the more modern cards seem to picture children more in outfits that were more kilely to have been actually worn.
One subject which must be addressed in the accuracy of the fashions shown. The clothes them selves are presumably accurate. We doubt that, for the most part, that they would have been made just for a postcard photograph. We are smewhat doubtful, however, just how commonly worn some of the outfits shown may have been especially the fancier outfits.
Post cards were most popular before color lithography had been perfected. As a resukt, most were based on balck and white photograohs that has color painted on. The colors involved in the Dutch postcards are somewhat less fanciful than those seen in Belgium and France at the time, but we have also noted rather fancifal colors. Some of the color combinations also seem more artistic inventions rather than colors that older boys would have worn. Still I am not positive that the color combinations shown were the ones that would have actually been worn by a Dutch boy.
One popular subject was children as well as adults in folk costume. The images of the children in the elaborate folk costumes seem especially popular. There were sibstantial differences from village to village, but baggy triusersand wooden shoes were a standard. The boys on Maiken wearing dresses were a favorite in these post cards.
We know nothing about the Dutch postcard industry at this time. One card compamy is C-eko.
The collecting of post cards is quite popular in the Netherlands as is the case in many European countries.
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