The Sepia Saturday 97 prompt photo is a group of young Irish boys lined up in rows for the camera. Above I am showing the front and back of a postcard picturing a group of children of Marken, Holland. Dutch children were a popular subject on postcards of the early twentieth century. This particular postcard has advertising on the back for Droste's Cocoa and Hillman's Grocery Department in downtown Chicago. Hillman's is gone, but Droste's Cocoa currently is distributed in more than 60 countries.
Near the top of the message area are the words "From the Frou-FrouFolks." The Frou-Frou-Folks are not what one would expect from the dictionary definition of frou-frou. The word frou-frou here refers to Frou-Frou wafers, which are thin wafer sandwich-like cookies filled with vanilla creme. They are of Dutch origin and are less sweet than American made vanilla wafers. Below is an enlargement of the Frou-Frou wafer logo from the back of the postcard.
Marken is a peninsula in the IJsselmeer (an artificial lake) in the Netherlands. It is an island, which nowadays is connected to the North Holland mainland by a causeway/dike. It was formerly a fishing village before it was cut off from the sea. It is now a tourist attraction known for its characteristic wooden houses and traditional costumes.
Below are some more circa 1900 pictures of Marken children from the Library of Congress.
Near the top of the message area are the words "From the Frou-FrouFolks." The Frou-Frou-Folks are not what one would expect from the dictionary definition of frou-frou. The word frou-frou here refers to Frou-Frou wafers, which are thin wafer sandwich-like cookies filled with vanilla creme. They are of Dutch origin and are less sweet than American made vanilla wafers. Below is an enlargement of the Frou-Frou wafer logo from the back of the postcard.
Marken is a peninsula in the IJsselmeer (an artificial lake) in the Netherlands. It is an island, which nowadays is connected to the North Holland mainland by a causeway/dike. It was formerly a fishing village before it was cut off from the sea. It is now a tourist attraction known for its characteristic wooden houses and traditional costumes.
Below are some more circa 1900 pictures of Marken children from the Library of Congress.
Wonderfully colourful postcard for the tourists. Here is what Dutch schools really looked like around the turn of the century, at least in Amsterdam. Not vastly different from anywhere else, I suspect.
ReplyDeleteA fine postcard and pictures of Marken children. Imagine today's children using a yoke to carry buckets of water.
ReplyDeleteI hope everyone visiting follows Brett's link as well.
How darling, even if it is for the tourist trade. Interesting combination postcard/trade card. Collectible in both categories.
ReplyDeleteI only know Droste from the Droste Effect. The frou frous are delicious! In 1932 the Zuiderzee ('Southern Sea') was closed of from the North Sea by a 32 km long dike (the 'Afsluitdijk'), after which it became the IJsselmeer. In 1957 a dike was trown up between the mainland and Marken.
ReplyDeleteI used to do a lot of baking with Droste cocoa. Great cards, I especially love the advertising on the back.
ReplyDeleteThe postcard picture is a very good representation. I love the traditional clothing. I used to wear an American version of clogs when I was in college. After a short adjustment I learned to love wearing them.
ReplyDeleteThe top picture makes me think of these nesting dolls we had as children. These are great images.
ReplyDeleteSee the link in Rob from Amersfoort's comment. I didn't know about the "Droste Effect." It is interesting that it was named after the Droste advertising art.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad to have just found your site via savethephotos. I had no idea there were so many blogs on postcards! I have a lot to learn about this, as I'll be starting to post some 1920s era postcards on my blog and I know zilch about the subject. Now that I've perused your site, oh how I wish I'd never paid attention to those "declutter!" mantras. Makes me sick to think of the stacks of old postcards from my many penpals around the world years ago...all gone now! Thanks for your site--loved wandering around and taking it all in.
ReplyDeleteOh I do so love it when people take me for a tour : following a thread which links kids with Holland with biscuits. Great photos and wonderful connections.
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness, lovely photos, and one of your postcards is much like what I posted this week (at the beach) I know with winter on its way, I'm thinking of sunny days instead! The next group photo I'm in, I'll be reminded to look up just from this theme, and I hope to be able to froufrou with something extra lovely and show it off for the picture! Great post!
ReplyDeleteI have managed to choose almost exactly the same cards as you this week - children from Marken! :)
ReplyDeleteWhat great cards! I just love these...
ReplyDeleteAmazing what you can learn from one little postcard. Frou frou cookies, Dutch school outfits, marken, geography, anthropology.
ReplyDeleteNancy
Ladies of the grove
Wonderful postcard photo! I love their head coverings. Thanks for showing me more stuff that is brand new to me.
ReplyDeleteHappy SS,
Kathy M>
You (and your commenters) covered so many topics in this post. Very fun and interesting. I love the Dutch costumes but wonder about the comfort of the clogs. I hope they were only outside shoes and were able to wear something softer and more comfortable while inside. I love Droste chocolate candy but have never used their cocoa. I'm sure it's just as good.
ReplyDeleteGreat post and wonderful cards! I have some postcards that were my grandmother's, and there's quite a few of the "greeting card" variety for a special occasion. Some even have a verse. But I did notice that, with the exception of flowers, the predominant image on these cards is drawings of children from various countries in their traditional cultural dress. There's one of two Dutch children, and one of two Chinese children. The verses on them are written in the vernacular -- they're speaking English but the spelling is such that you can "hear" the accent. Fascinating stuff. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteGood stuff. I particularly like the colors applied to the first postcard!
ReplyDeleteGreat cards and an even better story to go with it. The children in traditional dress are adorable!
ReplyDeleteA very nice card and story for this weekend's theme. Time for some cocoa.
ReplyDeleteI love these cards!
ReplyDeleteI'm not a collector,
but I would surely pay these some attention.
great find!!
:)~
HUGZ
Like all the others I loved the cards. Great colours, and at least from my point of view, unusual subjects.
ReplyDelete