Traditional Costumes : Postage Stamps Holland 1960

This Friday I show you the children charity stamps of The Netherlands of 1960.




Children charity stamps are distributed each year by the Dutch Post and you can buy them at every post office in The Netherlands. There is an extra charge on the stamps, which is intended for cultural, social or health projects. In 1960, the children stamps were designed by Jeanna Bieruma Oosting, one of the most prominent Dutch graphic artists in that time. The rather realistic colored line drawings of children in traditional costumes are placed in front of loudly colored backgrounds. Funny enough, just like the rejected designs of Hubert Levigne from only two years before, she gives only a bust view of the kids (face and half-face).



The stamps depict some traditional costumes from around the former inland sea the Zuiderzee (now Lake IJsselmeer), and very appropriately the first sale of these stamps started in the Zuiderzee Museum in Enkhuizen. The children portrayed are Aaltje van Rie from Marken (4 ct), Jannetje Kwakman from Volendam (6 ct), Magda van Halteren from Bunschoten (8 ct), Janna Marijke Atema from Hindeloopen (12 ct) and Dittie Klein from Huizen (30 ct).



I think this 1960 series is a very charming set, lovely designs with children very well taken into consideration.

Flickr Favourites: Traditional Costume of Huizen, Holland

Today in the Flickr Favourites it's the turn of the traditional costume of Huizen in The Netherlands. Huizen is a town in the province of North Holland. The name "Huizen" is Dutch for "houses" and this has been linked to the belief that the first stone houses in the region appeared here. Huizen originally was a coastal village along the Zuiderzee, with a thriving fishing industry. After the damming of the Zuiderzee by the Afsluitdijk in 1932, the old sea was changed into the freshwater lake IJsselmeer, and economical activities shifted towards industry and commerce. There are still some elderly women wearing the old traditional costume. They wear large white caps with curved sides. The rest of the costume is relatively sombre which is a contrast to most of the other traditional costumes of Holland. The whole appearance of the black dress with the large white cap is very elegant and impressive.

For more flickr favourites see ArtMind's blog.

1. facebook, 2. Only the old wear traditional costume, 3. People of The Netherlands , about half a century ago ..., 4. Klederdracht uit Huizen Noord Holland

And two picture postcards from my own collection.