History Month 2025: Naturally

October is the Month of History, the largest history event in the Netherlands. Together with countless museums, libraries, bookstores, archives, and other cultural institutions, the Month organizes activities throughout the country. Under the motto 'Discover yesterday, understand today,' we bring history into the spotlight in October. In 2025, the theme 'Naturally' takes center stage. Want to know what you can do? Check the agenda now and put together your own program. We are halfway through the month of October, but there is still much to experience. In this blog, the focus is on the MvdG essay, which relates to Jac. P. Thijsse and Verkade.

MvdG 2025, essay 'The Water Son. Jac. P. Thijsse, his son and our relationship to nature'

Eva Vriend (1973) is one of the most popular historians in the Netherlands. She is the author of bestsellers such as *Eens ging de zee hier tekeer*, *Het nieuwe land*, and *Het eiland van Anna*, and has been nominated multiple times for the Libris History Prize. Eva Vriend is writing the essay for the Month of History 2025. The Month of History, the largest historical event in the Netherlands that takes place every year in October, bears the theme this year. Of courseThe title of the essay for the Month of History 2025 is 'The Water Son. Jac. P. Thijsse, his son and our relationship to nature'. Jac. P. Thijsse is known for the Verkade albums and for Thijsse's Hof. On September 26, 2025, Thijsse's Hof will celebrate its centenary. Thijsse's Hof is a scaled-down representation of the various dune landscapes in South Kennemerland. For instance, the Hof displays the dune forest at the edges, sparse grassland, heathland, and a beautiful central pond surrounded by rising meadows. A special feature is the demonstration strip. This is the only place in the Hof where weeding takes place to keep the plant species easily recognizable. Moreover, you can get nice and close to view and smell the flowers.  

Natural Monuments

It is less well known that Jac. P. Thijsse co-founded Natuurmonumenten. In 1905, the municipality of Amsterdam rejected the Naardermeer turning into a garbage dump. The only way to stop that? Buy up the entire area. Schoolteachers Jac. P. Thijsse and Eli Heimans founded the Association for the Preservation of Nature Monuments (now: Natuurmonumenten) in Artis Amsterdam. As early as 1906, they had enough members to buy the Naardermeer. This is how the first nature reserve in the Netherlands came into existence. This citizens' initiative was the start of a movement to protect the characteristic Dutch landscape. See the stamps from 2005 and 2015 below.

 

Verkade

Verkade is a company of Dutch origin that manufactured products such as rusks, chocolate, and biscuits. For a time, tea lights were also produced. Verkade's factories have traditionally been located primarily in Zaandam and have played an important role in the development of the food industry in the Zaan region. Koninklijke Verkade NV became a subsidiary of the British food group United Biscuits in 1990, which was acquired by the Turkish food giant Yildiz Holding in 2014. Within that group, it has belonged to Pladis since 2016. The northern and oldest part of the Verkade complex was disposed of, stood vacant for some time, and was subsequently converted into a center that includes shops and hospitality establishments, among other things. The headquarters of games manufacturer Jumbo has also been located in this building since 2006.  

Albums worked

It began with three fairy tale albums, featuring pictures purchased in Germany. These publications became a great success, prompting Verkade to decide to publish other albums covering various aspects of nature and the landscape in the Netherlands. Between 1903 and 1940, 30 albums were published successively. The total number of printed albums put into circulation was approximately 3,2 million, including a record number of 30 million loose pictures to be pasted in.

In 1904, Jac. P. Thijsse was approached by the Verkade company; he would eventually become the author of 18 of the 30 Verkade albums that were published. The young Jan Voerman Jr. was one of the first illustrators. It began in 1906 with the albums *Lente*, *Zomer*, * Herfst*, and *Winter*. All published albums achieved enormous print runs by Dutch standards, with the exception of the album *Friesland*; this album is now among the most sought-after Verkade albums by collectors. Due to the First World War, there was a severe shortage of paper, so only a small print run could be produced; after a small second printing in 1919, Verkade temporarily stopped producing the albums and pictures, awaiting better times. In 1925, the annual publications were resumed. Jac. P. Thijsse's biggest fan is Jan Wolkers (1925 – 2007), who as a child stole Verkade biscuits purely for the nature pictures. According to Thijsse biographer van der Meulen, for Wolkers there were only two writers: God, who wrote the Bible, and Thijsse, who wrote the Verkade albums. Could this be the reason Wolkers moved to Texel? If you would like to know more about Verkade albums, Anton Siedsma is the expert on these albums. He is currently at various markets in the Netherlands, including the VerzamelJaarbeurs in Utrecht on November 15 and 16, 2025. He sells nostalgic Verkade albums, old school charts, and maps. Source: Franking machine stamps by Peter Janssen from www.frankeerstempel.nl  

<strong> More info: </strong>

History Month 2025: https://www.maandvandegeschiedenis.nl/ Month of History, essay 'The Son of Water. Jac. P. Thijsse, his son and our relationship to nature': https://www.maandvandegeschiedenis.nl/page/33079/eva-vriend-schrijft-essay-maand-van-de-geschiedenis-2025 October 31, 2025, lecture by Eva Vriend about her essay in Waddinxveen: https://bibliotheekdegroenevenen.op-shop.nl/ingang/activiteiten/2317/eva-vriend-vertelt-tijdens-de-maand-van-de-geschiedenis/31-10-2025 100 years of Thijsse's Hof: https://thijsseshof.nl/ Andere Tijden, Jac. P. Thijsse: the Freek Vonk of the previous century, October 23, 2025: https://anderetijden.nl/aflevering/1155/Jac-P-Thijsse-De-Freek-Vonk-van-de-vorige-eeuw Radio program Vroege Vogels, November 9, 2025, with an interview with Dik van der Meulen (biographer of Jac. P. Thijsse): https://www.bnnvara.nl/vroegevogels/artikelen/meester-in-het-paradijs Everything about Dik van der Meulen: https://www.allesoverboekenenschrijvers.nl/dik-van-der-meulen-meester-in-het-paradijs/ The annual symposium of the Heimans and Thijsse Foundation will take place on November 22. The central question of the symposium is: Is Natura 2000 future-proof? See the link: https://www.heimansenthijssestichting.nl/

  Nature Monuments: https://www.natuurmonumenten.nl/ Zaans Museum, Verkade: https://zaansmuseum.nl/zien-doen/verkade-experience/ Previous museum blogs: https://www.postzegelblog.nl/tag/made-in-holland/