Summer stamps 2005 nostalgic Netherlands with a Frisian accent

The benefit of cleaning up my archive is the discovery of little-known or entirely unknown background information in philately. Notes and newspaper clippings (Leeuwarder Courant & Midfrieslander [April 2 & 5, 2005]) have provided me with much detailed, interesting, and readable information about a book illustration that ended up on a 2005 summer stamp (NVPH 2238/39). In terms of the romanticization of Friesland's past, this summer stamp corresponds to the book 'De schippers van de Kameleon', which was featured in an article of mine on September 1, 2024. This romantic view could be found in the countryside of all provinces at the time, though the writers regarding it were to a lesser extent.

Summer Stamp 2005 'Nothing forgotten'

On one of the 2005 summer stamps (nvph 2339b; 'Nothing forgotten') stands a resident from the village of Reduzum (Roordahuizum, 10 km south of Leeuwarden), who 123 years ago by Cornelis Jetses (1873 – 1955) is signed. This drawing serves as an illustration in the book 'Afke's Tiental' by the author. Nienke van Hichtum recorded. It is about Saakje van der Woude, who lived there with Klaas and children on the Haven in Roordahuizum. Jesses ended up there because he believed he could find the impoverished, atmospheric, and warmly human setting that suited working-class families at the beginning of the last century. “A sketch of Frisian working-class life by N. van Hichtum”, according to the first edition of the many reprints of the book 'Afke's Tiental'.

Origin of Afke's Ten

Writer Nienke, who lived in Leeuwarden with her husband Pieter Jelles Troelstra, had a maid, Hiltsje Feenstra from Warga. She was the eldest daughter of a poor family of ten children living in a small house. The girl spoke regularly and convincingly with great love about her parental home and especially about her mother Harmke, whom she greatly admired. The wise mother constantly sacrificed herself for her children. Nynke became deeply captivated by this generous woman.

Children's book Afke's Ten

Years later, when the author no longer lived in Friesland, she accurately and inspiringly described Mother, her family, and their living conditions, using Hiltsje's stories as a guide, coloring them with the warmth of her heart. At the recommendation of experts, Nienke van Hichtum contacted publisher Wolters in Groningen. The book was finally published in 1903 with illustrations (black and white and sepia) by Cornelis Jetses. From 1906 onwards, publisher Kluitman in Alkmaar acquired the publishing rights. The book was eagerly read by young and old alike, resulting in 40 reprints. The story is set in a small village in the Frisian countryside at the beginning of the last century, where the children grow up in poverty (and the cold). Afke has daily worries: “Will I be able to feed the children again?” Afke does everything she can to give her children as much love and happiness as possible.

Cornelis Jetses

The illustrator went to Reduzum in 2001 when he received a commission from publisher Wolters-Noordhoff in Groningen to provide illustrations for the text of the children's book 'Afke's Tiental' by Nienke van Hichtum (pseudonym for Sjoukje Bokma de Boer (first wife of socialist leader Pieter Jelles Troelstra)). Although the author based her stories on the life of mother Harmke Feenstra-Tuinstra from the nearby village of Wergea (Warga), Jetses thought it better not to go to that village to avoid the sensitivity of the village's social control. Through Reverend Boers from Reduzum (where he stayed for a few days), he was alerted to the Van der Woude family, who aptly support the story. The Groningen-born artist and illustrator Cornelis Jetses lived in a small village near Bremen. Both children depicted are his daughter Sien and her neighbor boy Fidi Dammann. Jetses made several sketches of the children playing in and around his house in Germany.

Source: Ytzen, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The statue of Afke's Ten Children stands in the village of Wargea / Warga, where Harmke lived in a small house with her husband Sjoerd Veenstra and the ten children. It was created by Suze Boschma-Berfkhout in 1957, when the children's book was also published in the Frisian language. The book has been published in multiple languages. To mark the 100th anniversary of the 'Ot en Sien' reading method (see final sub-chapter), six drawings from the book were selected for the 2005 summer stamps across two stamp sheets. The cover of the book for the fourth grade features the colored drawing by the mother from Reduzum, corresponding to the one on the summer stamp.

Nostalgic Friesland

Saakje van der Woude (in the role of mother Harmke Veenstra from Warga), in her 'Sunday best', checks her child's knitting in a comfortable armchair as mother (beppe), wearing a golden ear ornament, a floddermûtse bonnet, glasses, and a golden clasp with blood coral around her neck: “Did she drop a stitch?” To her right, her son drinks tea from a cup. In the background, part of a Frisian longcase clock is visible next to a large linen cupboard.

Ot and Sien

The boy and the girl used to be, as is stated nowadays, celebrities. Both neighboring children have become particularly famous as the main characters of the reading method. 'Ot en Sien' written by Scheepstra en Jan LigthartJetses received the commission to illustrate a series of reading books for the six classes of the former primary school (published in 1904). This also includes the drawing from the book 'Afke's tiental'.