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Bernard Bloch was born in Mecov Austria in 1836. As a young man from a Jewish family, he received a Jewish upbringing. At a young age he started working for a transport company in Bohemia to deliver clay to potteries, a well-known industry in that area. Through this connection, he received training in making ceramics […]

Prince Hendrik was born on April 19, 1876 in Schwerin as Heinrich Wladimir Albrecht Ernst Herzog zu Mecklenburg. His parents were Grand Duke Frederick Francis II of Mecklenburg Schwerin and Princess Marie of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt. When Hendrik was 7 years old, his father died. Hendrik attended the Gymnasium in Dresden. As a young man he traveled […]

In 1783 in Rauenstein in the German state of Thuringia, three Greiner brothers started a porcelain factory in the castle of Rauenstein, the castle had been empty for quite some time. They competed with Meissen by producing a similar line. However, their products such as coffee and tea utensils were made of thicker porcelain, which […]

These vases are in the van Geybland-Oosterhoff Collection Photo© University of Pretoria Museums ( used with permission) Satsuma pottery is originally a type of Japanese pottery that was made with a type of clay that was found in the Japanese province of Satsuma. The stoneware was covered with a coagulated glaze. Later around 1800 pottery […]

The Oranjeboom ( Orange tree) is often used on earthenware porcelain glass and ephemera as a symbol of unity between the House of Orange and the Netherlands. How did this actually come about? René van Chalon of the Nassau-Breda branch was head of a principality, in what is now the department of Vaucluse in France, […]

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New in our collection is this rare bust of Frederica Wilhelmina Louise princess of Prussia and from 1791 after her marriage to Prince Willem Frederik van Oranje-Nassau the later King Willem I, hereditary princess of Orange. In 1815 she became the first “Orange” Queen of the Netherlands. Elsewhere on the History page there is an […]

  Prince Hendrik was born on  June  13th 1820 at Soestdijk Palace, the third son of King Willem II and Anna Paulowna. He had two older brothers, Willem and Alexander and a younger sister named Sophia. A younger brother Ernst-Casimir unfortunately passed away when he was 5 months old. Governors who reported daily on their […]

Princess Wilhelmina was born on August 7, 1751 in Berlin. Her parents were Prince Augustus of Prussia and Duchess Louise Amalia of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. At an early age she was taken away from her parents and raised by her grandmother Sophia of Hanover, husband of King Frederick William of Prussia and daughter of the British King […]

The Netherlands has traditionally played an important role in the cocoa trade and has a rich history of cocoa and chocolate factories, which mainly settled in the Zaans region. The cocoa beans that were grown in their own colonies or bought at trade markets were shipped to the Netherlands. There the beans were hulled, roasted […]

In the 19th century, large groups of citizens had started campaigning for peace. However, the main large countries believed that they could solve their problems themselves and did not want interference from any third parties. It therefore, came as a surprise when Russian Tsar Nicholas II invited countries to an international peace conference, on the […]

        In February 1978 the cutter suction dredger “Oranje” was christened by Princess Beatrix at the shipyard “Merwede” in Hardinxveld-Giessendam. A cutter suction dredger is a stationary dredger that grinds hard soil into pieces with a rotating cutter head. This is sucked up by dredging pumps and discharged via pipes to a […]

    In 1962 Queen Juliana & prince Bernhard celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary, this was marked with a three-day celebration. On April 30th Juliana, Bernhard and the 4 princesses make a tour in an open coach through Amsterdam. The route was from Dam square to the City theatre, the Museum square to the exhibition […]

  After Prince Willem Frederik was proclaimed sovereign monarch of the Netherlands in 1813, he started building a professional army. When Napoleon had fled his place of exile in Elba in 1814 and was on his way to Paris to restore his power, the Dutch army was given the baptism of fire. The former opponents […]

The Netherlands was still a young Kingdom when Victoria became queen of the United Kingdom in 1837 at the age of 18. The eldest son of our King Willem I studied in Oxford and fought with Wellington as an adjutant, in the battle of Waterloo. His father wanted his heir to marry Princess Charlotte, daughter […]

    In October 1966 it was announced that Princess Beatrix was expecting her first child. On April 25, 1967 it was reported that Princess Beatrix had been admitted to the Academic Hospital in Utrecht. Two days later the time had come and at 19:57 hours a prince was born by Caesarean section. Queen Juliana […]

  Johannes Hendrik Philip Wortman was a Dutch sculptor and medalist, he was born in The Hague on November 3rd in 1872. Wortman was taught at the Art Academy in The Hague and obtained his teaching certificate from the school for art education in Amsterdam. From 1894 to 1896 he attended sculpture classes at the […]

The Russel-Tiglia company was a ceramic company active from 1936-1966 from the town of Tegelen. It made bricks and roof tiles but is best known for its ornamental pottery. The company was created by a merger of the Tiglia and Russel clay-ware factories. George Goossens was the technical director of the factory and had an […]

Paper advertising  Victoria  spring water from 1898 with portraits of queen Wilhelmina  Ephemera comes from the Greek and means “for the day” Nowadays it is the name for collectible memorabilia that was made for a short-term use. Ephemera are always paper based and is often written or printed items that were expected to have a short […]

  New in our collection is this very rare plaque of William the Silent. Why William of Orange was given this nickname is not known. Some say it is because he stayed silent when there was injustice during the Spanish occupation of the Netherlands others say it is because he did not give his opinion […]

  Suriname and the Dutch Antilles always have had a warm heart for our Royal Family. During the war years, Juliana and Bernhard visited the overseas territories, as Princess Juliana she visited Suriname in 1943 and a few months later the Netherlands Antilles. Prince Bernhard was already in Suriname in 1942 where he visited the […]

  Noordeinde Palace used to be known as het  Oude Hof (the Old court). The oldest part of the palace dates from before 1512. In that year the steward of the States of Holland had a homestead converted into a large house. From 1566 the house changed hands several times. In 1595 it was bought […]

At the beginning of 1896, the 15-year-old Wilhelmina began to develop into a young woman, this also included a different hairstyle. Up until then she had always worn her hair loose on her shoulders, in February of that year photos appeared of the young queen with a chignon and short fringe. A chignon is a […]

  From 1715 to 1837 there was a personal union between England and Hannover (a construction in which two states have the same head of state). In that year the Elector of Hanover, a great-nephew of Queen Anne who died without an heir, became King George Ist of England. In 1803 the French occupied Hannover. […]

  Clay objects have been made for thousands of years, when clay is baked at a temperature of 800-1000 degrees Celsius, pottery is created. About 1000 years before Christ, tin glaze was first used in the Middle East, so that the pottery was no longer porous and was provided with a beautiful shiny layer. Spain […]

A special form of glass art is the portrait glass. Portraits of royalty, soldiers and other famous persons were depicted on it. The first portrait glasses date from the early 17th century. The portraits were then front facing later in the 18th and 19th centuries and this became profile, in general, only busts were depicted. […]

When King Willem III died in November 1890, Princess Wilhelmina became Queen. As Wilhelmina was only 10 years old, her mother Queen Emma became Queen Regent until Wilhelmina’s 18th birthday. It was already planned that the inauguration would take place in 1898 and thus there were 8 years to prepare for this auspicious event. The date […]

The invention of paper goes back about 2000 years in China during the Han Dynasty. It is logical that not long after something was devised to keep the papers together and that is how the paperweight was created. The oldest known paperweights were made of Jade and were shaped like animals and mythological figures. In the […]

On April 30th, it will be forty years since Queen Beatrix ascended the throne. A few months earlier, on January 31st 1980, Queen Juliana informed her people that she was going to abdicate. She considered it no longer responsible to continue her task due to her age and corresponding health and diminishing strength. The signing […]

A medal of honor is an award in the Netherlands. The term is used for medals that one can sometimes wear and sometimes not. Both governments and private organizations issue tokens and medals. For centuries, Emperors and Kings have struggled with the difficulty of rewarding their subjects who had achieved a special achievement. This has […]

This plate began its life at the end of the 19th century in the porcelain factory of Sèvres France. In 1740, with the support of Louis XV and Madame de Pompadour, the porcelain factory was started in the castle of Vincennes. Between 1753 and 1756 a new factory was built in Sèvres and the production […]

After the establishment of the VOC, in addition to tea and spices, Chinese porcelain was also introduced in the Netherlands. The white porcelain with blue painting became enormously popular in the Netherlands. The import of porcelain to the Netherlands almost came to a halt due to a civil war in China in 1647. This created […]

  foto  ©denroncollections   Castle  het Oude Loo Paleis Het Loo is a former Royal Palace in Apeldoorn. The palace is nowadays a national museum. In 1684 Stadtholder William III bought the medieval castle het Oude Loo. He commissioned architect Jacobus Roman to build a contemporary hunting lodge next to this castle. Construction began in […]

Queen Wilhelmina celebrated her 40th jubilee in 1938, this was celebrated exuberantly throughout the country. The Dutch factories produced a plethora of cups, plates and other souvenirs for this occasion. However, what is not generally known is that a plate was made for this occasion in England. It is a plate made by the British […]

In 1885 on August 31st, the fifth birthday of Princess Wilhelmina was celebrated for the first time. This princess’s day was an initiative of the liberals. They wanted to emphasize national unity with this celebration. After the death of King Willem III in 1890, Wilhelmina became Queen and a year later the Queen’s birthday was […]

Juliana and Bernhard met each other for the first time at the Winter Olympics in Garmisch-partenkirchen, Germany in February 1936. Partly due to the involvement of Queen Wilhelmina, who was still looking for a suitable marriage partner for her daughter. A meeting was arranged with Bernhard zur Lippe-Bietsterfeld. Mother and daughter both liked him. More […]

What is the significance of a bulb glass? According to the large Dutch dictionary from 1898, it is a peculiar shaped glass made to enable flower bulbs bloom in it. The reason to start growing bulbs in a glass container/vase in the early 18th century was probably to show how these bulbs grew into flowers. […]

Tinplate is a thin-rolled sheet of steel. Originally a thin layer of tin was applied to prevent rust. The name “blik” (Dutch for a tin) probably dates from the mid-seventeenth century. In Dordrecht, lantern makers made cans of sheet iron with a thin layer of tin. They called themselves Blikslagers. In the 19th century, companies […]

  William V was the last stadholder of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands. Willem was born in 1748. His parents were Willem IV and Anna van Hannover. His father died when he was three years old, by that time he was already stadholder but his mother acted as a regentess. But she too […]

After the death of her husband King Willem III, Queen Regent Emma thought that the appearance of the Royal Family should be improved. She did this by, among other things, taking her daughter Queen Wilhelmina on a tour through all the provinces of the Netherlands, so that the people could get to know the young […]

  Prince Willem Karel Hendrik Friso was born in 1711 in Leeuwarden. Willem IV married Anna of Hanover in 1734. The couple had 2 children, a son and a daughter. The son later became stadtholder Willem V. In 1746, France attacked the Dutch republic, Flanders & Brabant were taken and the people wanted another prince […]

      In February 1926 Wilhelmina and Hendrik celebrated their silver wedding anniversary. They could look back on a marriage with many ups and downs. In the beginning, Wilhelmina was madly in love with Hendrik, but it is known that from 1914 onwards they no longer shared the bed together. Hendrik was not involved […]

  Since the death of Willem van Oranje, almost all members of the house of Orange have been buried in the Royal tomb in the Nieuwe Kerk in Delft. The last Stadtholder Willem Vth died during a visit to his daughter Louise in Brunswijk (Germany) and was buried there. In 1958 his remains were transferred […]

The 25th anniversary of Queen Wilhelmina was celebrated in 1923. The weeks long festivities  were celebrated exuberantly throughout the Netherlands. The festivities started on her birthday on 31st of August with a grand ride into The Hague and a ceremony at the Malieveld. After this the royal family went to Amsterdam for a four-day visit. […]

KING WILLEM II    (1792-1849) Willem was born on December 2 1792 in The Hague. In 1795 he and his family go into exile in England. He studies in Oxford and lives in England as well as in Berlin. When in 1813 the news came that the Netherlands wanted the House of Orange back as […]

KING WILLEM III & QUEEN SOPHIE King William III was born on 19 February 1817. His parents were King William II and Anna Paulowna of Russia. In 1838 he met his future wife Sophie van Würtemberg for the first time. Sophie was born on June 17th, 1818 her parents were the German King William I […]

THE EXHIBITION AMSTERDAM & THE HOUSE OF ORANGE The exhibition was held in the Amsterdam Historic museum from March 1st until the end of August 2008 and was made in honor of the 70th birthday of then Queen Beatrix. It showed the relation ship of the often-obstinate Amsterdammers and the House of Orange through the […]

ROZENBURG POTTERY QUEEN WILHELMINA TILE In 1883 the German Wilhelm von Gudenberg started the limited liability company ‘s Gravenhaagsche pottery factory. Before this he learned his trade at the famous Porceleyne fles factory. The intention was to make Delft Blue and colored pottery, but that changed in 1884. In 1884 A.C. Colenbrander was contracted as […]

ROYAL POCKET- WATCHES Timepieces come nowadays in all shapes and sizes. The first mechanical clocks appeared in the 12th century and only indicated the hours. The pendulum clock was invented in 1656 by the Dutchman Christiaan Huygens, this also had a minute hand. The first wind up watch comes from 1790 and was invented in […]

TOBACCO AND THE HOUSE OF ORANGE Tobacco use is known in the Netherlands since ca 1580 it was smoked in clay pipes. Clay pipes with a relief decoration began ca. 1630. The earliest known pipe relating to the House of Orange dates from 1652 and was made to commemorate the wedding of prince Frderik Hendrik […]

  THE INAUGURATION ROBES OF QUEEN WILHELMINA The inauguration robe is made by fashion house Nicaud & Cie from Paris. It is made from cream colored satin and embroidered with gold silver and glass pearls. The embroidery was done by the Art and needlework school for arts and crafts in Amsterdam. On top of her […]

QUEEN WILHELMINA POSTCARDS Queen Wilhelmina postcard album 1898In 1869 the first postcard was issued by the Austrian government. They were only intended to write a message and had no pictures on them. Later in 1871 the first card with a picture on it was sent in Vienna. In 1890 cards were made with a picture […]

THE ROYAL FAMILY IN WAX The  PANOPTICUM AMSTELSTRAATIn 1882 “The Panopticum” the first wax museum in the Netherlands opened it’s doors in the Amstelstraat in Amsterdam. The museum had a collection of wax figures of famous people in different settings. There also was a torture chamber. But the most popular attraction was a sitting room […]

THE DESIGNS BY RICHARD GUYATT FOR WEDGWOOD Professor Richard Guyatt was a British designer (1914-2007). He was the youngest ever professor at the Royal College of Art on appointment in 1948. He worked for the college for 34 years. He also designed for companies such as Wedgwood, WH Smith and others. He also designed coins […]

THE EXCHANGE OF THRONES 1948 The inauguration of Queen Juliana 1948 Queen Wilhelmina was exhausted after the war and needed a rest so her daughter Juliana became Regentess in October 1947. In December Wilhelmina resumed her role as reigning Queen again but it was all too much for her so she announced her abdication on […]

KING STADHOLDER WILLEM III (1650-1702) & ADMIRAL MICHIEL DE RUYTER (1607-1676) Willem III of Orange was stadholder of the Republic of the seven united Netherlands and King of England. He was born in 1650 as the son of Stadholder Willem II & Maria Stuart eight days after the death of his father. After the death […]

QUEEN WILHELMINA BUTTONS Towards the end of the 19th century buttons were produced in the USA as a low cost alternative to medallions and enamel badges who were expensive to make. As they were the size of a button they got the name button badge. These days they are simply known as buttons. The invention […]

 THE HISTORY OF THE LUNCHBOX The general idea is that the lunchbox originates from the 1950’s and 60’s. The lunchbox was hugely popular with schoolchildren to take their lunch to school especially in the USA. The first character to appear on a lunchbox was Mickey Mouse in 1935. The first aluminum lunchbox was made in […]

(foto public domain ) THE ROYAL DESIGNS BY CHRIS VAN DER HOEF (1875-1933) Chris van der HoefChris van der Hoef is a famous Dutch designer, born in 1875 in Amsterdam. In 1888 he commenced his study in sculpture. In 1898 he started to design pottery for the Amstelhoek pottery. In 1904 he moved to Gouda […]

  THE STORY BEHIND THE QUEEN WILHELMINA DOLL’S HOUSE DOLL In the autumn of 2008 an exhibition was held in Palace Het Loo on toys used by the House of Orange princes and princesses since Queen Wilhelmina from 1880. Especially for the exhibition Dolls House Netherlands made a dolls house in 17th century style for […]

  ROYAL BUSTS A bust is a sculpture showing only the head, shoulders and chest of a person. Busts are usually made of living persons or persons of historical interest. Busts were already made in Old Egypt 3300 BC and later in the Greek period. They were made to show the people who their King […]

OFFICIAL MODERN 3D PERSPEX STATE PORTRAIT OF KING WILLEM-ALEXANDER 2013 Officially approved by the Dutch Government Information Service, this modern state portrait of King Willem-Alexander in 3D Perspex was made by the artist Ad van Hassel. This table model measures 20x20cm. The portrait is made in different sizes. The King himself has number one of […]

SILVER SPOON WITH IMAGE OF STADHOLDER WILLEM II  (1626-1650) The relative unknown Stadholder Willem II was born in 1626. His parents were Stadholder Frederik Hendrik and Amalia van Solms. He was the grandson of Willem of Orange (also known as William the silent), however he never knew his grandfather. When he was 14 years old […]

BOLDOOT SCENT BOTTLES WITH A ROYAL FRAGRANCE In 1789 Jacobus Cornelis Boldoot opened a chemist shop in Amsterdam. He sold pills and powders etc. In 1823 his cousin also named J.C Boldoot became an apprentice in the shop and 1871 he officially became one of the firms owners. In 1875 the firm bought the German […]

THE BIRTH OF PRINCESS BEATRIX 31ST OF JANUARY 1938 In June 1937 it was announced that princess Juliana was expecting her 1st baby. The baby was due between 21st en 29th of January 1938. The souvenir industry went into full swing but when at the end of the month the baby was still not born […]

    Jack Botermans You can see all the original photos  Jack Botermans made from our collection  for this book in our PHOTOS gallery on this website Album Nr 2 In the autumn of 2007 we were in a shop in the town of Ermelo searching for items for our collection. We asked the lady […]

THE HOUSE OF ORANGE DEPICTED ON STAINED GLASS WINDOW HANGERS Stained glass dates from the Roman period. The Romans made window glass but could not make large surfaces so they came up with the idea to connect small pieces of glass together with lead strips. Large windows were made especially for churches using this method […]

The House of lords was a famous restaurant in the centre of The Hague. The building was one of the oldest in the city. In 1595 it was known as Huys Teijlingen. In 1628 it was renamed to The Golden Lion. In 1917 the restaurant became the House of lords by request of the British […]

SUGARED ALMONDS FOR PRINCESS BEATRIX & CLAUS VON AMSBERG The reading of the wedding banns of princess Beatrix and Claus von Amsberg took place at the city hall of Baarn on the 17th of February 1966. The event was broadcast live on television. The purpose of the reading of the wedding banns is to let […]

THE CLOG AS ROYAL COMMEMORATIVE Clogs are wooden shoes they exist for centuries and were usually worn by farmers and working class people through out Europe. Dutch clogs are traditionally painted in yellow sometimes with different decorations depending on the area. During the week people wore unpainted clogs and for church on Sunday the men […]

KING WILLEM I SOUVENIRS (1772-1843) Willem Ist was born on the 24th of august 1772 in the Hague and was named Willem Frederik Prince of Orange Nassau. He was the third son of stadholder prince Willem V and his wife Wilhelmina of Prussia. His two elder brothers remained nameless and died shortly after birth. Making […]

QUEEN EMMA COMMEMORATIVES (1858-1934) Following the death of Queen Sophie in 1877 King Willem III intended to marry his mistress a French actress called Éleonore d’Ambre. Most people were against this and the king abandoned the idea. In 1878 the king went to Germany to look for a new wife. He found her in the […]

DIANA PRINCESS OF WALES SOUVENIRS On august 31 2017 it is 20 years ago that princess Diana died in a tragic car accident in Paris. In her short life thousands of souvenirs were made to commemorate important events in her life. When she married prince Charles in 1981 so many souvenirs were for sale that […]

 WILHELMINA IN MOURNING ATTIRE Following the death of her father King Willem III on the 23rd of November 1890 Wilhelmina became Queen and her life drastically changed from there on. According to protocol a period of deep mourning was observed. For the first 6 months Wilhelmina was obliged to wear black. After 6 months she […]

THE ROYAL DESIGNS BY C.A. LION CACHET Cachet was an artist and designer, he was born in Amsterdam in 1864 and died in 1945. He was one of the pioneers of the Dutch art Nouveau style and developed the batik style (a style originally from Java Indonesia). These styles were typical for his designs. This […]

THE BIRTH OF PRINCESS JULIANA 1909 Following her marriage to Prince Hendrik people hoped that a baby would soon be born. However after several years the couple drifts apart and still no baby. The Queen found out that her husband was not the man she married. He vacationed frequently abroad and there were stories of […]

  WAR & PEACE The Dutch stayed neutral during world war one for which Queen Wilhelmina was very pleased. The Queen had strong feelings for the army a tradition going back to her ancestors. Her pleas for a strong defense during WW 1 led to many conflicts with her government. In September 1939 WW2 broke […]

ROYAL PLAYING CARDS This special deck of cards was first issued by C. L. Wüst for the Dutch market in 1890 to celebrate Queen Wilhelmina’s accession to the throne (as a 10 years old) upon the death of her father King William III. It was re-issued again in 1898 when she for her enthronement as […]

  THE HISTORY OF THE ENAMEL COMMEMORATIVE BEAKERS The use of enamel is over 2000 years old. The Egyptians used it on statues and golden objects. They knew that the use of enamel made the object last longer and and the hard surface was easier to clean. The Kelts used this technique to make jewelry […]

THE EARLIEST ROYAL SILVER WEDDING TO BE COMMEMORATED The celebration of a royal wedding is a relatively recent custom. The earliest known commemoratives for a British Royal silver wedding being issued in 1888 for the Prince and Princess of Wales (Albert & Alexandra) although the silver wedding for Crown Prince Frederik and Princess Victoria of […]

THE HISTORY OF THE STEVENGRAPHS  (SILK PICTURES) Stevengraphs are pictures woven from silk, originally created by Thomas Stevens in the 19th century. Thomas Stevens, a local weaver from Coventry adapted the looms to weave colourful pictures from silk. By 1862, Stevens could produce four different designs and by the late 1880s over 900; they became […]

PRINCE HENDRIK AND THE FERRY BOAT S S BERLIN In the early hours of the morning of the 21st February 1907 the ferry Berlin, travelling from Harwich, ran onto the pier at the Hook of Holland during a heavy storm. The boat broke in two halves and the bow sank into the icy cold water. […]

THE HISTORY OF COMMEMORATIVE TEXTILES It is a tradition to make printed textiles to celebrate Royal events. Usually cotton handkerchiefs or flags with the portrait of the monarch. Also to commemorate important moments in history like the battle of Waterloo or the celebration of the 1st centenary of Dutch Independence in 1913 are printed on […]

ROYAL SCHOOL TINS What are school tins? Well they are typically Dutch! In the late 19th and early 20th century school children did not have pens, pencils or exercise books. They used to write on a piece of slate with a chalk stick. Every child had his own slate and chalk stick and also a […]

Royal commemoratives BY THE ST LUKAS POTTERY The pottery St Lukas was founded by two brothers-in-law in Utrecht in 1909. In the beginning they made expensive pottery using luster glaze, the factory had to close in 1923 due to a lack of business. In 1927 it started again on a smaller scale in the town […]

 THE NETHERLANDS AND BELGIUM The Belgians and the Dutch were united under King Willem I for 15 years but the Belgian elite find the Dutch religious, economic and political dominance unacceptable and thus the Belgians revolt against the Dutch dominance in 1830. King Willem I fears for his throne if the borders are not brought […]

   WILLEM OF ORANGE Willem of Orange was a ambitious nobleman and rebel who later became known as the father of the fatherland and founder of a new Dutch state. He was born in 1533 at Dillenburg Castle, his father was Count of the German principality Nassau-Dillenburg, his mother was Countess Juliana of Stolberg. In […]

  THE ROYAL PALACE ,DAM SQUARE, AMSTERDAM. As the economy of Amsterdam in the seventeenth century was growing quickly thus the old city hall proved increasingly inadequate. The architect Jacob van Campen designed the new building. In 1648 construction began, in 1655 it was put into use as the new city hall. In 1808 the […]

WILHELMINA OF PRUSSIA (1774-1837) Wilhelmina Princess of PRUSSIA was born in Potsdam in 1774, by her marriage on 1-10-1791 to William Frederick, Prince of Orange Nassau and the later King William I she became queen consort of the Netherlands in 1815. From this marriage two sons and two daughters were born, of whom one died […]

THE DUTCH REGALIA The crown The crown symbolizes the sovereignty of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The crown also symbolizes the dignity of the head of state. The Dutch king or queen does not undergo a coronation but undergo an Inaugeration, thus the crown is never worn by the new sovereign. Other regalia In addition […]

  SPECIAL SOUVENIRS MADE FOR THE WEDDING OF QUEEN WILHELMINA & PRINCE HENDRIK 1901 Following the inauguration of Queen Wilhelmina in 1898, Queen Emma started looking for a suitable partner for her daughter. British candidates were off limits due to the Boer war in South Africa where they stood at opposite ends of the conflict. […]

 THE GOLDEN COACH The  golden coach is the official carriage of the Dutch Royal Family. The people of Amsterdam collected funds and it was made as a gift for her inauguration on the 6th of September 1898. The Queen, however, did not want any gifts for her inauguration so it was presented to her one […]

CENTENARY OF  DUTCH INDEPENDANCE 1813-1913 When in late 1813 Napoleon was defeated and the winners rearranged the borders of Europe; The Netherlands who were a part of the French empire since 1806, regained their freedom. The then prince of Orange Willem Frederik, who lived in exile in England, was asked to become sovereign of the Netherlands, […]

 QUEEN WILHELMINA JASPERWARE SOUVENIRS Jasperware, or jasper ware, is a type of pottery first developed by Josiah Wedgwood in the 1770s. Usually described as stoneware, some authorities have described it as a type of porcelain. It is noted for its matte finish and is produced in a number of different colours. While named after the […]

 PRINCE FREDERICK OF THE NETHERLANDS (1797-1881) Prince Frederick of the Netherlands, Prince of Orange-Nassau was the second son of William I of the Netherlands and his wife, Wilhelmine of Prussia. He was born in Berlin as his parents were banned from the Netherlands by the patriot movement. The prince first entered the Netherlands in December […]

GLASS SULPHIDES SCENT BOTTLE WITH PORTRAIT OF KING WILLEM I Glass sulphides, also called Cameo Incrustations, are opaque, usually white, medallions or figurines encased in glass and used to decorate clear glass objects. They often appear on the sides of decanters, jugs, bottles and tumblers. The name sulphide comes from the use of sulphur in […]

THE HOUSE OF ORANGE AND THE ROMANOVS In 1813 Prince Willem, son of King Willem I, was engaged to be married to the British crown Princess Charlotte Augusta, daughter of the later King George IV; Charlotte however, broke off the engagement. Czar Alexander of Russia was a good friend of the Dutch crown Prince Willem […]

TRIAL  LUSTERWARE PLATE BY L.CACHET RUBY JUBILEE QUEEN WILHELMINA 1938 Following Friggo Visser’s* Lion Cachet study, first in 1994 for the monograph of the Drents Museum Boymans and later for his in PowerPoints documented reading, the particular graphic aspect of the design in question – attributed by him, to 1938 under the luster techniques of […]

 ORANJALIA ON ENGLISH CREAMWARE Many people have a Royal commemorative somewhere in their home, This was no different at the time of the Dutch republic in the 18th century. There were many items made with portraits of stadholder (Steward/Luitenant) prince Willem V and his wife. This was however not so innocent as it is nowadays. […]

PRINCESS ALICE AND THE HOUSE OF ORANGE Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone, née Princess Alice of Albany; 25 February 1883, was a member of the British Royal Family. She was the only daughter of Leopold the duke of Albany, the youngest son of Queen Victoria, and Princess Helena van Waldeck-Pyrmont, a sister of Queen Emma […]

SOUVENIRS FROM THE FRENCH PERIOD OF KING LODEWIJK (LOUIS)  NAPOLEON AND QUEEN HORTENSE Louis Bonaparte was the younger brother of the French Emperor Napoleon I, the first king of Holland and the father of the future French emperor Napoleon III. Louis Napoleon was born on September 2, 1778 in Corsica. He had four brothers one […]

THE AMSTERDAM  WORLD EXHIBITIONS 1883 & 1895 The International Colonial and Export Exhibition was a colonial exhibition  (a type of World fair) that was held in Amsterdam  from May 1 to October 1 1883. The event drew at least a million visitors and was the first international colonial exhibition, with 28 different nations presenting their colonial trade […]

QUEEN WILHELMINA SOUVENIRS WITH A STANHOPE LENS Stanhopes or Stanho-scopes are optical devices that enable the viewing of microphotographs without using a microscope. They were invented by René Dagron in 1857. Dagron bypassed the need for an expensive microscope to view the microscopic photographs by attaching the microphotograph at the end of a modified Stanhope […]

Special memorabilia pottery made by Amstelhoek en Eskaf The pottery Amstelhoek was originally founded in 1894 by the Amsterdam goldsmith Willem Christiaan Hoeker. The company had two specialties, they made design pottery and metal objects. The manager of the pottery department was the famous Dutch designer, Chris van der Hoef. In 1903 the company went […]

RARE QUEEN WILHELMINA COMMEMORATIVES MADE OF GLASS PART 2 Rare Wilhelmina Art Design glasses Cris Agterberg ( Amsterdam 1883-1948). Went to art school in Elberfeld Germany. He was a sculpter and art designer. In 1924 he designed a number of drinking glasses and breakfast ware for the Leerdam glass factory, these never went into production. […]

THE FIRST WILHELMINA COMMEMORATIVES Wilhelmina Helena Pauline Maria was born on the 31st of august 1880 in Apeldoorn. She was the only child of King Willem III and his second wife Queen Emma van Waldeck-Pyrmont. She had three half brothers from her father’s first marriage to Sophie van Württemberg: Willem (1840-1879), Maurits (1843-1850) en Alexander […]

  RARE QUEEN WILHELMINA COMMEMORATIVES  MADE OF GLASS PART 1 The Royal Leerdam glass factory has produced some rare glass commemoratives for the inauguration and different jubilees of Queen Wilhelmina. In 1898 they made various engraved drinking glasses for the inauguration but also a gin carafe with the portrait of the young Queen.   Glass […]

TRIAL EXAMPLES 1) The Porceleyne Fles factory in Delft made a 2 different polychrome plates for the inauguration of Queen Wilhelmina, both hand painted. Neither went into production. 2) Carel lion Cachet who was the chief designer for the Distel factory from 1911 until 1938, designed a plate for the silver jubilee of Queen Wilhelmina. […]

THIMBLE MADE TO COMMEMORATE THE WEDDING OF QUEEN WILHELMINA 1901 This thimble was made by maison Alfred Féau in 1901 to commemorate the wedding of Queen Wilhelmina to Prince Hendrik of Mecklenburg. The top was waffle dimpled and the band depicted the young child Queen playing with her doll, as a young woman doing embroidery […]

ORANJALIA MADE BY FOREIGN FIRMS Important Dutch royal events have long been celebrated with souvenirs made by foreign (outside of The Netherlands) companies. Some of the first were made in 1813 with the establishment of the Dutch monarchy, souvenirs were made of porcelain in Brussels (then a part of The Netherlands, prior to the creation […]

THE COMMERCIAL SIDE OF QUEEN WILHELMINA King Willem III married his second wife Emma in 1879 and was 63 years old when their daughter Wilhelmina was born in 1880. The King died in 1890 when the popularity of the monarchy was at its lowest. Wilhelmina became Queen at the young age of 10 thus Queen […]

Queen Wilhelmina and the Dutch East Indies. Queen Wilhelmina was very interested in The Dutch East Indies, however her knowledge of the land came from books and people who visited the place. But when suggested she should visit the country herself she would not even consider it. She did not like hot weather, she was […]

THE SILVER ENAMELED PORTRAIT SPOONS AND THE GRAND TOUR The Grand tour From the 1890’s up to the beginning of World War I wealthy Americans would undertake the Grand tour of Europe in 60 days. They would visit all the important places in Europe, Amsterdam was day 24 and 25 on this tour. The American […]

The glass comes from the grandfather of a friend of ours, the father of his mother. An aunt of the grandfather worked as a cleaner at the Palace on Dam Square. She was presented with the glass on the occasion of the coronation of Queen Wilhelmina in 1898. The glass has a silver portrait of […]

The French graphic artist Paul Berthon (1872-1909) was known for his beautiful art nouveau posters and litho’s of women. In 1901 he made this portrait of the young Queen Wilhelmina and he called it Sa Tres Gracieuse Majeste La Reine Wilhelmine. It shows Wilhelmina as a young , resolute queen of the Netherlands, with a […]

GOLD WATCH WEDDING QUEEN WILHELMINA AND PRINCE HENDRIK 1901 This 18 carat gold watch was a gift to the ladies on the day of the wedding of Queen Wilhelmina and Prince Hendrik in 1901. Queen Wilhelmina had only 3 ladies-in-waiting so this one is very rare and the only (known) in private ownership. The Dutch […]

ROYAL VIENNA PORTRAIT PLATE QUEEN WILHELMINA 1898 The name Royal Vienna (known as Viennese porcelain) refers to a style of porcelain that was very popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. There were several factories that made this kind of porcelain made especially in Austria and Germany. They produced beautiful portraits in this […]

PRINCESS MARIANNE OF ORANGE-NASSAU MARIANNE Princess of Orange-Nassau (born Berlin 9-5-1810 – died Erbach, Germany, 29-5-1883.). Daughter of William Frederick (1772-1843), later King William I of The Netherlands and Queen Wilhelmina (Princess of Prussia). Marianne married on 14th of September 1830 Frederick Henry Prince Albert of Prussia (1809-1872). From this marriage five children were born, […]

The ENGAGEMENT PLATE OF PRINCESS JULIANA TO PRINCE KAREL OF SWEDEN. THE ENGAGEMENT PRINCESS JULIANA In 1934 Queen Wilhelmina was looking for a suitable husband for her daughter Princess Juliana, who was 23 years old at that time. Originally Princess Juliana was going to be engaged to Prince Karel of Sweden. The Prince however requested […]

De Kohdynka beker ook wel beker der tranen of bloed beker genoemd, was gemaakt ter ere van de Kroning van Tsaar Nicholas II en Tsarina Alexandra Feodrovna in 1896. De maker van deze beker was B. Gottlieb of Brno, Bohemia (Czechoslovakia) – de kleinzoon van de fabriek was de Directeur van Phillips, de bekende elektrische […]