Leidsch Dagblad
- Dune Water Supply Working as Well as Normal Again
- Tribute to Johan Braakensiek
- Clusius Commemoration
This Leiden front page of 18 October 1926 carried a headline saying the dune water supply was working normally again, but the text read under it is the close of a concert review. The society "Per Aspera" ended its Saturday evening with dancing and applause. The reviewer hoped for better playing next time and singled out two pieces for cello, clarinet and piano. A separate report described the Amsterdam tribute to the cartoonist Johan Braakensiek on his forty years of work. There, former education minister J. Th. de Visser announced that the Queen had appointed him an officer in the Order of Orange-Nassau, and Prof. W. Kernkamp, speaking for De Groene Amsterdammer, announced that the painting Hartjesdag had been bought and presented to Amsterdam. Under the Clusius commemoration heading, the legible text is a long list of small donations from individuals, clubs, birthday parties, a church and a football match.
Translation
Dune Water Supply Working as Well as Normal Again
Afterwards the company stayed together sociably for some time, and feet left the floor as well. Finally the chairman of "Per Aspera" expressed the hope that this evening would be followed by more, and those present agreed with hearty applause. Having heard the earlier performances of the past season, we are indeed fully convinced that "Per Aspera" can do much better than one would suppose from Saturday's performance. It will be a sincere pleasure for us to report improvement on future occasions.
Very fine, on the other hand, were two pieces for cello, clarinet and piano, namely "Herzwunden" by C. A. Wulffraat, but above all the "Berceuse" by Godart. Both the cellist and the clarinettist fully deserve an honourable mention; the pianist was also good, but very modestly kept rather too much in the background, so that little was heard of the piano part. Warm and sustained applause was their well-deserved reward. A pleasant mood prevailed throughout the whole evening, which expressed itself …
Tribute to Johan Braakensiek
… Hendrik van Oordt had taken their seats on the flower-decked platform, Dr. J. Th. de Visser, former Minister of Education, addressed him as chairman of the festival committee and recalled how for forty years he had placed his great talent in the service of the public cause, and had thereby awakened a rare sympathy, indeed conquered hearts. He then announced that the Queen had appointed Braakensiek an Officer in the Order of Orange-Nassau (thunderous applause). Prof. Dr. W. Kernkamp then honoured the jubilarian on behalf of the management and editorial staff of the Groene Amsterdammer and announced that the tribute committee had purchased Braakensiek's painting Hartjesdag and presented it to the municipality of Amsterdam. He also presented the jubilarian with an album …
Clusius Commemoration
Miss L. S. f 1; N. N. f 1; [?] f 2.50; [?] f 1; A. v. R. f 5; J. D. v. R f 2.50; N. v. R. f 1; the v. d. S. family f 7; Dr. C. S. H. f 10; G. C. te H. f 3; Miss A. S. f 1; J. R. f 2.50; Dr. Ph. S. v. R. f 2.50; H. te B. at Z. f 20; staff of L. B. V. f 25.25; J. W. V. f 2.50; D. V. f 10; collected at M. K.'s birthday f 2.60; the B. ladies f 10; collected at J. L.'s birthday f 1.80; collected at the meeting of the Holland St Bernard Club f 5.61; Zomerzorg meeting f 10.60; N. N. f 2; surplus from M. N. v. Wijk's dance evening f 3.50; conscripts of the 4th Infantry Regiment f 6.25; W. L. f 1; J. P. W. f 2.50; collection Liberal Catholic Church f 11.25; H. V. f 5; collected at the party for the 30th wedding anniversary of Bouwe and Mies f 14.82; Neeltje f 1; twin brothers G. and K. de B. at K. f 1; collection at the Quick Boys–Kinheim match f 15; C. M. f 1; spontaneously offered to the …
Context
Forty years of weekly cartoons for De Amsterdammer
The forty years that J. Th. de Visser praised in the report go back to the mid-1880s, when Braakensiek began drawing a weekly political print for De Amsterdammer, the weekly later known as De Groene Amsterdammer; a reference lexicon dates the start to 1886. A later study by C. H. Slechte counts more than 4,000 cartoons for the radical-liberal weekly between 1887 and 1931, so the sources differ by a year on the starting point, but both show that the jubilee of October 1926 fell while he was still drawing every week. The paper's account matches what the weekly itself did that month: De Groene published a special Braakensiek supplement on 16 October 1926 with many articles on his 40-year jubilee, and on 23 October 1926 it printed De Visser's tribute speech. That explains why Kernkamp spoke on behalf of the weekly's management and editors. The gift of the painting Hartjesdag to Amsterdam also honoured the less public side of his work: his small, traditionally painted pictures are described as anecdotal scenes of Amsterdam popular life.
Why a political cartoonist won praise across party lines
De Visser's words about a 'rare sympathy' and 'conquered hearts' reflect how Braakensiek was valued in his own time. The many articles in De Groene's 1926 special issue attributed his popularity chiefly to the moderation and impartiality of his prints. Abraham Kuyper, one of the politicians he drew, wrote at the 25-year jubilee in 1911 that Braakensiek's prints were never marred by mockery or scorn and never aimed at venomous satire. That reputation helps explain the scene the paper reported: a former cabinet minister chairing the festival committee and the Queen conferring a decoration on a weekly cartoonist. The same mildness later counted against him; later readers tend to find the prints rather tame, especially beside those of the socialist cartoonist Albert Hahn. In 1926, however, it was precisely this inoffensive commentary that the tribute celebrated.
Why Leiden commemorated Clusius in 1926
The commemoration announced under this heading marked a four-hundredth birth year. Carolus Clusius, born Charles de l'Écluse, was born on 19 February 1526 and died on 4 April 1609 in Leiden. His tie to the city dated from October 1593, when he was appointed professor at the University of Leiden and became the first prefect of its new botanical garden, the Hortus Academicus. For Leiden, then, the anniversary concerned the first prefect of a university garden that still existed in the town, not merely a famous scholar who had passed through. The date of 1926 itself follows directly from Clusius's birth year.
Clusius, the tulip and Dutch gardens
Clusius's standing in the Netherlands rested above all on his garden work. His cultivation of tulips in the Leiden botanic garden is credited with laying the foundations of the Dutch tulip bulb industry, and his observations on the 'breaking' of tulip colours fed the later tulip mania of the 1630s. His contemporary Justus Lipsius called him the father of all the beautiful gardens in this country. These are judgments of later and contemporary admirers rather than claims made on the page, but they explain why Leiden marked his four-hundredth birth year with a public commemoration.
Original
DE DUINWATERLEIDING FUNCTIONEERT WEDER ZOO GOED ALS NORMAAL.
Na afloop bleef men nog eenigen tijd gezellig bijeen, waarbij de beenen ook nog van de vloer gingen. De voorzitter van " Per Aspera " sprak tenslotte de hoop uit, dat deze avond door meerdere gevolgd zou worden, waarmede de aanwezigen met een hartelijk applaus instemden. Wij zijn er dan ook volkomen van overtuigd, gehoord de vorige uitvoeringen in het afgeloopen seizoen, dat " Per Aspera " veel beter kan dan men op grond van de uitvoering van Zaterdag zou vermoeden. Het zal ons een oprecht genoegen zijn bij volgende gelegenheden van verbetering melding te mogen maken. Heel mooi daarentegen was een tweetal nummers voor cello, klarinet en piano, te weten " Herzwunden " van C. A. Wulffraat, doch vooral de " Berceuse " van Godart. Zoowel cellist als klarinettist verdienen ten volle een eervolle vermelding; de pianiste was eveneens goed, doch hield zich zeer bescheiden wat àl te veel op den achtergrond, zoodat men van de pianopartij weinig merkte. Een hartelijk en aanhoudend applaus was hun welverdiende belooning. Er heerschte gedurende den geheelen avond een prettige stemming, die zich uitte
HULDIGING JOHAN BRAAKENSIEK.
Hendrik van Oordt op het met bloemen versierde podium hadden plaatsgenomen, sprak dr. J. Th. de Visser, oud-Minister van Onderwijs, als voorzitter van de feestcommissie hem toe en memoreerde hoe hij veertig jaren lang zijn groot talent in den dienst heeft gesteld van de publieke zaak, en daarmede een zeldzame sympathie gewekt, ja harten veroverd. Vervolgens deelde hij mede, dat de Koningin Braakensiek heeft benoemd tot officier in de orde van Oranje Nassau (daverend applaus). Prof. dr. W. Kernkamp huldigde daarop den jubilaris namens de directie en de redactie van de Groene Amsterdammer en deelde mede, dat het huldigingscomité Braakensieks schilderij Hartjesdag heeft aangekocht en heeft aangeboden aan de gemeente Amsterdam. Tevens bood hij den jubilaris een album
CLUSIUS-HERDENKING.
mej. L. S. f 1; N. N. f 1; [?] f 2. 50; [?] f 1; A. v. R. f 5; J. D. v. R f 2. 50; N. v. R. f 1; fam. v. d. S. f 7; dr. C. S. H. f 10; G. C. te H. f 3; mej. A. S. f 1; J. R. f 2. 50! dr. Ph. S. v. R. f f 2. 50; H. te B. te Z. f 20; personeel L B. V. f 25. 25; J. W. V. f 2. 50; D. V. f 10; gecollecteerd op verjaardag van M K. f 2. 60; dames B. f 10; gecollecteerd op verjaardag J. L. f 1. 80; gecollecteerd op vergadering Holl. Sint Bernardclub f 5. 61; vergadering Zomerzorg f 10. 60; N. N. f 2; overschot dansavond M. N. v. Wijk f 3. 50; dienstpl. mil. 4de reg. inf. f 6. 25; W. L. f 1; J. P. W. f 2. 50; collecte Vrije Kath. Kerk f 11. 25; H. V. f 5; gecollecteerd op feestavond 30-jarige bruiloft van Bouwe en Mies f 14. 82; Neeltje f 1; tweelingbroeders G. en K. de B. te K. f 1; collecte wedstrijd Quick Boys-Kinheim f 15; C. M. f 1; spontaan geofferd aan de
Source: Source: Erfgoed Leiden en Omstreken (leiden.courant.nu)