GOUDA-DESIGN
Artists and Designers
Henri Leonardus August Breetvelt (Delft 1864 - Gouda 1923).
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Henri Leonardus August Breetvelt (1864-1923). Left - self portrait - circa 1910/1915. Picture courtesy of 'Henri Breetvelt - Koning der Plateelschilders' MuseumgoudA, Gouda. For more information and pictures of some Breetvelt's work see Gert-Jan's article here. |
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| A typical Breetvelt mark |
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One of Breetvelt's decors was adapted by Leen Muller and was to become decor 'Marion'. From our collection. |
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Here below for your interest is a Breetvelt vase recently sold on eBay. There is no doubt it is a genuine Breetvelt but look closely. PZH model number 1051 is a 'ginger jar' - which has a lid. The one sold on eBay appears to have been 'restored' on the top rim and then re-painted. It sold for GBP777.83 ($1155.55 approx).
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Joannes Hubertus Stijns
Model maker & designer at PZH and other pottery factories.
Here is an extract from a wonderful letter sent to us by Egbert Hughes.
"My grandfather, Joannes Hubertus Stijns, came from Maastricht. He was born on 17 January 1858 and died in Gouda on 21 May 1929 aged 71. Hubertus was a model maker and designer. He also went to Belgium to design pottery and from there to Schoonhoven and Noordwijk and finally Gouda. There was a large painting of him in the model room of PZH. Sadly there is no trace of his career to be found.
In the 1920's and 1930's my family had a very large collection of Gouda but it all vanished after their deaths. I wish I had known more about my grandfather as a boy. All the design drawings of the pottery he made at the Zuid Holland Factory used to be at my grandmothers home. Would it not be great if I still had them. As often happens, at the time I was not aware of their importance. Maybe someone can throw some light on the work carried out by my grandfather.
Your site and all the photographs on it brings back very happy memories. Please keep up the good work."
Joannes Hubertus Stijns - update November 2003
"Following on from my previous notes above, I have discovered some more information about my grandfather Joannes Hubertus Stijns."
This picture shows Egbert's grandfather and family. The exact date is not known but is prior to 1929.
Left to right - sitting.
Cornelia Stijns Stijns, Maria Elizabeth van den Heuvel Stijns, Joannes Hubertus Stijns.
Left to right - standing.
Philomina Maria Stijns Steenland, Arthur Hubert Stijns, Cornelia Stijns Kerkhoven, Margaretha Stijns Hughes.
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Firstly of great interest is the birth certificate of Egbert Estié's son in Noordwijk on 29 June 1907. My grandfather was a witness, an honour indeed. You can see the signatures on this copy of the certificate Egbert Estié was of course the founder of Plateelbakkerij Zuid-Holland in 1898. |
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"Two of my cousins found a photograph of the so called "clay school" in Gouda. Their father, Arthur Stijns was an instructor and in charge was one Professor Regout. Whether there was a connection with Petrus Regout ceramics in Maastricht I do not know. In the model room at PZH there was a painting of Hubertus. Just before WW2 my brother John started as an engineer with PZH and during a factory tour with the manager he told him that the man in the painting was his grandfather! Sadly John's stay at PZH was cut short due to the war. As he was British, he was sent to a camp in Poland but it seems that the staff at PZH sent him parcels. Just as an aside - my brother Ted and I used to play hide and seek in Gouda with the German occupiers and we were part of the Dutch resistance.
Apart from being involved with the setting up of the PZH factory and being a model maker with them, grandfather was also connected with Plateelbakkerij Schoonhoven. Here he was also employed as a model maker and was a very prominent figure in the trade. Within the pottery industry at that time, he was one of the highest paid employees. It is most probable that Willem van Katwijk learned the trade from him when he started at the age of 18 in 1921, working until 1943 as a model maker."
"Here you can see a vase commemorating 25 years of Queen Wilhelmina's reign. It is most likely that this was modelled by my grandfather based on an idea by Mr Koenig, the artistic leader."
"Time may reveal much more about my talented grandfather and the role he played in the pottery industry in Gouda and other pottery towns."
"Lastly, I sincerely thank Dick Bode and Joop Nobel for their wonderful help in sending me valuable information and to Stuart & Kim for allowing me to tell you about my grandfather."
Egbert Hughes - November 2003.
It is a real pleasure to be able to show some of the history of PZH and the other factories. If you have any information on Egbert's grandfather, contact us and we will pass this on. We thank Egbert and his wife Jeane for allowing us to share their family history.
© These pictures are reproduced with very kind permission of Egbert & Jeane Hughes.
Martinus van der Weel.
Decorator for Goedewaagen c.1929 and Plateelbakkerij Zuid-Holland 1938 - 1964.
Here below we can see Martinus (pictured front right) at work in the PZH factory. Martinus was born in 1912 in the town of Brouwershaven in the Dutch province of Zeeland. He worked for Goedewaagen for a short period during 1929. In 1938 he started at PZH and worked until the factory closed in 1964. The date of the picture showing him at work is about 1940. Shown are the actual brushes that he used for decorating. These pictures are reproduced with very kind permission of Johanna Wilhelmina Geloven van der Weel, daughter of Martinus van der Weel. We met Johanna while on holiday in Gouda. She was so kind in allowing us to see and copy the original pictures also to handle and photograph the brushes that her father used.
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