“Afbeeldingen van de Kleeding, Zeden en Gewoonten in de Bataafsche Republiek, met den Aanvang der Negentiende Eeuw”, translated as “Pictures of the Dress, Manners and Customs of the Batavian Republic, at the Beginning of the 19th Century”, released by publisher Evert Maaskamp in 1803 is a very compelling book detailing the looks and styles of 18th century Holland.
The successor of Republic of the United Netherlands, the Batavian Republic was proclaimed in January 1795 and lasted just until June 1806, when Louis Bonaparte took reign of the Kingdom of Holland.
Since the political changes were quite abrupt in those times and the Batavian Republic had only lasted for a few years when the book was published, the images cannot be described as being highly particular to a “Batavian style”, but rather as a part of a continuous Dutch aesthetic.
Evert Maaskamp’s firm re-issued several times these plates which depict beautifully hand-colored images of daily Dutch life, including a young girl playing the piano, a maid pouring milk and even ice skating. The images were engraved by Lodewijk Portman, who was a true professional in illustrating customs and folklore.
The early 18th century is a very interesting part of Europe’s sartorial history. Back in those days, high-value or high-quality fabrics and clothes were neither completely inaccessible nor very accessible. Thus, they had a great cultural value, since they were not out of hand completely, but required effort to acquire. We see many beautiful colors, prints and patterns and captivating mixes of these. The manners of seem to be in tandem. The wearers of these clothes are depicted as careful and soft. Of course, this was most likely not the case in everyday interactions.
These images are most likely idealized versions of the quotidian. In many ways, they can be seen as a social media record of the 1700s. This helps us better understand what the people of those times desired, how they wanted to present themselves to the world and what their interests were.
It also shows what clothes were the crème de la crème, since not everybody in the Netherlands of those times was dressed that way all the time.
The clothes also express the rules of the time, better said, the rules of public behavior. We barely see any touching between people and this manner of relating is also expressed through the clothes, which, despite their timeless elegance, act like shields; they do not let much be revealed.
The fact that the clothes were acting like a shield did not prevent them to be a discourse on rather intimate things. For example, the hips of most women portrayed, were rather wide, an indicator for fertility and child-baring capabilities.
Any type of imagery, may it be even something rather simple, such as the illustrations in this book, is a good indicative of a certain context’s views over morality, relations, power and more. Moreover, they are a great source of inspiration in terms of colors, prints and textures and, why not, approaches to fashion and clothes.
Fraquoh and Franchomme
Further reading:
AC Mood Board: The Renaissance in world fashions
AC Mood Board: Basel fashion in the 1630s
AC Mood Board: Medieval clothed horses
AC Mood Board: Royal, military and court costumes from the Jacobean era
P.S. We want to hear from you! What do you think of the illustrations from this book? What else do they reveal to you? How do you connect with this type of fashions? Share your feedback, questions or thoughts in the comments below! For more articles on style, fashion tips and cultural insights, you can subscribe to Attire Club via e-mail or follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram!