Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza

Hans Heinrich August Gábor Tasso Thyssen-Bornemisza de Kászon, Baron Thyssen-Bornemisza, was a Dutch-born Swiss industrialist and art collector. A member of the Thyssen family, he had a Hungarian title and was heir to a German fortune.

Moral Standards and Everyday Attire

In the 1930s, some religious schools strictly enforced modesty, with teachers occasionally sending boys home for wearing sandals without socks because it was considered walking around half-naked. Meanwhile, the earlier introduction of flesh-colored stockings around 1920 sparked intense moral debates, though the sheer number of women wearing them eventually rendered the controversy pointless by 1929.

Preserving the Volendam lace cap

The Volendam white lace cap, called a hul, was part of daily dress in the early 20th century and was kept stiffened in a tin to maintain its shape.

Jazz and the 1920s Dance Craze

In the 1920s, American jazz became wildly popular in the Netherlands, leading to a dance craze where people flocked to halls to perform the Shimmy, Charleston, and Black Bottom.

Musicians at Fairs and Rural Festivals

At fairs in the early 1900s, traveling musicians such as violinists, accordionists, and tamborine players were common, sometimes accompanied by street organs. Musicians playing for dances at rural festivities often sat on wooden chests and tapped their violin bows to signal when dancers needed to pay for the music.

Train travel times between Utrecht and Groningen

By 1900, traveling from Utrecht to Groningen by train took four hours, a duration that decreased to three hours by 1932.

Steamboat travel costs in 1914

Around 1914, a steamboat ticket between local towns like Genemuiden and Zwolle cost between 60 and 85 cents.

Living conditions in crowded one-room homes

Around 1900, many poor families lived in single-room dwellings where they cooked, slept, and relieved themselves, often using a bucket or wooden box that was collected weekly. Waste was sometimes stored in basements or attics to be sold as fertilizer.

The transition to electric lighting

Lighting was inconsistent, with candles, kerosene lamps, and gaslight all in use, and electric lighting considered a luxury for the wealthy or public spaces around 1900. By the 1920s, electric light and wired outlets for appliances began appearing in modern homes.

Coffee and tea replace traditional drinks

Coffee, tea, and sometimes cocoa with sugar replaced beer, water, and buttermilk as the most common everyday drinks. Previously, buttermilk mixed with well water had been a standard beverage.

Shifting diets from potatoes to varied meals

Ordinary families often ate simple one-pot meals consisting of potatoes mixed with vegetables, beans, or a small amount of fat and bacon. Over time, families began eating more varied foods, such as wheat bread, meat, and processed products like margarine and cookies.

Everyday food prices in the 1930s

A sliced loaf of bread cost 11 cents, and a single egg cost 2 cents. A pound of butter was approximately 50 cents, while a full meal in a cafeteria could cost 25 cents.

Worker monthly and weekly earnings

An apothecary assistant in the city earned 110 guilders per month in the 1930s. During the same period, some workers struggled to survive on just 22 guilders per week.

Memorable facts of everyday work

Household servants performed grueling tasks like emptying chamber pots daily and scrubbing floors, often for very little pay. Some home-based workers earned as little as 2 to 3 cents for tasks like sorting coffee beans.

Most common jobs in the Netherlands

Agriculture was the largest employer, though many laborers also worked in textile factories, the port of Rotterdam, or as household servants. Home-based industries were common, where people performed tasks like shelling shrimp or stripping tobacco for extremely low wages.