AA-2026-F817F8
On the image
Three children sit on a Volendam doorstep dressed in the full traditional costume - the wing-shaped lace cap, the striped skirts, the tight black bodice - clothing that by the 1950s no one wore to actually do anything in, only to be photographed doing nothing. The pose is unhurried because it was arranged that way; a tourist with a camera and a few coins could produce this exact tableau on any sunny afternoon in the village.
Above them, an older couple leans out over the bottom half of a Dutch door in matching costume, supervising the performance with the patient expression of people who have done this many times before. The stable-style door let air in and gossip out for three centuries before it became a frame for exactly this kind of picture.
A windowsill of potted plants and lace curtains completes the scene the visitors came for, proof that the postcard version of Holland could, for a modest fee, be arranged to include real children instead of ceramic ones.
Visually related — by likeness
Children in Traditional Dress, Volendam, Netherlands, 1950s. 1950–1959. Archive & Atlas, Historical Image Library, AA-2026-F817F8. https://thearchive.archiveandatlas.com/library/children-in-traditional-dress-volendam-netherlands-1950s.
@misc{aaAA2026F817F8,
title = {Children in Traditional Dress, Volendam, Netherlands, 1950s},
year = {1950–1959},
howpublished = {Archive \& Atlas, Historical Image Library},
note = {Accession AA-2026-F817F8},
url = {https://thearchive.archiveandatlas.com/library/children-in-traditional-dress-volendam-netherlands-1950s}
}TY - ART TI - Children in Traditional Dress, Volendam, Netherlands, 1950s PY - 1950–1959 PB - Archive & Atlas, Historical Image Library AN - AA-2026-F817F8 UR - https://thearchive.archiveandatlas.com/library/children-in-traditional-dress-volendam-netherlands-1950s ER -
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