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Marian King and Elizabeth Enright
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Donation by Hendrik Edelman
Acquisition 2004
Date 1930
Size 26 x 22 cm.
Signature EDELM A 025
The book Kees is part of a large donation of American (children's) books about the Netherlands and Dutch people in America. For many years Hendrik Edelman, professor emeritus at Rutgers University in New Jersey USA, collected books about relations between the Netherlands and the United States. Seeking a good home for his collection, he approached the Koninklijke Bibliotheek. When the boxes arrived at the port of Rotterdam, Dr W. van Drimmelen wrote about the collection to Prof. Edelman in a letter, dated 24 March 2004: 'its value is immediately apparent, certainly for researchers interested in the image that Americans have of the Netherlands and of Dutch history'.
The collection has already been used extensively for lectures, radio programmes, articles and books. It also has links with 'Atlantic World', the joint website of the Koninklijke Bibliotheek and the Library of Congress in Washington.
The website includes, for example, different editions of the story Hans Brinker or The silver skates by Mary Mapes Dodge, which first appeared in 1865. Hans, the fictional 'hero of Haarlem' who was able to avert a flood by placing his finger in a hole in the dike, has since become world-famous.
Kees is a special-edition picture book, with illustrations either in full-colour or red and black and with colourful page borders. When it appeared in 1930, it was very modern for its time, with its bold contour lines and large areas of bright colour. It is an excellent example of how Americans view the Netherlands. The story is organised so that Kees, together with his duck Kleintje, is able to show all the elements typically viewed as Dutch: traditional costumes and clogs, windmills and tulips, cheese and Sinterklaas, skating and boats.
(JK)
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