Cows in the picture

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But that’s not all. Not only are cattle production animals, they are also exceptional pack animals, draught animals and riding animals. Many sports and rituals show how man and cow work together.

What message does it carry? That’s on the card, sometimes on the front, sometimes written across the picture or scribbled on the back to put as much text as possible on the left hand side of that small piece of paper…

Legible? Hardly. Fun? Of course.

The world of cow and man merging in one book.

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Hans Miltenburg | Reimer Strikwerda

Much has changed over the course of the existence of postcards.

These historical changes have also been captured on picture postcards: from milking by hand to the milking machine. Companies liked advertising their products on picture postcards and sending them around the world.

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For more than eighty centuries man and cow have been connected with each other. Over a century of it has been captured through a unique medium: picture postcards. This book contains an extraordinary collection of about 200 picture postcards from a global supply of historic and modern postcards: cows and all their specialties. The close bond between cow and man is front and centre.

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The cow presented on 200 historical postcards

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COWS IN THE PICTURE

COWS IN THE PICTURE

ISBN 978-90-8740-310-2

www.roodbont.com

9 789087 403102

Hans Miltenburg | Reimer Strikwerda

COWS IN THE PICTURE The cow presented on 200 historical postcards

Man, cow, and the postcard For centuries, there has been a special relationship between mankind and the cow. Roughly 8,500 years ago the first cattle were domesticated; the beginning of a relationship that has defined us both. That link is presented in this book in a unique manner: with postcards.

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In 1865, the German Heinrich von Stephan and the Austrian Emanuel Hermann proposed to create a card with pre-printed postage, so it could be sent without an envelope: the postal card. Soon after, the first postal cards with images were produced: the picture postcard had become reality.

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By 1890, the postcard could be sent worldwide. In the Netherlands, up until 1906, the back of the postcard could only be used to write an address. Only after that date was the back divided, to allow for messages and nice stories to be included next to the address.

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The cards with herdswomen from the countryside were a popular item. Farmer families were very eager to have their photos taken for the postcards. This way they could show how proud they were of their livestock and could advertise their precious cattle.

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Hans Miltenburg Reimer Strikwerda

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To make this book possible, over 10,000 postcards had to be reviewed. The selected cards show the intimate bond between man and cow. The worldwide connection, united for a century on picture postcards, is what we see in this book.

Look, discover and enjoy.

Contents 10

picture postcard 6

Dating picture postcards

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Postage stamps on historic picture postcards 8

The back of picture postcards

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Special stamps on picture postcards

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Interesting cards

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Collecting picture postcards

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Cows in all shapes and sizes 18 From milkmaid to milking robot Wheeling and dealing

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Pretty cows

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Cow health

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Roaming cows

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Cow products

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Milk delivery

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Cows and colonists

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Caring cows

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Posing with cows

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Cows on the go

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Cows in conflict

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Cows with a message

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Cows in advertising

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Cow art

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Cow’s milk in processing

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Hygienic milking

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Strong foreign cows

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Working cows in the Netherlands 80

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1 The picture postcard

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An initiative by German Heinrich von Stephan and Austrian Emanuel Hermann in 1865 led to the postal card and, consequently, the picture postcard. In the Netherlands, the postal card was introduced on January 1st 1871. It had been pre-printed with postage and was therefore suited for mailing without an envelope. From 1873 onwards, illustrations were added to postal cards in the Netherlands; these are referred to as illustrated postal cards. They are seen as the precursors to the picture postcard.

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Instead of the name ‘picture postcard’ often they are simply called ‘postcards’.

The original German name is ‘Ansichtskarte’, ‘Ansicht’ being the word for view. Collectors however, prefer to use the term picture postcard.

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A Dutch postcard postmarked January 1st 1874.

Dating picture postcards In the Netherlands, the back of picture postcards were, until 1906, exclusively used to write the address. These cards were not printed with a line separating the back, one part for the address and one for messages. This is known as the ‘undivided back’ era. If you find such a postcard, you can be sure that it is over 100 years old. Aside from divided and undivided backs, collectors also distinguish between cards that have been sent through the postal system, and postcards that haven’t. One can

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distinguish between the two by the presence or absence of a postage stamp or postmark.

At the start of the 20th century, it was normal for cards to be stamped a total of three times. A 'sent'

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postmark was placed over the postage stamp and the 'arrival' postmark appeared elsewhere on the back. Both marks showed the date. A smaller rectangular mark with a letter and one or two digits

THE NETHERLANDS, 1905

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would be the postman's mark.

This example is a postcard with an undivided back which was sent on May 9th 1905 from Scherpenzeel to Barneveld. The postman's mark is C2. You can see that the exact address was not so important in those times. The postman knew the people and where they lived, and thus the card would always arrive.

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Postage stamps on historic picture postcards Older Dutch cards most often include a red 1 cent or green 2.5 cent stamp. It would mean something if the stamp was not placed upright on the card but at an angle. Cards showing the meaning of all the different stamp angles were known as stamp position code cards. The card shown here is an example. You can see that every position of the stamp had a different meaning. Sticking them on carefully was

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important.

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THE NETHERLANDS, CA. 1910

The back of picture postcards Messages on postcards can be versatile. Written text can be about the image on the front of the card, or contain a short message. In the past, before telephones were widespread, postcards were an important tool for sending messages, though of course the option of sending letters also existed.

The written text could also contain historical information. Furthermore, it is possible that the recipient

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or sender of the card was famous, which would add to the cards value.

THE NETHERLANDS, 1912

A picture postcard from 1912 with a message. The capability to send messages over long distances was limited at the time. H. v.d. Vijver, a farmer, requests a fuel merchant from Rotterdam to send briquettes for clothes irons.

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2 Cows in all shapes and sizes

Dutch cattle researcher and artist Marleen Felius discovered that the nearly 1500 different cattle species worldwide came from a single ancestor the ancient aurochs, a species now long extinct.

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The life of cattle contributed to their appearance.

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There are roughly 1.5 billion cattle, every one of them a descendant of the ancient aurochs. In that long period, cows have adapted to the changing circumstances in impressive ways in order to survive. They have served their owners in many ways: by providing milk and meat of course, but also serving as draught animals.

She pondered in her 2016 dissertation ‘On the Breeds of Cattle’ if

all those individual breeds truly have a raison d’être. She was doubtful, but nobody can deny that a ten

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century lasting tradition has given us a wide range of cattle that we would like to keep around.

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The life of cattle contributed to their appearance. The specimens best suited for the circumstances in which they found themselves procreated. Around the year 1850, farmers began to deliberately select

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their cows and bulls for favourable traits: breed registries saw the light of day. Modern selection put a strain on the range of the worldwide cattle breeds: formerly popular breeds became rare and were

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only kept as pets.

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The Banteng was a breed of wild cattle which lived in large parts of Southeast Asia. These cows were very noticeable due to their elegant appearance. The bulls grew into impressive beasts, especially the front half, which would reach a height of 1.80 metres. In the wild they are practically extinct. The Java Banteng is still

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kept in national parks in Indonesia.

INDONESIA, CA. 1930

Even at that point in history, this breed was already protected. A yearly contribution would be one guilder per year and ten guilders would make one a lifetime donor.

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As far as size is concerned, the Italian Chianina is hard to beat. Bulls can easily reach 1.70 metres tall and a weight of 1,200 kg. These gen-

ITALY, CA. 1910

tle giants are very suitable for labour for small-scale mountain farmers.

They no longer fulfil that task though: nowadays they are popular for

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their tasty and healthy meat.

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Even these tiny bulls have their merits,

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SRI LANKA, 1905

as can be seen on this postcard from

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Ceylon, a former British colony, now known as Sri Lanka. It was necessary

that the bulls of the beautifully named Sinhala breed were both friendly and powerful, and did not become heavier than 275 kg. Another interesting aspect is that their ears hang horizontally.

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3 From milkmaid to milking robot

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The reactions to the first milking machine at the World Expo of 1862 in London were unforgiving. An example: ‘The sickle and scythe have been replaced by the mower, the horse plough, and the steam plough. Now the blushing milkmaid will also disappear from the face of the earth.’

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The author of this complaint would not be proven completely wrong, but there was still a long way to go. If one looks at the picture postcards from this early period, one would indeed get the impression that – also in the Netherlands and Belgium – it was mostly ladies who were tasked with the daily milking responsibility. This work,

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It is estimated that by 1940, over half of the cows in Australia and New Zealand were milked mechanically.

everyone agreed, was done the way it had always been done and that should not change.

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The milking machine came into being, but the actual implementation had a rough start all over the world. In Europe, especially in the Scandinavian nations, ground-breaking – and for the cows

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beneficial – progress was made. Australia and New Zealand were two other countries that took to the milking machine early on. It is estimated that by 1940, over half of the cows in Australia and New

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Zealand were milked mechanically.

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In the Netherlands, milking machines did not gain real popularity until the 1950s. Farmhands and milkmaids were in short supply. They could earn more money elsewhere. Furthermore, the cost reduction of the machines and increasing size of farms played a role. The livestock farmers had to go mechanical, whether they liked it or not. The automatic milking system was a logical next step half a century later.

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THE NETHERLANDS, 1901

The ladies from the Dutch province Zeeland have finished their milking duties, and the dairy cattle watch the milkmaids walk away with their fresh milk. The full milking pails are brought to the farm near Koudekerke. Whereas during the summer months this was a daily ritual in

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Walcheren, it was quite a sight to behold for the people in Italy receiving the postcard.

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In the period from 1830 to 1910, many attempts at mechanical milking were made. The Swedish Mjölkingmaskin Aktiebolaget released the ‘Alfa’ machine on the market. It made headlines at the agriculture trade fair of 1910 in the

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Belgian city of Ghent. For the cows

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however, it was a painful invention

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– pressure rollers squeezed milk through the teats – and it was anything but ready for use in the field.

SWEDEN, 1910

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UNITED STATES, 1930

The rotary milking parlour, introduced in the United States in 1930 by Walker-Gordon, was downright revolutionary. The size and speed of the ‘Rotolactor’ were not the only impressive aspects; measuring the amount of milk per cow and automatically cleaning itself between milkings were two other spectacular features.

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4 Wheeling and dealing

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The cattle trade in the Netherlands took place at weekly markets for a long time: in Amsterdam, for example, since 1221. Supply and demand set the prices and (often fervent) cattle traders played a role in pricing as well.

For many years, millions of animals were bought and sold every year at the livestock markets. Dozens

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of other cities and towns had weekly or biweekly markets. The names of streets and squares remind us of the times of livestock markets: Cow Street, Horse Market, Ox Market.

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As the years went on, the number of markets in the Netherlands declined: by 1956 only seventy remained. As outbreaks of infectious diseases would sometimes shut down a market for months, the institute of livestock markets lost its footing. Only the markets in Leeuwarden and Purmerend survived all the crises (with drastic reductions).

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The names of streets and squares remind us of the times of livestock markets: Cow Street, Horse Market, Ox Market.

The international trade in pedigree livestock took a step back from the livestock market world and no longer dealt with the old haggling transactions. Trading was done over drinks at the high-end hotels in Leeuwarden, because the Frisian pedigree breeds were

the most coveted for decades on end. Prizewinning bulls sold for immense sums, especially when

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associations for artificial insemination were set up after the Second World War. Exporters were shown to be progressive entrepreneurs, facilitating deals between the farmers and foreign buyers.

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ed ec t pr ot ht ig yr op C FRANCE, CA. 1905 Douai, in the northernmost part of France, had a lively market. A handful of people are posing for the photo, but the majority of merchants are too busy buying and selling the livestock. Although some other breeds can be seen, most cattle in this postcard are of the locally dominant Rouge Flamande, the original breed of Flanders.

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The traders at livestock markets had their own rituals. This card from the Dutch province Friesland – with Leeuwarden and Sneek hosting the important weekly markets – describes them as ‘hantsjebakke’. Loosely translated: wheeling and dealing with handshakes. Some traders made a

THE NETHERLANDS, 1922

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show out of it, the actual price was however often determined beforehand.

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Stefanus Naudรณ used this card of the market in Rotterdam to tell his brother Pierre in Barcelona that he had sent some Dutch cattle to Spain by train. He asked his brother to pay special attention to two

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solid red cows with pretty heads. He also March 12th 1909 and snow still covered the ground.

THE NETHERLANDS, 1909

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casually mentions that it was very cold on

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5 Pretty cows

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Not only was the milk and meat production important for cow lovers, their appearance – the exterior is the technical term – was important as well. That is why the judging and appraisals at cattle inspections, which sometimes had an impressive history, came into being. Certain traits were important for every cattle breed, like the udder and the legs.

Often other special traits weighed heavily, for example head carriage and beautiful horns. Jury members played an important role at shows, and their expertise was almost never challenged. The

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jury members could tell, for instance, if a cow showed ‘nobility’, without the term ever being defined.

A bronze statue of the ideal purebred cow of that time was erected in Leeuwarden in 1954 – a team Adema.

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A bronze statue of the ideal purebred cow of that time was erected in Leeuwarden in 1954.

of expert cattle breeders were present to assist sculptor Gerardus

In the course of the 20th century, all that attention to the details of steers and cows seemed to have an adverse effect. The ‘pretty’ solid black cows in the Netherlands were found to give less

milk and be smaller in stature: their economic value as milk producers was increasingly overlooked.

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The modern ‘pretty’ cows were expected to shine in certain aspects which would ensure a long,

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productive, and problem-free life.

The Dutch-Friesian cattle was eventually beyond redemption. In its original environment it was replaced with Holstein cattle from the United States, the descendants of black pied cattle exported from the Netherlands a century earlier, but which had been especially bred for milk production.

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The cattle inspection at Hoornaar, in the south-western pasture areas of the Netherlands, has a long and rich history: the first event took place in 1910 and to this day the inspection still takes place in October. Photos taken by De Kroon of the early competitions were made into picture postcards. The winners C. de Jong, Duur Slob, G. Bikker and Wout Slob posed

THE NETHERLANDS, CA. 1920

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with their prized animals.

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6 Cow health

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Animal health is an important aspect of cattle farming. The animals’ owner and/or caretaker are always the ones responsible for their health and wellbeing. In the Netherlands, farmers have access to many organisations and authorities that will help them if necessary.

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The attending veterinarian plays an integral role; the first line of defence for the farmer. In the Netherlands, GD Animal Health performs animal health monitoring, conducts practice-oriented research, and develops programmes for the prevention and curing of animal illnesses. The dairy and meat industries

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also play a role in quality assurance, health programmes and food safety. The government is responsible for certifying the trade flow for public health and food safety.

Picture postcards with animal health as a theme were rather rare.

The cards concerning animal health that were made had various

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The dairy and meat industries also play a role in quality assurance, health programmes and food safety.

goals. Sometimes, postcards were used to raise awareness about animal illnesses, but other times they were used to educate.

Of course, postcards were also published to advertise certain vet-

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erinary medicines and pesticides. It was also interesting to photograph veterinary procedures, as the

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old card from Laos shows.

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The warble fly is a type of fly that lays eggs in the hair of cattle. The larvae reside under the skin

THE NETHERLANDS, 1932

and cause swellings called warbles, and gestate into flies. The warble fly was very dangerous: young animals grew more slowly and adult animals produced less milk. Furthermore, the flies were a great nuisance: cattle would flee desperately from the warble flies. The national programme to combat the issue was a success: the Netherlands has been rid of the warble fly for

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a long time.

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7 Roaming cows

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Livestock farmers who owned only a few animals and small amounts of land roamed with their animals in search of food. In many countries, cattle herding was recorded on postcards in the early 20th century.

Usually herdswomen posed for photographs while the cattle were busy grazing. Children were also

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used for herding the cattle. There used to be many sheep and cattle herders in the swamplands of the Landes departement in France. To keep their feet dry, they would walk on stilts.

And of course, there were the cowboys with their roaming herds.

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From the South, cowboys brought large herds of Longhorns northwards along the 3,000 kilometre long ‘cattle trails’.

After the Civil War (1866) in the United States, ever more beef was needed in the cities in the North and the East, and livestock farming became more lucrative than ever before. From the South,

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cowboys brought large herds of Longhorns northwards along the 3,000 kilometre long ‘cattle trails’. The animals were branded so it was easy to determine who they belonged to.

On the large modern ranches in the United States, horses are still used alongside four-wheel drive

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trucks. The United States is not alone in still having cowboys to this day, they are also present in South

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American countries.

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The first famous herdswoman on a postcard was Johana Stortelder, also known as Janno Woltas, from the area around Lievelde near Groenlo. She would always bring her knitting kit with her when herding cattle.

In the background we see the railway station of Groenlo-Lichtenvoorde, which opened in 1878. The high building is the water tower used to supply the locomotive with water.

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THE NETHERLANDS, 1904

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ed ec t pr ot ht ig yr op C BELGIUM, 1912 66

The Belgian province of Luik also had female cow herders: this card from 1912 shows ‘a poor, old woman’. The card was sent from Trembleur, where the coal mines, which were shut down in 1980, are nowadays a tourist attraction.

A watchful herdswoman and an equally watchful child from Calais in France.

The background shows the heavy Nor-

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mande cattle with their typical irregular

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dark reddish-brown pied pattern.

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FRANCE, 1910

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8 Cow art

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Cows have been a long-time favourite of landscape artists, and this was no less the case in the Netherlands. Paulus Potter’s bull is one of the world’s most famous pieces of art, just as the work of the Dutch painter Willem Maris – filled to the brim with cows – which is popular all over the globe.

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Especially since 1970, cows have gained popularity with artists and became a specifically Dutch phenomenon. The trade magazine ‘Veeteelt’ has dedicated a page to the work of one of the near

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innumerable artists who depicts cows in their own unique way every month for ten years.

Usually ‘laymen’ were the focus, however, Marleen Felius (1948), an artist from Rotterdam, became world-famous as a specialist in the area of cattle breeds. That is when her standard reference came out: a weighty book named ‘Cattle Breeds: An Encyclopedia’. She did not stop there however, in 2016 she received her doctorate from the University of Utrecht on the same topic.

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Paulus Potter’s bull belongs to the world’s most famous pieces of art.

In her ‘Cattle Breeds’, as well as in her thesis, she included beautiful pictures of cattle breeds – her

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view on cows was special in that sense. For the national Dutch cattle exhibition NRM, Marleen Felius

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painted the winning cows as a beautiful grand prize for the lucky owners.

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ed ec t pr ot ht ig yr op C THE NETHERLANDS, 1979

Erno Tromp (1948), a painter and graphic designer, made an impression with his series of postcards depicting a large number of cattle breeds, with backgrounds showing something typical from their environment. The Jersey – ‘the most specialised milk cow we know’ – of course stared at the island from whence it came.

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John Hasall (1868-1948), born in Kent, was a versatile artist who was not afraid of a challenge. He produced many illustrations for Lemco, the company responsible for the innovative Oxo beef stock cubes. They advertised with postcards showing various cattle breeds. One of these breeds was the

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Highland cattle, which since 1980 has also been released into Dutch natural areas as a grazer.

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ENGLAND, 1903

GERMANY, CA. 1920 Jean Bungartz (1854-1934), a German, was a famous animal artist and also a photographer/book illustrator.

Particularly his books about dogs became well-known. He published a large series of cards with cattle breeds from all over the world. Of the breed shown here, the Hungarian Steppe cattle, only one protected herd still

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exists, in the Hungarian National Park Hortobagy.

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10 Strong foreign cows

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In the past, the multifunctionality of cattle knew no bounds. Farmers in many parts of the world were simply dependent on their few cattle for ploughing their land and transporting their goods.

A multitude of activities taught us about the role of cows. Many people will be surprised that it was

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not the milk or the meat, but the pulling power of cattle that was the most valued aspect in the daily dealings of the simple farmer. These animals, with a wide range of uses, were simple. They were content with little feed and still showed impressive amounts of stamina when working.

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The modernisation of agriculture and livestock breeding happened at a pace that the primitive cattle could not keep up with.

This role was fulfilled by cattle until first horses and then steam machines became attainable for farmers or businesses. Then the not all older breeds were able to sufficiently adapt to the new times and the new demands.

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dual role of cattle was shifted: milk and meat were prioritised. But

The modernisation of agriculture and livestock breeding happened at a pace that the primitive cattle

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could not keep up with. Therefore, they lost the battle and had to take solace in being the odd ones

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out. Livestock farmers started specialising during the 20th century and their cattle had to adapt.

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The cattle that had to work on hard surfaces were often shoed. Shoeing cattle is different than shoeing horses. Shoeing consists of fitting an iron plate to the outer part of the hoof, because

FRANCE, CA. 1910

that is the part on which the most force was exerted. Shoeing required significant expertise

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and sometimes necessitated spectacular contraptions such as the one pictured here.

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CHAD, CA. 1965 A young mother from the African country of Chad opted for a special kind of transport for her child: on the back of a Bororo bull. An elegant breed, which

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catches the eye with their beautiful horns.

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In Ceylon, nowadays known as Sri Lanka, the indigenous Sinhala cattle were used for transporting people, but were also raced against one another. These tiny bulls – they rarely became heavier

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than 275 kilograms – were equipped with a small hump which the cows did not have.

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SRI LANKA, 1907

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11 Hygienic milking

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In the early 20th century, there was not much interest in the hygienic harvesting and distribution of cow’s milk. Also, the cleaning of milk utensils was not very hygienic. In I.H.J. Vos’s dissertation ‘The dairy supply of Amsterdam’ from 1918, the author states: ‘The milk churns are generally cleaned in the canals, not exactly an uplifting piece of knowledge.’

The poor quality of milk was partially the reason for some doctors and directors of inspection services to found the Fellowship of Milk Science in 1908 with the goal of educating both government and

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citizens from a scientific point of view. Furthermore, there were initiatives by individual businessmen to start up model farms. At model farms, the milk was collected and processed in extremely hygienic conditions. After refrigeration, the milk was directly transported to customers.

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‘The milk churns are generally cleaned in the canals, not exactly an uplifting piece of knowledge.’

Various model farms, such as ‘De Vaan’ near Rotterdam and ‘Oud-Bussem’ in the Gooi area, cropped up around 1905 in the Netherlands. On the banks of the Rhine, in the town of Doorwerth,

Joseph Scheffer founded the model farm ‘Huis ter Aa’ in 1908. He was not only rich, but also very

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entrepreneurial. The advertisements for his venture even reached Paris. He made full use of picture

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postcards which gave an impression of the hygienic conditions in which the milk was produced.

Despite his best efforts, ‘Huis ter Aa’ was no longer economically viable after six years. Scheffer took a dramatic decision: he sold the largest part of the estate, which later would house the rubber factory ‘Hevea’.

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THE NETHERLANDS, 1910 Joseph Scheffer, after he had founded his model farm ‘Huis ter Aa’ near Doorwerth, asked his potential customers with the use of postcards: ‘Raw or pasteurised milk?’ They were supposed to choose the former, but only if it was prepared at his model farm.

‘Be sure that guarantees are given that it is completely pure and

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of high quality, as it is at ‘Huis ter Aa’.

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ed ec t pr ot ht ig yr op C THE NETHERLANDS, 1910 104

In the model barn at ‘Huis ter Aa’, ‘every morning, the cows are combed and brushed, and even the tails are washed’. Special attention was given to the production of milk, that much was obvious.

Twenty dairy farmhands had been brought in from Friesland, who lived on the park and were required to take a bath once a week.

THE NETHERLANDS, 1910

The cows wandered about outside during the summer months. Around the grounds of ‘Huis ter Aa’, high fences were put in place so the cows could not drink from the Rhine. Clean drinking water was supplied from the farm. Directly after the cows were milked, the milk was

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transported to the farm where it was immediately refrigerated.

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12 Cow’s milk in processing

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The Netherlands has been an important exporter of dairy products since the times when butter and cheese were still made on the farms. At the end of the 19th century, the agriculture crisis had passed its worst point and industrial processing of milk picked up steam. Populations were growing, as was the demand for dairy products.

Due to the growth of the sector, many new incentives were offered by the Dutch government, such as better credit supply, more schooling possibilities, more education and better legislation for the

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processing of dairy products. All these developments influenced the rise of the dairy industry. The real separator.

The Netherlands used to have over 1,000 dairy companies, which

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The real industrial revolution was powered by the invention of the milk separator.

industrial revolution was powered by the invention of the milk

used to be man-powered, but gradually, one by one, switched to steam power. Hundreds of towns underwent a big change: besides

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the church, the school and the café, the new dairy factory – with its striking smokestack – demanded attention. Quickly, companies started merging, which resulted in the huge dairy cooperation

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FrieslandCampina. Apart from them, a few individual businesses were still active.

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THE NETHERLANDS, 1907

The model farm ‘Berkendael’ in Loosduinen supplied milk to the milk company ‘de Sierkan’. De Sierkan promised the inhabitants of The Hague ‘pure, unadulterated, full cream and undiluted milk’. This organisation also made ample use of postcards as an advertisement tool. They did not forget to dedicate one to a distinguished outlet: Melksalon de Landouw.

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ed ec t pr ot ht ig yr op C GERMANY, 1915 110

The processing of milk only started gaining momentum when the milk separator came into use: an invention by Gustaf de Laval in 1879. The heavier milk could be separated from the lighter part cream. Alfa-Laval, one of the companies which produced the separators, made good money from the invention.

The dairy factory in Lutjewinkel, in North Holland, was fitted with a centrifuge room rather early. It was one of many smaller (mostly cooperating) dairy businesses, which used the expertise of their

THE NETHERLANDS, CA. 1915

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workers to guarantee their product’s quality.

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13 Cow products

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From the early 20th century, small-scale dairy farming mostly took place on the farms. Milk from small herds – which often did not produce impressive amounts – was used to make butter or cheese by the farmer’s wife, which was to be sold at the local market.

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When a cow – or sometimes a bull or an ox – was ready for slaughter, the local butcher was called upon. Some of the meat was kept by the farmer to feed his family, the rest the butcher sold to his

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customers.

often shown off. Butchers led the fattened beasts, decorated with wreaths, accompanied with drums, through the city or town to let the people see the quality of their prized animal. This way they

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When the dairy factories were established and the trading companies started taking cattle ready for slaughter, it marked the end of the old traditions on the farms.

In the week leading up to Easter, an Easter ox or an Easter cow was

tried to win over more customers.

When the dairy factories were established and the trading companies started taking cattle ready for slaughter, it marked the end of the old traditions on the farms. What was left were

the cattle herds, which formed the foundation of all those costly products. Modern processing had

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many advantages, the possibilities for sale and storage grew infinitely. One drawback: the children sometimes did not know that their drink actually came from a cow.

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UNITED STATES, 1910

Niklaus Gerber was the ‘pioneer’ of the dairy industry in Wisconsin in the United States.

In the end, Dutch cows were at the base of the ‘milk producers’. Local cheesemakers from the

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‘cheese factory’ used Swiss recipes to make their cheese, and won local competitions with it.

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17 Posing with cows

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The relationship between humans and cows has always been an intimate one and it delivered beautiful pictures during the time postcards were made.

Often, these so called photographic postcards were made in small batches.

Of course, from time to time the pictures were not very spontaneous, but usually that was when a

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special event or a special animal was concerned. A photographer would then be called upon so the family and the locals could also enjoy the event in the countryside.

In later years, there was an abundance of photos, for example

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When a senior cow had reached a lifetime production of 100,000 litres of milk a party was thrown to celebrate.

when a senior cow had reached a lifetime production of 100,000 litres of milk a party was thrown to celebrate. But even then, it remained a loved tradition to photograph the celebrated cow with

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a wreath around its neck and the farming couple that owned it

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holding the studbook and gifts from the feed supplier.

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In these cases, it was often still a precursor to even bigger achievements. Take Big Baukje 192, from the barn of Jos and Ingrid Knoef in Geesteren, for example, who had achieved a lifetime milk

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production of 200,000 litres in the spring of 2016. The family took a lavish portrait with the prized

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animal.

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ed ec t pr ot ht ig yr op C THE NETHERLANDS, 1926

Ten-year-old Franke de Jong, a farmer’s son from the town of Uitwellingerga near Sneek, posed in the backyard with the only red-pied cow of the dairy herd, the rest all being black.

The child was prone to falling ill, and curiously, this cow’s milk seemed to make him better.

That is why his father held on to this cow in particular, as explained in the caption.

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During the First World War, a handful of sol-

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diers stayed at a hospitable farm. They also

posed for a photograph with the family. One of the soldiers wrote to his ‘sweet Jo’ that his commander had instructed him to take the portrait. The farmer and his wife were also 138

called upon, as well as a senior dairy cow.

ed ec t pr ot ht ig yr op C Rural conditions in the United States were especially sober. The best dairy cow of this farming family was a true example of a generous milk producer: a Holstein. The farming family was very fond of their top producer and gladly posed with it in their Sunday best.

UNITED STATES, CA. 1910

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18 Cows on the go

The first cow provided the crew with milk during the long journey, and upon arrival in the United States, she gained a lot of attention due to her enormous production capacity. Winthrop Chenery

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Winthrop Chenery realised that the recently founded dairy plants in the big cities were yearning for milk.

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Tens of thousands, maybe even hundreds of thousands‌ The forefathers and especially the foremothers of the black Holstein cattle boarded the boats from Friesland and North Holland to the United States. But they also went to other countries. Besides international transport, there has of course always been transport over shorter distances too.

bought her in 1852: he realised that the recently founded dairy plants in the big cities were yearning for milk. He became one the main importers of Dutch pedigree cattle. In total, nearly 8,000

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cows and a few hundred bulls crossed the Atlantic in the following thirty years. Because the breeding

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of cattle can now take place with the use of frozen sperm and embryos, transport of living livestock

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overseas, which takes days or weeks, seldom occurs nowadays.

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MADAGASCAR, 1910

At the start of the previous century, large numbers of cattle were transported by ship.

Loading the animals was quite spectacular sometimes. Special harnesses were used to lift

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the animals. The postcard from Madagascar shown below gives a clear view of this.

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20 Cows with a message

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Cows were and are at the centre of the world. That could and can be seen by the postcards showing cows in some form or another in conjunction with important events in history. With wars for example, or memorials. Or with jokes, and the occasional pun.

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It is somewhat remarkable that even on postcards that were sent around the time of New Year – the middle of winter – depicted herds of cattle grazing outside. That was in a period that the herds, espeago. But it was difficult, especially in earlier years, to take pretty

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The technological attempts of the 1980s turned out to be failures.

cially in the Netherlands, had been brought into the barns a while pictures of them when inside.

Biotechnology in livestock farming was a point of contention. That

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is why some people were opposed to the use of biotechnological

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resources in the cattle industry – a situation that took shape when bull Herman gained fame, as did Dolly the sheep. The technological attempts of the 1980s turned out to be failures.

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But the tide turned.

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GERMANY, 1916 The ‘Kompagniekuh’ (Company Cow) from the First World War was very

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aware of her position.

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GERMANY, 1934 A very special calf, born on the 22nd of October 1933 in the town of Stellau in the German region of Holstein. On the card published one year after it was born, it was said to be ‘a wonder of nature’.

That status must have been a reference to the distinctive pattern on its head. National Socialism

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was on the rise in Germany: in 1933 Adolf Hitler was appointed as Reich Chancellor.

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SCOTLAND, CA. 1930

This birthday card from Scotland showed a couple of Scottish Highlanders (of course), shown here on a background of mountains and lakes. As stated earlier, as the years went on this breed became quite the export product.

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21 Cows in advertising

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Livestock feed was another industry that welcomed postcards.

First, ‘artificial milk’ for calves, but as time progressed, feed concentrates for cattle became more present. There were also completely different topics. For example, a card was used to advertise

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Companies that did not have a large advertising budget printed their adverts on unmarketable batches of postcards from home and abroad.

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Cows were and are at the base of dozens of products. The postcard was exploited heavily to give attention to these products. Apart from dairy and meat, postcards featuring cows were used to recommend lesser known products, such as buttons and saddles.

an American trade journal for dairy farming.

Companies that did not have a large advertising budget printed

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their adverts on unmarketable batches of postcards from home

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and abroad. The advertisement topics were usually completely

unrelated to the image printed on the card. On a picture postcard with a cow, for example, an ad-

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vertisement for cutlery would be placed. There are other examples of cards with adverts for multiple

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products.

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ENGLAND, CA. 1925 Buttons were made from the horns and hooves of cows. Later, they were made from plastic. Hornflowa Limited, a company from England, hired illustrator Lawson Wood to produce various advertisement cards for buttons. The cards are somewhat wry however, the

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cute calf has to keep its hooves clean so ‘lovely buttons’

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can be made from them.

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An advertisement card for leather bicycle saddles for Nelson Freres of Paris. Only the marked part of the cow was used to make the saddles. They made exceptionally elegant and sturdy saddles,

FRANCE, CA. 1910

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incomparable with those of the competition.

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In the late 19th century, many companies were

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UNITED STATES, 1911

making milk substitutes for calves. One of these

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companies was Blatchford’s Calf Meal Company in

Waukegan, Illinois. This postcard shows the factory

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that was built around 1900 by John William Bar-

well. Blatchford’s Calf Meal was, according to the text, healthier and cheaper than milk.

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COWS IN THE PICTURE

COWS IN THE PICTURE The cow presented on 200 historical postcards

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For more than eighty centuries man and cow have been connected with each other. Over a century of it has been captured through a unique medium: picture postcards. This book contains an extraordinary collection of about 200 picture postcards from a global supply of historic and modern postcards: cows and all their specialties. The close bond between cow and man is front and centre.

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Hans Miltenburg | Reimer Strikwerda

Much has changed over the course of the existence of postcards.

These historical changes have also been captured on picture postcards: from milking by hand to the milking machine. Companies liked advertising their products on picture postcards and sending them around the world.

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But that’s not all. Not only are cattle production animals, they are also exceptional pack animals, draught animals and riding animals. Many sports and rituals show how man and cow work together.

What message does it carry? That’s on the card, sometimes on the front, sometimes written across the picture or scribbled on the back to put as much text as possible on the left hand side of that small piece of paper…

Legible? Hardly. Fun? Of course.

The world of cow and man merging in one book.

COWS IN THE PICTURE The cow presented on 200 historical postcards

ISBN 978-90-8740-310-2

www.roodbont.com

9 789087 403102

Hans Miltenburg | Reimer Strikwerda