The Importance of Holland seen from the air : aerial images of the Netherlands compiled by KLM, 1928 : Van Nelle, Rotterdam
A very substantial publication that shows numerous aerial photographs, with descriptive text, that had been taken by Mr Gorsten of the KLM (Royal Dutch Airlines : Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij N.V.) and that show the works and sites of numerous Dutch companies and concerns across the country as well as the Dutch colonies. It was published by A de la Mar Azn, edited by H J van der Munnik and William Shirlaw under the supervision of Hans Martin, secretary general of the KLM. It was obviously designed to 'sell' both the services of KLM, in terms of a brand as well as its aerial photography team, and the companies who effectively advertised and took space in the book. The book is in English although I strongly suspect a Dutch language version was issued.
These two photos show the existing tobacco and coffee plants of the company "De Erven de Wed. J Van Nelle" in the centre of Rotterdam, the port city the company had its origins and where it was established in 1806. This, needless to say, was based on the colonial exploitation of the tobacco trade of the Dutch East Indies and Java as was the latter interests in coffee. As can be seen the city centre sites at Leuvehaven and Schiedamshedijk were highly constrained in terms of development and expansion and so the company had acquired lands further out of the city where new modern works for both tobacco and coffee processing where under construction.
These new buildings, the Van Nellefabriek, are now recognised as being of international architectural importance. The buildings were designed by architect Leendert van der Vlugt from the Brinkman & Van der Vlugt office in cooperation with civil engineer J.G. Wiebenga, at that time a specialist for construction in reinforced concrete, and built between 1925 and 1931. It is an example of "Nieuwe Bouwen," - modern architecture in the Netherlands. It was commissioned by the co-owner of the Van Nelle company, Cees van der Leeuw, on behalf of the owners. Van der Leeuw and both company-directors, Matthijs de Bruyn and Bertus Sonneveld, were so impressed by the skills of Van der Vlugt they commissioned him to design and build private houses for themselves in Rotterdam and nearby Schiedam between 1928 and 1932.
The Van Nelle company expanded into other products and was eventually bought out by Dutch rivals Douwe Egberts in 1989, who themselves had been acquired by a multinational two years earlier. In 1996 the historic works in Rotterdam were closed and in 1998 the tobacco interests were passed to Imperial Tobacco. The buildings were recognised both nationally and internationally and are now a tourist attraction as well as being used for a variety of business purposes.
The Importance of Holland seen from the air : aerial images of the Netherlands compiled by KLM, 1928 : Van Nelle, Rotterdam
A very substantial publication that shows numerous aerial photographs, with descriptive text, that had been taken by Mr Gorsten of the KLM (Royal Dutch Airlines : Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij N.V.) and that show the works and sites of numerous Dutch companies and concerns across the country as well as the Dutch colonies. It was published by A de la Mar Azn, edited by H J van der Munnik and William Shirlaw under the supervision of Hans Martin, secretary general of the KLM. It was obviously designed to 'sell' both the services of KLM, in terms of a brand as well as its aerial photography team, and the companies who effectively advertised and took space in the book. The book is in English although I strongly suspect a Dutch language version was issued.
These two photos show the existing tobacco and coffee plants of the company "De Erven de Wed. J Van Nelle" in the centre of Rotterdam, the port city the company had its origins and where it was established in 1806. This, needless to say, was based on the colonial exploitation of the tobacco trade of the Dutch East Indies and Java as was the latter interests in coffee. As can be seen the city centre sites at Leuvehaven and Schiedamshedijk were highly constrained in terms of development and expansion and so the company had acquired lands further out of the city where new modern works for both tobacco and coffee processing where under construction.
These new buildings, the Van Nellefabriek, are now recognised as being of international architectural importance. The buildings were designed by architect Leendert van der Vlugt from the Brinkman & Van der Vlugt office in cooperation with civil engineer J.G. Wiebenga, at that time a specialist for construction in reinforced concrete, and built between 1925 and 1931. It is an example of "Nieuwe Bouwen," - modern architecture in the Netherlands. It was commissioned by the co-owner of the Van Nelle company, Cees van der Leeuw, on behalf of the owners. Van der Leeuw and both company-directors, Matthijs de Bruyn and Bertus Sonneveld, were so impressed by the skills of Van der Vlugt they commissioned him to design and build private houses for themselves in Rotterdam and nearby Schiedam between 1928 and 1932.
The Van Nelle company expanded into other products and was eventually bought out by Dutch rivals Douwe Egberts in 1989, who themselves had been acquired by a multinational two years earlier. In 1996 the historic works in Rotterdam were closed and in 1998 the tobacco interests were passed to Imperial Tobacco. The buildings were recognised both nationally and internationally and are now a tourist attraction as well as being used for a variety of business purposes.