Fishing Seal. Fish and Fruit Shop, Haarlemmerdijk 39, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Strictly speaking one can't fish for seals because seals aren't fish. At least, we don't regard them as such today. But in the Middle Ages they counted as fish and so red meat could be had during Lent when fasting prohibited meaty foods.
From the late sixteenth century until as late as 1962, seals were considered legitimate game in The Netherlands. They were hunted and eaten, their blubber and liver could be made into oils for medicine and for lamps, their skins into leather and fur coats. Moreover, seals were considered pests of the sea that put fishermen out of work because of their voracious appetite for herring and other fish. In fact, down through the centuries bounties were often posted for seals.
Although seal meat was still occasionally consumed on some of the Dutch Wadden Islands, notably Schiermonnikoog and Ameland, until well after World War II, I don't think it was sold by fishmongers. Certainly not on Amsterdam's Haarlemmerdijk.
Haarlemmerdijk 39 is a beautifully restored art nouveau building designed by François Marie Joseph Caron (1867-1945). It was built in 1896 for the fishmongering Roeraade family, and was named for daughter Neeltje (1873-1935). Art nouveau is notable for its asymmetrical style, which at first glance seems to have symmetry. Interestingly both tableaux appear to show 'natural' hunters of fish, an Octopus and a Seal. Of couse in the shop - when it still sold fish and fruit: fishmongers and their clientele. Would Neeltje rather have been compared to an Octopus or to a Seal?
Curious combination, too, that 'Visch & Fruithandel'. I don't think I've ever seen both products sold in the same shop. Might the term have been a pun for the French 'Fruits de Mer' (as in seafood platter)?
Fishing Seal. Fish and Fruit Shop, Haarlemmerdijk 39, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Strictly speaking one can't fish for seals because seals aren't fish. At least, we don't regard them as such today. But in the Middle Ages they counted as fish and so red meat could be had during Lent when fasting prohibited meaty foods.
From the late sixteenth century until as late as 1962, seals were considered legitimate game in The Netherlands. They were hunted and eaten, their blubber and liver could be made into oils for medicine and for lamps, their skins into leather and fur coats. Moreover, seals were considered pests of the sea that put fishermen out of work because of their voracious appetite for herring and other fish. In fact, down through the centuries bounties were often posted for seals.
Although seal meat was still occasionally consumed on some of the Dutch Wadden Islands, notably Schiermonnikoog and Ameland, until well after World War II, I don't think it was sold by fishmongers. Certainly not on Amsterdam's Haarlemmerdijk.
Haarlemmerdijk 39 is a beautifully restored art nouveau building designed by François Marie Joseph Caron (1867-1945). It was built in 1896 for the fishmongering Roeraade family, and was named for daughter Neeltje (1873-1935). Art nouveau is notable for its asymmetrical style, which at first glance seems to have symmetry. Interestingly both tableaux appear to show 'natural' hunters of fish, an Octopus and a Seal. Of couse in the shop - when it still sold fish and fruit: fishmongers and their clientele. Would Neeltje rather have been compared to an Octopus or to a Seal?
Curious combination, too, that 'Visch & Fruithandel'. I don't think I've ever seen both products sold in the same shop. Might the term have been a pun for the French 'Fruits de Mer' (as in seafood platter)?