The earliest tiles we know of were issued by
the Holland
America Line in the 1900-s. Below is an example of a tile made by
Plateel Bakkerij Zuid Holland (Tile Bakery South Holland); it depicts
the ss Rotterdam IV and dates approximately 1920.
1900-1960
These
earliest tiles are very elusive and only show up on auctions
infrequently. When they are offered for sale, they usually find several
equally determined bidders which tends to drive the value.
The ca 1910 tile below depicts the ss Rotterdam IV and is a product of
Plateelbakkery Zuid-Holland (PZH), a renowned maker of high quality
ceramics. I need any
tile not depicted here.
1910-pzh-rott4
1960-1970
There
is little known about the early tiles, even those from the
post
World War II era, as neither the Line, nor the tile manufacturers like
Goedewaagen have any remaining records. The only knowledge we have is
incidental through collectors who have some of these tiles, through the
continuous monitoring of auctions and through the memories
of travelers and personel of the Line. The 6" x 6" tiles have
the
text "Compliments of the Holland America Line" on the back. We thank Ton Rijppeart for the image of the 1960-couple tile. I need 1960-fish-seller, 1960-couple and other any tile not depicted here.
There are currently two different tiles
known as depicted below. The tiles depict cultural images of the
Netherlands through the ages. The 1980-s test tiles are from the collection of Ton Rijppeart. I
need 1970-man-o-war and 1970-windmill and the test-tile issues and any other tile not depicted
here..