Deechdingen int Deester

The 'Middelnederlandsch Handwoordenboek' has arrived! This is a middle-Dutch dictionary originally published in the 1930's; I have a reprint from 1964. 800 wonderful pages filled with wonderful middle-Dutch words: from Ababijs (defeated, taken aback) to Wuwestert (swallowtail, construction term). A peaceful and friendly time when there was still a special word for herring tax and harem still meant arm. When an overgever was not someone who threw up but in stead transferred property. Wonderful.

This innocent view of the past is vividly brought to life by the illustrations of Isings, a Dutch painter who made paintings which were printed en masse and distributed around Dutch schools. It was practice in the Netherlands to teach using prints (both by him and others) in all sorts of subjects, including history, biology and geography. While they were not used on my generation anymore, I'm sure everyone my age has seen a print or two hanging around in school. A Dutch website has published a great deal of them on the internet, and they can be viewed HERE. Some are beautiful (like this one) and some are, quite frankly, dreadful (euch!).
The ones by Isings in particular display both craftsmanship and a great eye for detail: not only are uniforms, armour, architecture, etc accurately depicted for any time period I could see, they also fit together as a harmonious whole; there's no perspective problems and the buildings look like they have actual substance. Nice stuff to browse through, even when you don't speak Dutch or know any history.