B To Y Of Akkerman Inks

[Darcy1978]

A B to Q of P.W. Akkerman’s Anniversary Inks

 

For its 100 year anniversary, Dutch pen merchants P.W. Akkerman introduced a range of 30 special inks. The inks come in beautiful 150ml-bottles and they all have a name related to the city of The Hague, where Akkerman is located. Some ink names are references to streets and locations, other to cultural icons of the city. Quite a few of them involve a play on Dutch words, making a literal (Google) translation quite meaningless. As an international marketing strategy the use of distinctly local names seems slightly ill-conceived, but it is fantastic to see that Akkerman has so many international fans nevertheless. I am by no means an expert on The Hague, Akkerman or ink in general, but I thought it might be helpful for you English-speaking Akkerman-fans to have some a translation of sorts for the quirky and creative Dutch ink titles. Many Akkerman ink names have already been covered elsewhere on this forum, so I will try to focus on the ones that have not. Hence, this is hardly an A to Z. Perhaps the other explanations could be included here so that we end up with a veritable Akkerman Compendium.

 

Akkerman is a reasonably common Dutch surname, literally Pasture-man, an archaic term for farmer. A famous Akkerman is the guitarist Jan Akkerman, who played in the band Focus – seen here in a stunning performance on American television. Jan Akkerman is from Amsterdam, not The Hague, but the heyday of Focus, ie the 70s, is the same as that of another famous pop group - ie Shocking Blue - after whom Akkerman the pen sellers named one of their inks. Anyway,

 

Some background on the city

 

Although Amsterdam is the capital of the country, The Hague is the seat of government and parliament as well as the residence of the royal family. This allows for a whole series of ink references. The city is close to the sea, has stately, posh areas as well as simpler, sometimes even socially deprived areas.

 

There is a popular distinction between working inhabitants of the Hague – who are sometimes called Hagenezen, born in the areas built on peat ground, and (upper)middle class people – known as Hagenaren, born in the better areas that stand on sand ground. The Hague is a city of 500.000 souls and is the third largest city in the country, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam. The city is very much internationally oriented and home to a large expat community, housing for instance the international criminal court, most embassies and the head quarters of the International Baccalaureate Organisation.

 

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--C9tR2o2Vhg/TrcXWrklfQI/AAAAAAAAAF8/Bjt0ygCGRoo/s1600/Nederland%252C%2Bkaart%252C%2Bmap%252C%2BCIA%252C%2BWest-Europa%252C%2Bklein%252C%2BBelgie%252C%2BAmsterdam%252C%2BRotterdam%252C%2BDen%2BHaag%252C%2BUtrecht%252C%2BEindhoven%252C%2Breizen%252C%2Bvliegveld.gif

The Netherlands is a small country (roughly the size of the state of Maryland) with 17.000.000 inhabitants. You will find The Hague north-west of Rotterdam and next to the sea.

 

The Akkerman Inks

 

Passage Blauw – lit. Passage Blue. It is no wonder that Passage is Akkerman’s first ink, since Passage refers to the mall in which the shop is located. Passage is not just any old mall, but the oldest arcade shopping centre in the country, dating from 1885 and undergoing various restorations it is still quite beautiful and a good starting point for an Akkerman Ink Walk through the city.

 

http://i61.tinypic.com/luyo9.jpg

Passage

 

Simplisties Violet - lit. Simplistic Violet. Oh boy, where to begin explaining this one. The name of this ink invokes one of the most quintessential Dutch icons that ever existed: the comedy duo Van Kooten & De Bie. Kees van Kooten and Wim de Bie formed a high-brow satirical TV duo whose career spanned four decades. They started out in the late 1960s as a radio duo but quickly moved on to television. They specialised in political satire, and they were one of the very few comedy acts who succesfully pulled off satrical sketches. They excelled in creating characters, and many of their characters have become household names in Dutch culture. Apart from television, where they appeared as a duo until the late 1990s, they did radio shows, made records (mostly spoken word), calenders and books. They had individual careers as authors, although Van Kooten was more prolific than De Bie. It goes without saying they they are both from The Hague and many of their characters had distinct the Hague accents. One of their most memorable creations was De Tegenpartij (The Anti-Party), a mock political party consisting of two petty thieves/hustlers who tried to overturn establishment by being against most things, especially those things that did not lead to any profit. This creation was so successful that a real right-wing party approvingly put a picture of the Anti Party on their party magazine. Van Kooten & De Bie responded by killing off their creation, having them shot by the police during a failed coup d'état on the governement in The Hague.

 

http://i60.tinypic.com/21ev9.jpg

The Anti-Party

 

Akkerman however did not make Tegenpartij Turqoise (I think it would have been amazing if they had) but instead went for Simplisties Violet. This refers to one of the duo's first brainchilds, the Simplisties Verbond - the Simplistic Society. The name has Pythonesque overtones and there certainly was an element of absurdism to the material made by the Society. In the early years of the duo, they did almost all of their activities under the umbrella of the Simplistic Society, and the existence of the Society later became a running gag, as a sort of Limited Company of which they were both directors. The point of the Simplistic Society was to keep and make everything simple, starting with spelling. Dutch spelling may be simpler than for instance English spelling, but it definitely has its idiosyncrasies. A case in point is the ending - isch, which is pronounced 'ees' - technish (technical) is pronounced 'tegnees' (with a guttural g). The Simplistic Society thought this sch business was madness, and threw out all redundant letters. [it has to be said that this was a general trend in the 70s, but Van Kooten & De Bie carried it on to extremes]. Their own names were made simple as well, as they were called simply "Koot & Bie".

 

http://i60.tinypic.com/2zgeq9z.jpg

The First Record of the Simplistic Society - "Mr Bie - Mr Kooten". Van Kooten's name was later simplified to Koot.

 

To be continued.

Edited February 8, 2014 by Darcy1978

[rafapa]

Wow! That's going to be interesting!

Thanks

Rafael

[RMN]

Hey Darcy, nice show...

 

Just a minor point:

 

The 150 ml bottles are almost gone now to be replaced by 60ml bottles of the same design by Andries Copier, originally for Gimborn. in 1936 made by Leerdam Glasworks.

(Possibly he also designed a similar bottle for Waterman, but round instead of the facetted one in use by Akkerman and Gimborn)

 

The new size was called the baby-longneck.

 

 

D.ick

[Darcy1978]

Thanks for that addition RMN - yes, the advent of the new bottles is very exciting, and will probably lead to new or renewed interest in the inks. I know I will be getting some; the large bottles are too large for me.

[flyingfox]

Fascinating!!!!! Looking forward to reading more!!!

[Renfield]

This thread sounds like it will be very interesting.....

 

Do we have any prototype bottle images yet?

 

I would agree a 60ml bottle would be much more manageable.

 

Hopefully they are as "cool" as the 150ml ones

[alexander_k]

Excellent stuff, Darcy1978. Please allow me to add another link between Akkerman and Van Kooten: Akkerman sponsors the Groot Dictee (the spelling contest) of the Dutch language, open to both Dutch and Belgians (and invariably won by the latter). In 2013 Akkerman provided Waterman Hémisphère pens for the contestants (I don't know which ink but I presume one of theirs) and the winner received a Waterman Edson. Every year the text of the contest is specially written by a leading literary figure of the Dutch language. In 2013 it was Van Kooten, whose text was described as "a sadistic language experiment" (http://www.volkskrant.nl/vk/nl/2694/Tech-Media/article/detail/3564572/2013/12/18/Dicteetekst-Kees-van-Kooten-was-sadistisch-taalexperiment.dhtml).

[lapis]

I can't wait until the newer bottles are available. Please advise in your internet site as to what they will cost, when all 31 will be available, and what the shipping charges are (everywhere).

 

Thanks,

Mike

[Darcy1978]

Excellent stuff, Darcy1978. Please allow me to add another link between Akkerman and Van Kooten: Akkerman sponsors the Groot Dictee (the spelling contest) of the Dutch language, open to both Dutch and Belgians (and invariably won by the latter). In 2013 Akkerman provided Waterman Hémisphère pens for the contestants (I don't know which ink but I presume one of theirs) and the winner received a Waterman Edson. Every year the text of the contest is specially written by a leading literary figure of the Dutch language. In 2013 it was Van Kooten, whose text was described as "a sadistic language experiment"

 

 

Excellent info - thanks!

 

I can't wait until the newer bottles are available. Please advise in your internet site as to what they will cost, when all 31 will be available, and what the shipping charges are (everywhere).

 

Thanks,

Mike

 

There is a discussion on the new bottles going on here.

[Darcy1978]

Laan van Nieuw Oost-Indigo, lit. New East-Indigo Road. This is a play on a The Hague railway station, called "Laan van Nieuw Oost-Indië" or New East Indies Road. The East Indies (currently Indonesia) were Dutch colonies (compare the West Indies, which were not). The train station is now simply called Den Haag Laan van NOI (pronounced a bit like a northern Irish person would say 'now').

 

http://i60.tinypic.com/dwdsea.jpg

Den Haag Laan van NOI. Quite a dreary place.

 

Het Zwarte Pad, lit. The Black Path. Sounds ominous, but is in fact quite the opposite. The Zwarte Pad is a seaside boulevard in the town of Scheveningen, a seaside resort and part of the city of The Hague.

 

http://i61.tinypic.com/s4cduu.jpg

Schevingen beach with the famous Kurhaus.

 

Chinatown Red. Like any self-respecting metropole, The Hague boasts a Chinatown. Interestingly, before the Second World War this area used to be the Jewish Quarter. No explanation is necessary as to why there were empty houses and shops to fill after the War. It is easy to see that you are in Chinatown since street signs are bilingual Chinese-Dutch, and there are two massive Chinese gates at the entry roads of the city area.

 

http://i61.tinypic.com/v58swl.jpg

You are now entering the Chinese sector.

Edited February 9, 2014 by Darcy1978

[pmhudepo]

This thread sounds like it will be very interesting.....

 

Do we have any prototype bottle images yet?

 

They are available in the shop. I posted pictures here: https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/260133-pw-akkerman-new-smaller-size/page-4?do=findComment&comment=2895382

[Strombomboli]

Thank you very much for all of this information! I can't wait to read the rest. The Akkermans are winning new friends of their city with their inks. I, for example, feel as if the time to travel to The Netherlands has finally come. A new Rem Kohlhaas building in Rotterdam, Akkerman in The Hague ...

 

Why, by the way, is Amsterdam the capital when all important institutions are in Den Haag? And could you translate Den Haag/The Hague for me? There is a now obsolete German word, Hag, which describes something hedged in, maybe fortified (my English fails me here). I guess, the root of the word is the same, but is it?

[RMN]

Indeed haag means hedge

 

The official name of the city is 's-Gravenhage, meaning the Count's Hedge (or hedged-in area)

 

And yes, Amsterdam is capital, The Hague is the seat of administration (nowadays more and more spread around the country...)

 

 

D.ick

Edited February 9, 2014 by RMN

[Strombomboli]

Thank you! But is there a reason for the separation of capital from administration?

[Darcy1978]

Thank you! But is there a reason for the separation of capital from administration?

 

I think the Netherlands is one of the few countries in the world where the capital does not house government and/or the monarch. I believe this has a historical reason; The Hague used to be the administrative centre (and de facto capital) of the area now known as The Netherlands, from around the fiftheenth century. The rulers of the provinces used to come together in the States General in The Hague whenever there was a matter of grave importance. When Louis Napoleon (Napoleon Bonaparte's brother) became king of the Netherlands in 1808 he moved the government to the Dam Palace in Amsterdam. Amsterdam at that point in time became the capital of the country. During his short reign (the website of the municipality of The Hague informs me) Amsterdam was both administrative centre and the capital. In 1813 the country regained its independence (with the advent of King William the First) and the government moved back to the Hague. Amsterdam remained the capital.

 

All government ministries are based in the Hague. It used to be the case that some (for instance Education) were based in dreary suburbs, but they are now all within walking distance of each other.

Edited February 9, 2014 by Darcy1978

[mirosc]

Thank you for all the interesting insights and explanations.

That's very helpful and enlightening!

[lapis]

Yes, very informative and nice to know. Thanks!!

[Strombomboli]

Thank you for all the interesting insights and explanations.

That's very helpful and enlightening!

 

Thanks from me, too.

Edited February 9, 2014 by Strombomboli

[tinta]

The "Ijzer-galnoten blauw/zwart" & "Bekakt Haags" labels were easy enough to understand.

I always wondered how some of the other names of the Akkerman inks came about.

This thread has been very informative. Thank you.

[Darcy1978]

You're very welcome It's a lot of fun for me too