The firm G. H. Broekman, Lzn and the 1895 World Fair

I came across an interesting database: Europeana. It is a cooperative venture of a number of European institutions such as libraries and archives, in languages from English to Swedish, and about 25 others in between. Most items are freely available, I received one 403 error (Access denied)

I tried it out with my favorite test name (Bruggencate), and found nothing new. Some clippings came up that I have had for along time. But when I tried Broekman (which always has a lot of hits, as there is a famous speed skater Kees Broekman, no relation), I did find something new: A certificate and medal received by the firm G.H. Broekman, Lzn in the 1895 World Exhibition in Amsterdam! Unfortunately the medal does not give the name, and the certificate is the one that gave me the 403 error.

 

Gerrit Hendrik Broekman was the son of Lucas Broekman. He was a blacksmith, and later an engineer. His son (also Gerrit Hendrik) was also an engineer. The company was an iron foundry, and made tools. The firm is mentioned quite a few times in the Amsterdam Archives.

There does not seem to be much information online on the 1895 World Fair in Amsterdam. There was also a World Fair in Amsterdam in 1883, and there is plenty to be found about that one. From the captions on the medals that are available on the website, I have put together the following information: the Fair was held from May to November of 1895, and the subject seems to have been Hotels and Travel, with subcategories Foods and Hygiene. But there was also a bowling tournament, and many musical performances. An booklet with an introduction to the Fair exists at the Amsterdam Museum, but is not online. There seems to have been a raffle (there is a catalog of prizes, also at the Amsterdam Museum)

This find will spur me on to do some more research into the firm of G. H. Broekman, Lzn and also into the 1895 World Fair in Amsterdam. I would never have heard of that without this new resource.