Laren and Blaricum – H.F. Smit + A.G. Schoonderbeek, ca. 1920

MAP OF LAREN AND BLARICUM FROM THE INTERWAR PERIOD

“Wandel en Rijwielkaart voor Laren, Blaricum en Omgeving” (Walking and Cycling Map of Laren, Blaricum and Surroundings). Colour lithograph after a design by H.F. Smit, published by A.G. Schoonderbeek, ca. 1920. 42.5 × 30 cm.

This clearly designed walking and cycling map covers the central part of Het Gooi, from Hilversum and Crailoo in the south and west to Huizen, Blaricum and Eemnes. Laren and Blaricum appear as compact brink villages, their densely branching streets clustered around the old village centres; around them still lie extensive heathlands, woods, drift sands, country estates and fields.

The depiction of numerous paths across the heath around the Tafelberg, Blaricum and Laren meant that the map was intended above all for use in the field. That this copy actually saw such use is evident from several walking routes drawn in by hand in blue.

The Gooische tram runs through the map as an important connection. From Hilversum the line ran via Laren and Blaricum to Huizen; as early as 1882 Laren gained its connection to the Gooi steam tram network, with a station on the Brink. The map thus shows how a landscape that still looked largely rural was at the same time becoming ever more accessible to visitors from Amsterdam, Hilversum and elsewhere.

Since the end of the nineteenth century Laren and Blaricum had developed from farming villages into artists’ villages, attractive for their heath, flocks of sheep, farmhouses and rural life. At the same time, the growth of villas and new residential districts was beginning to change the old landscape. This map captures that transition: the historic brink villages, the modern transport links and the still largely open Gooi landscape exist side by side.

The choice of Hendrikus Franciscus Smit was fitting: as municipal architect of Laren he knew the village and its immediate surroundings from his daily work. The publisher Age Schoonderbeek (1887–1986) had been established in Laren since 1913; from 1929 he would gain national renown as the publisher of De Wandelaar, a magazine devoted to nature, tourism and outdoor life.

Price: Euro 175,-