Schieland – Pieter Willem van Baarsel, 1928

“Hoogheemraadschap – Schieland”, colour lithograph made by Pieter Willem van Baarsel in Blaricum and printed in 1928 on four sheets by N.J.J. Smulders & Co., in The Hague. Size (when assembled): 128 x 154 cm.

This wall map was commissioned by the dike reeve (dijkgraaf) and members of the executive board to commemorate the 650th anniversary of the Schieland water board.

The layout follows the traditional design of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Dutch wall maps. It is richly embellished with the coat of arms of Schieland, the family coats of arms of the dike reeve and board members, the secretary-treasurer and engineer, as well as the coats of arms of Rotterdam and the fourteen municipalities whose drainage fell under the jurisdiction of the water board. Along the lower border is an decorative illustration of a pumping station drawing in and discharging water. The entire composition is executed in a highly decorative Art Deco style. As far as is known, this is the only Dutch water board map ever made in this style.

The map was conceived primarily as a prestigious commemorative work rather than a purely functional document, although it certainly also served a practical purpose. In a lecture delivered to the South Holland Association of Water Boards in 1914, the director of the Municipal Electricity Works in Delft recalled that the Bleiswijk Polder had originally been drained by 27 windmills. Shortly afterwards, it was decided to replace this wind-powered drainage system with an electrically powered installation consisting of five centrifugal pumps, each with a capacity of 500 horsepower. Several of the original 27 windmills can still be seen on the map.

The map was printed in a limited edition of 300 copies, at a total production cost of 3,385 Dutch guilders.

Literature: Marc Hameleers, “‘Recente oude kaarten’ van het hoogheemraadschap van Schieland”, in: Caert-Thresoor, vol. 4 (1985), no. 2, pp. 30–35.