Artefacts

Treasures from the past


Our archive is home to objects with fascinating stories. In this first series of “Artefacts”, Floris takes a closer look at two of these objects: a wooden block with a set of weights and a brochure from 1922. Watch the videos and dive into the rich past of our company and Dutch industry.

Everything has a story

 

Widow's weights
Without knowing its story, you would probably pay around five euros for this wooden block with brass weights in a thrift shop. But this set is a relic from the Van Bommel company shop. It symbolises one of the darker periods of industrial history.


A vintage-style illustrated scene inside a shop or apothecary room, with wooden shelves, bottles, framed wall art, a clock, and produce in the foreground. A large black-and-white line drawing of two men stands in the centre, with the text 'PLAY VIDEO' overlaid across the lower middle. Flois van Bommel Our Factory Artefacts Thumbnail engels Floris van Bommel

The oldest advertising brochure
This Van Bommel brochure shows that advertising was perceived very differently a hundred years ago. Whereas communication now travels at lightning speed via the worldwide web, back then it was agonisingly slow. But one thing has remained the same: even back then, everything was presented better than it actually was.

A vintage hardcover book titled 'Wallow Shoes' by W.B. Floris van Bommel
A vintage hardcover book titled 'Wallow Shoes' by W.B. Floris van Bommel
A green and white striped pencil rests diagonally across a printed architectural sketch of a house on a beige sheet of paper, with the words 'PLAY VIDEO' overlaid near the center. A close-up of a green and white striped drawing pencil with a green eraser tip resting on a beige sketchbook page with a line drawing. The text 'PLAY VIDEO' is overlaid at the bottom.