War in Europe

This advertising banner was made in Leiden in the summer of 1918. The Netherlands remained neutral during the First World War (1914-1918). However, the Netherlands was nonetheless impacted by this terrible war that raged in Europe and that involved almost the rest of the world as well. In order to maintain neutrality, it was almost impossible to import raw or semi-finished products from other countries into the Netherlands, which was known for its international trade. This was mainly due to the fact that the production processes in the neighboring countries had come to a complete standstill for four years and because the access roads to the Netherlands were blocked. The Leidsche Katoenmaatschappij was one of the companies that felt the impact of this war. The advertising banner is a wonderful illustration of this.

The Leidsche Katoenmaatschappij was founded in 1756 in the Belgian city of Lier. At that time the company was still called De Heyder en Co. After Belgian independence in 1830, the company moved to Leiden in 1835. In addition to weaving cotton, this cotton company was also known for its expertise in printing bales of undyed cotton with at first natural, and later synthetic dyes. There was a large market for the finished printed cotton fabrics in Europe, but they were also exported to other countries, such as the former colony known as the Dutch East Indies, now Indonesia.