Vintage biscuit tin for De Gruyter with landscapes by Jacob Ruisdael, including the Wijk bij Duurstede windmill

Vintage biscuit tin for De Gruyter with landscapes by Jacob Ruisdael, including the Wijk bij Duurstede windmill

• Manufacturer: De Gruyter
• Date of manufacture: 1940 - 1950

De Gruyter cookie tin with Mill

Description
Rectangular biscuit tin with, among other things, an image of the windmill of Wijk bij Duurstede. This tin is equipped with a hinged lid, where the lid is attached to the tin with a hinge with loose lips. Manufactured with a seamed longitudinal seam and bottom. The decoration of this tin consists of the windmill at Wijk bij Duurstede on the lid and on each side a different landscape after paintings by Jacob Ruisdael. On the front "View of Haarlem with Bleekvelden.

The slogan "and better value and 10% only de Gruyter" is legible and embossed in the bottom of the tin.

Condition
This tin box is in a vintage condition with traces of use and age-related traces of wear. Photos are part of the description.

Dimensions

• Height: 7 cm.
• Length: 17 cm.
• Width: 10.5 cm.

Jacob van Ruisdael was a Dutch painter, draftsman and etcher, known for his landscapes and seascapes. He is one of the best painters that the Golden Age has produced.

The windmill at Wijk bij Duurstede is a painting by the Dutch painter Jacob van Ruisdael made around 1670. The work is considered Ruisdael's best-known canvas, is owned by the municipality of Amsterdam and has been in the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam since 1885.

Depicting a Dutch landscape with a windmill was the most natural thing for Ruisdael. The Dutch landscape was full of thousands of windmills. Incidentally, it only became clear in the nineteenth century that Ruisdael had painted a view of Wijk bij Duurstede.

Contrary to many contemporary landscape painters, who often used a monochrome palette, much of Ruisdael's work is characterized by strong use of colour and sharp contrasts between light and dark. He usually painted heavy clouds and sturdy shapes in the landscape, highly realistic, very different from the more charming character that was previously common in Dutch landscape painting. The windmill at Wijk bij Duurstede is a typical example of this.

De Gruyter was a retail chain in the Netherlands, in the 19th century and 20th century (until 1976). At its peak, there were more than 550 stores and nearly 7,500 employees.

An important element in the sales policy was the giving of a 10% discount when handing in the receipts. The slogan of De Gruyter was, therefore: And better true and ten per cent, only De Gruyter. This rewarded loyal customers and provided an additional means of checking the branch managers. Because De Gruyter only sold products of its own brand, the gross prices could not be compared with those of others.

As a customer binder, De Gruyter gave away a small gift for children every week from 1948: the legendary Candy of the week. It was introduced when sugar went off the receipt after World War II and there was too much sugar on offer. With a few guilders worth of groceries, unsolicited candy was given to the children. Later the "candy" became a plastic toy, a game, a doll or a book. Something different every week. A long-lasting campaign was that of cardboard building boards for houses and buildings.

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