Nederlandsche Oliefabriek
This beautiful quartet game from Holland illustrates the strange life cycle of the peanut.
Nederlandsche Oliefabriek Calvé quartet game, c.1920
The Nederlandsche Oliefabriek Calvé of Delft (Dutch Oil Factory) was formed when Nederlandsche Oliefabriek and the French company Calvé merged in 1897. NOF had been founded in 1883 and had become renowned for its acclaimed poster art. They employed Jan Toorop (1858-1928) to design their posters and advertising material including the labels for their products. Toorop was born in Java of mixed Indonesian/Dutch and English parentage. When he was 11 years old his English mother brought him to England and he eventually married an English wife. He studied art in Brussels and travelled around Europe, living in Belgium, England and Holland. NOP were processors of peanuts from the Dutch East Indies where they had long been introduced from South America. They produced not only peanut butter but also large quantities of peanut oil, known to the Dutch as salad oil. The style of Jan Toorop’s work was, at the time, Art Noveau or Jugendstil as it was known on the continent. Such was the quality of Toorop’s work that the Dutch often referred to Art Nouveau as “Slaolie Stijl” or Salad Oil Style.
Credits: All images and notes courtesy Rex Pitts.
Above: Nederlandsche Oliefabriek Calvé quartet game, c.1920, illustrating the life cycle of the peanut. This beautiful quartet game must have been published before the takeover in 1928 of NOF by Unilever which was founded by Van den Bergh & Jurgens. The decorative borders around each card also depict peanut plants.
Right: the back design and the box →
• See also: Poster for Delft Salad Oil, Jan Toorop, 1894→
By Rex Pitts (1940-2021)
United Kingdom • Member since January 30, 2009
Rex's main interest was in card games, because, he said, they were cheap and easy to get hold of in his early days of collecting. He is well known for his extensive knowledge of Pepys games and his book is on the bookshelves of many. His other interest was non-standard playing cards. He also had collections of sheet music, music CDs, models of London buses, London Transport timetables and maps and other objects that intrigued him.
Rex had a chequered career at school. He was expelled twice, on one occasion for smoking! Despite this he trained as a radio engineer and worked for the BBC in the World Service. Later he moved into sales and worked for a firm that made all kinds of packaging, a job he enjoyed until his retirement. He became an expert on boxes and would always investigate those that held his cards. He could always recognize a box made for Pepys, which were the same as those of Alf Cooke’s Universal Playing Card Company, who printed the card games. This interest changed into an ability to make and mend boxes, which he did with great dexterity. He loved this kind of handicraft work.
His dexterity of hand and eye soon led to his making card games of his own design. He spent hours and hours carefully cutting them out and colouring them by hand.
Activity for Nederlandsche Oliefabriek
Sign in to comment or save this article.
Related Articles
Learning to play Cribbage
I learned to pay cribbage when I was very young, aged around six or seven.
Verkeers Kwartet
A helpful quartet game celebrating the 75th anniversary of road safety exams making traffic safer.
Papst Quartett
A quartet game featuring a selection of popes up to Benedict XVI.
Netherlands Kostuum Kwartet
Dutch costumes quartet game designed by Gerard Huijg, 1983.
Nederlands Stedenkwartet
Nederlands Stedenkwartet with heraldic needlepoint patterns by Permin, c.1970.
Zwanenberg’s Kwartetspel
Zwanenberg’s Kwartetspel printed by Speelkaartenfabriek Nederland, 1938.
Havermout Kwartetspel
“H-O Kwartetspel” children’s card game promoting quick cooking oatmeal (instant porridge), 1930s.
Asperge Kwartet
Asperge Kwartet published by Knorr.
Natuurkwartet
Nature Quartet game published by Staatsbosbeheer, printed by Roem Speelkaarten, Kampen.
Sprookjes Kwartet
Fairy Tales quartet published by Heinrich Schwarz + Co for Dutch market, c.1970.
Deutsche Nutzpflanzen
Deutsche Nutzpflanzen - Quartett game promoting Kali brand crop fertilizer, 1938.
Cow & Gate ‘Snap’
Cow & Gate ‘Snap’ featuring Cow & Gate Baby Milk Food, 1935.
Alphabetti Spaghetti
Alphabetti Spaghetti Happy Families game for Crosse & Blackwell c.1978.
Jip en Janneke
Jip en Janneke quartet game published by Hema, a Dutch department store, c.1960.
Papita Sport Kwartet
Papita Sport Kwartet by Nederlandse Spellenfabriek, c.1975.
Donald Duck Groente & Fruit Pretkwartet
Donald Duck Vegetables & Fruit Quartet exclusive from Jumbo supermarkets, © Disney 2016.
Albert Heijn’s Boffie Kwartetspel
The “Boffie” Kwartetspel was designed by Huibert Vet and published by Albert Heijn in 1936
Wereldvlucht Kwartet
Published in 1933, this game celebrated the burgeoning passenger services by air around the world. S...
Sikar
Publicity playing cards for the Dutch credit company Sitters & van der Kar. The four Aces and Joke...
Yowie
Yowie Game Cards, a promotional item supplied by Cadbury Ltd and published by Kidcorp, c.1999.
Most Popular
Our top articles from the past 60 days
