Images Dated 3rd October 2008

Jan van der Heyden, Dutch Baroque-era painter, draughtsman, printmaker and inventor, c1870. Artist: H Sluyter

Jan van der Heyden, Dutch Baroque-era painter, draughtsman, printmaker and inventor, c1870. Van der Heyden (1637-1712) improved the design of the fire hose and wrote and illustrated the first manual on firefighting. He designed a streetlighting system for Amsterdam that was implemented in 1669 and remained in use until 1840. It was copied in many other towns and cities both in the Netherlands and abroad. A print from Nederlands Geschiedenis en Volksleven in Schetsen, by J van Lenner and J ter Gouw. (Leiden, AW Sijthoff, c1870)

© The Print Collector / Heritage-Images

Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, 17th century Dutch painter, c1870.Artist: CL van Kesteren

Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, 17th century Dutch painter, c1870. Rembrandt (1606-1669) is generally considered one of the greatest painters in European art history and the most important in Dutch history. Rembrandt was also a proficient printmaker and made many drawings. His contributions to art came in a period that historians call the Dutch Golden Age (roughly equivalent to the 17th century), in which Dutch culture, science, commerce, naval power and political influence reached their pinnacles. A print from Nederlands Geschiedenis en Volksleven in Schetsen, by J Van Lenner and J Ter Gouw. (Leiden, AW Sijthoff, c1870)

© The Print Collector / Heritage-Images

Piet Pieterszoon Hein brings in the silver fleet, Netherlands, 1629 (c1870). Artist: W Steelink

Piet Pieterszoon Hein brings in the silver fleet, Netherlands, 1629 (c1870). Piet Hein (1577-1629) was a Dutch naval officer who became a popular hero because of his exploits in the Eighty Years War to secure the independence of the Netherlands from Spain. In 1628 he captured a Spanish treasure fleet in the Caribbean, returning home to a hero's welcome the following year. The spoils were sufficient to fund the Dutch army for eight months and to provide the Dutch East India Company's shareholders with a large cash dividend. A print from Nederlands Geschiedenis en Volksleven in Schetsen, by J Van Lenner and J Ter Gouw. (Leiden, AW Sijthoff, c1870)

© The Print Collector / Heritage-Images