Drogisterij Woortman, Neude 3

Anna Tchitcherine

Peek inside the window of Drogisterij Woortman to see what the mid-nineteenth century looked like. Different from the buildings we have explored so far, Drogisterij Woortman (Drugstore Woortman) has not changed much since its establishment in 1851. For a quick comparison, check out the photo of the pharmacy's interior below (Fig. 1).

Some of their old products have also made it into our era and are still available at the store! Examples include old-fashioned starch for your laundry, three different types of homemade waxes (polishing, marble and furniture), a selection of painter pigments and vegetable colorants. You can even get a taste of some pure Dutch salmiak powder. Of course, they also sell medicines us 'moderns' are familiar with; such as ibuprofen.

The importance of Woortman The man to have established the drug store in 1851 was Johan Woortman. The store seemed to have been successful, as 'Woortman' had become a household name when he moved to Amsterdam after his wife's death in 1889. It was so successful that the next store owner, Koenraad Plantinga, would not even change the name of the store. Johan eventually went back to living above his old store in 1911. Almost a decade later, in 1924, the man passed away at the age of eighty.

A lot later in the seventies, Hans Rijkman often came by the drugstore. Why? As the representative of the pharmaceutical industry he had to visit pharmacies to promote products. During these promotions, Hans often got to talk with Koenraad's son-in-law Roel Nijhuis. Eventually, spending a lot of time in the drugstore gave him the golden opportunity to take over the store. In a sense, he was just at the right place at the right time – Koenraad was already getting too old and Roel's and his wife Ietje Nijhuis-Plantinga's kids showed no interest in furthering their granddad's business. And so Hans got Drogisterij Woortman, on condition he maintained the 'character' of the place and that he would keep the name Woortman in the title.

While Ietje's kids were uninterested in the drugstore, Ietje herself had been helping her father out in the store ever since she turned seven. And so, when Hans took over the store, Ietje came with it. Hans reportedly said she was a 'walking encyclopedia' and that she made sure the store's authentic flair was maintained throughout the years. In total, she had worked at the store for sixty-eight years, quitting only in 1992 (Jansen, 2015).

The current state of business Today, Woortman Drogisterij is managed by Hans and assistant Frederike de Boer (Fig. 1). It still has regular clients who tend to flock to the more old-fashioned products. Some products are even more special since they are made in the warehouse behind the retail space (Fig. 2). There, you will find pots labelled in Latin, nutritional supplements and painkillers categorized by complaint, complete with handwritten instructions (Janssen, 2015). However, some regulars don't just buy their products. There is a select clientele that just walk in to have a cup of tea or coffee with Hans and Frederike (DUIC, 2015). So it is as much of a business that safeguards their traditions as it is a place where you can be 'gezellig' (you will hear that word a lot in the Netherlands).

The golden age of self-medication The drug store often appeared in Het Utrechtsch Nieuwschblad of the twentieth century. In it, Woortman's Drogisterij advertised all the ointments, pills and syrups that were available at their store (Fig. 3). This heavy advertising can be tied to what is called the "golden age of self-medication" occurring in the 1900s. How did that come to be? Well, since products gained exclusive rights to use their brand — and the free market and the customer's free choice remained untouched — a huge amount of products could flood the Dutch market. Simultaneously, the newspaper stamp was abolished which allowed Het Utrechtsch Nieuwschblad to advertise products to more people than ever before (Huisman, 2002, p. 213-216) (Appendix).

Advertisements as a mirror to society Of course, the goal of advertisements is to sell products. In order to do that, the ones who write them need to create a meaning that is associated with the product. As this 'meaning' must appeal to people, advertisements would subtly refer to the societal and cultural norms which surrounded sickness, healing and health (Huisman, 2002, p. 212-213). This is, of course, still the case.

A concrete example from the 1900s are Dr. Williams' 1886 Pink Pills for Pale People. Originally from Canada, they quickly took the world by storm. The advertisements spoke of a miracle cure that could treat almost every disease such as eczema, paralysis and rickets (Tsay, 2019). These Pink Pills advertisements targeted women, and so shows us early twentieth century norms surrounding women. In the newspaper clipping seen below, the assumption that women should care about "maintaining their beauty" at all costs is clearly present.

Sources:

• (2015). Op bezoek bij Drogisterij Woortman aan de Neude: "Ik ben de keizer achter mijn toonbank". DUIC. Retrieved from: https://www.duic.nl/ondernemen/op-bezoek-bij-drogisterij-woortman-aan-de-neude-ik-ben-de-keizer-achter-mijn-toonbank/
• Huisman, F. (2002) Patientbeelden in een moderniserende samenleving: Nederland, 1880-1920. Gewina 25.
• Jansen, J. (2015) Bij drogisterij Woortman kom je ruim een eeuw terug in de tijd. Nieuws-030. Retrieved from: https://www.nieuws030.nl/achtergrond/bij-drogisterij-woortman-kom-je-ruim-een-eeuw-terug-in-de-tijd/
• Tsay, A. (2019) Pills for Our Ills: Dr. Williams' Pink Pills for Pale People. Diseases of Modern Life. Retrieved from: https://diseasesofmodernlife.web.ox.ac.uk/article/pills-for-our-ills-dr.-williams-pink-pills-for-pale-people

Appendix

How did the golden age of self-medication come about?

• Firstly, with the medical laws of 1865 the government wanted to "academicize" pharmacy. The government would provide the opportunity to follow an academic program in pharmacy and monitor the professional behavior of academic medical practitioners. At the same time, the exams for drugstore workers were abolished. However, the principle of the free market and the customer's freedom of choice remained untouched.
• The abolition of the newspaper stamp in 1869 made the newspapers much cheaper - and buying them, or even having a subscription became a real possibility for more people. This expanded the scale and the transparency of the market. Additionally, the newspapers welcomed any advertisements since they were partially financially dependent on them.
• Due to the trademark law of 1880 which gave brands exclusive rights to use their brand. Already in the first year countless registrations for products like mineral waters, kina wine, elixirs, medicinal syrups, capsules were recorded.

And so; a big amount of new products flooded the Dutch market, which the newspapers would all but happily advertise to a broader market, and which the drugstore could sell through the principle of the free market (Huisman, 2002, p. 213-216).