IJSVREUGDE OP DE MAAS "Gezigt der Ysvreugt op de Rivier de Maze soo als het zich vertoond voor de Stad Rotterdam in het begin van het jaar 1784", engraving made by Jacob Groenendijk in 1784 after a drawing by A. Groenendijk. Later hand-coloured. Sizes 36,6 x 43,1cm. View from the frozen Maas to the west, with on the right the entrance to the Oude Haven with the Eastern Old Main Gate, in the middle the Boompjes. On the Maas, kermesses d'hiver were organised. You could find fire-eaters, tumblers, dancers on skates, an Egyptian pyramid - acrobats building a human tower of relatives. You could buy refreshments at the oil cake and waffle stalls that stood fraternally next to the koek-en-zopie tents and the basket and fish sellers. You could draw a lottery ticket or buy a small silver trinket as a souvenir. The tightrope walkers, who were strangely dressed and performed their tricks on a taut rope, were always very popular. For real and imagined complaints, one could go to the quack. He would be pushed by his servant on a sled to the crowd, unpack his belongings and then sell his liniments, powders and pills in a comically distorted language. He also often proved to be a skilled tooth and toothbrush puller, sold remedies to maintain these and could make hair grow as rampantly as corns and warts. Price: Euro 1,650
