Ipso Facto

In 1914, a new Verkade album(album with picture cards that could be collected) from Jac. P. Thijsse was published called ‘Langs de Zuiderzee’ (Alongside the Zuyder Zee). Over ninety years later, photographer Bert Verhoeff and journalist Rolf Bos made the same trips that Thijsse made, while walking, cycling, sailing and flying alongside, on and above the IJssel Lake. Well, their trips are not exactly the same of course. The Ijsselmeer Dam and the Flevo Polders did not exist in Jac Thijsse’s time. The Zuyder Zee used to be a ‘work sea’ that allowed thousands of merchantmen and fishermen to earn a living. The IJssel Lake is now a ‘play lake’ and its recreational uses include jet skiing, kite surfing and sailing.