History of our store Van der Pigge

1821: history of van der Pigge

Antonie van der Pigge is born. His father, Jan, has owned a tobacco shop for 21 years, and even more importantly, his own tobacco cutting shop. This business, called De Gekroonde Moor (The Crowned Moor), would remain in business until the early 21st century. Jan van der Pigge was a prosperous man with a large clientele, primarily consisting of gentlemen of the upper class. The addictive nature of tobacco is evident from the fact that not only the upper class, but also the workers, continued to smoke, even during times of recession and poverty. Along with the ships in which the tobacco was brought, exotic herbs and spices were also imported. Father Jan saw opportunities to expand the business to include “drying plants.” However, that didn’t fit within his own shop. He had to wait until 1849, when his son was old enough to also stand on his own two feet in business.

1849: the beginning

Antonie Johannes van der Pigge started his own “business in pharmacies, chemicals, and paints,” thanks in part to his father’s financial support. In 1844, Antonie passed his chemist’s exam after apprenticed to Martin Beets, a pharmacist. Martin Beets was the father of the writer Nicolaas Beets. The house and pharmacy can still be found at Koningstraat 40 in Haarlem, recognizable by the facade stone. A year later, in 1845, Antonie purchased the building at Gierstraat 3, where our company is still located today.

The establishment of the business is not entirely logical considering the economic circumstances of that year. You can read that story.

drogist van der pigge oude archieffoto waarbij de bouw van het grote v en d gebouw nog niet heeft plaatsgevonden.

drukke winkel in 1943 personeel Onze winkel in 1943 met de mannen achter de toonbank in stofjas zwart wit beeld

1853: Modern gadgets

Antonie marries Henriëtte Termars, a Catholic. They have four daughters. The eldest, Anna, later married the shop’s first employee, Joannes van Os, at the age of 28. Joannes takes over the business in 1885, but the company always bears the name of its founder. Joannes van Os keeps the shop’s interior unchanged, perhaps out of respect for his wife, but he is known for his love of new gadgets. Like the telephone. Joannes is one of the first residents of Haarlem to have a real telephone line. Read the story about telephone number 563 here.

zwart-wit interieur foto winkel van der pigge aanzicht raam en stopflessen en toonbank

1910: V&D

Anton, undoubtedly named after his grandfather Antonie van der Pigge, is the third – and most illustrious – owner of the business. In 1910, he threw himself wholeheartedly into life as a chemist.

Around that time, he also began selling herbal mixtures for the peeler’s horse. Read the story of the peeler and the chemist here.

In the early 1920s, his neighbors, brothers-in-law Vroom and Dreesmann, were eager to expand. Their haberdashery business was booming, and they were successful with their warehouse, “De Zon,” on Lange Veerstraat. But they wanted more. A large department store was planned for Verwulft. They bought several properties, causing all the businesses surrounding Van der Pigge to disappear. Anton must have thought, “If this place is good for them, it’s good for me too,” and refused to sell his building. The story goes that a years-long battle raged to get Anton out of his building. Anton essentially shrugs it off. He’s not selling, that’s it, and doesn’t want to hear anything more about it. He’s not fighting, he’s simply saying “no.” The brothers-in-law have been trying for three years.

zwart-wit foto jaren 20 bouw v en d rondom van der pigge

1942: Gaping Gapers

And then the Second World War had already been going on for two years. Clearly, a little distraction in these dark times was very welcome. So Anton, along with a friend, decided to organize a Gaper exhibition. Various Gapers were exhibited in the Hoofdwacht (Main Guard) on the Grote Markt. The title of this exhibition was “Gapers Gapen U Aan!” (Gapers Gaping, Let Us Gape!”). It was a great success. Lennaert Nijgh writes the following about this in his book “Met Open Mond” (With Open Mouth):

“What history doesn’t tell us is whether the exhibition was officially opened, and if so, by whom. Usually, this was done by the mayor, but in 1942, it was an NSB member named S.L.A. Plekker. So, no official opening. Although it would certainly have been quite a sight: Mayor Plekker, called Slaaplekker by everyone, visiting forty mostly non-Aryan types who were sticking their tongues out at him.”

1976: A new generation

Jan van Os, Anton’s eldest son, became a partner in the business in 1961, but Anton didn’t leave until 1976. This made him the longest-serving owner of this fine family business. The next generation to continue the business after Jan was already born: Menno, the son of Jan van Os and Yvonne Peeperkorn, was born in 1962.

Jan van Os saw his original career as an officer on the ocean-going trade literally fall through when Anton became seriously ill in 1961. So, Jan, as the eldest son, took responsibility and came home to run the business. Anton made a miraculous recovery and eventually lived to be 93 years old. Anton would continue to make his mark on the company for a long time to come. And there are products that are absolutely forbidden from sale. You’d expect a drugstore to sell preservatives, but they’re not available at Van der Pigge. Read here why.

interieur jaren 70 zwart-wit foto aanzicht van buiten naar binnen. Klanten en personeel in de winkel van der pigge

1993: Change of course

Menno, Jan’s eldest son, took over the business in 1993, along with his wife. Menno also initially had different plans; he was interested in a life as a furniture restorer. Trained as a construction engineer, he considered pursuing a career in that field. However, he worked as the youngest employee in the business, and it wasn’t long before he decided to dedicate himself fully to Van der Pigge. His passion for the company, and especially for natural medicine, and the then-relatively new insights into orthomolecular approaches, led him to change course with the company. Fewer original drugstore items and more nutritional supplements appeared on the shelves. At the same time, Menno brought back the old paint products. Pigments, oils, and turpentine: they were all back in the range. Licorice, licorice, and black and white remained inextricably linked to the company.

On August 8, 1988, Menno married Astrid. They met in 1985. She was working as a ballet dancer for a professional opera company and always bought licorice for travel at Van der Pigge. In 1986, they moved into the apartment above the drugstore together, and in 1990, their daughter Sophie was born. The clientele was very excited about the birth of their child, and some older customers remarked that Sophie was a girl, “Oh, that’s nice too.” When asked, it turned out that people assumed the eldest son should take over. After all, it had been going strong for five generations. People then forgot that the drugstore founder only had daughters, right? But hey, that was before their time.

So, when the takeover finally took place in 1993, Astrid gradually began working more and more for the company. The customers embraced Menno and his wife. And not just figuratively. Sometimes Menno receives a warm hug or a resounding compliment for his personal advice.

Here you’ll find a remarkable story about a damsel in distress.

buitenaanzicht vanaf verwulft haarlem van v en d en van der pigge

1999: 150 years!

And then the moment arrived: the shop celebrated its 150th anniversary. Antonie van der Pigge could never have imagined that his shop would still be around a century and a half later.

The couple didn’t sit still. In 1998, Astrid started working full-time for the business and breathed new life into De Groene Os. Menno expanded his shop team with employees who were experts in natural medicine. And who were women. Throughout those years, men had worked there, almost without exception easily reaching 25 years of loyal service. It wasn’t until 1977 that the first woman joined the company, and she would remain the only woman for a very long time. The team remained predominantly male until Menno clearly defined the direction the company would take. So, during the anniversary, more women than men worked at Van der Pigge.

This anniversary year created quite a stir. Mayor Jaap Pop delivered a surprise: the shop became a Purveyor to the Royal Household. The book “Met Open Mond” (With Open Mouth) is being published, written by Lennaert Nijgh and edited entirely by Menno and Astrid. It’s a big celebration. It’s the first time in the business’s history that we’re closed for a weekday afternoon.

interieur van der pigge slang uiteinde en gaper en stopflessen in kast

2007: A Dark Period

This year will go down as one of the darkest in the company’s history. It turns out that Menno is terminally ill. He dies, five months after receiving the verdict, on May 1st, from cancer. Menno was much loved, not only for his looks, but also—and especially—for his vast knowledge. And then, suddenly, a lot goes wrong. People who were once family suddenly find themselves at odds with each other, and the grief tears apart not only his family, but also the employees and all of Haarlem. There is intense sympathy, and the outpouring of support is overwhelming, demonstrating how much Menno meant to everyone.

Menno had made a remarkable will. To avoid delving too deeply into personal details (because the privacy of everyone involved must be respected and has already been violated enough during this period), we’ll briefly explain what happened. The will stipulated that the company would be held in a foundation until Menno and Astrid’s daughter was old enough to participate. The company had grown into a fairly large enterprise with 40 employees working hard.

De Groene Os had been a success, two new departments had been added: “Pigge Verzenden” (Pig Shipping) and “Prometheus” (Prometheus) in Almere. Besides the well-run shop, that’s too much to manage alone under these circumstances. So the foundation’s board thought it would be a good idea to support Astrid. Unfortunately, complications arose. Misunderstanding and grief, fear and discontent took their toll. The employees were afraid of losing their jobs, the family was worried the company would be sold, and meanwhile, the widow sat at home waiting for the board to smooth over these tensions. That took a very long time, far too long. Yes, things went terribly wrong. Everything spiraled out of control. The media unfortunately played a role in the spiraling out of control, and even more unfortunately: all those reports were also untrue. No one ever wanted the company to be sold. But you can’t listen well with grief, and that’s actually the crux of the matter: no one was listening. What a disaster. What sadness.

Menno van os eigenaar van der pigge tot 2007

2018: Sixth generation

We ultimately weathered that dark period. Astrid has been back at the helm since 2015. Yes, without a board and with enormous renewed dedication. The shop has a strong team, whose composition has changed considerably over the past ten years. Almost always, the “separation” was amicable. And in many cases, the employee has remained within the company but left the shop.

And Sophie, Menno and Astrid’s daughter, has been behind the counter since December 2017. The sixth generation! And this time, women are allowed to inherit. And to act independently. The future is secure. Van der Pigge will continue. Naturally. In the family line.