I asked the amazing Val Erde at Colouring the Past to color the original photograph of my great-grandfather Adrian Zuidweg (Adriaan Zuijdweg) in his Dutch army uniform. I’ve posted the original before.
Adriaan Zuijdweg
The photograph was taken in Bergen op Zoom, which is in the south of the Netherlands and is not his hometown of Goes, which is in Zeeland. Val thought it possible that Adrian had to serve because the Dutch were embroiled in the Aceh War. It was also known as the Dutch War or the Infidel War (1873–1904) and was an armed military conflict between the Sultanate of Aceh and the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The culminiation was that it consolidated Dutch rule over modern-day Indonesia.
My grandfather never told me where his father served, only that he had gone AWOL because his superior had a contagious disease. Since he immigrated to the United States in 1893 at the age of 22, he could only have been 22 or younger in the photograph.
What a beautiful uniform he had! Val tells me that the odd-shaped chevron on his uniform identifies him as a sergeant. Here he is in living color.
I’m so grateful to Val for the beautiful work she’s done here. This is the final version after Val made a correction surrounding the cigar.
The Family Kalamazoo 
It was a pleasure doing this (and the other) photos for you. Thanks for posting again. 🙂
Thank YOU!
What do you suppose that is in his right hand?
He’s holding a cigar, and then the white and gold thing are thingies from the hat. The hat looks like this: https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/m1865-shako-netherlands-kepi-cap-hat-497911673.
I’m not sure that’s a cigar, Luanne. I had wondered if it was the handle of the cabinet behind him, or something entirely different, but I don’t think it’s a cigar. Also, there seemed to be a couple of bits of something pale hanging off the bottom of it (below his hand) which I don’t think are photo blemishes (though might be. I decided not to remove them in case they were integral to the photo).
Wow, I always thought it was a cigar used as a prop.I see the pieces you are talking about . . . .
I’m not sure a soldier would be allowed to be seen in a studio setting, with a cigar or cigarette, even a prop one, but I may be wrong. Something else to research!! 🙂
Always something else! I sure know that feeling!
I was trying to make it a pipe, but it didn’t work. But he was smoking something!
See what Paula wrote! It’s a cigar holder!
Wow! That is absolutely amazing. What beautiful work.
I wish I could say “thanks” haha, but it just shows you what beautiful work that Val Erde does! I think this is my favorite of the 5 I had her do because of the fanciness of the uniform! Check out her blog, Karen!
That’s so amazing! Color changes everything.
Doesn’t it?! I knew this was a great photo to have, but until I saw it in color I didn’t realize just what an amazement treasure it is.
That really is quite remarkable!
Andy
Andy, I know! I love what Val did here!
The paint job was amazing on your photo Luanna, Val did a awesome job with it. As for you picture and the questions about the cigar in his hand, the cigar was in a cigar holder, it works so that the person smoking the cigar doesn’t have to touch the cigar once it is lit, my Uncle was from the Netherlands, and he had one of those that belonged to his father. Just thought I would pass that on to you. Paula
I cannot believe you just wrote this! I was wondering about something like that myself (intuitively?) and had started researching cigar stuff in the Netherlands when I was interrupted by work haha. Thank you so much, Paula!!! (I’m going to try to do a new signature for you with a marker to make it darker).
Ah well, that’s me wrong, then. 🙂 I’m sorry. At least the colouring is close to a cigar’s colour, though the ash at the top isn’t! I’m still puzzled about the white bits, unless they were blemishes on the photo. Would you like me to remove them?
It’s pretty interesting, isn’t it?! Can you remove them easily?
Yeah. I’ll do it in a while (probably tomorrow).
Oh, I am glad Paula knew the answer to the mysterious object in his hand! Another awesome job by Val. And I would have assumed his uniform and shoes were brown because of the sepia!
Sepia does make us think about things different, doesn’t it? Hmm, I’m liking the color effects myself! So grateful to Paula!
Beautiful image; and extra special in colour. The boy-child has been doing something similar for me with some old photos, but lost momentum now that university has started. I’ll have to rev him up again after seeing this 🙂
Oooh, you are a lucky Mum! My kids are not that talented with technology! Thanks, Su!
Mine worked as a professional photographer before university.
You and he share a talent!!!
I learn from the master 🙂
What a great photograph of your great-grandfather. The color touch up is amazing. It makes the picture come to life and the details from the photo jut pop!
Isn’t it fabulous?! I am so thrilled and agree that my great-grandfather almost comes to life here!
[…] genealogy blogger, Luanne Castle, over at The Family Kalamazoo, recently introduced her readers to the amazing work of Val Erde, who specializes in colouring old […]
[…] genealogy blogger, Luanne Castle, over at The Family Kalamazoo, recently introduced her readers to the amazing work of Val Erde, who specializes in colouring old […]