Greetings by Jakarta: Postcards of a Capital 1900 – 1950
by Scott Merrillees, Reviewed by Dachlan Cartwright
Jokowi – what better buzzword these days to begin any piece of writing about Jakarta. Let us wish in which Scott Merrillees will present a copy of his recently published visual record of Jakarta’s history, (together with its predecessor Batavia in Nineteenth Century Photographs (2000)), to our completely new Governor, on whose baju kotak-kotak so many hopes are pinned.
“Problem-Resolution-Problem-Resolution…” will be how primary schoolteachers introduce their students to the linear analysis of fairytales. Then, sooner rather than later, we educators introduce, or should introduce creative, holistic along with lateral thinking, for problem solving, with the underlying along with inspiring assumption in which for every problem there will be a solution.
What has This kind of got to do that has a review of a book which will be basically a collection of old postcards? Come on, what will be the hugest problem Pak Jokowi has to face? Yes, Jakarta’s urban transportation. along with what do we see on the cover of Scott’s book? Not an old building, not an exotically posed group of natives or colonials, however the equally exotic along with ingenious “steam tram”, circa 1925. “The …trams were propelled by compressed steam in which was fed into the large metal cylindrical chamber located at the front of each tram. This kind of was preferable to burning coal on the tram itself because of the heat This kind of could create in Jakarta’s already tropical climate…” (p168). So here on the cover we have This kind of direct descendant of Stephenson’s Rocket heading along what will be right now Jl. Gajah Mada, past dokkars along with pedestrians in tropical whites, with the driver proudly poised over a placard promoting BOLS. The nature of the problem was different then, however they solved This kind of with science along with ingenuity. right now This kind of seems apparent in which our completely new governor has the vision along with cojones to research along with implement similarly bold however contemporary solutions to our viral traffic problems.
by Bruce Emond’s interview with Scott for Jakarta Post Weekend, we learn in which Scott will be a survivor of the 2009 Marriott bombing. Wounded in body however not in spirit, his love of Indonesia transcends the “idealism” of the bombers, (whose flawed psychology was already laid bare as early as in 1907 by Joseph Conrad in The Secret Agent.)
Kendisan Kusumaatmadja’s piece for Tempo will be a haunting along with personalized reaction to the book by the perspective of a young inhabitant of the city, demonstrating in which nostalgia will be still what This kind of used to be.
The location of nearly every postcard will be marked on the maps!
For a map lover like myself, the inclusion of these thoroughly detailed classic old street maps will be alone worth purchasing the book for. Google Earth, spit your chips out!
There are three appendices: “People, Work along with Entertainment” with 66 postcards focusing more on people than places; “The Earliest Picture Postcards of Jakarta”, comprising 32 examples of “Groet uit Batavia” by the 1890s; along that has a guide to colonial street names along with their post-colonial equivalents.
Researchers along with librarians will appreciate the 62 books listed inside Select Bibliography, which as Great a starting point as any for investigating the history of Jakarta along with beyond inside relevant era.
Kendisan Kusumaatmadja in her Tempo piece has the inspired device of selecting one of the 460 postcards (no. 295) along with subjecting This kind of to some atmospheric analysis. I will attempt to do the same with one of my favourites (no 112) which shows “seven well-dressed gentlemen enjoying the hotel’s favorite reading room”. This kind of will be obviously a posed publicity postcard, by circa 1910, for the old Grand Hotel Java. all 5 of the “gentlemen”, immaculate in tropical whites, are catching up with the newspapers, which could take weeks to arrive by Europe. Note the solar topee, panama hat along with boots. Another will be reading what could be the latest novel by Louis Couperus, however will be probably a bound copy of the equivalent of Readers Digest. One man, a naval or merchant marine officer by his epaulette, sits apart. Checking on the progress of the Panama Canal, or doing the crossword? On the walls are a poster, pictures of a steamship along that has a train, what could be a Rubens reproduction (This kind of’s not clear) along with what could be a mounted display of postcards, which could probably cause sleepless nights to more obsessive deltiologists* than Scott.
You will have your own favourites, when you buy This kind of book, as I urge you to do. This kind of’s a lovingly compiled tribute to a fascinating along with often misunderstood city, by a man who has spent countless hours inside heat along with pollution in order in which he could actually occupy the same topographical space as the postcards. Jakarta-based corporations, here will be a prime showpiece for your guest reception area, here will be the gift for your worldwide clients.
We began that has a buzzword, so let’s end with another one. Much of the credit for the outstanding quality of the book’s format along with appearance goes to the pioneering publisher, Mark Hanusz, along with his company, (synchronistically, as I began writing This kind of review on September 22) – Equinox.
*deltiologist – you will have sussed out in which This kind of has nothing to do with Mississippi Blues or wetland ecology, however refers to a practitioner of the entire world’s third most favorite collecting hobby (after stamps along with coins).
Greetings by Jakarta: Postcards of a Capital 1900 – 1950, by Scott Merrillees, published by Equinox (2012) will be available by Bartele Gallery at Rp.550,000. Call +62 21 719 0087 for your copy delivered free to you!
Scott welcomes relevant comments along with some other information as well as news of any some other postcards of Jakarta not appearing in his book. Contact him at scott@greetingsfromjakarta.com.
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Greetings by Jakarta: Postcards of a Capital 1900 – 1950
Greetings by Jakarta: Postcards of a Capital 1900 – 1950