KLM Royal Dutch Airlines hosts a party each year on the airline’s birthday, October 7, to mark the airline’s anniversary in 1919.
The highlight of the evening was the unveiling of the firm’s newest gin-filled miniature Delftware house, depicting a building of different historical or architectural significance in the Netherlands or abroad.
This year’s house
The airline gave a gift Delft Blue miniature house for passengers who have flown in KLM’s long-haul business class cabins since the 1950s. Thanks to a catch-up program, the house numbers in the collection now match the airline’s age. (Several limited edition and “special occasion” homes have also been released.)
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At this year’s birthday party, the company announced house number 103: a miniature Delftware replica of the Ecury House in Aruba. As part of the festival held in Aruba, KLM president and CEO Marjan Rintel presented the first miniature to Agustin Vrolijk – acting governor of Aruba – and the Ecury family.
“KLM has had many ups and downs over the past century,” says Rintel. “But we always mark our anniversary on October 7 because we want to continue to celebrate that KLM is a great company connecting the Netherlands to the world.”
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This is only the second time a KLM Delftware miniature has been made on a building outside the Netherlands. (A building in Curacao got that honor on KLM’s 85th birthday.)
KLM chose Ecury as home because Aruba will celebrate its centenary of aviation in 2023, and Nicasio “Dundun” Ecury plays a key role in the development of aviation on the island. His son, Boy Ecury, studied in the Netherlands and was a resistance hero during the Second World War before being betrayed and executed in 1944.
The Ecury House, built in 1929, is now part of the National Aruba Museum of Aruba and is located near the site where the first plane to Aruba landed. Besides its historical significance, the house of the Ecury family has architectural value, according to Mark Zegeling, Dutch author of some books about real houses and buildings featured in KLM’s Delft series of miniature houses.
“Designed by Aruban architect Medardo Dada Picus in a typical Caribbean Art Deco style, the ‘green house’ is decorated with gingerbread carvings along the porch and balcony,” Zegeling said. speak. “With its Art Deco façade, stained glass windows and decorative vases on the corners of the roof, Cas Ecury is part of Aruba’s cultural heritage.”
KLM’s connection to Aruba dates back almost 90 years.
A KLM Fokker-XVIII aircraft, dubbed “the Snip,” first landed in Aruba on December 23, 1934, as part of KLM’s first transatlantic flight. Scheduled service between Aruba and Curacao commenced on 19 January 1935, and was the first flight operated by KLM’s West India Branch. Scheduled service between Amsterdam and Aruba began almost 50 years ago in 1974. Today, there are daily flights between the two destinations.
The past and future of miniature houses
The idea of filling miniature Delftware homes with gin came about in the 1950s, when there was a limit to the value of gifts an airline could give its passengers. By placing booze (Bols Dutch Genever) inside cottages, they can be seen as cocktails in souvenir boxes, rather than stand-alone gifts.
Today, every KLM World Business Class passenger on an intercontinental flight can choose a Delftware miniature from a selection offered by the crew. Tiny houses have become much sought-after collectibles, and there’s a Delft Blue house app to help serious collectors keep track of which editions they have or still need.
Rintel – who was the CEO of Dutch Railways NS Netherlands before taking over as CEO and chairman of KLM on 1 July 2022 – told TPG that during his 15 years working for KLM , she often has the opportunity to fly World Business Class and receive Delft miniature houses as a passenger.
“I have more than half of the houses in my own personal collection and display them in my living room,” she says.
House 103 was selected when Rintel joined the board, but now as KLM CEO she will be involved in the selection of 104 house.
“The pieces of these collectors reflect the deep connection between our brand and our history with Holland and Dutch culture,” Rintel told TPG. “And we’re definitely not going to make any changes to this great show.”
