Neerlandia was first designed as a breakfast service of flatware and produced by Leerdam in 1939 as part of the H-collectie (Household Collection). It was a cheap and cheerful design produced rapidly and cheaply for sale in the larger department stores. Leerdam was well aware of its shortcomings and in the early years of production it did not bear the Leerdam brand, which was reserved for the superior quality 'industrial-arts' products like Primula. However the trauma of the war years meant that it remained an unattainable dream for Dutch housewives in wartime, but when the war finished the sense of expectation grew. Neerlandia succeded in its mission to be 'first to market' after the war and housewives who had not seen new or coloured tableware for years flocked to the shops to take advantage of the new supplies. As a result it remains an important memory of a country returning to domestic normalities. Many customers rushed to the shops to find that only a limited range was left. One of our visitors has told us how her father had raided the family savings to purchase a collection of Neerlandia for his wife's birthday. It was all laid out on the breakfast table as mother came downstairs on her special day, full of expectation, and then... Mother burst into tears at the 'ugly' glass plates, then slowly and gently, father started to cry as he realised his error, and then the children started to cry because they could understand how both parents felt! Despite such negative responses it remained in use for many years in Dutch homes. As the sales continued to rise, the range was expanded with new items, and amber and clear-glass versions appeared. Of all the Dutch glass in our collection, Neerlandia is the most widely recognised and evokes the strongest memories.

Some pieces of Neerlandia (such as the milk and sugar) are still easy to find for a few euros, although larger plates are quite prone to chips and scratches which dramatically impairs their collectability. Decanters are especially prone to vertical cracks in the neck resulting from excessive pressure on the stopper. The most expensive items amongst collectors include the waterjug, fruit test and the egg-cup-on-saucer. Amber versions are worth about twice as much as original olive green, while clear-glass is the least collected. Leerdam also produced a number of vases, trays, ashtrays and other H-collection items which matched with Neerlandia's colour (and used similar design elements) but were not officially part of the Neerlandia range. Leerdam extended the range several times, also making small changes to the designs. In 1951 a revised collection was produced and given the name Hollandia, it included the popular nested set of bowls and new sizes of plates. Subsequent ly the pattern was re-launched in the lighter shade known as 'silver-green', but it failed to meet with much success. As well as a new set of bowls, the Hollandia included revised versions of the milk jug, jampot (7414) and butterdish (7415), which was adapted to fit a standard (square) pack. It is commonly thought that the name Zeelandia was also in use to describe the clear-glass range.

Neerlandia Setbowl 1	245
Neerlandia SetBowl 2	205
Neerlandia SetBowl 3	170
Neerlandia SetBowl 4	145
Neerlandia SetBowl 5	125
Neerlandia Gateau Plate
Neerlandia Gateau side Plate/saucer
Neerlandia Side plate	195
Neerlandia Saucer No 6562
Neerlandia Breadplate No 6566	320
Neerlandia Meat plate No 6565	235
Neerlandia Jam pot No 6212
Neerlandia Jam pot lid
Neerlandia conserve pot
Neerlandia conserve pot lid
Neerlandia Bowl pot No 6217	220 x 210
Neerlandia Kaasstolp	235 x 150
Neerlandia Square Butterdish (No. 6559?)
Neerlandia Vlinder Tray
Neerlandia Gateau Plate
Neerlandia Gateau side-plate
Neerlandia Place-setting Ashtray
Neerlandia Water Jug No 7918	175 x 155 (195)
Neerlandia Decanter	90 x 190
Neerlandia cups with handle No 6218
Neerlandia Karaf and six liquer bekers	90 x 190
Neerlandia Eggcups/liquerbekers	48 x 55
Neerlandia Milk Jug	70 x 78 x 90
Neerlandia Sugar bowl	55 x 90
Neerlandia Vase 1 Large No 6569	175 x 202
Neerlandia Vase 2 No 6568	170 x155
Neerlandia Vase 3 No 7919	90 x 82
Neerlandia Vase 4 No  6629 (lepelvaasje)	60 x 90
Neerlandia Vase 5 small No 6215
Neerlandia Bowl glass No 6218	70 x 75
Neerlandia Fruit Test no 6219	80 x 195
Neerlandia Fruit Test stand	25 x 215
Neerlandia Egg tray No 6534	120
Neerlandia Egg cup No 6561 (likeurbekertje)	48 x 55
Neerlandia Hord d'oevres Onderschotel No 5999
Neerlandia Hord d'oevres Bakkje No 6000
Neerlandia Hord d'oevres Middenbakje No 7701
Hollandia Setbowl No 7416	230 x 80
Hollandia Setbowl	205 x72
Hollandia Setbowl	180 x 61
Hollandia Setbowl	155 x 50
Hollandia Setbowl	130 x 45
Hollandia Cheese
Hollandia Butter No 7414	168 x 101 x 61
Hollandia Jampot No 7415	130 x 10