Poortvliet, Rien-In my grandfather's house

In my Grandfather's House, the illustrator of Gnomes, Rien Poortvliet, imaginatively captures his own heritage in a stunning visual recreation of his family, ranging from an eight-year-old cowherd in the 1600s up through the present day.
When Rien Poortvliet started a new book, in which he wanted to record everyday life around the turn of the last century, he came into possession of his family tree, through a fortunate circumstance.
This began a fascinating journey for him through three centuries of family history.
But it is more - the countless scenes from everyday life from the seventeenth century onwards also tell our prehistory, in words and images. The
focus is not on the great turmoil of the world, but on the worries of ordinary people. How did you get water for cooking and washing in the eighteenth century, without running water? What did people do when contagious diseases were raging? Was it sufficient to sprinkle vinegar on the bed of the sick person? Did the doctor really avoid the risk of infection by smoking a pipe?...
In his own inimitable way, Rien Poortvliet brings the past to life in this book. Recognizable, moving and above all real. A book to spend hours looking at and reading, walking along the garden path of all our fathers.