Blad 19 uit Stamboek van de leerlingen der Koloniale School voor Meisjes en Vrouwen te 's-Gravenhage deel I (1921-1929) Possibly 1923 - 1929

This is page 19 from the register of students at The Colonial School for Girls and Women in The Hague, likely dating from the 1920s. The school played a significant role in the Dutch colonial project, training women to become wives and mothers in the Dutch East Indies, now Indonesia. The ledger, handwritten with careful annotations, lists names, addresses, and marital status, offering a glimpse into the lives of these women and the expectations placed upon them. We can see visual codes in the way information is recorded, reflecting the institutional structure and colonial agenda of the time. The school aimed to prepare women for a specific social role, reinforcing colonial power dynamics. As historians, we can analyze these records alongside other sources, such as curricula, personal letters, and photographs, to gain a deeper understanding of the school’s impact and the experiences of the women who attended it. Art like this reminds us that meaning is not fixed but is actively created and reshaped by historical forces.