Here I present you a text that was published in Bouwsteenen 1/2 (first issue of second year), 1926. It gives a nice idea of how Farwerck approaches spirituality (to use a vague term). He refers to a range of different authors and seems to refer to his own spiritual development. As before, translation is not too easy. Farwwerck’s Dutch is cluttered with many sentences within sentences. The English gives an idea of his writing style.
Read More »Farwerck on initiationWhen rereading things to see if anything needed updating, I realised that some time after I started this website, I had short bios of some people around Farwerck and short texts specifically about some subject. These were mostly because I had discovered new things, but I didn’t do the same for information that I already had in the biography when this website was launched. Yet, some people and subjects deserve a little more attention, so I started to add some texts.
For starters:
The influence of Hendricus Johannes (Henri) van Ginkel on Farwerck must have been immense. Van Ginkel lived in Laren not far from Hilversum where Farwerck lived. Both were active in the Theosophical Society. In 1917 Farwerck lead that lodge. Both were active in the Universal Sufism movement and the Coué foundation.
In 1911, Van Ginkel initiated, passed and raised Farwerck into mixed gender Freemasonry in a lodge that he himself had initially set up in his house, but which would quickly move to Hilversum. Both Farwerck and Van Ginkel were of the opinion that Freemasonry and Theosophy should not mix. As a matter of fact, the lodge that Van Ginkel started (for which he left the first mixed gender lodge in the Netherlands) and in which Farwerck was initiated, was the first lodge with a non-Theosophical (or rather: less Theosophical as Van Ginkel’s reforms weren’t ready yet then) ritual that Van Ginkel himself had written.
Read More »Henri van Ginkel (1880-1954)Farwerck’s Freemasonry is spoken about on this website (and elsewhere) frequently. Time for a little more in depth information. Let me start with a bird’s eye view of mixed gender Freemasonry (or co-Masonry) and how it came to the Netherlands. Then we are going to have a look at Farwerck’s place in all this.
Freemasonry is traditionally a men’s thing, but towards the end of the 19th century some people started to do more to change that than just talk. A French lodge initiated a woman in 1882, Maria Deraismes (1828-1894). Even though the lodge that did this was already quite liberal, the Grand Lodge they worked under did not agree. Deraismes and Georges Martin (1844-1916) decided to start a new Masonic organisation, open for both men and women, the Grande Loge Symbolique Écossaise “Le Droit Humain” in 1893,
This symbolic Scottish Grand Lodge would eventually become “The International Order of Freemasonry Le Droit Humain”, LDH for short.
Read More »Mixed gender Freemasonry (in the Netherlands)Kerdijk was one of the early members of the Dutch federation of Le Droit Humain, but not from the very beginning. Initiated in 1908, and unlike many other early members, she progressed through degrees slowly. Her passing was in 1909 and her raising in 1910. Kerdijk is mentioned in the documents surrounding the founding of the Dutch federation in 1918.
Together with H.J. van Ginkel Kerdijk was editor of the magazine Swastika, which was published between 1911 and the outbreak of the First World War. She was also editor of the official bulletin of the Dutch federation of Le Droit Humain. She also translated texts, such as the book De Godsdienst der Vrijmetselarij by Charles Fort, which was published by the publishing house of Van Ginkel and Duwaer. In addition, Kerdijk was married to Stefan Schlesinger.
Read More »Anne Kerdijk (1882-1944)
Stephan Schlesinger was born in Vienna on January 14, 1896. After graduating, Schlesinger went to the technical college to study architecture. Because he was called for duty during the First World War, Schlesinger could not complete this study.
On February 27, 1924, the Jewish Schlesinger married the Dutch Anna (Be) Kerdijk (1882-1944) in Vienna. According to Wikipedia, Kerdijk was half Jewish, other sources say she was not Jewish. Due to the growing anti-Semitism in Vienna, the couple moved to the Netherlands a year after their marriage. Schlesinger provided graphic work for old and new clients in his new country.
Besides graphic design, Schlesinger proved to be a designer in several areas. He designed furniture, fonts and packaging. Moreover, not all of his work was commercial. I came across his name because he designed covers of books of N.V. Maçonnieke Uitgevers Maatschappij (and I suspect also the logo) such as those of the book Mysteriën En Inwijdingen In De Oudheid (‘Mysteries and Initiations in Antiquity’) by B.J. van der Zuylen (F.E. Farwerck). Schlesinger also designed various Ex Libris, such as Farwerck’s Masonic Ex Libris.
While rereading texts on this website I realised that long after I started to make this website, I have been writing short biographies of people that (possibly) were acquaintances of Farwerck. The poet August Heyting deserves a place among these ranks.
Heyting was born in Dutch Indonesia in 1879. He married in 1907. He studied in Breda (Netherlands) and got involved in stage playing. At that time he also wrote, something not everybody was happy about, since he was more productive than he was good in the eyes of some.
Also in 1906, Heyting started to write about the Germanic past. He used the pseudonym Gustaaf van Elring for his play “Harald de Skalde” (‘Harald the Skald’). In this way he path started to close in to that of Farwerck.
On 18 November 1931 Farwerck, Heyting and some others were involved in the foundation of the “Nederlandsch Ario-Germaansche Genootschap” (‘Dutch Ario-Germanic Society’). The circle wanted to study not non-Christian past of the Dutch people.
Already on 27 November, a few people, among whom Heyting and Farwerck left the group. It seems that they were of the opinion that the others involved had too political aims.
I found a document of the marriage of C.W. Farwerck and J. Borrius in 1920. It contains a nice collection of family authographs.
Top left has to be the groom, Carl Wilhelm Farwerck.
Next is the bride, Johanna Borrius.
The next has to be F.O.H.R. Farwerck
Then come the parents of the bride, Borrius and Van Kempen
To the right we obviously see the autograph of Franz Eduard Farwerck, probably as a best man.
One autograph remains, the other best (wo)man. Zwelingen…something……
Some more about the school that moved in next door of the family Farwerck and eventually ate up the villa itself.
In 1912 Farwerck senior bought villa Caecilia at an auction. At least, it’s almost certain that he was the winner of the auction, otherwise he should have bought it from the winner immediately after. The address was Emmastraat 58. The family seemed to have moved in in 1914. Franz Farwerck would follow in 1916.
In 1878 the second owners of the villa built stables with living facilities. This building got as address Emmastraat 60. At the other side of Caecilia, there was another villa.
Read More »Emmastraat 56, J.A. Alberdingk Thijm schoolA closer look into the garden house.
In 1878 Villa Caecila got permission to build stables and a porch. I now notice that the newspaper says “with living facilities”. he main building was from 1875. Early 1875 the house was sold and in November of the same year the stables were added.
As we saw, when the family Farwerck bought the villa in 1912, they also got the stables (quite logically too). The personnel was then housed in these stables / extra house. Since I have seen the address Emmastraat 60 a few times, I was curious if the address would indeed be that house.
Read More »Emmastraat 60