Another fiendish clue, but at one time fishing boats used small winches, often steam powered, to pull their heavy nets up from the sea, or to raise and lower the sails. And those small winches are called "donkeys", either steam-donkeys, or donkey-engines.
They were also used in timber cutting, logging, and down mines, in extremes of temperature or confined spaces which would have made it impossible to use an actual donkey, but paying homage to the way that a donkey performs the same task, over and over, without complaint.
This led to some very funny terminology. The steam boiler and engine connected to the winch was mounted on a sledge, so that it could be dragged, and that was called a "donkey-sled". On mining and logging sites the donkey engine was in a building, which became known as the "donkey-house". The man who operated the engine was usually called the donkey-man, just as he would have been if his charge had been a real donkey. And he wore thick coats with leather patches on the shoulders, which gave rise to the term "donkey-jacket"
We say "chocolate" but Blooker only made it as cocoa powder in drinking chocolate form, not for eating.
The firm was founded, in Amsterdam, in 1814 by John Blooker.
It is as yet unclear whether these cards are a set showing views of the Ile de Marken, or whether they are part of a larger set of general Dutch Views.
The seven cards we know of so far are :
- Canal avec Passerelle Ile de Marken - a bridge over a canal
- Interieur de Bateau de Peche de l`Ile de Marken - close up view of fishermen on boat
- La Demande en Marriage Ile de Marken - man and woman by house, boat behind
- Le boulanger - the baker - a man with a horse cart
- Les Tricoteuses Ile de Marken - five women and a baby, some knitting
- Marchand de poission - fish market - a dog cart and small boy
- Port de l`Ile de Marken - fishing boats in a harbour