'Nol Nosum'.
Herman Dirker was a mysterious mid-20th century Dutch cartoonist, illustrator and portrait artist. He drew a gag comic, 'Nol Nosum' at an unknown date and it is an open question where and if it was ever serialized. In the 1950s, Herman Dirker contributed to the illustrated column series 'Dit Volk' of newspaper Het Parool.
Life
Not much biographical info about Herman Dirker's life and career is known. On 4 February 1906, he was born as Herman Frederik Dirker in Amsterdam. Dirker received violin lessons from Boris Lensky and studied at the Arts and Crafts School ("Kunstnijverheidsschool") in Amsterdam. He was a violinist in the Alkmaar Symphony Orchestra and mostly active as an advertising artist, book illustrator and painter, based in Alkmaar. On 11 February 1944, a newspaper article in the Nederlandsche Staatscourant announced Herman Dirker's divorce from his first wife Eugenie Riezouw on 9 December 1943. On 11 May 1944, he married his second wife, Hermanna Jacoba Focken. Herman Dirker died on 6 July 1974 in Utrecht, at the age of 68.
'Dit Volk op Maandagmorgen' (Het Parool, 9 October 1954).
Career
Early in his career, Dirker contributed to the satirical magazine De Notenkraker, and worked on animated shorts. In 1931, he illustrated a pamphlet of the Sociaal Democratische Arbeiderspartij ("Social Democratic Worker's Party"), titled '1 Mei van Ons'. Dirker livened up two children's novels by Clinge Doorenbos, namely 'Jan en Mientje Met hun Vriendje' (1927) and 'Een Reuze-Vacantie' (1927). The latter book was reprinted in 1938 with illustrations by another artist, Netty Heyligers. In 1939, Dirker illustrated stories of his own in Astra magazine, for instance 'Harmen's Erfenis' (June 1939), 'Een Geheimzinnig Contract' (August 1939) and 'Amor in de Diplomatiek' (March 1940).
Between 1942 and 1946, Dirker advertised in several local newspapers from the Alkmaar region as a portrait painter-for-hire, through his "Kunstatelier Mariëtte", located at Laat 104 in Alkmaar, with another branch at Breed 34 in Hoorn. On 9 October 1954, Dirker drew a full-page picture collage for newspaper Het Parool, called 'Dit Volk op Maandagmorgen'. It was part of a weekly series in which graphic artists showed Dutch citizens engaging in all sorts of thematic activities. Among the other contributors were Lou Strik, Sj. Kuperus, Frits Müller, Leo Schatz, Kurt Löb, Sam Blaaser, Wim van Wieringen, Hans Engelman, Friso Henstra and many more.
'Nol Nosum'.
Nol Nosum
A largely pantomime gag strip by Herman Dirker called 'Nol Nosum' stars a tall, bespectacled man with a long, rectangular forehead. It is not dated, but was presumably created in the 1940s or 1950s. In 2013, scans of 'Nol Nosum' resurfaced in a newspaper comic portfolio from the Pers Associatie agency. At the time, this portfolio was presented to newspapers for possible syndication, but it is not sure whether 'Nol Nosum' was ever picked up by one of the papers. If it was, it could perhaps have run under a different title.
Introduction article going with Herman Dirker's 'Dit Volk' contribution (Het Parool, 9 October 1954).