J.G. Korsten

J.G. Korsten was a Dutch sanitary engineering and installation company based at the Koningsplein in Amsterdam. Its founder and namesake described himself as a 'sanitary engineer', and the firm operated a technical bureau for sanitary installations, later extending its reach with branch offices in Heemstede, Breda and Hilversum. The business belonged to the wave of specialist contractors that equipped Dutch homes with modern plumbing, bathrooms and heating in the early twentieth century. Beyond sanitary ware, the firm supplied and installed modern building services such as central heating and electrical wiring. A surviving sales note for the house Oranjestein in Laren, dated 1920, shows the breadth of its catalogue: bathtubs, shower tubs, bidets, washbasins, mirrors, towel racks, soap dishes, taps and numerous bathroom accessories, together with the electrical conduits and drainage for the villa. The company also fitted a radiator with an integrated warming cabinet in the kitchen of that house. Korsten's work is documented in Amsterdam architectural-history research, including the Amsterdam Zuid project, and an advertisement for the firm from around 1900 survives in the Amsterdam City Archives. The company is remembered as one of the specialist installation firms that helped modernise Dutch domestic interiors. No founding date, ownership structure or current corporate status is recorded in the available evidence, and the firm is treated here as a historical, no-longer-active business.

J.G. Korsten was an Amsterdam-based sanitary engineering and installation company. Its principal, who styled himself a 'sanitary engineer', ran a sanitary technical bureau at the Koningsplein in Amsterdam and later established branch offices in Heemstede, Breda and Hilversum. The firm was active in the early decades of the twentieth century, a period when Dutch villas and townhouses were being fitted with modern bathrooms, running water, central heating and electricity. The company's range went well beyond simple plumbing. A sales note from 1920 for the house Oranjestein in Laren lists a long series of items supplied by the firm: a bathtub, a hanging battery, a small seat, a sponge basin, a soap dish, a shower tub, a curtain ring, a shower, a swivel bath stool, a bidet, a slop sink with grate, two single-person wash tables with accessories, a towel basket, a shampoo shower, a bath thermometer, three water closets, five wash tables, six facet-cut mirrors, five étagères, five towel racks, five nickel-plated glass holders, five soap dishes, a wash basin, a small wash basin, a shaving basin and four nickel-plated taps. The firm also installed the electrical conduits and the drainage in the villa. In the kitchen, a radiator with an integrated warming cabinet was present; although not listed on the note, it was probably also supplied by Korsten. The firm's work is documented in Amsterdam architectural-history research, including the Amsterdam Zuid project, where Korsten is studied alongside other manufacturers and installers. An advertisement for the firm dating from around 1900 is preserved in the Amsterdam City Archives. These sources indicate a business that was well known in its local market for comprehensive sanitary and building-services installations. No founding date, ownership changes, or closure date are recorded in the available evidence. The company is treated as a historical, no-longer-active enterprise. Its legacy lies in the surviving documentation of its installations and in its role in the modernisation of Dutch domestic interiors.

• Advertisement for the firm Korsten appears in the Amsterdam City Archives, circa 1900.

• Firm supplies a comprehensive sanitary installation, including electrical wiring and drainage, to the house Oranjestein in Laren, 1920.

• Firm operates a sanitary technical bureau at the Koningsplein in Amsterdam, with later branch offices in Heemstede, Breda and Hilversum.

A specialist sanitary engineering and installation firm serving affluent Dutch households and villas in the early twentieth century.

• Bathtub

• Shower tub

• Bidet

• Wash table with Paonazzo marble top

• Water closet (WC)

• Facet-cut mirror

• Nickel-plated tap

• Radiator with warming cabinet

• Central heating installation

• Electrical wiring and drainage

1. 1Sanitary Engineer – Blog historischeinterieursamsterdamhistorischeinterieursamsterdam.wordpress.com
2. 2J.G. Korsten – Wikidatawikidata.org