Engraving and text from The costume of the Netherlands
After drawings from Miss Semple - Ackermann London - 1817

 

A girl selling matches in the streets of Rotterdam,

There was nothing particular in the dress of this young woman ; she wore a plain cap, printed linen cloak, and a coarse cloth apron.
It is remarkable that they should take the trouble to suspend any thing so light as straw matches, from the shoulders, when a basket would contain more than would be disposed of in the course of a day ; but the Dutch carry almost every thing they have to sell, in this manner : although baskets are so common in Holland that, if you send a servant to purchase a few yards of tape, she will take a small one in her hand to bring it home in.

 

It is true that one may wonder why one would take a shoulder yoke to carry such a light load. On second thought, it must have been to keep one's hands free for transactions. That is why, even when buying ribbons, the Dutch always carried a yoke. (Editor's notes)
Translated with DeepL