For many pub tigers, bartenders and moths it was a party when ‘the rose man’ walked into the bar with a bunch of roses and a Polaroid camera. You could buy a rose from him and have a photo taken to capture a pleasant evening. For that reason he was also called ‘Johnny Polaroid’. But since corona, every trace of the rose man has disappeared. “We sometimes see a red coat pass by and hope it’s him.”
Where is the Haarlem rose man? – NH News
“Something always happened when the rose man walked into the bar,” says Jamie van der Gracht, bartender at Brasserie van Beinum. “People wanted to have a photo taken or bought a rose. That was always a special moment. But we haven’t heard from him since corona. Very unfortunate.”
Horeca entrepreneur Gijs Brands wondered where the rose man has gone. “We recently talked about it with colleagues. It is still a loss. We sometimes look outside at night to see if we see a red coat passing by, but unfortunately he is really gone. We miss him enormously. ”
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If there is anyone who misses the rose man, it is Sander Klinkenberg. He is a welcome guest in the Haarlem nightlife and owner of a box with hundreds of Polaroid photos of nights out.
“I enjoy having a beer with my friends. When the rose man came in, I always had a photo taken of that special moment,” says Klinkenberg, putting the photos on the table.
on the receipt
“I now have a whole box with hundreds of photos from memorable evenings.” He points to a photo with a friend. “Look, Koen still has hair on his head here. There is nothing left of that now. He is as bald as a billiard ball, legendary.”
Klinkenberg was so good friends with Johnny Polaroid that he had a payment plan. “Everything went in cash, but I was allowed to use the voucher with Johnny and was able to pay with him later. That’s fantastic.”
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The smiling photographer probably came from Bangladesh and, according to Tjerk Schreurs of Café du Théâtre, was the third generation of rose sellers in the city.
“In my younger years you had the first rose man walking around here. Then he passed the baton to probably his cousin, who has done it for a number of years,” says Schreurs, looking at the Polaroids behind the bar of his cafe.
Three generations of rose sellers
“That cousin”, continues Schreurs, “was quickly nicknamed Johnny Polaroid. That second rose man also sold roses for several years and took pictures. But the story went that he became ill and went back to Bangladesh. But of course not before he nephew presented as a successor: the laughing Johnny Polaroid number two.”
“Johnny was relaxed and was tolerated by everyone”
It was precisely that last rose man who had something special. “He always smiled and wasn’t pushy,” says Schreurs. “In Amsterdam you also have rose sellers, but they push the roses under your nose. Johnny was relaxed and was tolerated by everyone.”
Color to the night
The second Johnny Polaroid gave color to the Haarlem night, with its disarmed appearance. “It was the sugar in my mojito,” says Sander Klinkenberg, looking at his Polaroids with a satisfied look.
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Since the lockdowns, every trace of Johnny Polaroid has disappeared. “I really have no idea where he could be,” says Klinkenberg. Van der Gracht also has to guess: “Maybe he’s back to Bangladesh, but I really don’t know.”
“Should he suddenly be back, we’ll keep him here”
When asked what would happen if he suddenly appeared again, Haarlem’s biggest Johnny Polaroid fan didn’t have to think twice. His answer is as simple as it is effective: “I would ask how he is doing and offer him a beer. Then let’s take a picture… Yes, I would,” said Klinkenberg.
Bartender Van der Gracht would also give him a beer. “After that, of course, we shoot a few nice shots,” he says from behind his counter. “And then we make sure he doesn’t leave either. We’ll keep him here,” he laughs.
Safe
Klinkenberg is now putting the photos back in his box, for a moment he seems to be getting emotional. “I’m moving soon and then I want to frame all these photos and hang them in the new house. But until then I’ll keep them safe in a safe, this is worth a lot to me.”