Gable stones, or painted stone tablets like this one of St. Ursula, served to identify homes in the 16th century, when much of the population was illiterate.

The motifs or quotations on these tablets contained references to their owners – businesses or individuals that are no more – and as such offer clues to the past behind thousands of Dutch facades. The Huis Marseille (Marseille House), for example, bears a particularly ornate tablet with a map of the port of Marseille – a nod to the port where the mansion's wealthy merchant owner made his fortunes.

The thousands of breweries that existed before the wide availability of sanitized water are also remembered by these stone tablets.

For more information, and hundreds of precious examples, see the Friends of Amsterdam Gable Stones web site (Dutch only).