Pieter Meijer, attributed to Hendrik Pothoven (1736-1807). Pieter Meijer (1718-1781) was one of the founders in 1767 of a society to promote and develop new lifesaving techniques - the Maatschappij tot Redding van Drenkelingen. Meijer was a poet who ran a bookshop and publishing company in Amsterdam, selling the publications of various societies.