Study material, the old textbook examined

As you may know we, at Van der Steur, live amongst the mysterious history of more than 40.000 books and prints. Logically we are unable to read each and every one of them. This is why it can be very refreshing when a new intern stumbles upon an object that tells a greater story than just the one that is written inside. When our intern Sterre van der Sijde took a book from the shelf in our section dedicated to classical literature she noticed immediately that the book in her hands was special. This beautiful work, titled Fabulae Aesopi Graecè & Latinè is not bound in linen, leather or blank parchment as could be expected. Oddly enough it is bound in a parchment manuscript page with rubrication (sentences in red ink) and decorated initials. 

 

When opened, the book shows that it concerns the 1672 version of the fables of the Greek slave Aesopus (600 BC) and those of the Latin poet Avianus (400 to 500 AD), written in Greek and Latin in parallel columns. 

The book concludes with the poem ‘Batrachomyomachia’ or ‘Battle of the frogs and mice’, attributed to Homer. This book was first published in Amsterdam in 1626 as a study book for Latin and Greek scholars. The particular edition was provided by the academic Daniel Heinsius (1580-1655) from Leiden and copied at least eleven times without any major changes. It appeared to be in use for this purpose until 1727. 

Can you remember how your study books looked after toiling with them for a year? If they looked a bit like mine I find it astonishing that this small fable book survived this well for almost 350 years.

The fables in this book feature exquisite woodcarvings by the Swiss/Dutch woodcutter and engraver Christoffel van Sichem (1581-1658). Van Sichem made prints after portraits by his father, Christoffel van Sichem the Elder, and leading artists such as Bloemaert and Goltzius. For this fable book he made forty-one beautiful illustrations. The clearness of the cuts gives a modern feel to the plates. The illustration on page 73, ‘the fox and the goat’, is the only woodcut left that shows the monogram of van Sichem.

Besides the unusual binding, function and decoration there is definitely something else to talk about. On the recto of the first flyleaf, in between the stamps of institutions that previously owned the book, is an indication present of two V.I.P. from the past. The handwritten text: “Ex libris Joh: Conradi Zwinglij. Ao: 1693” and “Martini Usterii 1780”. The first name 'Johannes Conradi Zwinglij (Zwingli)' sounds familiar because the surname Zwingli was made famous by the Swiss reformer Huldrych Zwingli (1484-1531). Whether Johannes Conradi is a distant relative is not clear. The second name mentioned is Martini Usterii, better known as Johann Martin Usteri (1763-1827). 

Usteri, who was 17 when he signed this little book, was a famous swiss poet and engraver who was best known for his romantic idylls and historical prints. It's quite interesting to imagine to what extent an artist like Usteri could have been influenced by the fable illustrations he saw in his youth.

If there is one thing that we have learned from this little work of art, it is that our collection is like a treasure chest waiting to be discovered. 

  

 





Sanne Hansler

On the move, finding pearls: a love story

Moving pearls: A love story
Eeuwigduurende liefdes almanak by Philomúsus Philokaus (Albertus van Twist) and Philander Mirtillo, 1721

It was only until the end of the eighteenth century that the ideals of Enlightment became generally accepted. Almanacs changed as a result, the astrological predictions made way in favor of other features. Increasingly the compilers of these almanacs replaced the weather forecasts and similar incongruity, in the words of Amsterdam based publisher Theodorus Crajenschot ‘soortgelyke ongerymtheden’, by something more meaningful ‘iets wezenlyks’. For him that was ‘een korte Schets van De kragt der liefde’, a short text about the power of love, written in his Nuttige en aangename staatsalmanach from 1787.
                   Ever since, love has been a rich source of inspiration for the makers of almanacs. Many flirts have been celebrated, first mainly in short verses which accompanied the calendars and later royally in long poems. In nineteenth century almanacs one can speak of a real ‘romantic story’-boom. Most of them illustrated with beautiful idyllic prints. But there is only one that is way out in front: the Eeuwigduurende liefdes almanak from 1721.

                   The Eeuwigduurende liefdes almanak is one of the first alamancs that is playfully aimed by the writer and publisher who called himself by the antique name Philomúsus Philokaus, admirer of muse and beauty, and thus puts himself in the mythological tradition. This cheeky man placed elements from traditional calendars in amatory/amorous context, like the twelve months of the year of love ‘de twaelf maenden van ‘t jaer der liefde’. Visit is the first month, Hope the fifth, the eight month is called Connection, Regret the eleventh which is followed by Indifference. Also other elements of life and cycles from the year of love are described in the same style as noted above. 
      

             Back to the frolic author of this richly illustrated work, who hid his real identity behind the pseudonyms Philomúsus Philokaus and Philander Mirtillo from Cyprus (which is known as the place where the Roman goddess Venus first touched land after she was born on open sea). Revealing the person behind the almanac became an obsession short after its publication in 1721. Contemporaries tried to light the veil of mystery by spreading pamphlets. This quest ended at the student Albertus van Twist, who aimed to immortalize his impossible love for Johanna Susanna Alensoon. Van Twist, born in Hulst in 1696, registered as a law student in Leiden in 1718. If the pamphlets are right, he paid more interest about lessons of love than the actual law classes. These pamphlets are written by fellow students and other witnesses of Van Twists flirts. The Eeuwigduurende liefdes almanak is thus a key almanac, there are real people behind the fictive names in the poems, which makes this book extraordinary amid other Dutch almanacs. Besides the unusual content, there are more reasons for this book to be very special. Already in the early eighteenth century, right after publishing, this book was rare, concluding by the fact that in later years the author himself bought copies of the book. During all centuries the almanac has always been appreciated. A small note which is found in the book tells one that on November 12^th 1931 the book was to be sold at the price of 25 gulden, a little fortune at that time (comparable with 500 euros nowadays).

                   You might want to know what happened to the romantic Mister Van Twist. Luckily everything turned out well for him. He promoted in 1721, the year of publishing, and moved back to Zeeuws-Vlaanderen, where he got married twice, gave life to a lot of children and finally made it to bailiff.

Note to all Dutch readers: on the website of the Digitale bibliotheek der Nederlandse Letteren (DBNL) one can find an interesting article about the Liefdesalmanak. Please find attached a link to the article ‘Een Leidse student op vrijersvoeten’ by Bianca Nesselaar: http://www.dbnl.org/tekst/_med009199601_01/_med009199601_01_0014.php

Click here for more information about the book. 

Benthe van Houtum

Moving Pearls: 300 years of struggle

Moving Pearls: 300 years of struggle
Jacobs Worstelinge by Jan Janszn Calckman/Kalckman
Published by J. van Poolsum in 1716, Utrecht

In a world in which human existence is constantly changing, it is a permanent struggle leaving behind the old and accepting the new. Letting go of something that is deeply cherished never goes without pain, struggle and suffering. This is not just a contemporary theme, but was already touched on in the old Bible story of Jacob wrestling with God which has inspired many authors over time.


One beautiful example is the small book Jacobs worstelinge[1] written by the devoted Calvinist Jan Janszoon Kalckman (1565-1641) and published in 1716 by J. van Poolsum. This book, exactly 300 years old, relates Kalckman’s account of the old Bible story (Genesis 32:22-32).

To know Jacob’s story is to know that his life was one of never ending struggle. Early in his life, God promised Jacob that he would create not only a great nation through Jacob, but a whole company of nations. This expectation made Jacob a man of fears and anxieties, fearful that this was about to happen at any moment. He was also afraid that his brother would carry out his vow and kill him. Anxious for his life, Jacob concocted a bribe and sent a caravan of gifts along with his women and children across the River Jabbok in hopes of pacifying his brother. Physically exhausted, alone in the desert wilderness, facing certain death, Jacob was divested of all his worldly possessions. He was powerless to control his fate. He collapsed into a deep sleep on the banks of the Jabbok River. He had a vision of two family members who wanted to kill him but he was too spent to struggle any more. However, his real struggle actually began at this point. After fleeing his family history, wrestling with God Himself was a different matter altogether.
  

One night an angelic stranger visited Jacob. They wrestled through the night until daybreak, at which point the stranger crippled Jacob with a blow to his hip that disabled him and left him with a limp for the rest of his life. It was by then Jacob knew what had happened. “I saw God face-to-face, and yet my life was spared” (Genesis 32:30). In the process, Jacob the deceiver received the new name Israel, “He struggles with God.” However, the most important event occurs at the conclusion of that struggle: God “blessed him there” (Genesis 32:29).

The book starts with the “voorreden aan den christelijke lezer” – an introduction to the Christian reader – by J.J. Kalckman. Kalckman attracted a lot of attention with his work Antidotum, tegengift vant gebruyck of ongebruyck vant orgel, which he wrote only one year before his death in 1641. This work was a direct critical response to the work of the Dutch Golden age poet and composer Constantijn Huygens (1596 – 1687), and is a plea against the use of the organ during Christian/religious worship.

But it is Kalckman’s narration of Jacob wrestling with God that Antiquariaat Van der Steur is proud to have in its collection. This very rare book, printed in the smallest letters –  the reader too wrestles through the pages – and vellum covered, celebrates its 300^th year of existence this year. It is a beautiful little book, a true historical treasure. Amen.

Benthe van Houthum
                  

The Masoretic Bible text reads as follows.:

The same night he arose and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. He took them and sent them across the stream, and everything else that he had. And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. Then he said, “Let me go, for the day has broken.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.” Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him. So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered.” The sun rose upon him as he passed Peniel, limping because of his hip. Therefore to this day the people of Israel do not eat the sinew of the thigh that is on the hip socket, because he touched the socket of Jacob's hip on the sinew of the thigh.

— Genesis 32:22-32

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[1] Full title: Jacobs Worstelinge, by forme van t’ Samensprekinge, tusschen Godt ende den armen Sondaer. In Meditatien en Gebeden. Met neerstigheyt by een vergadert.

On the move: finding pearls II: Jewish synagogue Naarden, Two Letters

Jewish synagogue Naarden
Two Letters

In the course of the 17th century, a group of Portuguese Jews from Amsterdam settled in Naarden. Naarden was a beloved place for rich Portuguese traders at that time. Initially the Jews came together in a private house to practice their religion. In 1727 the first synagogue, the Esnoga Magen David de Narda, was consecrated in the Gansoordstraat. At first, the dead were buried around Amsterdam but after 1825 the Jews had their own cemetery inside the walls of Naarden. A Star of David on the façade of the building at Kloosterstraat 78 still reminds one of this graveyard.
             In the 19th century, the community of Portuguese Jews was in decline. It was in this period that two letters were written about the Jewish Portuguese synagogue. The first one is by M.C. de Leew and S.L. van Gelder and dated 19 August 1856. In this letter, the writers thank the owners of the Ring synagogue in Naarden for the improvements and beautification that they made possible to the Portuguese synagogue, and they noted that the ‘new’ place of worship will be festively consecrated on the 31^st of August. The second letter, to J. Henriquez de Castro, is written by P. Verkerk Wz on 30 November 1856. This document describes the current state of the restored synagogue. It also includes the payment (?) to the building contractor E.J. Nijkerk and son.  
These letters are true pearls, as documents concerning this synagogue are very rare because of a monstrous act of pride. The Naarden synagogue was closed down in 1933 because of the decreasing number of religious practitioners. Furious at the declining numbers, a man called S. Ph. Heilbron, burnt all the Naarden synagogue’s archives. These two remaining letters, which give an interesting insight in the history of the Naarden synagogue and the Dutch Jewish community, are two of the few documents that survived this horrible deed.    
Click here for more information.

Benthe van Houtum

On the move: finding pearls

 A recognizable situation: you’ve lost something precious and been looking for it for ages. All of the sudden - when you move or clean - it appears again. The joy you feel!
                   It happened with the very special edition of the early eighteenth century book La Babylone demasque’e (1727). 

This almost 300 year old masterpiece is written by Johanna Dorothea Lindenear (1664-1737) and is special in many ways. Besides the remarkable age, it is written by a woman, which is unique for that time. The author is known for her very interesting life story, which influenced this book greatly. Lindenaer, or Johanna Dorothea Zoutelande or Madame de Zoutelandt, was a writer, memoirist and translator from The Netherlands. In 1703 she got arrested in Maastricht. Lindenear was accused of high treason and spying activities in connection to the war of the Spanish succession. A year later she escaped and fled to Paris, where she did her ‘confession of faith’ to the Roman Catholic Church. She also continued professional writing, which she started with describing her memoires while in prison. This combination led to the creation of La Babylone demasque’e. 

La Babylone demasqu’e is written as a letter from a Dutch protestant lady to Miss Van Zoutelande with questions about her devotion to Catholicism. In five lengthy letters she gives extensive answers to all of the questions, which comprises information on various religious factions and many examples from the daily Catholic life.
                  With special attention we pack this book, just like all of our other outstanding works, to reveal it again in The Hague.

For more information about this book, click here 

Benthe van Houtum

 

A fake Potter: history of a small album of prints

The Friesian Horse

In 1652, Paulus Potter (1625-1654) produced a series of five prints of horses in landscapes.^[1] In 1974 Jan Verbeek suggested that these prints represent different seasons, namely spring, late spring, summer, autumn and winter, and that the demeanour and the condition of the animals correspond to the stages in human life.^[2]

The Album

The album in our collection contains remarkable copies of the second and third states of this well-known series by Potter. It is highly likely that these etchings were made by Ignace-Joseph de Claussin (France, 1766-1844). De Claussin was an amateur engraver who travelled through England and the Netherlands. He etched an impressive number of copies – more than 200 – after the most famous Dutch masters in his collection: Rembrandt, Potter, Berchem, Du Jardin. From literature we know that he definitely copied Potter’s Vaches et taureaux.^[3]

 

The Worn-out horse

The album is bound in blue paper, with an annotation on the front: “Vente de Rigal en 1817 (...)” and a note pasted in the doublure with a brief description of the volume in French. These prints are best seen in their original setting, in their frail but at the same time effective binding. The plates however do not follow the order proposed in 1974 by Jan Verbeek. Although he suggested that the prints should have been read as a progression, from the young and healthy horse to the worn-out and dead ones, the album is not in the order as proposed by Verbeek which is: 1) the healthy clean Friesian; 2) the Neighing horse; 3) the Cropped horse; 4) the Plough horse; and finally 5) the Worn-out horse. In the album however, the Worn-out horse is placed between the first two plates and the Cropped horse is located at the end. 

 

The Cropped horse

The symbolism of decay was not taken into consideration in this album. Instead, we think that the copyist arranged the prints according to the order of another album of originals by Potter that he might have seen previously. However, this remains speculation. 

 

The Neighing horse

The etchings are very sharp, so they might be from among the first pressed. Overall the plates are somewhat smaller than the originals, but they preserve the same direction and the copyist carefully transcribed the date and the signature of Potter on each plate. The etcher did his best to copy the originals faithfully, yet his skills did not allow him to obtain the same successful results of Potter. For example in the Neighing horse the head of the animal is very dark and flattened, especially in the neck area. Either the etcher etched too deeply in the plate and his scratches are too close to each other, or he did not know how to handle the mordant and its timing. Similarly, the landscapes in the background suffer de Claussin’s inexperience. Potter was able to create a thick atmosphere between the foreground with scant vegetation beside the horses and the villages in the distance, whereas in the plates by the French master the sense of a three-dimensional space is less perceivable, due to the sharpness of the contours of the houses in the background. 

 

The Plough horse

What is further interesting is that we know that the album was sold at the sale of the Count of Rigal in 1817 as a suite of copies.^[4] In the sale catalogue these prints are praised for their similarity to the originals: it is noted that they preserve the same direction but are smaller in size. 

by Anna Bianco

Ref. nr. 60561

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^[1] Hollstein, F.W.H. Hollstein's Dutch and Flemish Etchings, Engravings and Woodcuts, Ca. 1450-1700. Vol. XVII. Amsterdam: Van Gendt &, 1976. Print. Andries Pauli (Pauwels) - Johannes Rem. “Series of Horses” 9-13, pp. 216-218. 

^[2] Verbeek, Jan. “Vroege staten van de etsen van Paulus Potter. 1625-1645”. Antiek vol. 10 (1974), pp. 854-861. In the same school of thought is the article by Alexandra Turnbull ‘The Horse in Landscape: Animals, Grooming, Labour and the City in the Seventeenth-Century Netherlands’ included in Shift: Queen’s Journal of Visual & Material Culture, no. 3 (2010), pp. 1-24, available online (link).

^[3] Treydel, Renate. "Claussin, Ignace Joseph de" Allgemeines Künstlerlexikon. Berlin, Boston: K. G. Saur. 2015.

^[4]Catalogue Raisonné Des Estampes Du Cabinet De M. Le Comte Rigal. Paris: Chez L'auteur, 1817. Print., lot 635, p. 288-289.