On 24 June 1709, an announcement appeared in the Opregte Leydse courant, advertising the auction of the beautiful library (âtreffelyke bibliotheekâ) of Pieter de Graeff, Lord of Zuid Polsbroek, Purmerland and Ilpendam. The auction was to be held in Amsterdam on Tuesday 9 July at the shop of the publishing family Boom (Fig. 1.1). According to the advertisement, the library was composed of many rare old books in good condition (âzeer veel raare oude en wel geconditioneerde Boekenâ), and its catalogue could be found in numerous booksellers in various Dutch cities.1 The only surviving copy of this auction catalogue is currently in the collection of the Foreign Books Department of the National Library of Russia, in St Petersburg (Fig. 1.2).2 This document is one of the many auction catalogues that have been found in libraries in Europe and beyond via the Book Sales Catalogues of the Dutch Republic, 1599â1800 project, initiated by the Leiden book historian Bert van Selm.3 This specific copy was amongst the catalogues recorded by his Nijmegen colleague Otto Lankhorst at the National Library of Russia, together with about 830 other Dutch catalogues, half of them unique and not preserved anywhere else.4 Apart from Lankhorstâs discovery, this catalogue has gone unnoticed in the literature, let alone analysed in detail.
The advertisement of the auction of Pieterâs books in the Opregte Leydse courant (24 June 1709), digitized by Delpher. Transcription in note 1
Title-page of the catalogue of the auction of Pieter de Graeffâs library, preserved at the National Library of Russia in St. Petersburg (Brill Book Sales Catalogues Online, NL: 16.133.9.36)
The collection, auctioned under the name of Pieter de Graeff on 9 July 1709, aptly represents the aspirations of a homo universalis whose library strived to cover all aspects of human knowledge. The catalogue lists more than 2,300 titles, as usual divided by subject (Libri Theologici, Juridici, Medici & Philosophici and Miscellanei) and subsequently grouped by format and by language. Several characteristics of this collection point to the existence of a learned humanistic library. Law, theology and classics account for about 50% of the total, and almost 65% of the books are written in Latin. For its size, we are looking at a book collection that, though not so large as those of contemporaries such as Adriaan Pauw (about 16,000 titles auctioned in 1653) and the humanist scholar Nicolaas Heinsius (13,000 books auctioned in 1683), was much larger than what an average household would have possessed at that time.5 In his study of the Amsterdam inventories from 1700 to 1710, Faber found that the number of books in households was not high and that these booksâ subjects mainly related to their ownersâ occupation. The first tax grouping, to which Pieter would have belonged, owned an average of 138 books which were valued on average at 162 guilders each.6 These findings are echoed by the numbers identified by De Kruif within the sample of inventories from The Hague that she studied. There, libraries with more than 150 books are already exceptional, with wealth and religion being important factors in determining the number of books one owned.7 In size Pieterâs library was comparable to the average number of books owned by professors at that time and by prominent members of the political scene, such as his contemporary Nicolaes Witsen (1641â1717), burgomaster and director of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) in the Amsterdam chamber.8
Looking at the titles and the years of publication of the books in Pieterâs catalogue makes it clear that the auctionâs advertisement described the books truthfully, at least as far as their being old. If we consider the folio books, where for the vast majority (87%) the year of publication is specified, it appears that about 75% of them were published before 1650 (Appendix 2, fig. 9.5). Do these books, we are immediately prompted to ask, truly relate to Pieterâs interests, or are they instead merely items he had inherited from certain family members? Another conspicuous characteristic here are the numerous Italian-language books, much higher than what would generally be expected in such a library. In this case, too, it is necessary to delve into Pieterâs life and the lives of his family members to understand whether these titles can be associated with his interests and language skills or whether they had once belonged to someone else.
To attempt to answer these and other questions about Pieterâs book ownership, several archival documents have been consulted and integrated into the analysis. Specifically, the VOC almanacs in which he kept daily (mostly business-related) notes for over forty years have been surveyed so as to find their references to books; the probate inventories of his house in Amsterdam and his country houses have been analysed to establish which books were recorded there; and, finally, other archival documents, such as his testaments and other personal notes, have been consulted to shed light on books he possessed and inherited and to illuminate his life and those of his relatives. Besides identifying books that he owned in addition to those sold at an auction under his name, this research aims to better contextualize his books by relating them to personal circumstances, people and events. Moreover, it allows us to follow (to some extent) the evolution of his collection over time.
1 Book Structure, Content and Sources
Each chapter of this book discusses one specific aspect that can build our understanding of Pieterâs library. Chapter 2 starts by charting the biographies of Pieter and his closest family members about whom enough information is preserved. The most important sources for Pieterâs biography have been the archival documents held at the Amsterdam City Archives (in particular his almanacs, his diplomas and his probate inventory) and at the Archives of Loiret in Orléans, where Pieter obtained his doctorate in law. Regarding his father Cornelis and his grandfathers Jacob Dircksz de Graeff and Pieter Jansz Hooft, much information comes from the draft version of Pieterâs Groot Geslacht boeck (âGreat Genealogy bookâ), a folio manuscript bound in red leather that Pieter assembled about his family history still preserved in the De Graeff family archive.9 This manuscript presents a patchwork of biographies, extracts, transcriptions and inserted paper cuttings and letters often accompanied by explanatory notes, additions and reworkings, piled up in a fascinating stratification of different handwritings (Fig. 1.3). Pieterâs main purpose was to reconstruct the genealogy of his family and the history and ownership of their possessions at Purmerland and Ilpendam and at Zuid-Polsbroek. The manuscript therefore features excerpts and transcriptions of (mostly genealogical) notes of Pieterâs and his wife Jacoba Bickerâs shared ancestor Cornelis Andriesz Boelens Loen, Pieterâs great-grandfathers Dirck Jansz de Graeff and Jan Pietersz Hooft, his great-uncle Volkert Overlander, his uncles Andries de Graeff and Frans Banninck Cocq, Jacobaâs father Jan Bicker. Featuring more prominently are the life accounts of Pieterâs father and paternal grandfather.10 The manuscript concludes with two accounts of the events preceding and culminating in the murder of Johan and Cornelis de Witt in 1672. A folio manuscript kept in the Amsterdam City Archives shows the end result of this genealogical research. Transcribed in neat handwriting, it presents a more structured and organised selection of the materials originally gathered in the draft version.11 An antiquarian note, inserted in the book, suggests it was likely written by Gerrit de Graeff (Pieterâs grandchild) in the eighteenth century. Given that Pieter is always the first person speaking in the text, and that short autobiographical notes by Pieterâs son Jan and his wife Johanna Hooft (Gerritâs parents) appear on two pages of the manuscript in sequential numbering, it seems plausible that this was Gerritâs transcription of the original genealogy book commissioned by Pieter. A detailed analysis of the bookâs characteristics could potentially provide a more accurate estimation of its creation date.
A page from the draft of Pieterâs Groot Geslacht boeck where he collected and drafted pieces about his family history and properties (ACA 76, inv. nr. 227). Here displayed a page on Zuid-Polsbroek written in an earlier style of handwriting, with Pieterâs notes on the margin and on the cut-out pieces
The Groot Geslacht boeck is in many cases the only available source on certain episodes in the lives of Pieterâs grandparents and father. This draft is the origin of much information reported by Abraham Jacob van der Aa in his Biographisch woordenboek der Nederlanden, by the Dutch historian Johan Engelbert Elias in his De vroedschap van Amsterdam 1578â1795 (1903â5) and by the authors of the Nieuw Nederlandsch biografisch woordenboek in the biographies of Pieterâs relatives.12 Because it is a very personal account of his family, we may wonder about its reliability. Pieter could write more extensively about his grandparents â as he notes in one of the introductory texts â than he could for his ancestors, since he either had direct memories of the former or he was told stories about them by his parents.13 However, it goes without saying that we are looking here at histories mediated not only by Pieterâs memory but also by his admiration for his father and his grandfathers. An effort has been made to integrate or confirm some of the information contained in the Groot Geslacht boeck by retrieving additional sources, for example the academic diplomas and matriculations that validate the study paths and interests recorded in the manuscript. The lives of other close family members (such as his brother Jacob, his mother Catharina Hooft, his wife Jacoba and their eldest son Cornelis), on the other hand, are reconstructed primarily on the basis of Pieterâs almanacs; available primary (most notably letters) and secondary sources are also integrated into these accounts.
Chapter 3 analyses the over forty volumes of Pieterâs almanacs, the VOC Groote Comptoir Almanach, in which he meticulously kept notes from 1664, the year he was appointed bewindhebber (director) of the Amsterdam chamber of the Dutch East India Company, until a few months before his death in 1707 (Fig. 1.4). These ego-documents are a rich source of information on his daily occupations, epistolary contacts and transactions.14 Besides his businesses as shareholder in VOC investments and the related divisions of spices and his profits as house and landowner, these almanacs contain a wealth of information on the construction work on his house and some references to books that he had in his keeping. Although these notes have been extensively consulted in relation to his contacts with artists and mapmakers, they have never been used to track down the handwritten and printed documents and books he owned, lent or borrowed.15 The purpose of chapter 3 is to provide the evidence needed to compare the books Pieter mentioned in his almanacs with those listed in the probate inventories and in the book auction catalogue drawn up after his death, which will be discussed in the following chapters.
Cover and title page of Pieterâs VOC almanac of 1664 (ACA 76, inv. nr. 186)
The references to books in his almanacs served the practical purpose of reminding him about persons to whom or from whom he had borrowed books, the prices he paid for books and other printed materials that he sent to others, and the development of in-progress transactions. His concise almanac entries therefore contain (abbreviated) book titles and personsâ names but generally offer scant additional details that would allow us to better understand the context for these exchanges or loans. Despite this challenge, the almanac entries present a variegated image of Pieter as book-owner and shed light on the books of other family members, most notably Pieterâs great-uncle Frans Banninck Cocq and his brother, Jacob de Graeff.
In chapter 4, the notarial probate inventories compiled after Pieterâs death take centre stage so that we can examine the books listed in some of the houses he owned. The overview begins with the inventory of his family house on Herengracht (current number 573) in Amsterdam (Fig. 1.5), followed by his country-house Valkenburg in the village of Heemstede, south of Haarlem, the country-house in Velsen, north of Haarlem (which came into his possession via his brotherâs inheritance) and, finally, ât Hoff Ilpenstein at Ilpendam, north of Amsterdam.16 The interiors of the houses will be investigated based on the spatial information derived from the inventories and complemented by other sources. This will make it possible to identify the rooms in which books were kept in relation to the rest of the house, as well as to highlight differences in their function amongst Pieterâs various properties. The examination of the books at Ilpenstein pairs up with an annotated transcription available online, where the books recorded in the inventory are transcribed and accompanied by their full titles and authorsâ names.17
Two sample pages from Pieter de Graeffâs probate inventory of his house at Herengracht 573 (ACA, Inventaris van het Archief van de Notarissen ter Standplaats Amsterdam (nr. 5075), inv. nr. 5001, pp. 425â493, notary Michiel Servaes (nr. 199), 8 March 1709)
Chapter 5 presents a detailed analysis of Pieterâs book auction catalogue. Instead of using it as the point of departure for the reconstruction of Pieterâs library, this document is discussed to incorporate all the evidence that has been gathered in previous chapters. The extent of the collection only allows for a selection of the titles to be mentioned in detail. To give the reader first-hand access to the catalogue, a fully searchable annotated transcription of the catalogue is deposited online, supplied with additional information such as the full title, a unique identifier for each author (VIAF) and, when possible, the USTC matches.18 This digital resource is made available in hopes that it may foster further analysis and comparisons with similar catalogues. Appendix 2 offers a synthetic overview, with breakdowns on subjects, languages, formats, dates and places of publication of the books listed in the catalogue. This chapter will demonstrate that the auction catalogue reflects a complex stratification of books both belonging to Pieterâs family members and those he acquired himself.
Chapter 6 zooms in on the room at Herengracht 573 that Pieter used as his private library. By combining references to this room found in the inventory and in his almanacs with comparative sources, an attempt is made to reconstruct the libraryâs physical space and its furniture. Computer graphics have been used to visualize the results of this research in an interactive 3D room that provides access to the underlying sources. In the context of the Pure3D project, a 3D scholarly edition has been prepared by the author which allows users to explore a few of the titles listed in Pieterâs book auction catalogue, discover background information about the house, and gain insight into the 3D reconstruction process.19 The purpose of the 3D model will be not only to visualize a plausible hypothetical reconstruction of the interior space but also to serve as a tool to estimate how many books might have been kept there. Based on this estimate and on the information gathered in the previous chapters, it will be possible to establish whether other locations in this house or other houses need to be considered as additional storage places for his books.
The book closes with an epilogue which explores the fate of Pieterâs library after his death and the afterlife of the book auction catalogue of his library as a collectorâs item. In addition, some concluding remarks underscore the significance of this library, not just as a personal collection, but as a valuable resource for cultural history studies highlighting how it contributes to our understanding of the historical and cultural context of the seventeenth century Dutch Republic.
Opregte Leydse courant, 24 June 1709: âOp Dingsdag den 9 July zal tot Amsterdam in de Boekwinkel van Boom werden verkoft, de treffelyke Bibliotheek van wyle den Ed[ele] H[ee]r Pieter de Graaff, in zyn leven Vryheere van Zuyd Polsbroek, Purmerland, Ilpendam, enz. enz., Scheepen der Stad Amsterdam, bestaan[de] in zeer veel raare oude en wel geconditioneerde Boeken. De Catalogus is te bekomen, tot Utregt by A. van Thiel, Hage Wed[uwe] Troyel, Leyden Bouresteyn en Lugtmans, Delft Beman, Rotterd[am] Marienhof, Haarl[em] van Keffel, en in andere Plaatsen by de Boekverkopers.â
Catalogus Librorum Viri Amplissimi Petri De Graaff (dum viveret) Toparchae In Zuydt- Polsbroeck, Purmerland, Ilpendam, &c. &c. Urbis Amstelodamensis Scabini &c. Quorum auctio habebitur in Aedibus Viduae T. Boom, & haeredum H. Boom. Op de Cingel by de Jan-Roonpoorts Tooren. Die Martis 9. Julii MDCCIX. Amstelodami, In Officina Bomiana Ubi Catalogi distribuuntur. Shelf number: NL: 16.133.9.36; a digitized version is available via Book Sales Catalogues of the Dutch Republic (Leiden: E.J. Brill, ongoing), and the digital annotated transcription prepared in the context of this publication is available online DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.10833194.
See Bert van Selm, âThe introduction of the printed book auction catalogueâ, Quaerendo 15, nr. 2 (1985), pp. 115â149; id., Een menighte treffelijcke boecken.
See Otto S. Lankhorst, âVijftien pakketten catalogi teruggevonden. Nederlandse boekhandelscatalogi in Sint Petersburgâ, De Boekenwereld, 9 (1992), pp. 66â76.
For Pauwâs library, see: H. De La Fontaine Verwey, âAdriaan Pauw en zijn bibliotheekâ, in Uit de wereld van het boek. Vol. 4 Boeken, banden en bibliofielen (ât Goy: Hes Uitgevers, 1997), pp. 183â196. For an analysis of Heinsiusâs library, see J.A. Sibbald, âThe Heinsiana â Almost a seventeenth-century Universal Short Title Catalogueâ, in M. Walsby and N. Constantinidou (eds.), Documenting the early modern book world. Inventories and catalogues in manuscript and print (Leiden/Boston: Brill, 2013), pp. 141â159.
J. Faber, âInhabitants of Amsterdam and their possessions, 1701â1710â, in A. van der Woude and A. Schuurman (eds.), Probate inventories. A new source for the historical study of wealth, material culture and agricultural development. Papers presented at the Leeuwenborch conference (Wageningen, 5â7 May 1980), (Utrecht: Hes, 1980), p. 153. It must be noted, however, that these numbers are considerably lower than what is observed by Van Selm in book auction catalogues and what would be expected from advertisements (see Van Selm, Een menighte treffelijcke boecken, p. 137, note 97).
José de Kruif, Liefhebbers en gewoontelezers. Leescultuur in Den Haag in de achttiende eeuw (Zutphen: Walburg Pers, 1999), pp. 100 and 111.
Otto S. Lankhorst, âDutch book auctions in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuriesâ, in Robin Myers, Michael Harris and Giles Mandelbrote (eds.), Under the hammer. Book auctions since the seventeenth century, (London: Oak Knoll Press & The British Library, 2001), pp. 65â88; Paul G. Hoftijzer, âLeidse studentenbibliotheeken in de zeventiende eeuwâ, in J.M.M. Hermans, G.T. Jensma, J. van Sluis and L. Wierda (eds.), De Franeker universiteitsbibliotheek in de zeventiende eeuw: Beleid en belang van een academiebibliotheek, (Hilversum: Verloren, 2007), p. 138. Regarding Law professors, Ahsmann calculated an average of about 1,500 items in the seventeenth century and about 3,100 in the eighteenth century: M.J.A.M. Ahsmann, âDe jurist en zijn bibliotheek. Nederlandse veilingcatalogi 1599â1800â, in A.M.J.A. Berkvens and A.F. Gehlen (eds.), âTot beter directie van de saken van justiciënâ. Handelingen van het XIIe Belgisch-Nederlands rechtshistorisch congres, Rijksuniversiteit Limburg Maastricht 20â21 November 1992 (Antwerpen-Apeldoorn: MAKLU, 1994), p. 75. The library of Nicolaes Witsen has been analysed by Marion Peters in M. Peters, De wijze koopman. Het wereldwijde onderzoek van Nicolaes Witsen (1641â1717), Burgemeester en VOC- Bewindhebber van Amsterdam (Amsterdam: Bert Bakker, 2010).
Amsterdam City Archives, 76 Archief van de Familie De Graeff (henceforth ACA 76), inv. nr. 227. Pieter refers to his Groot Geslacht boeck in a note on the upper left corner of p. 257.
On Cornelis: ACA 76, inv. nr. 227, pp. 1â31 and 351â2; on Jacob Dircksz: pp. 273â339.
ACA, 15030 Inventaris van de Collectie Stadsarchief Amsterdam: bibliotheek, inv. nr. 77972 (âHandschrift genealogie familie De Graeff / [Gerrit de Graaff] s.l., s.n., 1740â).
A.J. van der Aa, Biographisch woordenboek der Nederlanden (Haarlem: J.J. van Brederode, 1852â1878); J.E. Elias, De vroedschap van Amsterdam, 1578â1795, vol. 1 (Amsterdam: N. Israel, 1963); P.J. Blok, P.C. Molhuysen (eds.), Nieuw Nederlandsch biografisch woordenboek (Leiden: A.W. Sijthoff, 1911â1937), from now on NNBW.
ACA 76, inv. nr. 227, pp. 273â275.
ACA 76, inv. nrs. 186â226 (1664â1707).
E.g. S.A.C. Dudok van Heel, âIn presentie van de Heer Gerard Ter Borghâ, in A.-M. Logan (ed.), Essays in northern European art presented to Egbert Haverkamp-Begemann on his sixtieth birthday (Doornspijk: Davaco, 1983), pp. 66â71; J. Bikker, ââSir Joan Reynst, his good acquaintance, neighbour, and landlordâ: Truth and fantasy in Houbrakenâs life of Karel Du Jardinâ, Burlington Magazine, 151 (2009), pp. 92â97; J. Otten, âKaarttekenaars en kaartafzetters in de dagboeken van Pieter de Graeff (1638â1707)â, Caert-Thresoor, 14, nr. 3 (1995), pp. 53â58.
Pieter usually refers to it as the âHoff tot Ilpendamâ (ACA 76, inv. nrs. 186â226 [1664â1707], passim).
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10833824. The transcriptions will also be deposited in DANS, the Dutch national repository for research data.
The 3D scholarly edition of the library can be accessed here: https://editions.pure3d.eu/project/18/edition/1/index.html. On the Pure3D project see https://pure3d.eu/ (last accessed April 2024).