Jaarboek voor Nederlandse Boekgeschiedenis - Current Issue

Abstract In 1609, Philippus Nisius, minister of the Dutch village of Klaaswaal, published the pamphlet De Wapenen des Geestelijcken Leeken ofte Boeren Crijchs. Like many other pamphlets in this period, its tone was fiercely anti-Catholic. Embedded within the contents of this booklet, however, is also a broader theological discussion of the doctrine of Christ’s Descent into Hell, which led to controversy in the Dordrecht classis, coi Read More

Abstract In 1667 the Dutch physician Johannes Fridericus Helvetius published the book Vitulus aureus, in which he described an unannounced visit by a mysterious alchemist at his house in The Hague. This stranger, who went by the name of Elias Artiste, claimed to possess pieces of the Philosopher’s Stone and proceeded to instruct Helvetius in how to transmute lead into gold. A short time after the publication of Vitulus Read More

Abstract Between 1940 and 1945, three originally German children’s books about Adolf Hitler circulated in translation in the Netherlands at the behest of the Nazi regime: Moeder, vertel eens wat van Adolf Hitler! (Mother, tell us something about Adolf Hitler!) in 1942 by Johanna Haarer, De Führer (The Führer) in 1943 by Erich Beier-Lindhardt and Wij hebben den Führer gezien (We have seen the Führer) in 1944 by Wilhelm Di Read More

Abstract In February 2023, a controversy emerged over proposed changes to Roald Dahl’s children’s books by the publisher Puffin. The modifications aimed to make the books more inclusive and sensitive to modern readers. Changes included altering character descriptions to avoid potentially offensive terms, adding contextual information to clarify statements, and using gender-neutral language in place of gender-s Read More

Abstract This article offers an overview of libraries labelled publica in the Spanish Netherlands in the period 1600-1660. The bibliotheca publica began to emerge in that region at the beginning of the century, seemingly following examples elsewhere in Europe. Scholarship concerning those early ‘public libraries’ in the Habsburg Netherlands has been scant, and mostly focuses on one or two specific institutions. This research Read More

Abstract This is an exploratory study of printing privileges requested by literary authors in the Dutch Republic during the long seventeenth century. Copyright for authors in the Netherlands was only formally arranged in the nineteenth century, but authors claimed ownership over their texts before that as well. Printing privileges were one of the instruments available to authors, although these were most often requested by b Read More

Abstract This contribution focuses on the intellectual and historical question about the significance of the French book trade for the European Enlightenment, with special attention to Amsterdam. The city was an important center of book production and housed a large French-speaking community, especially after the arrival of Huguenots and other immigrants. Their presence stimulated not only the production of French Read More

Abstract It is well known that bookbinders reused parchment leaves from discarded manuscripts to strengthen the bindings of new books. So far, little attention has been paid to the reuse of the bookbinding materials that have been reused in bookbindings. In this article we focus on these materials that have been recycled in bookbindings, e.g. boards, covers, wrappers, metal fastenings, ivory plaques. Using online databas Read More