Handschriften

Item

Country

NL

Name of institution (English)

Museum Meermanno

Name of institution (official language of the state)

Huis van het boek

Language of name of institution

dut

Contact information: postal address

Prinsessegracht 30, 2514 AP The Hague

Contact information: phone number

0031 (0)70 346 2700

Contact information: web address

https://www.huisvanhetboek.nl/

Contact information: email

info@huisvanhetboek.nl

Reference number

Hs.

Type of reference number

Archival reference number

Title (English)

Manuscripts

Title (official language of the state)

Handschriften

Language of title

dut

Creator / accumulator

Baron van Westreenen van Tiellandt

Johan Meermanno

Date note

bulk: 16th century/18th century

Language(s)

ara

deu

dut

eng

heb

lat

Extent

339 storage units

Type of material

Textual Material

Physical condition

Good

Scope and content

The Huis van het boek gathers an extensive collection of manuscripts and printed books from the Medieval period to the current times. The Handschriften collection includes 331 letters (Hs. 007 A 008) from the German Calvinist theologian Johann Friedrich Mieg (1642-1699) to Samuel Andreae (1640-1699). Friedrich Mieg knew Isaac Abendana (c. 1640-1699) quite well and was even involved in Adendana's translation of the Mishnah into Latin for some time. Abendana was a Portuguese Jew who settled in England and became professor of Hebrew at Cambridge and Oxford. Friedrich Mieg's letters to Samuel Andrae constitute a valuable source of information on Abendana and his work at Cambridge, where he was employed from 1663 to 1666 (Wesselius, 1998: 87-88).

Archival history

The Huis van het boek is the oldest book museum in the world. It was founded in 1848 in the former residence of Baron van Westreenen van Tiellandt (1783-1848), whose collection became the property of the state after his death. That collection was the core nucleus of the museum that opened to the public in 1852. Van Westreenen's collection was partially composed of the library of his second cousin Johan Meerman (1753–1815), which had been sold in auction in 1824. This is the reason why the museum was previously called the Meermanno-Westreenianum museum.

(source: Huis van het Boek website)

Administrative / Biographical history

Baron Willem Hendrik Jacob van Westreenen van Tiellandt (1783-1848) started collecting books from a very early age. He was a typical 19th-century collector, who was particularly interested in the history of ancient cultures. Baron van Westreenen collected not only books but also antiquities from, among other places, Greece, Rome, and Egypt. His collection was enlarged with the acquisition of the library of his second cousin Johan Meerman (1751-1815), lord of Dalem en Vuren and Comte de l'Empire.
Meerman also gathered an impressive collection of books during his life. His wanderlust and bibliophilia led him to travel throughout Europe and visit a large number of libraries. In his printed travel descriptions, he mentioned over 60 libraries he visited. Meerman was appointed Director General of Public Instruction and Science on January 22, 1807 (of Science and Arts since October 14), and, through the exercise of this function, he left an invaluable legacy to Dutch culture and, in particular, to the national libraries. He was responsible for the development of the Koninklijke Bibliotheek collection, through the acquisition of numerous rare manuscripts and collections. After the annexation of the Kingdom of Holland to the French Empire, Emperor Napoleon appointed Meerman as one of the six 'Dutch' members of the French Senate in 1810. He then moved to Paris, where he spent most of his time until 1814 when the city fell into the hands of the Allies. After that, Meerman returned to The Hague, where he died in 1815. Meerman left his book collection to the city of The Hague, but the municipality ended up declining the offer due to financial reasons. The collection was publicly auctioned in 1824 and Van Westreenen purchased a considerable part.
On Van Westreenen's death, his collection became the property of the State of the Netherlands, giving origin to the Museum Meermanno-Westreenianum, which opened its doors in 1852.

Sources:

Huis van het Boek website

Martijn van der Burg, Meerman, Johan, in: Biografisch Woordenboek van Nederland

Access points: locations

Cambridge (United Kingdom)

Access points: persons, families

Abendana, Isaac

Access points: subject terms

Sephardim in Great Britain

Teaching

Translations

University

17th century

Access points: document types

Correspondence

Finding aids

Boeren, P. C., ed. 1979. Catalogus van de handschriften van het Rijksmuseum Meermanno-Westreenianum. The Hague: Staatsuitgeverij.

Links to finding aids

Huis van het boek online catalogue

Author of the description

Joana Rodrigues, 2022

Bibliography

Laseur, W. A., and Jos van Heel. 1998. Het Museum Meermanno-Westreenianum 1848-1960: een bijdrage tot de geschiedenis van het museum en zijn bewoners. The Hague: Museum van het Boek Museum Meermanno-Westreenianum.

Wesselius, J. W. 1988. “‘I Don’t Know Whether He Will Stay For Long’ Isaac Abendana’s Early Years in England and His Latin Translation of the Mishnah.” Studia Rosenthaliana 22 (2): 85–96.

Item sets

WSD Roadmap

WSD Roadmap finais

WSD Roadmap Belgium and Netherlands