Collectie Gerardus van Papenbroeck

Item

Country

NL

Name of institution (English)

Leiden University Libraries

Name of institution (official language of the state)

Language of name of institution

dut

Contact information: postal address

Universiteitsbibliotheek, Witte Singel 27, 2311 BG Leiden

Contact information: phone number

0031 71 527 2857

Contact information: web address

Contact information: email

Reference number

PAP

Type of reference number

Archival reference number

Title (English)

Gerardus van Papenbroeck Collection

Title (official language of the state)

Collectie Gerardus van Papenbroeck

Language of title

dut

Creator / accumulator

Gerardus van Papenbroeck

Date(s)

1520/1743

Language(s)

deu
dut
lat
spa

Extent

23 manuscripts, 19 annotated prints

Type of material

Textual Material

Scope and content

This collection, accumulated by Gerard van Papenbroeck (1673-1743), contains hundreds of letters written by scholars, poets, and diplomats, such as Barlaeus, Brandt, Buchelius, Erasmus, Hugo de Groot, P.C. Hooft, Hoogerbeets, Van Oldenbarrnevelt, Salmasius, Spiegel, Uytenbogaert, and Vondel, including autographs by Maurice, Frederick Henry, and Louise de Coligny. The manuscripts include the alba amicorum of Reinoud van Brederode and J. van Broekhuizen, as well as manuscripts containing texts by Hooft, Vondel, and Hugo de Groot. The collection includes two letters from Menasseh Ben Israel (1604-1657) to Claudius Salmasius (1588-1653) in 1638 (PAP 2 and PAP 7). Both were published by Henry Méchoulan (1979).

Archival history

The collection was acquired as a bequest in 1743. Leiden University received all marbles (later the core collection of the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden in Leiden), 19 portraits, 23 manuscripts and 19 annotated prints. The library archives contain information on acquisition (BA1, inv. L 3 bis). The manuscripts were first described by Geel (1852) and later, in a more concise form, in the Catalogue compendiarius (1932).

Administrative / Biographical history

Gerard van Papenbroeck (1673-1743) was a merchant and art collector from Amsterdam. He used his wealth to build a unique collection that expressed his humanistic love for art and culture. He admired classical antiquity, but also those who had made its treasures available to modern people. This is particularly reflected in his extensive collection of portraits that includes a large number of modern scholars. The value he attached to the transmission of classical heritage is equally apparent in his interest in "modern" literature, and primarily that of his own country. As a bachelor, Van Papenbroek had no direct heirs. Thus, he ensured that his collections of manuscripts, portraits, and antiquities would not be sold and dispersed after his death. He bequeathed most of them to the universities of Amsterdam and Leiden.

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Author of the description

Carla Vieira, 2022

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Title Alternate label Class
Universitaire Biblotheken Leiden Collections (official language of the state)