Overviews of the Collections
The Dutch Collections at the Library of Congress
Margrit B. Krewson Former German/Dutch Area Specialist
First Acquisitions
The Library's Dutch collections began with the acquisition of
Thomas Jefferson's personal library in 1815. Although Jefferson's
European interest was primarily France, he collected works from
other European countries, particularly as they pertained to America.
Jefferson stated that he had standing orders during the whole time
he was in Europe, visiting its principal book marts, particularly
in Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Madrid, and London, 'for such works relating
to America as could not be found in Paris.' The following items
in the Jefferson Library attest to his interest in the area of
the United Provinces of the Netherlands and Belgium: Histoire
de la Hollande 1609-1679 by Adrien Baillet, History of the
United Provinces, Histoire de la guerre de Flandres by Famiano
Strada, Vie de Michel de Ruiter by Adrien Richer, History
of the United Netherlands by Lieuwe van Aitzema, De Witt's State
of Holland, History of the Treaty of Utrecht, as well as Hugenii
Cosmotheoros.
The
Rare Book and Special Collections Division has wide and rich holdings
of early books from the Low Countries. Included in an acquisition
from Peter Force in 1867 were a small number of Dutch books. These
collections increased over the years with special concentration
on Dutch exploration. With the acquisition of the John B. Thatcher
Collection in 1927 and the Otto Vollbehr Collection in 1930, the
Division added many examples of the work of fifteenth-century presses
in Holland and Belgium. The finest examples of the printing arts
came to the Library with the Lessing J. Rosenwald Collection. The
collection is especially strong in early Dutch illustrated books
and includes 170 books from the library of the dukes of Arenberg.
Systematic Exchanges Begin
Nevertheless, no systematic attempt to develop a Dutch-language
collection was made by the Library until 1867, when the exchange
of public documents with foreign governments was provided for by
a joint resolution of Congress. The Netherlands was among the first
countries to respond. The Librarian of Congress, Ainsworth Rand
Spofford, recognized that the Library was 'greatly deficient' in
foreign government publications and requested legislation to facilitate
the exchange of public documents with foreign countries. Although
international conferences on exchanges at Paris and Brussels in
1885 failed to bring agreement from key European governments, an
agent for the Smithsonian Institution in Europe was able to secure
large numbers of public documents for shipment to the Library of
Congress. The official publications that the Dutch government contributed
contain much valuable information on the history, legislation,
and general condition of that country.
In 1891 an International Copyright Law made Belgium one of the
first countries entitled to benefits of copyright in the United
States. By 1910, President William Howard Taft signed a general
copyright proclamation declaring reciprocal copyright relations
with Belgium.
In 1874 Librarian Spofford remarked, echoing Jefferson, that "there
is almost no work within the vast range of literature and science
which may not at some time prove useful to the legislature of a
great nation." With this in mind, Library officials in 1899 began
to acquire a large body of Dutch-language literature rich in original
historical and literary materials. By 1901, 952 volumes dealing
with the Netherlands were reported by the Librarian.
Early 20th-Century Efforts
According to the Report for 1912, in this period the Library made
its first systematic effort to fill gaps in its European history
collection and made a number of noteworthy acquisitions. The American
Historical Association's Check List was used to build the collections
of source material relating to European history. The position of
European representative to the Library was established in 1926
with an office in Paris. The European representative had responsibility
for acquiring material from England, France, Holland and Spain.
Want lists on various subjects, e.g., history, economics, and general
literature were sent to Paris. The office established contacts
with dealers, collectors, scholars, and learned institutions. On
January 1, 1928, the international exchange service of the Netherlands
was moved from Delft to the Koninklijke Bibliotheek (Royal Library)
at The Hague and established as an official agency. The American
minister to the Netherlands helped to impress officials at the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and at the Royal Library with the importance
of having one copy of all the official publications of the Kingdom,
including those of the Provinces deposited regularly at the Library
of Congress. Dutch material acquired in 1929 included 'various
volumes and bundles of the papers of the West India Company, of
the Admiralty, of C.W.F. Dumas, of the Dutch factory at Desima
(Deshima) at the time of Commodore Perry's visit to Japan, and
especially correspondence of the Dutch ministers to the United
States with the Secretary of the Dutch Republic and the Foreign
Office of the Monarchy.' In that year there was also an ongoing
project in Dutch and Belgian archives that secured facsimiles of
source material relating to American history. The project, which
was funded by John D. Rockefeller and the Koninklijke Bibliotheek,
allowed material in manuscript form related to the early geographical
history of North America to be taken to the Rijksarchief for photographing.
The acquisition of Proces- verbaux des seances du Conseil provincial from
the Belgian Provinces of East and West Flanders was an important
addition to the Library's collections.
At The Hague, photocopying operations were nearly completed by
April 1930. Among the collections included were the Algemeen Rijksarchief
in The Hague, the Koninklijke Bibliotheek, Economisch Historisch
Archief, and Departement van Buitenlandsche Zaken, as well as the
Gemeentearchief at Rotterdam and the Gemeentearchief and Universiteitsbibliotheek
at Amsterdam. Diplomatic papers were reproduced up to the year
1870 along with those of consular and official commercial agents
and trading and colonizing companies, reports and records on emigration
and ships' journals. All were materials of excellent quality.
The scholarly content of the Dutch collections was further enhanced
in 1937, when the Bibliotheek de Technische Hoogeschool in Delft
forwarded 246 academic publications, including all available theses
presented at that institution, and also in 1938, when the University
of Groningen agreed to supply copies of its dissertations and academic
publications. That same year, the University of Utrecht began forwarding
copies of its theses.
World War II and After
During World War II, acquisition of Dutch publications was hampered
but not entirely discontinued. By 1947 Librarian Luther Evans could
report that the Library was able to procure 9,344 items from Belgium
and 18,284 items from the Netherlands.
For a brief period there was a formal program in Dutch studies
at the Library of Congress. The Netherlands Studies Unit, established
in 1942, dealt with a diversity of subjects relating to the Netherlands
and Netherlands East Indies. The Unit's first major product was
a 1945 bibliography of the Netherlands East Indies. A Guide
to Dutch Bibliographies was published in 1951. The Netherlands
Studies Unit was discontinued in 1947.
Special Collections
Music
The Music Division has as good a collection as any American library
of the early printed editions of the music of Netherlands composers
Binchois, Ockeghem, des Pres, and Jacob Clement. Some of these
collections were published in the Netherlands by Phalese in Louvain
and by Susato in Antwerp; others were published in Italy and Germany.
The Music Division owns copies of such renowned collections as Novum
et Insigne Opus Musicum (Nurnberg, Berg & Neuber, 1558)
and Il Primo Libro delli madrigali d'Orlando di Lassus... (Rome, Dorico, 1560), of which only one other complete copy is
known.
Prints
The Prints and Photographs Division includes in its holdings a
significant collection of approximately 500 posters and 200 fine
prints published in the Netherlands. The prints date from the fifteenth-century
to the present, and the posters date from the 1890s "golden age" of
the poster to the present with the majority dating from the 1950s
to the 1970s. The prints' topics range from religious images and
genre scenes to landscapes, portraits, and even modern abstract
works. The posters include cultural events such as exhibitions,
films, and theater.
Maps
Preserved in the Library of Congress is the largest and most comprehensive
collection in the Western hemisphere of maps and atlases published
in the Netherlands since the sixteenth century. The collection
contains examples of the work of all the great Dutch publishing
houses of the sixteenth through the eighteenth centuries. Of special
significance is the excellent collection of editions of the Theatrum
Ortelius Terrarum first published in Antwerp in 1570 by Abraham
Ortelius. Also of special significance is the Library's fine collection
of atlases produced by the great Renaissance geographer of the
sixteenth century, Gerardus Mercator. The highlight of this collection
is a fine copy, bound in contemporary brown leather, of the first
edition of his Atlas sive cosmographicae meditationes de fabrica
mundi et facricati figura published in Duisburg in 1595. The
world atlas was the culminating achievement of Mercator's long
and active career as a teacher, geographer, astronomer, engraver,
and publisher. This magnificent volume was the first uniform collection
of maps to bear the title Atlas. From that date, in honor
of Mercator and his work, most volumes of maps used this term.
The greatest Dutch publishers of the seventeenth century were
Willem Jansz Blaeu and his sons Cornelius and Joan. The Blaeu firm
produced globes, sea charts, wall maps, and atlases, a significant
number of which are represented in the collections of the Library
of Congress. The Blaeu firm continued to increase the size of its
magnificent atlases with new geographical information and maps.
By 1662 its principle work, the Atlas Maior, was available
with text in Latin (11 volumes), Dutch (9 volumes), German (9 volumes),
French (12 volumes), and Spanish (10 volumes). All of these multi-volume
sets, bound in contemporary vellum or velvet, are in the Library's
collection.
Conclusion
Today the Dutch collections of the Library of Congress comprise
more than 200,000 items, with an annual increment of approximately
3,000 titles. Acquisitions include purchases, exchanges, and gifts.
Although a complete survey has never been made, comments from scholarly
patrons indicate that the Library's collections of Dutch history
and literature are among the most extensive in the United States.
These collections support research on the postgraduate level in
all areas of intellectual endeavor. Patrons are referred to the
following Library of Congress publications:
- John Y. Cole, For Congress and the Nation: A Chronological
History of the Library of Congress (Washington, D.C., Library
of Congress, 1979)
- Early Printed Books of the Low Countries from the Lessing
J. Rosenwald Collection (Washington, D.C., Library of Congress,
1958)
- Margrit B. Krewson, New Netherland, 1609-1664: A Selective
Bibliography (Washington, D.C., Library of Congress, 1995)
- Margrit B. Krewson, The Netherlands and Northern Belgium:
A Selective Bibliography (Washington, D.C., Library of
Congress, 1989)
- Annette Melville, Special Collections in the Library of
Congress (Washington, D.C., Library of Congress, 1980)
The Library of Congress Dutch collections are easily accessible
to researchers, who can gain information on the holdings by consulting
the various printed and online catalogs. Reference questions may
be directed to the European Reading Room (202) 707-5858/4515, which
may refer those queries requiring in-depth response to the Division's
German/Dutch area specialist. Inquiries dealing with the Library's
special collections may be forwarded to the appropriate custodial
division for response. Specific information on the Dutch holdings
of the Library of Congress and their accessibility may be obtained
by writing to the Chief, European Division, Library of Congress,
Washington, D.C. 20540-4830.
Additional Dutch resources at the Library of Congress
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