The ‘Bandenkast’ at the University of Amsterdam
What is the Bandenkast?
From the 1960’s onwards, unique bindings owned by the University of Amsterdam, were brought together in what came to be known as the Bandenkast. A rather unpretentious nickname for a series of bookcases in the library storage of Special Collections, which house hundreds of books bound in valuable, special bindings on works printed from 1500 onwards. Bindings made by master bookbinders for works of all genres. Bindings which were formerly part of the libraries of royalty, clergy and intellectuals. Books that were in strategic places when historical events unfolded. Some of these have received the attention they deserve through publications, others have just been standing there for decades, in the holy of holies of the library of the university, waiting to be re-discovered.
Sneak preview of some of the bookbindings in the Bandenkast
In total the University of Amsterdam owns some three million books, many of them in interesting bindings, how did these specific bindings find their way into the Bandenkast?
There were four active forces. Four librarians, book historians, who recognised the cultural and historical importance of bookbindings and acted thereupon.
Initiator was Professor Herman de la Fontaine Verwey, chief librarian at the University of Amsterdam from 1941 through 1968. During Fontaine Verwey’s time at the University of Amsterdam, there were not many funds available for acquisition, which was unfortunate as there was a substantial influx of old and rare books coming onto the market, especially in England. Collections which had been part of family homes for centuries were put up for sale toward paying oppressive inheritance taxes. However, financial backing by the supportive ‘Vereniging van Vrienden van de Universiteitsbibliotheek van Amsterdam’ made it possible for Fontaine Verwey to nevertheless increase the collection of the university significantly. Many special bindings bought until Verwey passed away in 1989 were acquired under his guidance, even long after his retirement as librarian at Special Collections.
The second force was Professor dr. Sape van der Woude, active as director of the University Library from 1969 through 1977. During those years money was more readily available for the purchase of many interesting bindings, often, but not always, with a connection with Amsterdam.
In addition to this, from the mid 1970’s onwards, rare book curators Drs. Ton Croiset van Uchelen, active 1962 through 1997, and Drs. Kees Gnirrep, active from 1973 until 2003, continued the project initiated by Fontaine Verwey. Whenever stumbling on an exceptional binding in the depot of the university library, they would have it moved to the bookshelves dedicated to special bookbindings. As a result of their relocation the works received new call numbers, all preceded by the word ‘Band’, hence the descriptive nickname Bandenkast.
For a large part due to the diligence of the four men mentioned above, the Bandenkast momentarily houses around 592 unique bindings on books printed 1500-1972, but it goes without saying, that the there are certain to be many more hitherto undetected gems in the enormous collection of the University of Amsterdam. In the past several years, during this project, some interesting contenders have presented themselves, found by chance. The Bandenkast could yet grow to double its size or more.
The project
This project is confined to Bandenkast works printed 1500-1600 partly because one has to limit oneself. The main reason however is that the sixteenth century was still in transition from the Middle Ages. One leg in one leg out. Although the intellectual Humanists probably would have preferred to skip the Middle Ages altogether, it is unavoidable that as far as the crafts were concerned, imagery in the sixteenth century was still influenced by inherited motifs. The evolvement of this transition is exhibited in the Bandenkast corpus printed 1500-1600, which consists of around 90 items.
More fundamental is the question why spend time on this project at all. What is the use? The subjective answer is that research gives great satisfaction, especially when the dots are connected, but also during the wandering stage. To quote Tolkien ‘Not all those who wander are lost’, on the contrary, wandering is the basis for inspiration. But why old bookbindings? The obvious answer to that is their historical and cultural evidence, as products of craftsmanship and as testimonials of use. The decoration on bindings is diverse, some bindings are worn, not all books have been read, some are widely annotated, all of this says something about their individual path in the course of their existence. The bindings and the works they cover give evidence about the lives of the successive owners, their history, their cultural affinities.
What started out with the making of descriptions of the bindings, has evolved into possibly never-ending cultural and historical research, which has produced a fair amount of background material on most bindings. Research into their provenance, binders, sales-history and into their historical background, produces a dossier for an account of the unique history of each item. Every source reveals another, which is where the never-ending comes in.
The descriptions are based on the model used by the Bibliothèque Nationale de France and can be found at https://bandenkast.blogspot.com.
The accompanying texts are work in progress and will follow here.
[Pam van Holthe]
Sources
Anthony (Ton) R.A. Croiset van Uchelen, 'Herman de la Fontaine Verwey, 1903-89.' In: Quaerendo. Volume 21/4: Autumn 1991. p. 244-266.
Email correspondence with Kees Gnirrep and Ton Croiset van Uchelen.
Kees Gnirrep, 'Herman de la Fontaine Verwey’s Principal Publications. A bibliographical survey, with a title register, registers of book reviews and occasional pieces, and an index of names.' In: Quaerendo. Volume 21/4: Autumn 1991. p. 267-312.
Herman De la Fontaine Verwey, De verdwenen antiquaar en andere herinneringen van een bibliothecaris. Amsterdam: De Buitenkant, 1993.
Tableau van aanwinsten verworven tijdens het bibliothecariaat van Prof. dr. S. van der Woude 1.1.1969 - 30.4.1977. Tentoongesteld van 2 mei tot en met 14 juni 1977. Catalogus. Universiteitsbibliotheek van Amsterdam, 1977.