The Seventeenth Century Orange Nassau Library

Edited with introduction and notes. With notes on the manuscripts by A.S. Korteweg.

Edited with introduction and notes. With notes on the manuscripts by A.S. Korteweg.

The Annual Bibliography of the History of the Printed Book and Libraries records articles of scholarly value that relate to the history of the printed book, to the history of arts, crafts, techniques and equipment, and of the economic, social and cultural environment involved in their production, distribution, conservation and description.

An important part of the Dutch national treasure of early printed books from before 1801 on military and related subjects is kept in military libraries and collections. This catalogue contains 10,000 books in twelve different languages dated 1500–1800 from nine different Defence institutions/collections, representing both Army and Navy. By far the largest collections are the property of the Royal Netherlands Army Museum in Delft and the Royal Netherlands Military Academy in Breda. A great if not substantial part of these books is especially of international significance because of the contents, the intrinsic value or as historical objects. It took eight years to trace and describe these books, all of which have been given extensive analytical bibliographic descriptions. The book includes over 2000 illustrations. The book is a project of the Royal Netherlands Army Museum, Delft

This edited collection presents new research on the development of printing and bookselling throughout Europe during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, addressing themes such as the Reformation, the transmission of texts and the production and sale of printed books.

Machiavelli’s experience in organizing a Florentine militia shaped the composition of his Art of War (1521), a book that is now less well known than The Prince, but that had a huge impact on sixteenth-century cultures of warfare.

Thomas Anthony Birrell (1924-2011) was a man of many parts. For most of his working life he was Professor of English Literature in the University of Nijmegen, The Netherlands, where he was famous for his lively, humoristic and thought-provoking lectures. He was the author of some very popular literary surveys in Dutch, one of which - a history of English literature - has had seven editions so far. However, first and foremost he was a bibliographer and a book historian. The present collection contains fifteen of his book-historical articles, two reviews and one published version of a lecture for the illustrious ’Association Internationale de Bibliophilie’. The lecture - with a wealth of illustrations - about the British Library as the ’Custodian of the Unique’ gives one a sense of Birrell’s ability to present an audience with a complicated topic in comprehensible, but not simplified, terms. The reviews serve as a statement of principle of how to tackle the subject of ’English readers and books’ and the standards that ought to apply. The articles demonstrate Tom Birrell’s in-depth knowledge, dedication and scholarship. He once said that he felt that he could have talked to the 17th-century London booksellers on an equal footing and his work convinces one that they would have enjoyed these conversations. Aspects of Book Culture was edited by Birrell’s former pupil, colleague, friend and fellow-bibliographer Jos Blom.

The present catalogue is the fourth and final volume in a series that covers the Turkish manuscripts preserved in public libraries and museums in the Netherlands. This volume gives detailed descriptions of Turkish manuscripts in minor Dutch collections, found in libraries and museums in Leiden, Utrecht, Groningen and other towns.

Early modern theatre was a visual matter, even though the authors wrote plays which were mainly meant to be read. But whether they wrote their plays to have them performed or not, authors could use comedies, tragi-comedies or tragedies to influence public opinion, to make a statement in a debate, or to convey explicit or implicit lessons that they carried out or had carried out by linguistic, rhetorical and theatrical means. How explicit they were in expressing their views depended on the characters of the authors or the circumstances in which they wrote. Questions regarding the opinion-forming and opinion-following functions of theatre, the means by which authors and theatre makers expressed their ideas, and the role of theatre and plays in public debate are discussed from various angles. Such questions refer not only to ‘literary’ plays, but also to other forms of theatrical event, such as royal entrances. Contributors include: Imre Bésanger, Hartmut Beyer, Stijn Bussels, Jean-Frédéric Chevalier, Verena Demoed, Arjan van Dixhoorn, Ron Gruijters, Jelle Koopmans, Frans-Willem Korsten, Katell Lavéant, Hubert Meeus, Marco Prandoni, and Helmar Schramm.