About the collections
The Book Trade collecting area relates to the history of books. It concerns the book as a physical object and the history of the book trade: the production, distribution and consumption of books. The focus is on the Netherlands and on the period after 1800.
The collection contains many tens of thousands of books and printed works that illustrate the development of books from classical antiquity to the digital age. It also includes an extensive collection of secondary literature in the field of book studies. Finally there are archives and collections relating to the history of the book trade and graphic technology.
The richness of this collection is partly due to the loan of the Book Trade Library, which has been housed at the Allard Pierson since 1958. This library, assembled by Frederik Muller, was founded in 1845 by the Vereeniging ter bevordering van de belangen des Boekhandels (Association for the Promotion of the Interests of the Book Trade).
Priority areas / highlights
- Publisher's archive of Van Benthem & Jutting
- Archive of the Koninklijke Vereniging voor het Boekenvak (KVB, Royal Dutch Book Trade Association)
- Publisher’s archive of Luchtmans/Brill
- Publisher's archive of Suringar
- Type Foundry Amsterdam / Tetterode Archive
- Archive of antiquarian bookseller Ludwig Rosenthal
- Collection of Dutch publisher's lists
- Collection of prospectuses and personalia
- Collection of antiquarian booksellers’ and auction catalogues
Searching the collections
The printed works have been made accessible via the online Catalogue. Work is currently underway to make the manuscripts, the as yet undescribed archives, prints and photographs available via the online Catalogue and ArchivesSpace. Please contact the curator or Reading room desk staff if you have any questions or uncertainties.
Contact person
- Jos van Waterschoot
Curator of Book Historical Collections and Comics
Send an e-mail: j.a.m.vanwaterschoot@uva.nl
Phone number: +31 (0)6 4168 1673
Support the Allard Pierson
Your contribution makes it possible to acquire, expand and restore collections, to undertake research into the collections, develop educational programmes and present them to tens of thousands of visitors a year. Can we count you in?
