In fact there is no reason to believe that Winkler himself took the initiative to translate the
Origins or even knew of the book’s existence before being approached by Kruseman. Given
Winkler’s growing reputation as an expert on geological matters and a translator - he had
already translated other books on geology before Kruseman approached him with Darwin’s
book — and the fact that he was living in Haarlem, it is not even surprising that Kruseman
turned to Winkler for a translation of the Origins.
At the same time however, the fact that Winkler accepted the task implies that even before
having completed his translation of the book, he was sympathetic towards Darwin’s ideas,
which in turn implies a certain openness to new ideas and even progressivism on Winkler’s
behalf. He could quite simply have refused to translate Darwin’s work, too. This was by no
means out of the question: evidence from later years suggests Winkler acted self-confidently
in his dealings with publishers. As much at least can be derived from snippets of his
correspondence with the publisher Albertus Willem Sijthoff which have been preserved. In a
letter Winkler penned in 1863 for instance, concerning a book he was writing for Sijthoff, his
businesslike tone, although by no means impolite, is striking.61 It is also in stark contrast with
the respectful and almost reverent tone in which he wrote letters to the trustees of the Teyler
Foundation. In 1885, Winkler sent Sijthoff a curt reply decisively rejecting the publisher’s
suggestion he translate “4 essays” which are not described in more detail. Having stated that,
with regard to this request “I can answer nothing but: out of the question!”, Winkler then
briefly explains why, with extra exclamation marks for emphasis:
“The ideas of somebody who, for example, wants to cure rheumatism by bloodletting!! or
who refuses to give morphine as an analgesic, and more of the same, ¡A should be left
untranslated in the land where they were bom.”62
As far as the translation of the Origins was concerned, Kruseman’s hopes of cashing in on the
controversy surrounding Darwin’s theory of evolution the way his British counterparts had
were not fulfilled. Kruseman decided to publish the book in instalments and had 1000 copies
of the first one printed, reflecting his high hopes this would prove to be a good seller.
Ultimately, however, he sold no more than 212.63 The main problem seems to have been that,
until the late 1860s, a controversial debate surrounding Darwin’s ideas failed to take off in the
Netherlands. Kruseman even published a translation of one of Darwin’s prominent English
critics, the mathematician and geologist William Hopkins, in late 1860 in what presumably
amounted to an attempt to ignite controversy.65 But if that was indeed the case, his attempt
proved to be futile.
61 T.C. Winkler to .W. Sijthoff, 05.11.1863, Leiden, UBL BC, Collectie Sijthoff, SYT-A.
62 “4 opstellen”; “kan ik niets anders antwoorden als: volstrekt niet!”; “De ideeen van iemand die b.v.
rheumatismus wil genezen door het doen van aderlatingen!! o f die geen morphine wil geven tot pijnstilling, en
dergelijken meer, - laat men onvertaald blijven in het land waarin zij geboren zijn.” T.C. Winkler to A.W.
Sijthoff, 28.02.1885, Leiden, UBL BC, Collectie Sijthoff, SYT-A.
Lisa Kuitert, ‘“Geen grooten opgang’: een voetnoot bij het Darwin-symposium 1992,” De Negentiende Eeuw
17(1993): 88.
Leeuwenburgh, Darwin in domineesland, 138-148.
65 Ibid., 140.
Interestingly, it was Winkler himself who helped invigorate a debate on the wider
implications of Darwin’s writings in the Netherlands. In 1867 he published an article in De
Gids titled “The teachings of Darwin” (De leer van Darwin), in which he did not shy back
from stating that Darwin’s ideas implied man’s ancestors had been ape-like. 6 Darwin himself
only addressed this issue explicitly a few years later, when he published The Descent o f Man.
As a result, Winkler was increasingly identified as what one historian has described as “one of
the most fervent proponents” of Darwin’s theory in the Netherlands, despite the fact that he
subsequently kept a low profile in these debates. By the dawn of the 1870s, when religion
became more of a sensitive issue in Dutch society (to which the controversy surrounding
ulramontanist ideas mentioned above is further testimony) and the debates Kruseman had
been counting on were finally stirred up, one prominent publication assailing Darwin’s theory
of evolution even carried the title “Our forefathers according to the theory of Darwin and the
Darwinism of Winkler” (Onze voorouders volgens de theorie van Darwin en het darwinisme
van Winkler).68
By this time, Kruseman had sold the rights to a Dutch translation of the Origins, after
eventually breaking even and at least returning his investment.69 An adaptation of Winkler’s
translation by H. Hartog Heys van Zouteveen was later published by the publishers Gebr.
E&M Cohen, with more success.
But even if Winkler’s translation of the Origins turned out to be a commercial failure, it did
enable him to keep abreast of the newest developments in geology and biology and is another
indication of this man’s lifelong thirst for learning and ambition to push the boundaries, not
just of his own knowledge, but also of science as a whole.
2. Elisa van der Ven
From 1878 until 1909, Elisa van der Ven was in charge of Teylers Museum’s scientific
instrument collection. Just like his fellow curator Winkler, van der Ven displayed a great
passion not just for acquiring scientific knowledge, but also for passing it on.
66 Tiberius C. Winkler, “De leer van Darwin,” De Gids 31, no. 4 (1867): 22-70. On this article and an earlier
essay o f Winkler’s in De Gids o f 1864 in which he left no doubt that he was convinced by Darwin’s arguments
see: Ilse N. Bulhof, “The Netherlands,” in The Comparative Reception o f Darwinism, ed. Thomas F. Glick
(Austin; London: University o f Texas Press, 1974), 286-288.
“een van de meest fervente voorstanders”; Leeuwenburgh, Darwin in domineesland, 147.
B. H. Klonne, Onze voorouders volgens de theorie van Darwin en het Darwinisme van Winkler ( ’s
Hertogenbosch: Henri Bogaerts, 1869). On the increasing controversy surrounding Darwin see: Leeuwenburgh,
Darwin in domineesland, 223-228; Janneke van der Heide, Darwin en de strijd om de beschaving in Nederland
1859-1909 (Amsterdam: Wereldbibliotheek, 2009).
69 Kuitert, ‘“Geen grooten opgang’: een voetnoot bij het Darwin-symposium 1992,” 88.
70 Ibid., 91.