Very little detail is known about the actual process by which the electrostatic generator
arrived in Paris, alongside a number of other, smaller instruments from the collection of
Teylers Museum. Hardly any correspondence has been preserved that could throw some light
on questions such as why those in charge of the museum agreed to participate in the Electrical
Exhibition, by exactly how much it set them back financially, or how the huge logistical feat
of transporting the fragile electrostatic generator the distance of more than 500 km from
Haarlem to Paris - and then bringing it back in one piece - was achieved. Nevertheless, the
fact remains that they did, and that by doing so they played a pivotal role in creating a display
at the Electrical Exhibition that helped bolster the Netherlands’ image abroad as a serious
contender in matters of science and technology.
II. Time for Two
This entire episode, in turn, provides an indication of how deeply engrained Teylers Museum
already was in the topograpy of Dutch culture by the end of the 19th century, and, even more
importantly, touches upon the issues that lie at the heart of the book you have just started
reading. More specifically, there are two issues, and the episode just described represents
them in the following way:
Firstly, by end of the 19th century Teylers already had a history, longer than most other
institutions that carry the title “museum”. This is a book about that history, told from the
vantage point of the museum’s scientific instrument collection.
Secondly, what transpires clearly from this episode in history is how scientific instruments
were increasingly appreciated for their historical value. The electrostatic generator is a case in
point: originally built solely for the purpose of research, by the time of the Electrical
Exhibition its primary value lay in its historical significance. In other words, instruments were
being recognised as cultural artefacts, which was actually a new phenomenon. And where
better, one might suppose, to preserve and display cultural artefacts than in a museum?
However, the single biggest mistake one could make in assessing the history of Teylers
Museum ^ ‘or, for that matter, any other 19' century museum - is not to take into account the
huge shift in meaning the word “museum” underwent over the course of that century. It was
only by the end of the 19th century that museums had acquired a reputation primarily as places
for the public display of collections — and even then, they were associated above all with the
fine arts, not with science and technology. By and large, “science museums” are actually a
20th century phenomenon.
This makes Teylers Museum a particularly worthwhile case study, and not only because it
was called a museum and housed a prominent collection of scientific instruments at a time
when this was pretty much unique, but also for another reason, that hasn’t even been
mentioned yet, but is of crucial importance: from the very beginning on, Teylers Museum was
also home to a collection of fine art that was equally - if not even more — valuable than its
scientific collections. In other words, Teylers Museum was an art museum as well, and as
such it was subjected to the changing concept of what role “museums” were to fulfil to a far
greater extent and in a different way than if it had only housed scientific collections.
Consequently, a major theme of this book is provided by the twists and turns that resulted
from this double — or hybrid — identity of Teylers Museum.
So, in a nutshell, the aim of this book is: one, to give an account of the history of Teylers
Museum in the 19th century and to do so from the vantage point of the museum’s instrument
collection; and two, to illustrate how Teylers Museum was subject to and therefore reflects the
changing ideas on what constituted the role and function of “museums” over the course of the
19th century. Before explaining in what ways this will provide a contribution to the existing
body of literature on museums and instrument collections, these two points will now be
addressed in more detail.
III. An Institutional History of Teylers Museum in the 19th Century
Teylers Museum’s roots lie in the last will and testament of a wealthy Haarlem textile
merchant and banker, Pieter Teyler van der Hulst, who died a childless widower in 1778. He
had stipulated that his fortune was to be used to set up a foundation in his name — the Teyler
Foundation — which in turn was to ensure that his bequeathal would serve to support the study
of theology, the study of the arts and sciences, and charitable causes. To further the first two
of these causes, two learned societies were to be set up. Shortly after Teyler’s death, and even
though he had not mentioned anything of the kind in his will, the decision was taken to set up
a museum. A purpose-built two-storey high edifice, which came to be known as the “Oval
Room”, was subsequently erected behind Pieter Teyler’s old town house in Haarlem. Upon its
completion in 1784, the aforementioned Martinus van Marum was appointed the new
institution’s director and supplied with one of the first — and for many years also one of the
most spectacular - items that were bought for the museum’s collection, i.e. the Cuthbertson
electrostatic generator.
Three points which proved to be particularly important for the museum’s future development
in a variety of manners are already discernible at this stage of its history: first of all, it is
already explicitly referred to as “Teylers Museum”, albeit that other terms were used on
occasion as well. The name “Teylers Museum” stuck, however, and by the end of the 20
century it was therefore frequently being referred to as “the oldest museum of the
Netherlands”. Secondly, the museum housed both scientific collections and a collection of
fine art. One of the main reasons was that Teyler had stipulated that both the “arts” and the
“sciences” were to be supported through his bequeathal. These terms’ connotations changed
profoundly over the course of the 19th century, but both areas of collecting were developed in
equal measure at Teylers Museum as the century progressed. Put shortly, Teylers Museum