to acquaint himself with, and classify as to genus and species, the unnamed Fossils that the
Foundation acquires by purchase or that are donated to it. He shall also have to place legends
next to the Fossils in the drawers, from which can be read what species they are and where
they are found; everything in the same way as he has done with the Fossils that are present in
the Musaeum.
4.
Next to the Fossils as well as with the Physical Instruments and the Models that may be
presented to the Musaeum, he shall, if they are pieces of considerable value, have to place the
names of the benefactors, so that others who visit the Musaeum are tacitly encouraged to
donate something as well.
Art. 5
As the compiler of these Collections, the First Director shall have to make special efforts to
enrich them and add lustre to them as much as he can.
With that end in view he shall, a) have to find out what Fossils, Physical Instruments, Models
and Books that would fit into the Collection can be acquired, and how they can be acquired at
the lowest cost.
B) At Public Sales of Fossils, Physical Instruments and Models or Books as well as from what
is offered privately, to buy that, in so far as the trustees are willing to authorise him, which
according to the plans that have been made should be placed in the Musaeum and which is not
excessively expensive.
6.W
hen it is decided to have Physical Instruments and Models manufactured for the Musaeum,
he shall order them from the best instrument makers and in this keep the benefit of the
Foundation as much as possible in mind.
And concerning the Instruments ordered he shall have to make sure that the instrument
makers manufacture them with the greatest precision. He shall also have to test them before
they are accepted and paid for by the Foundation.
7.
The Fossils of which duplicates are acquired at some purchase, he shall attempt to exchange,
to the greatest benefit of the Musaeum, for such Objects as are absent in it: and in this matter
he shall, in particular, have to keep in mind that he receives such Objects from the Owners or
Directors of Cabinets whom he meets in return as cannot be easily acquired in another way.
Art. 8
The first Director in particular shall have to correspond with foreign Physicists, who may be
able to assist him in extending the said Collection, in order to obtain in this way rare fossils
from all countries, which are otherwise very difficult to acquire.
9.
The Director shall have to make efforts to carry out such experiments with the Physical
Instruments as will serve most to the advancement of the Knowledge of Nature and therefore
at the same time will add most Distinction to this Foundation.
In particular he shall attempt in this way to advise the Members of the Second Society if, in
order to judge the Responses submitted to one of the Physical Questions proposed by them,
certain experiments may be needed.
He shall also, as far as possible, make the Collection of Fossils useful in judging such essays
as are submitted in response to contests concerning the natural History of the Earth, which
have been set by the Second Society.
Art. 10
He shall have to describe the discoveries which he may be able to make with the Physical
Instruments of the Musaeum, and, if the Trustees approve of it, he shall have the Instruments
with which he has made such Discoveries or Experiments, illustrated and published under his
supervision at the expense of the Foundation. The Electrostatic Generator which is being
manufactured at the moment at the expense of the Foundation, and its effects will in the first
place deserve to be illustrated and described.
H
The Director shall be required to have illustrated and to describe such Fossils as will from
time to time be judged worthy to be made publicly known. The Maastricht Fish Head
[mosasaur] for example would be eminently worthy to have an illustration and description
made of it, which could suitably be placed after the Prize Essays which the Second Society
can expect in response to a question set by them concerning the Natural History of the Earth,
the more so as this rare and little known object is most relevant to this topic.”
One point that transpires clearly from this document is that van Marum knew what he wanted.
Not only had he been placed in charge of the Foundation’s collections, but with this contract
the trustees essentially sanctioned his pursuit of his own personal interests. This in itself, as
well as the actual phrasing of the document, indicates that van Marum knew which buttons to
push with the trustees. It is striking for instance how the entire contract revolves mainly
around the geological collection. Although this in itself did not run contrary to van Marum’s
interests, what is noteworthy is how the contract gives a scientific reason which even echoes
Teyler’s will for the systematic arrangement and expansion of the geological collection - i.e.
supporting the Second Society in assessing entries to the prize essay competition - whereas
the main reason provided as to why van Marum should perform scientific experiments with
instruments from the Foundation’s collection was nothing more than the increase of the
Foundation’s “Distinction” (Celebriteit).
That van Marum chose to emphasise this reason can in turn be seen as one of many
indications that the trustees and van Marum did not necessarily see eye to eye where the
purpose of the instrument collection and the research performed with it were concerned.
Fundamentally different ideas on the value and purpose of the pursuit of knowledge were at
the bottom of this, and these differences were still to lead to some serious disputes over the
following years.157 A common interest in geological specimens and all the physico-
theological implications of recent fossil finds as yet eclipsed this lingering conflict, but it is
remarkable that as early as September 1784 van Marum evidently considered it wise not to
provide too much detail concerning his plans for the instrument collection, elaborating instead
on the collection closer to the trustees’ heart, thereby perhaps letting sleeping dogs lie.
156 “Directienotulen”, 25.09.1784, Haarlem, ATS, vol. 5. For the Dutch original see Appendix 1.
157 Mijnhardt, Tot heil van 't menschdom: culturele genootschappen in Nederland, 1750-1815, 366-369.