The staff at the archives in Haarlem, Leiden, Delft, Deventer, Philadelphia and Munich which
I consulted over the course of my research, were supportive and extremely helpful, as were
the librarians at the Museum Boerhaave and the various branches of Leiden University
Library. I am very grateful to Godelieve Bolten and her team at the Noord-Hollands Archief
in Haarlem, Wilhelm Füßl and his team at the archives of the Deutsches Museum in Munich
and, for giving me access to the Rhenish Mineral Comptoir’s private archives, Ursula Müller-
Krantz.
I am also very grateful for the support I received in all practical matters from all the staff at
the Sterrewacht in Leiden. To name but a few, my life as a PhD student was made far easier
by Erik Deul, Jeanne Drost, Evelijn Gerstel, David Jansen, Jan Lub, Anita van der Tang,
Liesbeth van der Veld and Aart Vos. I would also like to thank the members of the “Promotie
Begeleidings Commissie”, and Xander Tielens in particular, for unmistakably but
supportively increasing the pressure to complete the manuscript. Ali, Carolina, Gilles Byou
were great astronomer-roommates!
I thank Bas Jongeling for his competent help with the translation of the quotes from primary
source material which were used in this manuscript.
Crucially, my research would not have been possible without the financial support of the
Teyler Foundation. 1 am grateful to its trustees for the unconditional intellectual freedom they
gave me, and the great interest they showed in the results of my research.
Finally, without the support and the understanding of my friends and all my family, this book
would have been impossible on so many levels. To name but a few: Chrissi, Hendrik, Ingrid
& Gerd, Johannes, Thomas Kn, Thomas N & Gudrun, Tille, Wenx, WiebkeBffartelijk Dank
and herzlichen Dank! Mummay and Daddy: my “long-suffering parents” suddenly became
longer-suffering parents, I know... Thank you ever so much for everything!
Liebe Kai - wo soll ich überhaupt anfangen...? Vielleicht am besten damit, dass zumindest
dieses Buch nun ein Ende hat. Und das zu einem wesentlichen Teil Dank Deiner unendlichen
Unterstützung und Geduld. Also: Auf zu neuen Ufern (mit Stränden...)!
Table of Contents
List of Illustrations.........................................................................................................................'x
Chapter I: Introduction................................................................................................................. 1
I. The Older the Better..................................................................................................................1
II. Time for Two........................................................................................................................... 6
III. An Institutional History of Teylers Museum in the 19th Century....................................... 7
IV. The Complexity of the Term “Museum”............................................................................10
V. To Whom It May Concern....................................................................................................17
VI. Structure of the Book.......................................................................................................... 10
Chapter II: The Birth of a Musaeum............................................................... 21
I The Museum’s Pre-History.....................................................................................................21
1. Martinus van Marum & the Beginning of the Age of Museums....................................21
2. Martinus van Marum’s Formative Years & The Holland Society of Sciences 27
3. Pieter Teyler van der Hulst................................................................................................34
4. The Contents of Pieter Teyler’s Last Will and Testament.............................................. 38
5. Contextualising the Will: Mennonite Governors in Haarlem.........................................41
6. Teyler’s Choice of “Arts and Sciences” ...........................................................................40
II The Establishment of Teylers Museum................................................................................48
1. Avoidance of Boredom......................................................................................................48
2. The Famous Five.................................................................................................................49
3. Administrative Affairs....................................................................................................... 51
4. Room for Improvement...................................................................................................... 52
5. The Haarlem Drawing Academy...................................................................................... 54
6. The Learned Societies........................................................................................................ 55
7. Prize Essay Competitions..................................................................................................58
8. Pieter Teyler’s Prints and Drawings................................................................................. 60
9. Birth of a Musaeum........................................................................................................... 63