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Portrait of an artist in his books: Alexander Ver huell

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 June 2016

Jan Bervoets
Jan Bervoets*
Affiliation:
Algemeen Rijksarchief, Prins Willem Alexanderhof 20, The Hague
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Abstract

The library of the 19th century caricaturist Alexander Ver Huell, many of its volumes annotated and embellished by their former owner, was bequeathed by him to the town of Arnhem and is now incorporated in Arnhem Public Library. Its contents reflect his interests and values – values which, not least a belief in the moral virtue and social role of art, he cherished apart from society’s antipathy.

Type
Research Article
Information
Art Libraries Journal , Volume 12 , Issue 1 , 1987 , pp. 29 - 31
Copyright
Copyright © The Art Libraries Society 1987

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References

1. The house was considered unsuitable for a museum and in 1901 the Council decided to sell it by auction. The proceeds constituted the financial basis for the Municipal Museum in Arnhem. For further details about the bequest see Jolles, J.A., ‘De openbare bibliotheek te Arnhem’, Jaarboek Gelre no.XLI 1938, p.119–121 and 149–153.Google Scholar
2. ‘Catalogus van de bibliotheek van mr. A. Ver Huell volgens testamentaire beschikking vermaakt aan de gemeente Arnhem’, Catalogus van de openbare bibliotheek te Arnhem. Tweede Supplement (1888-1908), Arnhem, 1908.Google Scholar
3. For a more detailed biography see Bervoets, J. and Chamuleau, R. Het dagboek van Alexander Ver Huell 1860-1865, Zutphen, 1985. The manuscript itself is to be found in the Arnhem Municipal Archives.Google Scholar
4. This collection is now in the Arnhem Municipal Archives. In addition to portfolios devoted to relatives and friends, it includes prints and documents about Dutch painters and writers, the French Revolution, the declaration of independence in 1813 and even a collection on ‘disastrous scoundrels’.Google Scholar
5. Ver Huell, , Alexander Cornells Troost en zijn werken, Arnhem, 1873; Jacobus Houbraken et son oeuvre, Arnhem, 1875; supplément Arnhem, 1877.Google Scholar
6. Ver Huell, , Alexander Gelderland, teekeningen en prenten, Arnhem, 1883.Google Scholar
7. For example, several original issues of Kneppelhout’s, J. Studententypen, Leiden 1840-1847; poems by de Noduwez, Jules Nollée, the Belgian poet and diplomat (5 titles) and 11 anthologies of poems by Louise Stratenus.Google Scholar
8. This catalogue contains various mistakes. For example, three short stories by Alexander Ver Huell are described as scholarly works. Jolles, op. cit. (note 1), p. 150, mentions a first edition of Goethe’s Das Leiden des Jungen Werthers, Weimar, 1787, and also a folio edition of the works of Shakespeare of 1632, which are not included in the catalogue.Google Scholar
9. Jolles, , op. cit. (note 1), p. 120.Google Scholar
10. Jolles, , op. cit. (note 1), p. 152.Google Scholar
11. Jolles, , op. cit. (note 1), p. 121.Google Scholar
12. De Mirecourt, E. Gavarni, Paris, 1856 (2nd ed.); De Goncourt, E. and J., Gavarni, Paris, 1873; Armenhault, J. and Bocher, E., L’oeuvre de Gavarni. Catalogue raisonnée, Paris, 1873.Google Scholar
13. Ramaer, J.N. Blik op de dierlijke vermogens en derzelver betrekking tot de ziel. Rotterdam, 1845.Google Scholar
14. Wagenaar, , J. Vaderlandsche Historien. Amsterdam, 1744-1759 (21 vols.) and idem, Vervolg. Amsterdam, 1807 (31 vols.); Meteren, E. van. Historie der Nederlanden en de haerder naburen oorlogen en de geschiedenissen, tot den jare 1612, Amsterdam, 1652; Hooft, P.C. Nederlandsche Historien. Amsterdam, 1677 (3rd ed.). Ver Huell placed his faith above all in Motley, J. L. The Rise of the Dutch Republic, translated by van den Brink, R.C. Bakhuizen (De opkomst der Nederlandsche republiek. The Hague, 1860-1861. 7 vols.). It is notable that of the 34 titles relating to French history, 14 are devoted to Napoleon. For English history Ver Huell used Macaulay, T.B. The History of England, Leipzig, 1860 (10 vols.).Google Scholar
15. Forty-six works on Gelderland are described in the ‘Catalogus’ (see note 2), including 16th to 18th-century chronicles, see p.137–138.Google Scholar
16. Ver Huell, Alexander. ‘No. 470, Hoogewoerd’, in: Studenten-almanak voor 1847. Leiden, 1847, p. 142–160; ‘Fulko’, in: Nederland, no.I 1859, p.26–34; ‘Mijn oom Aquilinus’, in: Nederland no.II 1864, p.281–90. Published later in Schetsen met de pen door Alexander V.H., 1853, p.95–107; 1861, pp.63–74 and 1876, pp. 105–117 respectively.Google Scholar
17. Bervoets, J.A.A. ‘Fulko, verweving van romantische fantasie met geidealiseerde werkelijkheid’, Maatstaf no.8, 1983, p.16–31.Google Scholar