Beschrijving
Beautifully constructed album amicorum (1821-1857). Leather box with gold and blind tooling with integrated drawer for blank new pages (13 of which are still present). The construction has sustained some damage: the front cover is broken along the hinge and has come loose and the bottom side of the box (wood) had come loose too.
Upon opening the album, the first page is a cover (with linen hinge and the remnants of a ribbon to easily lift this cover) depicting a musical scene in colour with the text: ‘Was kann dem kurzen Leben, Mehr Werth und Würde geben, Als sein und andrer Herz erfreu'n!’ At the bottom it reads: ‘Augsburg bei F. Elner, No. 108’. Even though the album seems to have been of German origin, the entries by loved ones are in Dutch, French and German.
Here is a list of the 16 entries, dated from 1821 to 1857:
1. Middelharnis, 24-03-1838, signed: Janneke, Dutch, poem decorated with a woven ribbon
2. Amsterdam, 21-02-1821, signed: W.H.D. de Lanoy, French, floral drawing
3. Zwolle, 07-09-1841, signed: A. Sandberg (Possibly Albertus Sandberg (1768-1843), politician), French, floral drawing
4. Cleve, 19-08-1836, signed: A.J.D. Steenstra Toussaint (Dr. Abraham Johan Daniël Steenstra Toussaint (1813-1876), first city physician in Batavia, married to Elisabeth Wilhelmina Petronella Couperus (1821-1889) aunt to the Couperus the famous writer), French, floral drawing
5. Zwolle, 02-11-1826, signed: O. van Sandick (Posibly Onno Zwier van Sandick (1805-1883), mayor), German, floral drawing
6. Zwolle, 15-04-1830, signed: G.J. van Fridagh, born Kantelaar (Gesina Jacoba Kantelaar (1795-1851) married to baron Johan Adriaan, Baron Van Fridagh), German, floral drawing
7. Arnhem, 06-12-1841, signed A.(?). de Bruijn, drawing of a church
8. 09-04-1857, signed: J. Verbert, pasted in picture with a cherub and lace border
9. signed: H.H.J. de Vulder v. Noorden (Hendrika Huberta Johanna de Vulder van Noorden (1817-?), floral drawing
10. Unsigned, citation in Dutch entitled: ‘Jongensmijmering door N. Beets’. Could it be written by Nicoalaas Beets (1814-1903) himself? The handwriting is similar and it is known the poem was witten in 1840, but this entry is undated and could very well be a mere citation, with some variations in the text (‘Duivekaters’ in stead of ‘Wel te duizend’ and there is mention of ‘Barend’ in stead of ‘Krelis’.
11. 22-03-1857, signed: Z. Verbert, Dutch, floral ‘prikwerkje’ (design made by small punctures)
12. Voorst, 19-07-1847, signed: J.A.M. Bouwensch, needlepoint design with lyre
13. Leentje Baauer (?), floral drawing
14. LB, floral drawing (seems to be by the above Leentje Baauer as well)
15. Claudine, drawing of oak leaves
16. 11-10-1837, signed: W.M. Allewaert, poem and ‘prikwerkje’ (design made with small punctures) made aboard the Z.M. Kannonier, boat 22.
