Occasional poetry

Collection history:The core collection was acquired in 1866.
Size:The collection comprises c.3,600 titles.
Accessibility:The greater part of the books has not been recorded in the Library's card catalogues and OPAC. The poems up to 1700 can be found in the printed catalogue by Bouman, and the complete collection has been catalogued in a database (inquiries: Special Collections Reading Room). The majority has been or will be included in the STCN. The books can only be consulted at the Special Collections Reading Room.
More information: Marieke van Delft - 070-3140329.

Description of the collection

In 1866 the Koninklijke Bibliotheek obtained a sizeable collection of circa 2,000 occasional poems in 50 volumes. In 1972 this was supplemented by a collection of 734 items from the property of Gerard Halwasse. Together with older holdings and some further occasional purchases the collection now numbers over 3,600 titles. It consists of poems on marriages, accessions to office, anniversaries and deaths of Dutch citizens. Poems on monarchs, stadholders, and on historical events are not included, because they are considered pamphlets. The early collection now has case-numbers 852-853, the Halwasse collection and recent acquisitions have Shelfnumbers starting with Gel. Ged.
Most poems are in Dutch, although Latin is also well represented. The size varies from one broadsheet to sizeable anthologies of originally separate poems on one single event. Marriages form the most frequent occasions, followed by deaths.

Literature

J. Bouman. Nederlandse gelegenheidsgedichten voor 1700 in de Koninklijke Bibliotheek te 's-Gravenhage. Catalogus van gedrukte gedichten op gedenkwaardige gebeurtenissen in het leven van particuliere personen. Nieuwkoop, 's-Gravenhage 1982.