Goethe

History of the collection:The collection was built up by WGC Byvanck.
Size:The collection comprises about 2,000 titles.
Accessibility: The books are listed in the KB online public catalogue, and (in part) in the KB card catalogues. Part of the collection is on open display on the 2nd floor of the KB.
More information: Steven Claeyssens 070-3140312

The collection

The library owes this extensive collection of works by and about Johann Wolfgang von Goethe to WGC Byvanck, librarian of the KB from 1895 to 1921.
Byvanck, who had a profound interest in literature, brought the library to the attention of a larger and more varied public, partly through publishing printed catalogues of portions of the collection. An example is the Catalogus der Goethe-verzameling in de KB (Shelf mark: Bibliogr. LZ 20. KBI), which also includes journal articles. The collection comprises all historical and critical editions of Goethe's works, letters by and to Goethe, talks and diaries. It also includes reference works, bibliographies, concordances, dictionaries and a wide range of studies on the most diverse aspects of Goethe's life and works.