Album amicorum Petronella Moens
A book of friends used to be called an album amicorum. Petronella Moens' album is very special: it contains contributions from famous writers from her time. Think for instance of Aagje Deken, Betje Wolff, Willem Bilderdijk and Hendrik Tollens.
What is an album amicorum?
An album amicorum is a friendship booklet, with handwritten texts from friends and acquaintances. Sometimes they were even famous contemporaries. Alba amicorum have been around since the 16th century. They were first used at universities in Germany. Dutch students adopted the habit of keeping an album. They mainly used such an album during the tour through Europe that many of them made during their studies. In the album they collected contributions from professors and fellow students. Keeping such an album soon became a popular activity. More and more often, not only students, but also men of letters, statesmen and artists were asked to make their contributions in an album. Keeping an album amicorum remained very popular until the 19th century.
How to view Petronella Moens' album
You can view Petronella Moens' album amicorum in the reading room of the Special Collections. You can request the work via the catalogue, via request number 79 L 5. You can also view it on the site as a digital masterpiece. The images can be found at Wikimedia Commons.
References
Books
- Veltman-van den Bos, A.J. & Vet, J. de. Par Amitié : de vriendenrol van Petronella Moens. Nijmegen, 2009.
- Veltman-van den Bos, A.J., Petronella Moens (1762-1843) : de Vriendin van ’t Vaderland. Nijmegen, 2000.