Jaarboek voor Nederlandse Boekgeschiedenis. Jaargang 12

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Summaries

Mirjam de Baar Publication strategies of a seventeenth-century female author. Antoinette Bourignon and the publication of her writings

The prevailing freedom of the press in Holland was appealing to Antoinette Bourignon (1616-1680), a Catholic daughter of a well-to-do merchant from Lille, who arrived in Amsterdam in 1667. She was convinced that she had been called by God to rally the true Christians on earth, before He passed the Last Judgement. As she refused to submit her work to ecclesiastical censorship, she saw no possibility of publishing her writings in Flanders. However, in Holland as well as in Flanders respectable women were expected not to speak in public or to publish their writings. In accordance with the admonitions of the apostle Paul (1 Cor. 14, 34 and 1 Tim. 2, 11-12) they were meant to observe silence. Religious writings by female authors in the seventeenth-century Dutch Republic were therefore usually brought to press by male family members, friends or preachers from the same religious circle as the writer. How did Bourignon, who published more than sixty works between 1668 and 1680, succeed in publishing her writings?

Thanks to the surviving copy of Bourignons works it is possible to reconstruct the production phase of her books in broad outline. She broke through the classical pattern by acquiring a press of her own and getting her followers to prepare her writings for the press. To draw attention to her published works, she personally advertised them in the Oprechte Haerlemsche Courant. She also kept as much control as possible over the distribution of her work, although from 1670 onwards she did call on the assistance of the Amsterdam bookseller-publisher Pieter Arentsz. He did not, however, carry any of the financial risk. Bourignon continued to be responsible for this herself until 1673; thereafter she was able to call upon various followers who were prepared to provide financial backing. From 1676 onwards she introduced a new medium to draw attention to her published works by sending her own catalogues to booksellers and including them in her books. In her published works, however, she gives no hint of her own organisational activities. References to her involvement are to be found in the surviving copy, from which they were deleted during the preparation for the press. This secrecy emphasizes Bourignon's awareness that as a woman she had to mask her publishing activities in order to divulge her divine message.

Lizet Duyvendak Kindred spirits. Women and book discussion clubs

‘Kindred Spirits’ deals with the question why book discussion clubs are so important to their twentieth and twenty-first century members. The image of the book clubs is not very positive: 90 per cent of the members are women; the books they read do not have much literary value.

A comparison between reading groups in the Netherlands and United States teaches us that members in both countries form a homogenous group: over 60 per cent followed higher education, the average age is over 50, and over 75 per cent has had paid employment.

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A correction of this negative image is possible when we investigate the reading motivation of the members and the books they actually read. Cognitive and aesthetic motives are the most important reading motives, books are chosen because of their ‘discussability’.

Why do especially women read in a book club? Firstly, they need the discipline in their busy lives. More importantly, participants in book clubs engage in discussions that begin with the book but move beyond the group to include each participant's personal meanings and connections with her inner experience and with the perspectives of the other participants that emerge from the discussion. At its best, the discussion is profoundly transformative. At the core of a satisfying reading group discussion is the display of diverse and personal responses. Multivocality is what challenges individual members' preheld notions and allows them the possibility of new epiphanies about both literature and life.

Women book clubs started in the nineteenth century as a compensation for life outside the public sphere, but changed since then into a form of lifelong education. That especially women read in book clubs has to do with the different social position of men and women, despite all social and political changes in the twentieth century. The role and position of a middle-class woman is not crystallized, women have to make more choices, their life is more open-ended. The public sphere is gendered. In the nineteenth century women could ‘understand’ the differences between men and women, because the exclusion was formal. The twentieth century is more confusing, because informal boundaries feel like individual choices.

Reading groups can provide a forum for self-reflection that is not narcissistically self-referential but involves learning through literature. For women whose lives entail the uncertainties of unmapped territory, they can offer the comforts of discussion with like-minded peers. This kind of discussion can offer the safety of similarities, the challenge of differences, and the possibilities of the hitherto unimagined.

Myriam Everard Catharina Dóll-Egges on her high horse. Women in the book trade in a politically turbulent time (1780-1800)

Often unobserved by mainstream Dutch book historians, numerous women were involved in the printing, publishing and distribution of books, at least in the last decades of the eighteenth century. Focusing on a selection of women in the book trade of that period this article makes two arguments. First of all, it suggests that some tacit assumptions regarding the provisional role of women in family business - specifically widows - must be revised. Women publishers indeed were mostly widows, but that did not prevent them from leading their business for years on end just like their male colleagues, only rarely retiring before old age. Sometimes these women would take a son as an apprentice, with a view to making him a partner, but as often a son would choose to settle as a colleague in his own right. Recognizing the importance of the book trade to the political debates of those highly politicized times allows for a second observation. Through the book trade women could, and did, interfere in the field of politics that excluded them formally. That they did so with an eye to ending social exclusion becomes clear from the fact that far more of them joined the ranks of the patriots (democrats) than joined the orangist (conservative) side. They possibly did so as women: it is on the patriot side that Dutch translations of Mary Wollstonecraft's Vindication of the rights of woman and Theodor von Hippel's Über die bürgerliche Verbesserung der Weiber were broached and a Women's weekly was initiated.

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Hannie van Goinga Silhouettes: Women in the book trade in the early modem period: A new field of study

About thirty years ago research on women's history gathered momentum and some twenty years later the first studies focusing on women in the book trade began to appear. Dutch historians started rather late; not until 2001 Paul Hoftijzer published an exploratory article on Women in the early modern Dutch book trade.

This article presents an overview of the possibilities for women on the labour market, the chances and opportunities for girls to get an education or to learn a trade and the legal status of women. A case study reveals that the Leiden printing firm Van der Boxe-Bouwman was run and passed on from mother to daughter, an unusual succession if the husband or father is still alive and active. But once one starts looking many more examples can be found that indicate that the role of women in the book trade has been underestimated. In closing the two main approaches to women's history are explained briefly and a suggestion is put forward of what book history has to gain from this perspective. A selective bibliography of recent books and articles on women in the book trades in England, France and Germany completes this article.

Marjan Groot Women and book design 1895-1940

Between 1880 and 1940 women became increasingly involved in applied arts and industrial design. Women's emancipation and the greater accessibility of art education allowed them to profile themselves as professional designers. They were active in many fields. Where the book is concerned these were art book binding, graphic design for industrial book bindings, and book illustrations and calligraphy.

This article deals with women who were active as craft book binders and designers of industrial book bindings. The article focuses on a number of designers who may serve as examples for a discussion of stilistic aspects, networks, reception and exhibitions: book binder Geertruid de Graaff, and decorative artists and graphic designers Anna Sipkema, Cecile van Grieken and Jo Daemen. They are further compared to art book binder Elisabeth Menalda, batik maker Bertha Bake and illustrators and graphic designers Gerarda de Lang, Wilhelmina Drupsteen, Tine Baanders en Cateau Berlage. Some of these women were specialists in book binding or graphic design; others were trained as versatile decorative artists. Geertruid de Graaff, for example, was a weaver and wickerwork artist. Anna Sipkema was a graphic designer and weaver. Bertha Bake was a batik maker; she made book bindings using the batik technique. Cecile van Grieken, Jo Daemen en Willy Drupsteen were chiefly graphic designers and illustrators.

The designers participated in various networks. Especially significant was the professional body of designers, V.A.N.K. (Nederlandsche Vereeniging van Ambachts- en Nijverheidskunst, 1904-1942). Family relations were important, too, especially if these included male relatives involved in the world of design and architecture, as in the case of Tine Baanders en Cateau Berlage. Publishers were also a source of assignments; Jo Daemen, for example, worked for W.L. & J. Brusse in Rotterdam for some time.

From 1898 women exhibited their book bindings and graphic work in national and international exhibitions. These might be professional exhibitions, but also general exhibitions of applied arts. Women appear to have been underrepresented in book trade exhibitions.

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P.G. Hoftijzer Book ownership of women in Leiden in the Golden Age

Little is known about the reading culture of women in the seventeenth-century Dutch Republic. The source material, from pictorial records and literacy rates to ego documents and prescriptive texts, is scarce and often difficult to interpret. More abundant, however, thanks to the survival of large numbers of estate inventories in Dutch notarial archives, is the information regarding book ownership by women. This article presents a survey of 157 estate inventories of seventeenth-century Leiden women listing books. Although this analysis does not claim to have any statistical relevance and various source-related problems (such as the occurence of books of deceased husbands in the estate inventories of widows) are hard to overcome, some general observations can be made. Books appear to have been rare objects for the majority of women. In most inventories only a few books are listed. They are, moreover, of a predominantly religious nature, which raises the issue of the function of religion as a sanctuary for female spiritual and intellectual development and expression. The article concludes with three examples of unmarried women with substantial book collections: Christopher Plantin's granddaughter Elisabeth Raphelengius († 1648), shopkeeper Susanna de Hoest († 1634), and spiritualist Catharina Geubels († 1664).

Lisa Kuitert Mea Verwey and Uitgeverij C.A. Mees (1919-1968): A stronghold of refined civilisation

Mea Verwey (1892-1978) was one of very few female publishers in the first half of the twentieth century. With her husband Conno Mees she started the publishing house C.A. Mees, after the satisfying experience of producing a bibliophile edition of the poems of a good friend of theirs, Nine van der Schaaf, in 1919. Mea Verwey was a writer in her own right, who published several books. As a married woman and mother of five children she had many problems to cope with, especially when her husband left the firm, leaving her to manage it alone. Financial transactions were only legal if the husband gave his permission. The couple divorced in 1936, and from that year on, Mea Verwey was the leading figure in the firm. She had a male business partner, J.B. Greeve. The publishing house was a success, albeit in the margins of literary life, with highbrow authors and low print runs. Most poets - even the well-known ones - had to pay for being published. The most famous title in the Mees list was Wendingen, the architectural magazine, beautifully designed by for example H.Th. Wijdeveld, C. Lion Cachet and H.P. Berlage. Seven issues of Wendingen form the internationally well-known book Frank Lloyd Wright: The life-work of the American architect Frank Lloyd Wright, with contributions by Frank Lloyd Wright, an introduction by architect H.Th. Wydeveld and many articles by famous European architects and American writers. Mea Verwey took a special interest in periodicals, some of which were politically right wing, if not worse.

Marjolein Nieboer Women librarians with ‘a feeling and a love for order’: Perceptions of a new profession for women in the Netherlands 1900-1940

Librarianship is among the occupations in western countries that have traditionally been open to female participation. Large numbers of women joined the profession between 1900 and 1940 when government funding for public libraries increased and when the need for research libraries expanded due to the growth of higher education. These two economic factors necessitated the creation of a new ‘army of workers’,

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preferably educated and cheap, who could be deployed in the profession's lower regions. This ‘lower’ work was a new development that grew rapidly as a result of the simplification and mechanisation of library work (for example, the use of typewriters). The new functions were considered fit for women because they suited the ‘female nature’. Because of the suitable nature of the work, women were granted easy access to the profession.

Library work was thus seen as an extension of the narrowly defined sphere where women traditionally functioned - the home. The work performed by female librarians conformed precisely to the prevailing opinion on the nature and responsibilities of women. The gender-based division of labour was confirmed and, at the same time, the better-paid functions were set aside by men and for men.

Female librarians, however, also profited by the fact that gender-specific qualities were assigned to their work despite the fact that it reinforced the division of labour and supported the status quo. Their acceptance of their role enabled them to secure a place in a world where an aura of intellectualism was prevalent.

Both men and women developed theories, some charming and some not, to explain why the female nature and temperament were well suited to the new profession. These theories helped to show that the entrance of large numbers of women into the profession was not a threat to the established order. By redefining the female domain and by describing the hereditary qualities of women which were involved in the practice of librarianship, men and women supported the division between male and female labour that was held so dear in that age.

The ‘hospitality’ shown to female librarians did not make them the equals of their male colleagues. Library work was and is numerically dominated by women, but the managerial and other top functions in prestigious libraries are reserved for men. In this way the female profession of librarian remained a profession dominated by men.

Rudolf Rasch The daughters of Estienne Roger

In the history of music publishing, it is not uncommon for a firm to be continued not via sons, but along the female line, by widows, daughters, or son-in-laws. A special case is that of Estienne Roger, active as a music and book publisher in Amsterdam from 1696 to July 1722. He had no male offspring, so that he made his elder daughter Jeanne heir of the music publishing business, and his younger daughter Françoise heir of his book publishing business. Jeanne, however, died soon after Estienne, in November 1722, leaving the music business to her valet Gerrit Drinkman, who died in December 1722. Finally, Drinkman's widow sold the music publishing business to Françoise's husband Michel Charles le Cène. Through this sale, the business remained in the possession of relatives. In 1743 Le Cène died without offspring. The business went through some orher hands before it definitely ended by the sale of the total stock in 1748. This article shows that daughters can be as important as sons in securing the continuity of a publishing house.

Janneke van der Veer Tine van Buul: Reader, bookseller, publisher, anthologist

Tine van Buul (Rotterdam, 1919) became familiar with books at an early age. In the Van Buul family many books were read aloud and Tine herself read all of the children's library.

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After graduation from the Secondary School for Girls in 1938 she took a course in bookselling and publishing. She gained practical experience at the Kramers & Boymans bookshop as well as the A.P. bookshop, both in Rotterdam. There, in 1941, she started her own bookshop. Right from the start business went well, also owing to many of Tine's initiatives to attract customers.

After World War II she worked for Querido publishers, as assistant to CEO Alice von Eugen. In 1950 Tine van Buul was appointed as vice-CEO for Querido and by 1 January 1958 as full member of the Board. The main standard for publication was always the Board's personal literary taste. In 1960 Alice von Eugen was succeeded by Reinold Kuipers, Tine's husband.

1971 was a big year for Querido with the publication of Pluk van de Petteflet by Annie M.G. Schmidt. It was the start of a very successful children's booklist, which Tine van Buul considered to be a sensible addition to the literary list for adults. In this respect she felt and still feels that writers for children and writers for adults should meet equal standards.

In 1981 Tine van Buul retired. From her home she remained active for Querido for many more years. She was involved in composing various anthologies, for example the children's poetry compilation Als je goed om je heen kijkt zie je dat alles gekleurd is (1990).

Tine van Buul also helped conceive De hele Bibelebontseberg (1989), a history of children's books in the Netherlands and Flanders from the Middle Ages to the present. In 1996 Tine van Buul was awarded the 's Gravesande Prize of the Campert Foundation for her achievements in the field of children's literature.

Inge de Wilde Les dames de De Spieghel. Sur les éditrices Tine van Klooster et Koos Schregardus

Jantina Henderika (‘Tine’) van Klooster (1894-1945) et Jacoba Johanna (‘Koos’) Schregardus (1897-1976) sont nées à Groningue au nord des Pays Bas. Peu est connu de la jeunesse de Koos, qui à l'âge de trois ans déménagea avec ses parents à Utrecht. Tine a fait des études littéraires à l'Université de Groningue et écrit une thèse sur la littérature moderne américaine et en particulier sur l'auteur Edith Wharton.

En 1925 les deux femmes se retrouvèrent, elles commencèrent à habiter ensemble à Amsterdam et établirent une maison d'éditions De Branding en coopération avec un certain Arie Rünckel.

Après une demie année elles dirent adieu à Rünckel et commencèrent leur propre maison d'éditions De Spieghel.

Pendant les années 1926-1942 De Spieghel a publié des romans, des essais et des livres d'art. Chaque année environ quinze livres. De plus la maison était l'éditeur de quelques périodiques littéraires et artistiques. En outre De Spieghel specialisait en thèses écrites par des femmes.

Tine van Klooster et Koos Schregardus faisaient partie du milieu artistique et tolérant à Amsterdam où leur vie de femmes indépendantes, qui habitaient ensemble, ne causait aucun problème.

Pendant la deuxième guerre mondiale elles ne voulaient pas se conformer aux exigences allemandes et en 1942 elles ont liquidé leur maison d'éditions. Après elles devinrent membres d'un groupe de la résistance et ont caché dans leur maison à Prinsengracht 856 un autre membre du groupe, G.J. van der Veen, qui se trouvait en danger. L'adresse fut trahie et Van der Veen et quelques autres furent arrêtés. Parmi eux aussi Tine van Klooster. Van der Veen fut fusillé, Tine mourut à Ravensbrück, un camp de concentration pour des femmes.

Après la guerre Koos Schregardus a continué De Spieghel jusqu'en 1954, quand le fonds de De Spieghel alla à un autre éditeur, C.P.J. van der Peet, à Amsterdam.