Biblio Theca Philosophica Hermetica

2013 - 2014 Annual Report Policy Plan 2015 - 2016 BIBLIOTHECA PHILOSOPHICA HERMETICA annual report 2013 - 2014 Policy plan and budget for the years 2015 - 2016 annual report 2013 - 2014 & Policy plan and budget for the years 2015 - 2016 Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica | Contents Contents Introduction 5 1. Vision, Policy and Organization 6 Vision 6 Policy 8 Organization 9 2. The Library as a Treasure House of the Human Spirit 12 Hermetica Philosophica Bibliotheca The founder and the beginning of the library 12 The library’s overall collecting area: Christian-Hermetic gnosis 13 Acquisitions, collection management and access 15 3. The Library as a Physical Meeting Place 22 House of living books 22 Exhibitions 22 4. The Library as a Knowledge Centre 26 The Ritman Research Institute 26 Publishing House In de Pelikaan 26 Twenty Years of Collaboration with the Rudomino Library, Moscow 27 | Collaboration with the History of Hermetic Philosophy (HHP) Chair 28 Contents 5. The Library as a Virtual Meeting Place 30 Hermetically Open Project 30 6. Financial Survey 34 7. Preview Policy Period 2015-2016 38 Exhibition ‘Divine Wisdom – Divine Nature’ continued 38 In de Pelikaan 39 The Greatness of the Human Mind 39 Hermetically Open 40 ‘God is Spirited’ – A conference in honour of Gilles Quispel 40 ‘Geheime Figuren der Rosenkreuzer’ Project 41 The BPH in the House with the Heads 42 Appendices 44 Thanks to our growing online community more in our modern age. Added to the fourteenth and more people are finding their way to the edition of the Dutch translation of Dan Brown’s BPH, and so it was perhaps no coincidence Inferno (2014) is an interview which proves Dan that 2014 began with a visit from the American Brown has fond memories of his visit to the BPH. bestseller author Dan Brown. On 7 January he Asked by the interviewer whether he had been came to the BPH and the House with the Heads to any museums while he was in Amsterdam he when he was in Amsterdam to promote his latest mentioned two highlights: the Rijksmuseum and Introduction novel Inferno. During this visit, Dan Brown the the Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica: ‘I’ve | author and Joost Ritman the collector not only just returned from a visit to The Ritman Library, shared book memories, they also exchanged where I was able to see many original editions of views about the role of the book as a means to the works I wrote about in The Lost Symbol. integrate the worlds of science and spirituality It was a very special moment.’ Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica Philosophica Bibliotheca “‘In the name of the dialogue and the sharing of ideas, I want to acknowledge what brought us together tonight in this beautiful space: simply books, those magical things that carry ideas over the boundaries of time, culture and language.’ – Dan Brown Esther Ritman, Joost R. Ritman and Dan Brown ” 4 Introduction This annual report looks back on the activities What a great way to celebrate the fact that that took place in the library from the middle the library opened its doors in the library of 2013 to the end of 2014 and presents our building ‘In de Rozenboom’ on Bloemstraat vision and plans for the years 2015-2016. thirty years ago in 1984! The period under review was a very dynamic In the coming years, the jubilee exhibition Hermetica Philosophica Bibliotheca one. A few highlights: ‘Divine Wisdom – Divine Nature. The Message of the Rosicrucian Manifestoes in the Visual • In 2013 and 2014 the BPH received a total Language of the Seventeenth Century’ will of € 825,000 in periodical donations; € 44,500 continue to travel through Europe, visiting in private donations and € 5,896.79 in other Amsterdam (2015), Cracow, Poland (2016) donations. The BPH was also fortunate in and Prague, Czech Republic (2017). The being able to rely on the dedicated support of accompanying exhibition catalogue of the some fifteen volunteers, who each committed same name will appear in Dutch, Polish and themselves to working on projects on behalf Czech. One of the priorities in the BPH itself of the BPH one day a week. will be the upgrading of the online catalogue, to prepare for the planned move to the | • About 1,500 visitors from over 40 countries House with the Heads and the opening event Introduction saw the bi-lingual exhibition ‘Göttliche ‘Magical Amsterdam’. Weisheit – Göttliche Natur / Divine Wisdom – Divine Nature’ (Calw, Germany, September We invite anyone who sympathizes with the 2014), which focused on the visual language of BPH to help us turn our plans into reality. the Rosicrucians in the early 17th century. Esther Ritman • The Hermetically Open project. From Director & Librarian September 2012 to the end of 2014, 317,183 visitors – an average of 10,800 unique visitors every month – viewed our website, a 77% increase. In 2014, 850 people subscribed to our YouTube channel. The most popular video, a webinar by Dr. Peter Forshaw (HHP, University of Amsterdam) was viewed almost 6,000 times. Our monthly online newsletter is sent to some 3,500 subscribers. 50% of our 10,000+ Facebook followers is between the age of 25 and 45. 5 Vision, Policy and Organization 1 Vision Since its official opening in 1984, the activities are striving to be accepted as part of the in the BPH have focused on collection building, Dutch Museum Registration Scheme in the developing the expertise in the Ritman present location ‘In de Rozenboom’ on 13-19, Research Institute and expanding the scope Bloemstraat. The application will take into of the library’s own publishing house In de account the future status of the BPH following Pelikaan. Since 2012, these traditional library the move to the House with the Heads, which tasks are being developed in a wider context: allows for more comprehensive public roles. 1) Library role. The priority project 4) Bridging role. As a network organization, ‘Hermetically Open’ aims at transforming the the BPH enters into partnerships with libraries, BPH into an ‘open learning lab environment’ universities, educational institutions and | Vision, Policy and Organization | Vision, Policy for anyone wishing to study the source texts museums and esoteric groups. It is interesting in the field of Christian-Hermetic gnosis for to find that the ‘Hermetically Open’ project personal, scholarly or other purposes. This responds to a growing need among individual project allows the library to fulfil its traditional persons (artists, musicians, students, library and academic tasks in the global digital researchers, volunteers, the esoterically domain and develop at the same time new inclined) for a trans-institutional exchange roles belonging to a modern cultural heritage about themes related to the BPH. institute. 5) Economic role. The BPH is forging a growing 2) Scholarly and educational role. Since 2012, network of friends, interested people and the collaboration between the BPH and the stakeholders able to financially support Chair for the History of Hermetic Philosophy the aspiration of the BPH to exist as an (HHP) at Amsterdam University, which was autonomous museum and library and develop Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica Hermetica Philosophica Bibliotheca founded in 1999 and is led by Professor more comprehensive public roles in the House Wouter Hanegraaff, has been intensified. with the Heads. In the years 2015-2016, the The aim of the collaboration is to develop a board and director are as strongly committed knowledge centre that allows the global online as before to develop a friends programme community to explore and exchange views on and pursue an active fundraising policy. One the innovative character of Hermetic wisdom of the strongest points of the BPH collection and its influence in the fields of art, science is its thematic cohesion, which is reflected and religion. in its activities programme. The projects are created as the result of an interplay between 3) Museum role. In the years 2013-2014, the the collection, the research institute and the BPH has laid the foundations to qualify as an publishing house. The focus is also on an accredited museum. The formal application even balance between three core elements: will be submitted in 2015. In addition, we spirituality, science and society. 6 Spirituality. The BPH’s collection and expertise oriented research projects. Academic staff concern a special area within the humanities, and students are able to consult primary and that of the Christian-Hermetic gnosis. The secondary sources in the reading room with collection is made accessible according to the assistance of specialized curators. scholarly standards, yet the focus of virtually every book is man as a spiritual being and the Society. The exhibition ‘Beauty as the relationship between God, the cosmos and man. Imprint of the Cosmos’ in 2014 examined the influence of theosophy and anthroposophy Science. Since the BPH first opened in 1984, the on abstract art at the turn of the previous library has been actively committed to develop century. Visual artists and also musicians are its field of expertise, independently or together often ‘early adaptors’ of new trends within with academic and library partners. To date, the society, including spiritual impulses. The BPH research institute has completed many projects, highlights the social relevance of its own the results of which have been published by the field of expertise through a programme of library’s own publishing house and are shared exhibitions, educational projects and online Hermetica Philosophica Bibliotheca with a wider public by means of internationally communication. | Vision, Policy and Organization | Vision, Policy 7 Policy The policy of the Bibliotheca Philosophica On 29 November 2011 the BPH Foundation Hermetica Foundation which is described in added the following statutory objectives: more detail in the following chapters, is guided by the following statutory targets: • striving for the physical reunion of the state- owned part of the BPH collection, which is • collecting, keeping, managing and expanding currently deposited in the Royal Library in the collection of books and manuscripts of The Hague, with the privately-owned part the Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica.

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