Teyler, Winkler, Darwin

The Natural Sciences Library of the Teyler Museum (Haarlem, The Netherlands): an introduction

The core of the Teyler library is a splendid and very complete collection of 18th- and 19th-century literature on natural history. The earliest acquisitions date from 1780 and were made for the Book and Art Hall (a.k.a. the Oval Room); the library was accomodated in its upper gallery. There, Martinus van Marum (1750-1837) housed his extensive acquisitions in twelve wall cupboards. To this day, the collection bears his stamp: it features all branches of natural history, with an emphasis on botany. The illustrated works from the heyday of descriptive botany and zoology are the highlight of the collection. Scientific reports of exploration travels are also a dominant feature. The collection of journals grew much faster than the number of monographs. Out of a total of 125.000 volumes the ratio is at present one in four. The collection of journals and magazines comes from all over the world and contains many longstanding titles. The finest examples are the periodicals of the Royal Society of London and of the Académie des Sciences in Paris, which go back to 1665.

The Reading Room, dating from 1824, was the first extension to the library. This is where Van Marum housed the volumes on botany, which were to serve as a reference collection for his botanic garden ‘Plantlust’ on the Zuider Buiten Spaarne. In 1825 an assistant was appointed, the physician J.A. van Bemmelen, who was to succeed Van Marum as librarian in 1837. The first fruits of this appointment were the opening of the Library to the public and the publication of a catalogue in 1826. This catalogue details the very first acquisition: Diderot and d’Alembert’s Encyclopédie. This pre-eminent monument of the Age of Enlightenment was purchased immediately upon its completion in 1780 at a price of 375 guilders. Between 1780 and 1826, the total amount spent on publications for the Library amounted to 100,000 guilders. In comparison, 34,000 and 20,000 guilders respectively were spent on the other two departments administered by the many-sided scientist Van Marum, the Cabinets of Physics, and of Palaeontology and Mineralogy.

The works of classical authors form a striking section in the first catalogue, especially the Church Fathers. At the instigation of the Teyler Theological Society, works in this field were assiduously collected for ten years. This, however, came to an abrupt halt when the Society no longer provided such a stimulus and Van Marum was given an almost entirely free hand. His most outstanding acquisition is without doubt John James Audubon’s The Birds of America (1826-1840). Today, this five-volume publication is the most celebrated book of plates in the history of ornithology.

On the occasion of the opening of the Reading Room, the Secretary of the Teyler Foundation drew up a ‘Regulation of order with regard to the admission to and use of the Library’ that came into force on 24 June 1825. Article 1 stated:

‘Without prejudice to the normal visiting of the Museum and the Library of the Teyler Museum, which is open to each and everyone daily from 12 to 1 o’clock by admission ticket, Inhabitants of Haarlem, on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 1 to 4 o’clock, and Foreigners (which includes foreign and native scholars not domiciled in Haarlem) every day from 1 to 2 o’clock, excluding Sundays and Holidays, and on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 1 to 4 o’clock, may be granted access to the Library and use the books housed there.’

After Van Marum, the administration of his collections was apportioned to various members of the Museum staff. Acquisitions were no longer the sole responsibility of the librarian, but also of the custodian of the Palaeontological and Mineralogical Cabinet. The collection rapidly expanded. This was partly due to the acquisition of the library of the Haarlem Clinical School, which was closed down in 1865. This, for example, enabled the Library to acquire a magnificent anatomical atlas by Vesalius dating from 1555.

With the arrival of C. Ekama in 1869 work began on the publication of a definitive edition of the catalogue, which was to replace the temporary and abridged catalogues of 1826, 1832, 1837, 1848 and 1865. This work was completed by him in 1889. Two more volumes appeared later, produced by his successors. In addition to listing the acquisitions from the period 1888-1912, these two extensive volumes also catalogued articles from a large number of journals and series. This brought the Library in line with the international, and gradually more and more desperate attempt to administer and open up the rapidly expanding field of scientific literature, whereby books were being increasingly superseded by journals.

Natural history underwent fundamental changes in the last quarter of the 19th century. Analytical botany and zoology were supplanted by experimental biology (anatomy and physiology). And the influence of a more precise and experimental method also expanded into the realm of geology. These changes are clearly discernible in the Library, and they serve to explain the hiatus that appeared at around the turn of the century, a period also which for the Teyler Library marked a permanent decline in the acquisition of books. The costs of building the New Museum (1880-1885) to commemorate the Foundation’s centenary were certainly a contributing factor to this situation. One of the last significant acquisitions was a coloured copy of Basilius Besler’s Hortus Eystettensis dating from 1613, bought from an antiquarian bookseller in 1915.

The decline was compensated for by the establishment of a complex and extensive exchange system of journals, which in the course of the 20th century rose to some 1,000 titles.

In 1925, the first and thus far only female librarian was appointed: H.C. Dorhout Mees, who occupied the post up to 1956. She handled the bequest of Nobel Prize winner Professor Dr H.A. Lorentz, who had been Curator of the Cabinet of Physics from 1909 until his death in 1928; he bequeathed his entire library to the Teyler Museum. She was assisted by his son Rudolf, a classical scholar, who was appointed at the same time as she was and who succeeded her in 1957. In 1963, my predecessor J.G. de Bruijn was appointed as assistant librarian to Lorentz; this post, however, was no longer filled when Lorentz retired in 1967. De Bruijn further extended the Library’s exchange stock of natural history journals. He edited important publications on Martinus van Marum. His period of tenure saw the undertaking of a large-scale microfiche project with the Leiden-based Inter Documentation Company, whereby the Library made available titles from its historical collection in exchange for titles on microfiche which were lacking.

In 1986, the subscriptions to over 1000 journals which were taken on an exchange basis were cancelled, owing to limited public interest and financial constraints. The regular acquisition of monographs had ceased as long ago as the 1940s. All this meant that the Library changed from a contemporary scientific resource into an historical museum collection. This fundamental change made it possible to bring the Teyler Library to greater public prominence within the context of the Museum. This is happening increasingly in the form of group introductions and participation in exhibitions, which from 1996 mainly take place in the new Book Gallery. Also, many topics are shown on the website www.teylersmuseum.nl. Right now, the library is involved in an European project called STERNA, with a website under construction, that aims at combining the ornithological collections of 11 institutions, and more partners are welcome (www.sterna-net.eu).

Tiberius Cornelis Winkler (1822-1897), self made man, curator at Teyler’s, popularizer of the natural sciences

Our Winkler was the son of a small merchant. As a boy he studied French, German, and English. Later he would more or less master another ten languages, all autodidactically. He married at 22, and within ten years had five daughters. After being a small merchant himself for a couple of years, he studied at the Haarlem Clinical School to become a surgeon. From the mid 1850’s onward he develops a great interest in geology and palaeontology, becomes a very frequent visitor of the Teyler Museum, and starts publishing articles and books.

At Teyler’s, he started with a study of the collection of fossil fishes from Oeningen, that caught considerable attention. The year 1864 is a milestone in his career: he is offered a Ph.D. honoris causa from the University of Groningen, and he is appointed conservator of Teyler’s Palaeontological-Mineralogical Cabinet. His magnum opus is the cataloguing of a large part of the collection, which took thirty years.

Winkler was a very prolific writer, in fact he wrote too much, which sometimes led to inaccuracy and superficiality. His bibliography gives almost a hundred monographs, and countless articles, many, for instance, in the Archives du Musée Teyler. When we want to get a grip on his work, we can divide it into three main categories:

1. Scientific works. His original contributions deal with fossil tortues, fishes, and imprints. Furthermore, there are the catalogues of the Teyler collections. Many of these were published in the Archives du Musée Teyler.

2. Publications relating to Darwin’s theory of evolution, in fact the main subject of my talk. I’ll get to it soon.

3. Writings to popularize all areas of natural history. This is by far the largest category! Just to give an idea: for forty years he was a contributor to the periodical Album der Natuur, and for eight years he single- handedly published the periodical Kennis en Kunst (Knowledge and Art). Then there are the many books, for adults as well as for youngsters. I mention just one, the immensely popular Handboek voor den verzamelaar (The Collector’s Guide)(1884). All in all, we can say, that in his own time, amidst many popularizers, his influence was very great, with an educational presentation typical for the time. Moreover, with books like the aforementioned Handboek, stressing personal experience of nature, he can be seen as a predecessor of Eli Heimans and Jac.P. Thijsse, the famous Dutch popularizers of the first half of the twentieth century.

Winkler, promotor and first translator of Darwin in The Netherlands What I want to say on Winkler in this quality refers to two publications, and some literature about these: Ch. Darwin, Het ontstaan der soorten van dieren en planten door middel van de natuurkeus of het bewaard blijven van bevoorregte rassen in de strijd des levens, transl. by T.C. Winkler (Haarlem 1860) T.C. Winkler, ‘De leer van Darwin’, De Gids XXXI (1867), 22-70

So, Winkler had his translation of the Origin of Species published only one year after the original publication. It was not his first job as a translator, and given his interests, it is no surprise that he took to this job. Nevertheless, it was not his own initiative. The first copy of the Origin in The Netherlands was read by the prominent geologist Winand C.H. Staring, and he drew Winkler’s attention to it, urging a translation. And then the progressive publisher Kruseman from Haarlem was willing to facilitate publication.

With studying and translating the Origin Winkler really plunged into the theory of evolution. He got thoroughly acquainted with it and used this experience for translations of earlier works of Lyell and Page. From the beginning, Winkler shows himself an adept of the theory, and with his translation seems to have aimed at an acceleration of the debate in The Netherlands. Was it recklessness or remarkable courage? Because, in a strongly Christian country, and with leading scientists rejecting the theory, introducing it, in Dutch, in such a confident way as Winkler did, meant trouble.

In this respect, as an aside, I mention the misfortune of our other, and more important Darwin translator and promotor, Hermanus Hartogh Heys van Zouteveen (1841-1891). He translated ànd annotated all of Darwin’s works, starting with The Descent of Man, simultaneously with the first English edition (1871-1872). Daring and unrelenting, he spoke and wrote about the theory of evolution from a broad point of view – biological, philosophical, theological, societal - , and did so for many years. It seems, that already in the beginning of his academic career he was blocked from a professorate by conservative forces, after which he resigned. He had to take a lot of reproach and hate, for which he could more or less compensate with a rather retired life.

Surely, also Winkler had to face criticism, reproaches, contempt. But on most occasions he was prudent in his formulating, which for most readers took the sting out of the words. However, there is one clear exception to this: his controversial article ‘De leer van Darwin’ from 1867 in the leading cultural periodical De Gids. Here, his tone is fierce, his wording explicit, and his point is: men - body and mind - is part of the evolution; with this stand he precedes Darwin in print with four years. This article, and the visit of the ardent German- Swiss evolutionist/materialist Carl Vogt (a.k.a. Affen-Vogt) to The Netherlands in 1868, were very strong impulses for the debate. In fact, their impact only was overtaken by the beginning of the Dutch publication of The Descent of Man in the summer of 1871.

Conclusion

From the beginning in 1860 the public debate in The Netherlands was characterized by the existence of two parties, the one heartily pro, the other extremely con. There was hardly any space for subtleties. This situation probably is best interpreted by assuming that Darwinism was only perceived as friend or foe with respect to an already fixed world view. In the period under consideration many Dutch pro’s were influenced by the materialism of the Germans Vogt and Haeckel. The con’s, of course, were people who stuck to the old, conventional, biblical, religious world view.

Now how did our Winkler fit in this situation? It is important to realize that he was not a scientist in the sense of Darwin, Vogt, Haeckel etc. That is to say, he did not empirically gather and study materials to base a theory or opinion on; his early work with the palaeontological collections of the Teyler Museum cannot be considered as such. Instead, he completely based his opinion on the existing scientific literature. When confronted with the Origin in early 1860, he was grasped by the theory, and eager to write about it. He is strongly pro, and believes that the gaps in the proof of the theory will be dealt with in due time. And he realizes that man has to be incorporated in the theory. In this respect, he takes an advance on Darwin by stating it lucidly in his 1867 article in De Gids. Also, he dares to assume a guiding principle of natural selection: development of the mind. It is in this article that Winkler takes his most extreme stand. Subsequently, it is the aforementioned Hartogh Heys van Zouteveen, who takes over his role as Darwin translator and promotor.