Delft, 1477. “Inden beghin sciep god hemel ende aerde.” These are the first printed Dutch words ever to roll off a press—the beginning of the Delft Bible. Only the “i” in “Inden” was added later by hand: in red, with beautiful ornamentation. The same was done for all the initial capitals of new paragraphs throughout the rest of the Bible.
This breakthrough in European bookmaking is thanks to Johannes Gutenberg. The German printer sparked a revolution in the mid-15th century by using movable lead type, which greatly accelerated book production. After all, copying texts by hand…
In the Netherlands, Gutenberg’s work was followed with great interest. In fact, several printing houses were founded, including the Delft press of Jacob Jacobszoon van der Meer and Mauricius Yemantszoon. Their first texts off the press were still in Latin. Then came the first edition of the Delft Bible. In nearly five years they produced about 250 copies.
Only 23 copies remain
Of this series of Delft Bibles—containing books of the Old Testament—23 copies have survived. Each one is unique thanks to the hand-applied penwork and a number of corrections made. One of these volumes can be seen at Stadskasteel Zaltbommel. This particular copy is 309 pages thick, includes various handwritten notes at the front, and has a parchment binding with blind tooling on both the front and back. Leather ties are attached to the binding.
“One of the museum’s founders owned the Delft Bible at the end of the 19th century.”
“How did we come to have it? For that, we also need to go back in time,” says Roland Gieles, curator at Stadskasteel Zaltbommel. “But not as far back as the first printed Dutch text. One of the museum’s founders owned it at the end of the 19th century. He donated the Delft Bible to the local Antiquities Chamber—the predecessor of our museum—to enrich the early collection. Now, more than a century later, it’s still one of our showpieces.”
From coin dies to Bommel silver
At Stadskasteel Zaltbommel—housed in a building dating to 1535 and also known as the Maarten van Rossum House—the Delft Bible is something of an outlier. The collection mainly tells the story of Zaltbommel and the Bommelerwaard through the centuries.
Roland: “For instance, we have a fine collection of local coins and coin dies from the time of the Eighty Years’ War (1568–1648). After that, the right to mint coins—which Zaltbommel had held since the year 1000—was abolished because the Dutch state wanted to move away from local currencies. The twelve dies are especially remarkable, because they often had to be destroyed.”
“In a way, the entire history of this region is unusual.”
“What’s also special is the Bommel silver from the 17th century,” the curator continues. “It’s extremely rare. We have, among other things, a collection of ecclesiastical silver and a ceremonial drinking horn. Guild members drank beer from this cow horn with a silver mount. And really, the entire history of this area is unusual, because it lay precisely between the old regions and in the middle of two rivers. Due to this strategic location, there was a lot of fighting here. The struggle between William of Orange and the Spaniards also took place here.”
Revamped museum
The Delft Bible, the coin dies, and the Bommel silver are important to Stadskasteel Zaltbommel—just like all the other pieces that tell the story of the city and region. Today, they can do that even better. “We recently completely refurbished the museum, including beautiful new display cases,” says Roland. “They do their job: I notice visitors are reading and looking more attentively. Curious about our renovation? Read more here!”
Showcase Stories
Behind every object in a display case lies a special story. A showpiece doesn’t get pride of place behind glass for nothing. We share these historical, exciting, and compelling stories in the Showcase Story series.
Do you have a Showcase Story to share? Let us know at info@sdb.nu
