During our one-year course, along with three-day workshops, and extra assignments, we also have a list of places we would like to visit—museums and archives that have relevant collections that might be interesting for our group. For our first visit, we chose 2 spots in Antwerp: Hendrik Conscience Heritage Library which has collected and preserved Flemish cultural heritage for over five centuries and Museum Plantin-Moretus, the only museum in the world to be inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
On Friday the 13th of December, we all met at the entrance of the Hendrik Conscience Heritage Library. The library for Dutch literature, Flemish cultural heritage and the history of Antwerp has a collection of early printed books and manuscripts dating back to the 16th century. We were lucky to get in touch with Steven Van Impe, the library curator, who was kind enough to organise the guided tour and who made an exquisite selection of printed matter from the archive.
After being greeted by Steven we followed him into the Nottebohm Room. As well as being used for book storage and as an exhibition space, the Nottebohm Room is also the place where some of the highlights of the collection are kept. The first 150,000 items in the library’s catalogue are preserved here in this breathtaking, historical setting. The Nottebohm Room is a true hidden gem. Then we moved into a big room with a huge table with a lot of books, magazines, and other printed matter that Steven had carefully selected for us. Check out the pictures and videos I uploaded on Flickr to enjoy the explanation given by Steven about each item as we've heard wonderful stories. About a printer who used to typeset his text while actually writing it (I still can’t figure out how he did it) or about the guild of gas lighters who use to spread the quirky new years wishes, typeset from metal type and ornaments.
After being impressed by the collection we saw in the library we decided to have lunch at 'Falafel tof', as we had one more archive and museum to visit.
Visiting the Museum Plantin-Moretus is always a joy, even if you have already been there before, as the museum has the original house and workshops which date back to the 16th century. After entering the museum we directly headed into the reading room, where Joost Depuydt, the curator of the typographic and technical collections, prepared a 'show & tell' showcasing various materials from the collection. Such as wood blocks, books, etching plates, punches and so much more. Afterwards, we still had some time to visit the museum: the printing room, the library and the shop.
By the end of the day, before heading to the train station to get back home, we decided to have a drink and discuss stories we heard and the printed matter we'd seen.
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