From 21 November 2008 until 29 May 2009 the BPH presents an exhibition on Gustav Meyrink (1868-1932), his life and works. The exhibition will draw on material in the Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica and is supplemented by loans from German institutions. The exhibition is accompanied by a new book written by Theodor Harmsen, exploring the Gustav Meyrink archive as it has been acquired by Joost Ritman during the past 20 years.

Exhibition on Meyrink

From 21 November 2008 until 29 May 2009 the Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica presents a wide selection from her Gustav Meyrink collection. The exhibition will offer a survey of the life and work of Meyrink and his friends, writers and artists. Considerable attention will be paid to the collectors who from the 1950s onwards acquired, studied and edited Meyrink’s works. They were highly motivated to promote interest in Meyrink’s work among the younger generations of readers: Lambert Binder, Eduard Frank, Alfred Müller-Edler and Willy Schrödter. In the 1970s a younger afficionado, Robert Karle, became the owner of their amalgamated collections and correspondence. The latest in this chain of collectors is J.R. Ritman, founder of the Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica, who acquired Karle’s complete collection in 2005 and added it to his own considerable collection of Meyrinkiana.

The scope of Meyrink’s literary activities is highlighted by numerous autograph letters. The autograph manuscript of the novel Der weiße Dominikaner will be on view, as well as correspondence, manuscripts, typescripts (among them an unknown work by Meyrink, the filmscript: Der Mann auf der Flasche. Eine Phantasmagorie über das erwachende Indien), and many first and early editions of Meyrink’s texts. The exhibition neatly revolves around a number of themes: 1 Meyrink’s magical and fantastical tales, many of which first appeared in the renowned illustrated periodical Simplicissmus. Meyrink is here also placed in context: successive periods as a dandy in Prague, dedicated editor in Vienna and established author in Munich; 2 Meyrink’s sources of inspiration (he greatly admired the mystic Bo Yin Ra, and was in touch with G.R.S. Mead); 3 The great novels, including Der Golem, Das Grüne Gesicht, Der Weisse Dominikaner and Der Engel vom westlichen Fenster.

There is attention also for the political and anti-semitical attacks on Meyrink and the effect these campaigns had on him 4; Ghosts and spirits: Meyrink as a narrator, translator and editor of occulta (a little known feat in his translating career is the fact that he translated fifteen volumes of Dickens!); 5 Meyrink’s relationship with the world of art, theatre and film.
Special objects and works of art as well as important loans from international institutions will be included.


Theodor Harmsen, Der magische Schriftsteller Gustav Meyrink, seine Freunde und sein Werk beleuchtet anhand eines Rundgangs durch die Meyrink-Sammlung der Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica, Amsterdam, unter Verwendung weiterer Sammlungen, Amsterdam: In de Pelikaan 2009 (In German; 320 pp., heavily illustrated). ISBN 978-90-71608-25-4.