Kamilla Leupen

‘Everyone stands to gain from this’

State purchases part of Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica for nearly € 19 million

The State of the Netherlands has acquired a major part of the Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica (BPH) for the sum of nearly 19 million euro. The library is privately owned by businessman Joost Ritman (64).

The unique library, located in the Bloemstraat in Amsterdam, was founded by the Amsterdam-born and bred businessman Joost Ritman in 1957. It now holds some 20,000 printed books and manuscripts in the field Christian-Hermetic philosophy, making it the largest collection in the world in what Ritman terms ‘the area where religion and philosophy meet’.

Ministers Maria van der Hoeven (Department of Education, Culture and Science, OCW) and Gerrit Zalm (Department of Finance) together raised the necessary money for the largest single art purchase ever made by the State. ‘The long-term preservation of the library for Dutch society, cultural heritage and scholarship is now guaranteed’, according to the Ministry of OCW.

The items purchased – 25 Books of Hours, 359 manuscripts, 44 incunables (books printed before 1501) and 3,961 books printed before 1800 – were immediately given in loan to the BPH.

The library, with its main collecting areas Hermetica, Mysticism, Alchemy, Rosicrucians and Western Esotericismwas given protected status under the Dutch Cultural Heritage Act in 1994, which already ensured that sale abroad was impossible.

In the years 1993-1999 Ritman was confronted with a number of (financial) setbacks, as a result of which he threatened to lose his library. Ritman, a Rosicrucian who made his fortune producing plastic disposables for the airlines, considers the agreement with the State to be ‘splendid’.

What is the great importance of this purchase for the library?
‘We all stand to gain from this agreement in the end. It has anchored the very heart of the library; with this purchase the State has ensured the preservation of the library for Dutch society for centuries to come. And the Ritman family will guarantee its continuity’.

‘The funds which are now made available as a result of this transaction flow into the library and will be used for instance to expand the library premises, for book acquisitions and research activities. In this sense it serves to reinforce the future of the BPH, and this is a splendid thing’.

And you will continue to head the collection you built?
‘I will remain in charge of the the library and its future. The State views this purchase as a way of supporting a private initiative’.

What is the value of the BPH for you personally?
‘I have had to fight hard as an individual for a spiritual heritage which is located in a treasure-house that is accessible to everybody. And to me the very location of the library, near the Westerkerk, is a symbol of the fight for man’s spiritual freedom. It is located exactly where it belongs, only here in Amsterdam’.

The printed books and manuscripts in his library, which he daily visits, according to Ritman offer a spiritual hold for seekers today. ‘Nowhere else do you find a library focussed on the inner path of man. Walking through the library, you will find thousands of testimonies of people who defended spiritual freedom. That heritage is associated with Amsterdam in a very special way’.