General

Starting in 2004, the entire Luyken Collection has been digitalized and its inventory drawn up. In view of its size, preference was given to a quick and practical approach, resulting in:

1. digital images of all the prints and drawings in the collection Most loose prints originate from books. As text pages have often been preserved as well, it was possible to trace the edition in which a print originally appeared. There are also separate descriptions of all these text pages.
2. a basic description of the prints and drawings This description was made using the digital images, without an autopsy, which means that most of the original prints and drawings were not viewed. Therefore, any possible corresponding notes on, for example, the paperboard mount could not be included in the description.
3. global subject classification It is possible to search the collection by subject. Ten subjects have been distinguished: crafts, cartography, emblems, medicine, history, art, literature, physics, travels and religion/bible/philosophy.

Prints and drawings

The extensive data on prints and drawings include the corresponding number from the Van Eeghen/Van der Kellen catalogue of the Luyken oeuvre, that contains a full description of the related work. The letter “K” after the number means that the work is a copy adapted from the original. There are cross references to an accompanying drawing, other versions of the print and the like.

Books

The books will be added at a later time. Full descriptions with a reference to the Van Eeghen/Van der Kellen numbers may be found in the Klaversma/Hannema book catalogue (view bibliography).

The collection also includes books without any illustrations by Jan and/or Casper Luyken. In that case, the books belong to a series of which one or more of the volumes do have a Luyken illustration.

Additional information

If you require any further information or wish to consult the Luyken collection itself, please contact the enquiry desk of the Amsterdam Historical Museum Collection Department. It can be reached direct by phone (+31(0)20 5231760) every working day from 1.00 to 3.00 p.m. Outside these hours, you may leave a message on the answering machine and your call will be returned the same day or the next working day.

E-mail: infocollectie@ahm.amsterdam.nl.