The Literary Museum, founded in 1954, administers some 6,000 literary records and collections of mainly Dutch language authors. The collection covers the period between 1750 and today, with the emphasis on the twentieth century.

The individual records and collections are rather divergent in volume, but in general they consist of letters, manuscripts, typescripts, printer’s proofs, newspaper cuttings, personal papers and – in some cases – audio and visual material. The museum does not collect books as such, only books with a personal inscription by the author, because in such cases, they too have become historical documents. Obviously, the records or collections that are administered by the Museum are not limited to literary material. There is also correspondence between writers and artists, scholars, politicians, publishers and the like. Moreover, there is a large collection of newspaper cuttings with book reviews and interviews given by writers.

The thirteen top items that have been selected for this site will acquaint you with a small but representative part of the Literary Museum’s collection.

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