Bibliotheca van der Linde-Niemeijeriana: A Catalogue of the Chess Collection in the Royal Library The Hague

342 pages with index. Octavo (8 1/4" x 6") bound in blue cloth with gilt lettering to spine, original wrappers bound in. From the library of Arne Berggren. Foreword L Brummel. Adviser, Christiaan M Biji. First edition.

This catalog is a record of several collections which have at widely varying periods enriched the Royal Library. The chess library of the well-know Netherlands scholar and publicist Dr Antonios van der Linde was acquired by the Royal Library in 1876. Van der Linde, who spent the first period of his life in his native Holland, was in 1876 appointed Librarian of the Landesbibliotek at Wiesbaden. This he remained till 1895, being accorded the style of Professor in 1887. He published studies and bibliographies on the most widely varying subjects, in the first place on the invention of printing, but also on Antoinette Bourignon, David Jorisz, Balthasar Bekker and Spinoza. His various publications on the history of chess are specially important. In compiling his bibliographical writings in this field, his chess library of some 750 items, had stood him in good stead, and it is this collection which in 1876, before leaving for Germany, he sold to the Royal Library. At that time the Royal Library already possessed a small, valuable collection of books and manuscripts on chess which, when the Van der Linde collection was added, grew upwards of a thousand volumes. In 1948 there was a radical change. In June of the year Dr M Niemeiijer presented his chess library to the "Netherlands" State to be placed in the Royal Library. The donor himself has given a fairly substantial account of his library. Dr Niemeijer took up collecting chess in 1924. In doing so he had much support from the late Mr G C A Oakam, whose collection largely form the basis on which the library was built. In 1929 and 1931 Dr Niemeijer bought many items from the library of J W Rimington-Wilson; in later years he acquired the collections of the Wiener Schach Club, of Dr F Palitzch at Dresden, and the Frenchman A de Gouyon, to mention only some. Shortly before and during the Second World War the large library of Mr H Strick van Linschoten at Delft was also acquired. In 1939 the library contained over 5700 volumes, and in May 1940 already more than 6300. During the war years Dr Niemeijer's collection was then stored in the Royal Library and when it became clear after the war that it would be difficult for the owner to accommodate it in his new home he decided to give it a permanent place in the Royal Library.

Condition:

Rebound, Arne Berggren's book plate to front paste down, original wrappers lightly soiled and creased else a very good copy.