The Stedelijk Museum Zutphen was able to enrich its museum collection with a unique acquisition. It was an album amicorum (Latin for ‘friendship book’) that belonged to amateur painter Aarnout Jacobus van Eyndhoven (1805–1861), who lived in Zutphen.
A particularly remarkable contribution to the album was made by Zutphen pharmacist Willem Hallegraeff (1798–1870). His hand-dated contribution consisted of two ‘light drawings’: a photogram of a piece of lace and a photographic reproduction of a print. The photograph of the print bears the date and the maker’s name.
Its date, November 25, 1839, makes it the oldest photograph in the Netherlands. Historically, it is an important first: comparable to a very early example of printing or the first etching.
The light sensitivity of the oldest photograph makes it impossible to display the original for extended periods.
Stedelijk Museum Zutphen Acquires the Oldest Dutch Photograph (1839)
The album amicorum is a small book-shaped case containing loose sheets. In addition to the oldest photograph, it contains around forty contributions in total, including watercolors, pencil, pen-and-ink drawings, embroidery, and poems.
At the time, the museum planned to digitize the album amicorum, making it permanently accessible to the public. After the upcoming Pentecost weekend, however, the original was to be displayed only briefly on suitable occasions.
