As third item under the heading ‘Op de Boeken kamer’ in Pieter de Graeff’s probate inventory we find ‘twee prentebordjens’ (two print boards), valued together at 1 gulden:
Sometimes provided by black or guilded frames, these inexpensive ways to adorne the walls are often mentioned in probate inventories. In this case there is no reference to any frame. Missing is also any indication of the subjects they depicted. Only for another print board in the Herengracht house the inventory discloses a more specific description of its subject: the Palace of Versailles, on a print board in the camer solder. The lack of descriptive elements for these items in the inventory makes it difficult to propose a more accurate reconstruction hypothesis. At the moment, these prints on the wall in the library’s 3D reconstruction should be viewed as ‘placeholders’ representing the presence of the ‘prentebordjens’ in the room.
References and further reading:
C. Piccoli, Pieter de Graeff (1638-1707) and his treffelyke bibliotheek (Brill, 2025), chapter 6.
Written by Chiara Piccoli