The boeken kamer was provided by a large window facing south-east which guaranteed good illumination for this room. The reconstruction is based on the typical design of seventeenth century windows and on the dimensions documented in the plans and sections made in 1974. During the surveys of the house conducted in 2019-2020 by the author together with building historian Gabri van Tussenbroek and Bart Reuvekamp, junior research of the Virtual Interiors project, this window was covered by the museum displays, making it impossble to measure and compare its current dimensions.
Unlike other rooms in Pieter de Graeff’s probate inventory, no curtains are recorded for this room. Based on the available evidence, I explain this absence with the presence of curtains on the bookselves themselves (see the article related to the bookshelves in this 3D scholarly edition). These curtains would have offered better protection for the books against light damage and dust.
References and further reading:
C. Piccoli, Pieter de Graeff (1638-1707) and his treffelyke bibliotheek, chapter 6.
Credits:
The 3D model of the window is modified from an earlier version prepared by A. Pantò in the context of his MSc thesis in the Media Technology MSc program, Leiden University (thesis supervisors: Maarten H. Lamers and Chiara Piccoli)
Written by Chiara Piccoli