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The House of the Book (formerly Museum Meermanno and Meermanno-Westreenianum) occupies the house in The Hague that was once the residence of Baron Van Westreenen van Tiellandt (1783–1848), who built up a large book collection there. Part of the book collection of his second cousin, Johan Meerman (1751–1815), was incorporated into it. Upon the baron’s death, the house – along with the collection – was bequeathed to the State and converted into a museum, opening to the public in 1852. The museum focuses on manuscripts and printed books past and present. It mounts several exhibitions every year, around a wide range of themes.
The museum possesses an exquisite collection of books from all periods of Western book history. One of its medieval masterpieces is a copy of Jacob van Maerlant’s Rhymed Bible (Rijmbijbel; 1332). Van Maerlant was one of the first authors to write in Middle Dutch. His Bible contains 64 miniatures by the Utrecht book illuminator Michiel van der Borch, making it one of the most richly illustrated copies to have been preserved. Besides medieval manuscripts and incunabula, the museum has a permanent exhibition dedicated to books designed in unique formats. A central part of this is the Bibliotheca Thurkowiana Minor, a miniature library constructed in the style of Dutch doll’s houses from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, containing 1515 tiny books. The museum remains active in collecting modern bibliophile editions and has the largest collection of bookplates in the Netherlands.