Catalogue of the medieval manuscripts and incunables at Huis Bergh Castle in ‘s-Heerenberg

In 1912 Jan Herman van Heek (1873-1956), a textile manufacturer from Enschede, bought Huis Bergh Castle in 's-Heerenberg and subsequently furnished it with paintings, sculptures, furniture and utensils from the Middle Ages and early Renaissance. In the 1920s Van Heek also began collecting medieval manuscripts, single leaves and incunabula. Although he did not collect systematically and was largely guided by his personal taste and intuition, he succeeded in amassing an impressive range of manuscripts and single leaves. Dating from the ninth to the sixteenth centuries and originating from most of the Western and Central European countries, they offer a splendid survey of script types and illumination of the Middle Ages. The incunabula, many of which have painted opening leaves or penwork decoration, are visual proof of Van Heek's interest in the craftsmanship of the book. Having been in private hands for a long time, the collection is little known among art historians and scholars of manuscripts and incunabula. This catalogue for the first time offers expert descriptions of the 73 manuscripts, 71 single leaves, 15 incunabula and 8 incunabula leaves in the collection, all of which are reproduced in colour.