Fagel Collection

The '''Fagel Collection''' is a collection assembled by the {{Interlanguage link|Fagel family|nl|Fagel (geslacht)}}, a prominent political family in the Dutch Republic during the Early Modern Period, which now resides at the Library of Trinity College Dublin.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Fagel Collection |url=https://digitalcollections.tcd.ie/collections/b5644r52v?locale=en |access-date=2025-01-19 |website=Digital Collections, The Library of Trinity College London}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=24 January 1932 |title=TRINITY COLLEGE, DUBLIN. A 17th Century Journal. |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-observer-trinity-college-dublin-a/163401453/ |access-date=2025-01-19 |work=The Observer |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Comprising 30,000 printed books, as well as manuscripts, maps, and other engraved materials, making it one of the most prolific collections in Europe.<ref>{{Cite news |title=One of the world's most valuable book collections to go on public display at Trinity College Dublin |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/history/2023/06/20/one-of-the-worlds-most-valuable-book-collections-to-go-on-public-display-at-trinity-college-dublin/ |access-date=2024-10-02 |newspaper=The Irish Times |language=en}}</ref> Topics covered include domestic and international history and politics, natural history, geography, literature, and theology.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Fox |first=Peter |title=Trinity College Library Dublin: A History |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2014 |isbn=978-1-107-01120-5 |pages=115–128}}</ref> Materials within the collection come from many different countries and are in multiple languages, most commonly Dutch, French, and English.<ref name=":0" />

Related collections are housed at the National Archives of the Netherlands in The Hague.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Thomassen |first=Theo |title=Frozen in Time: The Fagel Collection in the Library of Trinity College Dublin |publisher=The Lilliput Press |year=2016 |isbn=9781843516750 |editor-last=Jackson |editor-first=Timothy R. |location=Dublin, Ireland |pages=21–48 |chapter='To put in order': How the greffiers Fagel documented themselves as men of politics, men of religion and men of the world}}</ref>

== History == thumb|Portrait of François Fagel the Elder (1659–1746) In 1680, {{Interlanguage link|Hendrik Fagel the Eldest|nl|Hendrik Fagel (1617-1690) }} (1617–1690) bought the real estate for what would become the Fagel family's dwelling and home of their enormous library on the prestigious street of Noordeinde in The Hague.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Loughman |first=John |title=Frozen in Time: The Fagel Collection in the Library of Trinity College Dublin |publisher=The Lilliput Press |year=2016 |isbn=9781843516750 |editor-last=Jackson |editor-first=Timothy R. |location=Dublin, Ireland |pages=49–72 |chapter=Tulips and building plans: Primary material from the Fagel Collection}}</ref> {{Interlanguage link|François Fagel the Elder|nl|François Fagel (1659-1746)}} (1659–1746) kept his collections, not only print material but also coins and graphic arts, in the gallery leading to a pavilion now known as the {{Interlanguage link|Fagel Dome|lt=Fagel Dome|nl|Koepel van Fagel}}.<ref name=":2" />

The collecting spanned generations, with François the Elder and {{Interlanguage link|Hendrik Fagel the Elder|nl|Hendrik Fagel (1706-1790)}} (1706–1790) contributing especially to the library.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kinane |first=Vincent |title=Treasures of the Library: Trinity College Dublin |publisher=Royal Irish Academy |year=1986 |isbn=0901714461 |editor-last=Fox |editor-first=Peter |location=Dublin, Ireland |pages=158–169 |chapter=The Fagel Collection}}</ref> After the death of Hendrik the Elder, his grandson, {{Interlanguage link|Hendrik Fagel the Younger|nl|Hendrik Fagel (1765-1838)}} (1765–1838), inherited the library.<ref name=":1" /> Hendrik the Younger was abroad when, in 1795, French forces invaded the Dutch Republic and he was dismissed from his post as {{Interlanguage link|Greffier of the Dutch States General|nl|Griffier van de Staten-Generaal van de Nederlanden}}.<ref name=":0" /> Financial constraints resulting from his expulsion prompted Hendrik the Younger to transport his family's library to London where he proceeded to sell it.<ref name=":0" /> thumb|The Fagel Dome, 2024

== Acquisition by Trinity College Dublin == thumb|Portrait of Hendrik Fagel the Younger (1765–1838) Hendrik Fagel the Younger originally intended to sell his vast family collection at auction and commissioned a catalogue for this purpose.<ref name=":0" /> The sale was to be held at Christie's auction house, but it never took place.<ref name=":0" /> With funding from the Erasmus Smith Trust, the books, manuscripts, and maps that now make up the Fagel Collection were bought for the Library of Trinity College Dublin for £8,000.<ref name=":0" /> The carefully packed collection arrived in Dublin in May 1802, where it bolstered the library's capacity by 40 percent.<ref name=":0" /> As a new room had to be built and older collections rearranged to accommodate the bulk of the addition, the Fagel library, as it was locally known, at Trinity College Dublin was opened on 1 March 1809.<ref name=":0" />

== Contents ==

=== Print === The majority of Trinity College Dublin's Fagel Collection is made up of printed works and it originally functioned as a working or reference library for the Fagel family while they served, successively, as greffiers.<ref name=":1" />

Trinity's Fagel Collection holds the Trinity College Plutarch, a two volume edition of Greek philosopher Plutarch's assemblage of biographies, ''Parallel Lives''. This edition was printed in Latin on fine parchment and set in Roman type by Nicolaus Jenson, illuminated by the Master of the London Pliny in Venice, Italy during the Renaissance, around 1478.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Armstrong |first=Lilian |title=Treasures of the Library: Trinity College Dublin |publisher=Royal Irish Academy |year=1986 |isbn=0901714461 |editor-last=Fox |editor-first=Peter |location=Dublin, Ireland |pages=86–96 |chapter=The Agostini Plutarch: an illuminated Venetian incunable}}</ref>

The collection also contains thirty-six plays published by Thomas Johnson in The Hague between 1718 and 1726.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Benson |first=C. |title=Treasures of the Library: Trinity College Dublin |publisher=Royal Irish Academy |year=1986 |isbn=0901714461 |editor-last=Fox |editor-first=Peter |location=Dublin, Ireland |pages=148–157 |chapter=Here's fine work! Here's fine suicide, paracide and simulation'}}</ref>

=== Manuscripts === The Fagel Collection includes manuscript material, the most well-known being the journal of Simon van der Stel from his travels to Namaqualand in the 1680s.<ref name=":2" />

Another celebrated work in the collection is The Fagel Missal, created by the {{Interlanguage link|Convent of Saint Agnes in Delft|lt=convent of Saint Agnes|nl|Sint-Agathaklooster (Delft)}} in Delft around 1460, remarkable for its elaborate decoration.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Fox |first=Peter |url=https://www.worldcat.org/title/964924380 |title=Frozen in time: The Fagal Collection in the Library of Trinity College Dublin |publisher=The Lilliput Press |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-84351-675-0 |editor-last=Jackson |editor-first=Timothy R. |location=Dublin, Ireland |pages=73–94 |chapter=The Fagel Collection: From Den Haag to Dublin |oclc=964924380}}</ref> The name 'Margaret' is written on the Missal, suggesting that it was authored by a woman, a rare thing to be documented during the period of the Missal's creation as many female writers and illustrators remained anonymous.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rudy |first=Kathryn M. |title=The Old Library: Trinity College Dublin 1712-2012 |publisher=Four Courts Press |year=2013 |isbn=978-1-84682-377-0 |editor-last=Vaughan |editor-first=W.E. |location=Dublin, Ireland |pages=65–68 |chapter=The Fagel Missal}}</ref>

A lesser known manuscript is an album of tulip illustrations drawn between 1637 and 1641, significant because it is estimated to be one of fifty surviving manuscripts of its kind: {{Interlanguage link|Tulip drawings|lt=tulip books|nl|Tulpentekening}}, a product of pre-1637 Dutch 'tulipmania'.<ref name=":2" />

As the family home on Noordeinde underwent several architectural and design changes over the generations, the Trinity collection includes construction drawings for the Fagel home.<ref name=":2" /> The collection also contains an album of eighteenth-century architectural drawings of buildings in Saint Petersburg, including a plan for the Smolny Convent.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last=McParland |first=Edward |title=The Old Library: Trinity College Dublin 1712-2012 |publisher=Four Courts Press |year=2013 |isbn=978-1-84682-377-0 |editor-last=Vaughan |editor-first=W.E. |location=Dublin, Ireland |pages=149–150 |chapter=A drawing In the Fagel Collection}}</ref> This album is notable as it is one of only four of its kind found outside of Russia.<ref name=":3" />

=== Maps === The collection contains a significant number and impressive quality of single-sheet maps that make up the Fagel Atlas.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bartlett |first=J.R. |title=The Old Library Trinity College Dublin 1712-2012 |publisher=Four Courts Press |year=2013 |isbn=978-1-84682-377-0 |editor-last=Vaughan |editor-first=W.E. |location=Dublin, Ireland |pages=133–148 |chapter=Fagel's maps: the eighteenth-century world}}</ref> One important map is John Oligby's 1676 ''Large and accurate map of the city of London'', an 'ichnographic map' made up of 20 sheets, rare due to its pristine condition compared to the few other surviving copies.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Montague |first=John |title=The Old Library: Trinity College Dublin 1712-2012 |publisher=Four Courts Press |year=2013 |isbn=978-1-84682-377-0 |editor-last=Vaughan |editor-first=W.E. |location=Dublin, Ireland |pages=72–76 |chapter=John Ogilby's 1676 map of London (Fag. Portfolio XV, no. 16)}}</ref>

=== Archives === The National Archive of the Netherlands holds the private and administrative papers of Gaspar Fagel, Hendrik Fagel the Eldest, François Fagel the Elder, Hendrik Fagel the Elder, and Hendrik Fagel the Younger.<ref name=":1" />

== Contemporary relevance == The Fagel collection is admired not only for its expanse but for its diversity of material, used for contemporary, interdisciplinary research across history, geography, art history, and other intersecting fields.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Unlocking the Fagel Collection - The Library of Trinity College Dublin - Trinity College Dublin |url=https://www.tcd.ie/library/research-collections/projects/fagel/ |access-date=2024-10-02 |website=www.tcd.ie}}</ref> The Fagel collections' significance across multiple countries has led to international cultural cooperation, sharing, and learning, such as in the Unlocking the Fagel Collection project jointly undertaken by the Library of Trinity College Dublin and the Royal Library of the Netherlands since 2020.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Alsemgeest |first=Alex |date=2021-08-03 |title=The Keys to the Fagel Treasury |url=https://cerlblog.wordpress.com/2021/08/03/the-keys-to-the-fagel-treasury/ |access-date=2024-10-02 |website=Europe's printed and hand-written books in the spotlight |publisher=Consortium of European Research Libraries |language=en}}</ref> One discovery from this project was that 2,000 items in the Fagel Collection are the only known surviving copies of their kind, making them very rare.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Fagel Collection's Rare Books, Pamphlets, and Maps Go On Public Display {{!}} Fine Books & Collections |url=https://www.finebooksmagazine.com/fine-books-news/fagel-collections-rare-books-pamphlets-and-maps-go-public-display |access-date=2024-10-02 |website=www.finebooksmagazine.com |language=en}}</ref>

== References == {{reflist}}

== External links ==

* [https://digitalcollections.tcd.ie/collections/b5644r52v?locale=en The Fagel Collection, Digital Collections at the Library of Trinity College Dublin] ** [https://digitalcollections.tcd.ie/concern/works/8p58pg85x?locale=en Bibliotheca Fageliana. A catalogue of the valuable and extensive library of the Greffier Fagel, of the Hague] ** [https://www.tcd.ie/library/exhibitions/directors-choice/namaqualand/ Simon van der Stel's Journal of his Expedition to Namaqualand] ** [https://digitalcollections.tcd.ie/concern/works/h415pn03s Daily Register kept of Simon van der Stel's Expedition to Namaqualand] ** [https://digitalcollections.tcd.ie/concern/works/8049gd19j?locale=en Plans for the Fagel house and gardens in The Hague] ** [https://digitalcollections.tcd.ie/concern/works/q524jr802?locale=en The Fagel Missal] ** [https://digitalcollections.tcd.ie/concern/works/9p290d271?locale=en The Trinity College Plutarch], ''Parallel Lives'' ** Tulip illustrations, [https://digitalcollections.tcd.ie/concern/works/mc87pt10t?locale=en Alckmaarse Lusthoff van Tulpaanen, ofte Verkooping van een Parteÿ Tulpaanen, binnen Alckmaar den 5 February 1637] * [https://www.tcd.ie/library/research-collections/projects/fagel/ Unlocking the Fagel Collection Research Project] at the Library of Trinity College Dublin and [https://www.kb.nl/over-ons/projecten/fagelproject Unlocking the Fagel Collection (Dutch)] at the Royal Library of the Netherlands * [https://www.kb.nl/blogs/verslag-symposium-over-de-fagel-collectie Report of the Symposium on the Fagel Collection (Dutch)] from the Royal Library of the Netherlands * [https://www.alexalsemgeest.nl/category/rare-books-blog/fagel-collection/ The Fagel Collection blog] by book historian and bibliographer Alex Alsemgeest * [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLriwD9rI2WxSeVTrVjaDsvRfBu9PvTusQ ''Unlocking the Fagel Collection'' video series] by Library of Trinity College Dublin and the Royal Library of the Netherlands

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fagel Collection}} Category:Trinity College Dublin Category:Private libraries