Fall 2024

The Grolier Club, America’s oldest and largest society for bibliophiles and enthusiast in the graphic arts, has invited the Holland Society to present a lecture on the history of the Holland Society’s Grotius Collection this fall. 

The Holland Society’s The Hugo Grotius Collection is on deposit at Columbia University’s Rare Books and Manuscripts Library. Purchased in Amsterdam in 1890 by Robert Barnwell Roosevelt, The Hugo Grotius Collection consists of 137 historical, legal, theological, and literary works, 17th-19th century publications, some early editions by Grotius and others purchased after his death. In addition, there are 146 assorted 17th-19th century Dutch books. 

Hugo Grotius (1583-1645) was a Dutch scholar and jurist whose legal masterpiece, De Jure Belli ac Pacis (On the Law of War and Peace) (1625), contributed significantly to the formation of international law as a distinct discipline.

Columbia University’s Library has started conservation efforts which includes boxing these historic books and cataloging and digitizing them for future generations.

Date to be announced