The Bilderdijk box

In 2006, it was 250 years ago that Bilderdijk was born and 175 years ago that he died. Numerous activities were organised. In Leiden, there was an exhibition called ‘O flower of the cities’. In Haarlem, the classicist and poet Piet Gerbrandy held the first Bilderdijk lecture, organized by the Stichting Bilderdijk Haarlem, in the St. Bavo Church: ‘A life full of losers. The lifelong deathbed of Willem Bilderdijk’. Since then, the Bilderdijk lecture has been held every two years. On the occasion of the first Bilderdijk lecture, the Bilderdijk box made by publisher De Zingende Zaag was christened. The lid is a replica of Bilderdijk's tombstone in the Bavo in Haarlem.

The size of the box is 18 by 31 centimetres: together, the width and length form Bilderdijk's year of death. In addition to all kinds of bibliophile editions, it contains a few curiosities, such as a saucer with the image of Bilderdijk's right eye and herbs against the typically Bilderdijkian ‘buzz’ in the head.