Fundatiehuis (Teyler)

Fundatiehuis Teylers, seat of the "Teylers Stichting" Society in Haarlem.

The front door of Teylers Fundatiehuis. Until the Spaarne wing was built in 1885, access to the Oval Room was gained through this door. On either side of it, the same Ionic capitals were used as in the Oval Room -giving visitors a foretaste of the architecture they would find inside.

The 'Grote Herenkamer' (Dutch: Large Boardroom) of Foundation House. Decorated in neoclassical style by Leendert Viervant the Younger in 1782. This room was used for Board meetings of Teylers Stichting

The Fundatiehuis (English: Foundation Housee) is the former family home of Pieter Teyler van der Hulst on the Damstraat in Haarlem, Netherlands. After his death it became the seat of the Teylers Stichting and through its front door, visitors could reach the Oval room.

History

Original cabinet containing the banker's possessions in Teyler's "comptoir".

The Teyler legacy to the city of Haarlem is known today as the Teylers Museum, but in 1788 it was composed of two societies: Teylers First or Theological Society (Dutch: Teylers Eerste of Godgeleerd Genootschap), intended for the study of religion and Teylers Second Society (Dutch: Teylers Tweede Genootschap), which was to concern itself with physics, poetry, history, drawing and numismatics. The caretakers had to meet in the gentleman's room of the fundatiehuis weekly, and each society had five caretakers, so all of the gentlemen involved lived in Haarlem. The building is decorated with art done by former inhabitants, as from Teyler's death it was the custom for the art society manager to live there. The first inhabitant was Vincent Jansz van der Vinne.

Through a long hallway on the ground floor, visitors could pass through the meeting room to the Oval room. Upstairs in a back room, Teyler kept office (comptoir) as a banker, and this office still has the original cabinet with his banker archive. There are also two smaller rooms with doors containing 3 and 5 locks, one for the Teylers Stichting and one for the science society.

External Links

Website on Foundation House by Teylers Museum

Museum Website page on Teylers Stichting archives.

References

• Teyler 1778-1978. Studies en bijdragen over Teylers Stichting naar aanleiding van het tweede eeuwfeest (Haarlem / Antwerpen 1978).
• P. Bouman en P. Broers, Teylers ‘Boek- en Konstzael’. De bouwgeschiedenis van het oudste museum van Nederland (Den Haag 1988).
• B. Sliggers (red.), De idealen van Pieter Teyler. Een erfenis uit de Verlichting (Haarlem 2006).