Pieter Cramer
Encyclopedia
Pieter Cramer was a wealthy Dutch
merchant in linen
and Spanish wool, and an entomologist. Cramer was the director of the Zealand Society, a scientific society located in Flushing
and a member of Concordia et Libertate, based in Amsterdam
. This literary and patriotic
society, where Cramer gave lectures on minerals, commissioned and/or financed the publishing of his book on outlandish (exotic) butterflies, occurring in three parts of the world Asia, Africa and America: De uitlandsche Kapellen.
Cramer assembled an extensive natural history
collection that included seashell
s, petrifications, and insects of all orders
. Many were colourful butterflies and moths (Lepidoptera
), collected in countries where the Dutch had colonial or trading links, such as Surinam, Ceylon, Sierra Leone
and the Dutch East Indies
.
Cramer decided to get a permanent record of his collection and so engaged the painter Gerrit Wartenaar
to draw his specimens. He also arranged for Wartenaar to draw butterflies and moths belonging to other keen Lepidoptera collectors in the Netherlands. One of them was stadtholder
prince William V of Orange. Hans Willem Baron Rengers and Joan Raye, the son of the former governor
in Surinam, were among the others. Such was the quality of the illustrations that Caspar Stoll
encouraged him to publish the set of drawings.
Cramer, a bachelor, was born in Amsterdam
, and lived on Oudezijds Voorburgwal 131 close to the Oude Kerk. In 1760 he had bought the house, then known as "the three kings". On September 5, 1774 he made his will with a stipulation that the drawings should be available to the publisher. So all the drawings went to his nephew Anthony van Rensselaer, under the condition to have these drawings printed by the bookseller Johannes Baalde. As a result, De Uitlandsche Kapellen, 1775-1782 was published. It consisted of 33 parts, each one issued after three months to the subscribers, in four volumes with all of the drawings accompanied by descriptions of the insects.
Cramer died of high fevers in 1776 after eight issues (Vol. I) had been published, leaving responsibility for finishing the project to Van Rensselaar and Stoll. Stoll is supposed to be the author of the text from page 29 of the fourth volume onwards.
De Uitlandsche Kapellen is a key work in the history of entomology. Beautifully illustrated with fine, life-size and hand-coloured engravings of Lepidoptera from Asia, Africa and America, it was the first book on exotic Lepidoptera to use the then new system developed by Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778) for naming and classifying animals. Over 1658 butterfly species were described and illustrated on 396 (or 400) plates, Cramer and Stoll naming and illustrating many new species for the first time.
Cramer's collections were broken up after his death and sold, auctioned and donated to institutions and individuals. The Dutch Nationaal Natuurhistorisch Museum
came to own a substantial part of his specimens and bought part of Cramer's collection from Joan Raye, heer van Breukelerwaert.
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
merchant in linen
Linen
Linen is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant, Linum usitatissimum. Linen is labor-intensive to manufacture, but when it is made into garments, it is valued for its exceptional coolness and freshness in hot weather....
and Spanish wool, and an entomologist. Cramer was the director of the Zealand Society, a scientific society located in Flushing
Flushing, Netherlands
Vlissingen is a municipality and a city in the southwestern Netherlands on the former island of Walcheren. With its strategic location between the Scheldt river and the North Sea, Vlissingen has been an important harbour for centuries. It was granted city rights in 1315. In the 17th century...
and a member of Concordia et Libertate, based in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
. This literary and patriotic
Patriots (faction)
The Patriots were a political faction in the Dutch Republic in the second half of the 18th century. They were led by Joan van der Capellen tot den Pol, gaining power from November 1782....
society, where Cramer gave lectures on minerals, commissioned and/or financed the publishing of his book on outlandish (exotic) butterflies, occurring in three parts of the world Asia, Africa and America: De uitlandsche Kapellen.
Natural history
Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
collection that included seashell
Seashell
A seashell or sea shell, also known simply as a shell, is a hard, protective outer layer created by an animal that lives in the sea. The shell is part of the body of the animal. Empty seashells are often found washed up on beaches by beachcombers...
s, petrifications, and insects of all orders
Order (biology)
In scientific classification used in biology, the order is# a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, family, genus, and species, with order fitting in between class and family...
. Many were colourful butterflies and moths (Lepidoptera
Lepidoptera
Lepidoptera is a large order of insects that includes moths and butterflies . It is one of the most widespread and widely recognizable insect orders in the world, encompassing moths and the three superfamilies of butterflies, skipper butterflies, and moth-butterflies...
), collected in countries where the Dutch had colonial or trading links, such as Surinam, Ceylon, Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
and the Dutch East Indies
Dutch East Indies
The Dutch East Indies was a Dutch colony that became modern Indonesia following World War II. It was formed from the nationalised colonies of the Dutch East India Company, which came under the administration of the Netherlands government in 1800....
.
Cramer decided to get a permanent record of his collection and so engaged the painter Gerrit Wartenaar
Gerrit Wartenaar
Gerrit Wartenaar is a Dutch and hardly known painter. His name is not in one of the manuals. Gerrit Wartenaar was the son of Lambertus Wartenaar, a mapmaker. In 1772 Gerrit married a fifteen-year-older woman, Maria Spekman...
to draw his specimens. He also arranged for Wartenaar to draw butterflies and moths belonging to other keen Lepidoptera collectors in the Netherlands. One of them was stadtholder
Stadtholder
A Stadtholder A Stadtholder A Stadtholder (Dutch: stadhouder [], "steward" or "lieutenant", literally place holder, holding someones place, possibly a calque of German Statthalter, French lieutenant, or Middle Latin locum tenens...
prince William V of Orange. Hans Willem Baron Rengers and Joan Raye, the son of the former governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
in Surinam, were among the others. Such was the quality of the illustrations that Caspar Stoll
Caspar Stoll
Caspar Stoll was born in Hessen-Kassel , probably between 1725 and 1730. Being either a clerk or a porter at the Admiralty of Amsterdam, he published several works on entomology. Stoll's publications of stick insects, mantids and their relatives are particularly well known.-Life:In 1791 Stoll wrote...
encouraged him to publish the set of drawings.
Cramer, a bachelor, was born in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, and lived on Oudezijds Voorburgwal 131 close to the Oude Kerk. In 1760 he had bought the house, then known as "the three kings". On September 5, 1774 he made his will with a stipulation that the drawings should be available to the publisher. So all the drawings went to his nephew Anthony van Rensselaer, under the condition to have these drawings printed by the bookseller Johannes Baalde. As a result, De Uitlandsche Kapellen, 1775-1782 was published. It consisted of 33 parts, each one issued after three months to the subscribers, in four volumes with all of the drawings accompanied by descriptions of the insects.
Cramer died of high fevers in 1776 after eight issues (Vol. I) had been published, leaving responsibility for finishing the project to Van Rensselaar and Stoll. Stoll is supposed to be the author of the text from page 29 of the fourth volume onwards.
De Uitlandsche Kapellen is a key work in the history of entomology. Beautifully illustrated with fine, life-size and hand-coloured engravings of Lepidoptera from Asia, Africa and America, it was the first book on exotic Lepidoptera to use the then new system developed by Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778) for naming and classifying animals. Over 1658 butterfly species were described and illustrated on 396 (or 400) plates, Cramer and Stoll naming and illustrating many new species for the first time.
Cramer's collections were broken up after his death and sold, auctioned and donated to institutions and individuals. The Dutch Nationaal Natuurhistorisch Museum
Naturalis
Naturalis is the national natural history museum of the Netherlands, based in Leiden. It originated from the merger of the Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie and the Rijksmuseum van Geologie en Mineralogie in 1984. In 1986 it was decided that the museum had to become a public museum and a new...
came to own a substantial part of his specimens and bought part of Cramer's collection from Joan Raye, heer van Breukelerwaert.