Manuscripts and Rare books

Important information

  • Please reserve manuscripts and rare books 2 working days in advance.
  • You can consult them in the general reading room. Seat reservation is required.

Searching manuscripts and rare books

There are several ways to look up a manuscript:

  • Using the online catalogue. Please note: not all manuscripts are listed in the online catalogue. All books acquired, donated or left to the library later than 1985 are listed in it. You can search in the catalogue by origin, bookbinder or the name to whom the book is dedicated.
  • Using the digitised reference works available online.

About the collection

The “Manuscripts and rare books” department includes a rich heritage that includes:

  • Approximately 35,000 manuscripts, including 4,500 medieval codices
  • Almost the entire collection of rare books of KBR’s collections including:
    • more than 3,200 incunabula (books printed before 1501)
    • 30,000 Brussels editions dating from the Ancien Régime
    • Belgian and foreign printed works dating from before 1830
    • a selection of curious books dated later than 1830

This makes KBR’s collection one of the 10 largest in the world.

History

Previously, the Early Manuscripts and Prints collections belonged to two very distinct sections. Here is their history.

Manuscripts department

For a significant part, the original core of the manuscript collection comes from the Library of the Dukes of Burgundy. Since the Middle Ages, this collection has been regarded – with good reason – as one of the most prestigious libraries in the Western world. It is a real hidden treasure and it can be admired in the KBR museum, currently closed, but which will re-open on May 23 2025.

The Library of Burgundy

The collection dates back to Philip the Bold and was continued by his successors, John the Fearless and Philip the Good. At the time of Charles the Bold’s death, the collection already contained as many as 950 volumes, of which around 270 are held in KBR in Brussels while another 120 can be found elsewhere in Europe.

The Royal Library of the Low Countries

After Charles’ death, the Librije (library) of Burgundy, as part of the Burgundy estate, passed on to Mary of Burgundy, Philip the Handsome, Charles V and then to Philip II, who founded the Royal Library of the Low Countries on 12 April 1559. In fact, this library may be considered the direct predecessor to the present Royal Library of Belgium. When French troops occupied Brussels in 1748, they transferred around half the collection to Paris, though most of these volumes were returned in 1770.

Dissolution of the monasteries during the reign of Joseph II

In 1773, with the suppression of the Jesuits, the collections’ acquisitions grew significantly. Dozens of codices collected in the region by the Jesuits ended up in the Library. A few years later, Emperor Joseph II disbanded other monasteries of contemplative orders while manuscripts from monasteries and abbeys in Brabant (Gembloux, Rooklooster, Sint-Maartensdal …) were also acquired by the Library.

Confiscation during the French Revolution

However, this period of peace and expansion was not to last: in 1794, the Commissioners of the French Republic transferred a large number of the “Burgundian” manuscripts to Paris. The Library only succeeded in recovering most – though not all – of the manuscripts seized by France in 1816 after the Congress of Vienna. While some works remained in Paris, others that were not originally part of the Burgundian Library were sent to Brussels.

Charles van Hulthem

Luckily, the years that followed were not as turbulent and the collections in the Manuscripts Department continued to grow, following purchases and donations. In 1837, the new Belgian State acquired the library of the Ghent bibliophile Charles Van Hulthem, which contained approximately 1,100 codices, some of which have proved crucial to the understanding of Middle-Dutch literature.

The collection continues to grow

Between 1839 and 1953, the Manuscript Department acquired another 11,000 volumes. Some are medieval works, but there are also archival items dating from the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries and a large number of texts and original manuscripts by Belgian authors and artists. From the mid-twentieth century onwards, the acquisition of new items started to slow down, although new acquisitions – of both literary and historical works – are still registered every year.

Rare books department

The Department – called ‘Precious Printed Works’ at the time – was founded in 1945. The first curator, Franz Schauwers, transferred all old and rare modern and precious printed books, selected by means of a variety of criteria, from the main collections. 

A large proportion of these books come from KBR’s old collections: the Charles Van Hulthem collection, acquired by the Belgian State in 1837, and the City of Brussels collection, acquired in 1842. These two collections cover all fields of knowledge. The same is true of the books grouped in the ‘Classes’, i.e. acquisitions made between 1838 and 1851, and those in the ‘Iie série’, i.e. acquisitions made between 1852 and 1909.

Later acquisitions also contributed to the formation of the section. Some collections were acquired en bloc by KBR. This is why the rarest and oldest musical publications from the important collection of François-Joseph Fétis, acquired in its entirety in 1872, are now housed in the Manuscripts and rare books section.

The important library of the Berlin scholar Johann Müller, purchased in 1861, included some remarkable books on the natural sciences and medicine, which were transferred to the Old and Precious Printed Matter section in 1945. The Winiwarter collection (1966) includes several thousand illustrated Japanese books from the 17th and 18th centuries.

Donations

Since its foundation, several donations have enriched the collections of the Old and Precious Printed Matter section, including the Voltaire collection of the Count of Launoit in 1954 and the library of Madame Louis Solvay in 1962. The latter collection contains numerous books illustrated by modern French artists, as well as a remarkable collection of contemporary French bindings. The bequest made by Baron Van Bogaert, an Antwerp surgeon, is rich in French literary works, first editions and autograph manuscripts. In 1994, Mrs Irène Hamoir-Scutenaire bequeathed the library of her husband, Louis Scutenaire, to the Section. This collection is particularly concerned with the history of (Belgian) surrealism and its origins.

Since the creation of Legal Deposit in 1966, all Belgian bibliophilic editions have been kept in the Antiquarian and Precious Printed Matter section.

Organisation of the collection

The collection is divided by fonds.

The main collection of the Manuscripts is divided into four series. In addition, it also holds two special collections thatdiffer completely in character and have their own catalogues.:

  • The Goethals Collection: manuscripts and printed works connected to genealogy, heraldry and the history of the former Low Countries.
  • The Merghelynk Collection: genealogy and heraldry of the province of West Flanders. [view catalogue record]

For the Rare books, all academic fields can be found in this department. The most important subcollections include:

  • the Karel Van Hulthem Collection (VH) and the City of Brussels Collection (VB)
  • encyclopaedias, the section containing incunabula (INC)
  • the books on medicine and natural sciences belonging to Johann Müller (Müller)
  • the ancient printed works belonging to the library of François-Joseph Fétis (Fétis)
  • the Faber theatre collection (Faber)
  • the acquisitions of the Rare Books Department (LP)
  • the sections containing almanacs (ALM)
  • Count de Launoit’s Voltaire collection (FS)
  • the collection of bindings, old and modern books collected by Mrs. Louis Solvay (FS IX)
  • the literary library of Baron van Bogaert (FS XXXV)
  • a total of more than 1,000 ancient Japanese books collected by Hans de Winiwarter (FS XLI)
  • the library of the surrealist writer Louis Scutenaire (FS XLIX)
  • the collection of Ms Léon Courtin (FS LXIII)

Contacts