Leiden University Libraries Digital Collections

Busken Huet Papers

Papers of Conrad Busken Huet (1826-1886), pastor, journalist and author

BPL 2206: 4

Busken Huet Papers

This collection is described in Collection guide Conrad Busken Huet (ubl255).

Coming from a Huguenot family, Conrad Busken Huet (1826-1886) studied theology in Leiden and Lausanne (1844-1849). In 1851 he accepted a position as minister at the Walloon Church in Haarlem. Because of his liberal theology he was forced to give up this position in 1862, afterwards he worked as a newspaper journalist at the Opregte Haarlemsche Courant. In 1868 he settled in Batavia, where he was appointed editor-in-chief of the Java Bode. In 1872 he founded his own newspaper, Algemeen Dagblad van Nederlandsch-Indië, where he remained for years, first as editor-in-chief and director, later (after his return to Europe, where he settled in Paris) as European correspondent (1876-1886). Through his friendship with E.J. Potgieter he was as an editor for the journal De Gids in the years 1863-1865. Busken Huet became the most important Dutch literary and cultural critic of his time.
The oldest part of the collection was received in 1922 from the legacy of Conrad's son Gideon Busken Huet. Dr. J. van Tielrooy donated letters from E. Douwes-Dekker to Conrad Busken Huet in 1936. In the same year, documents concerning Conrad and Gideon Busken Huet and members of the family Van Deventer were donated to the Library of the Society of Dutch Literature by mrs. E. van Deventer-Maas.