Leiden University Libraries Digital Collections

The university has a small but interesting collection of catchpenny prints, also called popular prints. The about 300 prints show a great variety in subject, origin, technique and dating. Several smaller groups can be identified. For example military costume prints, portraits of the Dutch stadtholders and scatological prints. But the majority are the more traditional Dutch, comics-like catchpenny prints, depicting a multitude of subjects: children’s games, historical events, literary subjects, animals, professions, proverbs and so on. Humour and instruction are important characteristics of these prints. The oldest prints date from the beginning of the 18th century, the last from the end of the 19th. Many originate from well-known publishers such as Brepols & Dierickx, D. van Noothoven van Goor or Schillemans & Van Belkum. These are Dutch and Belgian publishers, explaining why most of the texts are in Dutch or bilingual (Dutch and French). An occasional German print however is included. Wood engraving, lithography and etching are the most commonly employed techniques. Like is customary with catchpenny prints, many have been coloured by hand, often through the use of stencils.