Leiden, or Leyden

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World of Stamps:
Leiden, or Leyden: Pilgrim
Fathers’ and University City
By Geir Sør-Reime
Netherlands 2006 Tourism showing scenes of
Leiden, including a self-portrait of Rembrandt, the
Academy Building, the Morspoort, the western city
port of Leiden, and the Hooglandse Kerk (a Gothic
church dedicated to St.Pancras). Rembrandt holds
two large keys in his hand, the keys are from the
arms of Leiden, referring to St. Peter, also referring
to the Pieterskerk, also shown on the souvenir sheet,
Also shown is the tower of the City Hall (Sc. 1240).
Right, the booklet
sheet combining
Leiden and Sittard
stamps and images
(Sc.1240). See also
page 2.
The Dutch city
of Leiden, with
around 120,000
inhabitants today, is an old
city, originating
on an artificial
hill (motte) at the confluence of two arms of the Old Rhine
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Scenes from Geir’s
visit to Leiden showing architecture that
is part of the souvenir
sheet on page 1.
River from around AD 860, and then referred to as Leithon.
The motte was gradually raised and is today 9 meters above
the surrounding landscape and with a shell keep on top.
Leiden was granted city rights in 1266.
In the 16th and 17th centuries, Leiden had a leading
weaving industry, and Leiden cloth, Leiden baize and Leiden
camlet were widely known. Simultaneously, Leiden became
a center of printing and publishing, and still is today.
In 1572, Leiden sided with the Dutch in the revolt against
the Spanish, and the city was unsuccessfully besieged by the
Spanish May-October 1574. Leiden University was founded
1575 and the city is in fact twinned with Oxford, the city of
England’s oldest university (dating from around 1100).
The 300th anniversary of the University of Utrecht was
celebrated with two triangular 1936 stamps showing
an allegory of Minerva
or a portrait of Gisbertus Voetius, a
Leiden-born Calvinist theologian, Netherlands 1936 for 300th anniversary of University of Utrecht (Sc. 204-05)
respectively.
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In 1950, two stamps were
issued to commemorate the
375th anniversary of the
University of Leiden. One
portrayed the
first curator of
the University,
Johan van der
Netherlands 1950 for 375th anniversary of University, depicting Does (1545Janus Dousa (Sc. 328) and depict- 1 6 0 4 ) , t h e
ing Jan van Hout (Sc. 329)
other Han van
Hout (1542-1609), a poet and playwright who
became the first secretary of the University N e t h e r l a n d s
secretariat. Also for the 400th anniversary, 1 9 7 5 4 0 0 t h
in 1975, a stamp was released, with a design Anniversary of
showing a brain with a window, symbolizing University (Sc.
525).
free thought.
The 1913 Nobel Prize winner in physics, Heike Kamerlingh Onnes worked at
Leiden University and in 1908 managed
for the first time to liquefy helim, and
later managed to reach a temperature
of less than one degree above the absolute minimum. He was Sweden 1975 Nobel
portrayed on a Swedish Prize Winner Kamerlingh-Onnes (Sc. 1028)
1973 stamp along with
other 1913 Nobel Prize winners.
The University also has its own Botanical
Gardens, the Hortus Botanicus, the 400th
anniversary of which was commemorated on a
1990 stamp (Sc. 752).
In 1848, the ConstiNetherlands
1990 for 400th tution of the Netherlands
Anniversary of was written in Leiden.
Botanical GarThe constitution 150th
den (Sc. 752)
anniversary was marked
with a 1998 stamp, showing the statue Netherlands 1998
of John Rudolf Thorbecke, the man who 150th anniversary
of Constitution (Sc.
drafted the 1948 Constitution.
992)
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The Amsterdam Rijksmuseum
Leiden is known for
the many world-famous
painters who were born
and who to large extent
also worked there.
The first of these
was Cornelis Engebrechtsz. (1462-1527) who
was born and worked
in Leiden. He had many
pupils, including Lucas van Leyden
and several of his
own sons.
A n e n g r a ving by Lucas van
Leyden (1494–
1533, engraver
and painter) entitled King Saul
was reproduced
on a Dutch 2000
souvenir sheet
Netherlands 2000
souvenir sheet
showing works of
art in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, including an
engraving by Lucas
van Leyden
along with other works of art in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.
The famous painter Rembrandt van Rijn was born in
Leiden in 1606, and his early career as a famous paintIssue 51 - March 6, 2015 - StampNewsOnline.net
Netherlands 1999
painting “The Jewish
Bride” by Rembrandt
(Sc. 1030)
er started here. He
moved to Amsterdam in 1631, where
he also died in 1669.
His paintings have
been reproduced on
stamps from a number of countries. The
Soviet Union issued
several reproducing
Rembrandt paintings that are in Russian museums.
The painter Jan
Steen (1626-1679)
Netherlands 1999 paintwas born in Leiden. ings (Sc. 1029a-f) includHe worked in Leiden, ing painting by Jan Steen
The Hague, Delft and Gabriel Metsu, and
and Harlem until he Rembrandt.
moved back to Leiden in 1670, and he was
interred in a family grave in the Pieterskerk
in Leiden. One of his paintings, “Sick Woman
and Physician”, now in the Hermitage MuSoviet 1974
seum, St. Petersburg, was reproduced on Jan Steen “Sick
a Soviet 1973 stamp. His painting ‘Beware W o m a n a n d
of Luxury’ was included in the Dutch 1999 Physician” (Sc.
souvenir sheet showing Dutch paintings. Also 4143)
the painter Gerrit Dou (1613-1675) was born
in Leiden. He studied with Rembrandt for three years.
Two works by the Leiden-born painter Gabriel Metsu
(1629–1667), now in the National Gallery of Ireland, were
Issue 51 - March 6, 2015 - StampNewsOnline.net
Ireland 2003 two works by Gabriel Metsu (Sc. 1497, 1499)
reproduced on two Irish 2003 stamps. The works were “Man
writing a letter” and “Woman reading a letter”. His painting
“The Sick Child” also appeared in the Dutch 1999 paintings
souvenir sheet.
The American film actress Nina Foch was born in Leiden
in 1924 (she died in Los Angeles
2008). She played
major roles in a
number of great
films. A still from
one, “The T en
Commandments”
from 1956, appears on a bogus Bogus Abkasia 1999 sheetlet
including scene from The Ten
Italian poster 1999 stamp from
Commandments
stamp portray- Abkhasia.
ing Nina Foch
The Leyden Association of stamp collectors
each year presents a special
stamp. In 2012,
that is a stamp
with the theme
of the tower of
the Pieterskerk
Leiden.
Pieterskerk on personalized stamp
2012
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This tower collapsed in the night of the 4th and 5th March
1512 and was never rebuilt
U.S. 1920 Tercentenary of Mayflower voyage (Sc. 548-50)
For many Americans, Leiden, and particularly the Pieterskerk, is inseparable from the so-called Pilgrims, who have
played an important role in the early days of the colonization
of North America.
U.S. 1986 pre-stamped envelope featuring Mayflower (Sc. U610)
U.S. 1970
Landing of the
Pilgrims 350th
anniversary
(Sc. 1420)
The Pilgrims (as well as some of the first settlers of New
Amsterdam) lived as refugees in Leiden before organising the
journeys to Massachusetts and New Amsterdam.
The Pilgrims were English Protestants, who fled England to
escape the oppressive regime of James I
Netherlands personalized stamp for Pilgrim
Fathers showing Pilgrims, arms of Leiden
and Mayflower
Isle of Man 1992 Pilgrim’s Voyage (Sc.
507-08)
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and the Anglican established
church. They
lived and worked
in Leiden from
Britain 1970 350th an- 1609 to 1620.
niversary of Mayflower
After a stay
landing (Sc. 615)
of eleven
years, a Britain 1999 Pilgrim
substan- Fathers (Sc. 1852)
tial part of this community immigrated as Pilgrims to North
America, between 1620 and
1643. During the journeys they
were joined by other English
people.
In July 1620, a number of
the refugees left Leiden via Delftshaven and sailed on the ship
Speedwell. In Southampton, it
met with the Mayflower, and
both ships embarked on the
Republic of Liberia
(Sc. C207)
crossing of the Atlantic.
Speedwell, however,
started leaking, and
was finally sold and left
in Plymouth. Of the 121
combined passengers
of the two ships, 102
chose to travel on the
Mayflower, of which
Isle of Man 1986 Pilgrim landing
around had come by (Sc. 311a)
way of Leiden. The left
Plymouth September 16, 1620 (September 6 after the old
calendar).
In North America, they eventually established the colony
of New Plymouth.
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The Pilgrims are seen as the Founding Fathers of the
United States. Several U.S. Presidents, are direct descendants
of the Pilgrims. Various lists give a varying number of which
Presidents are direct descendants, but all seem to agree that
the following are:
2nd President John Adams - 1797-1801
6th President John Quincy Adams - 1825-1829
12th President Zachary Taylor - 1849-1850
18th President Ulysses S. Grant - 1869-1877
20th President James A. Garfield - 1881-1881
32nd President Franklin D. Roosevelt - 1933-1945
41st President George H. W. Bush - 1989-1993
43rd President George W. Bush - 2001-2009
44th President Barack H. Obama - 2009 Some also list
31st President Herbert Hoover – 1929-1933
President John
Adams (Sc.
2216b)
President John
Quincy Adams
(Sc. 2216f)
President James
A. Garfield (Sc.
2218b)
President Herbert Hoover
(Sc. 2219c)
President
Zachary Taylor
(Sc. 2217b)
President
Franklin D.
Roosevelt (Sc.
2219d)
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President Ulysses S. Grant (Sc.
2217i)
Liberia 1989
President George
Bush (Sc. 1113)
Philippines 2004 President George W. Bush
(Sc. 2903)
Ghana 2012 President Barack Obama (Souvenir sheet for state visit to Ghana)
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