Among Catalogues, Bindings, and Sacred Economies

Abstract

This article centres on the emblem book Jesus en de Ziel, Een Geestelycke Spiegel voor ’t Gemoed, first published in Amsterdam in 1678, with texts and images composed by Jan Luyken. From the time of its first publication, the book was part of the literary devotional life of the Dutch Republic, undergoing numerous editions and reprints, at least until the final decades of the eighteenth century. Using the information provided by Book Sales Catalogues, the article explores different modes in which Jesus en de Ziel was consumed, paying attention to the material conditions under which the object was provided and acquired by the consumer. The emblem book, as a religious object, was constantly reconfigured and mobilized by their manufacturers, their providers, and by the consumers themselves. I argue that these patterns of consumption, elucidated by the catalogues, can make a fundamental contribution for historical and cultural research on religious practices.