Album amicorum of Johan van Heemskerck

The lawyer and literary man Johan van Heemskerck (1597-1656) started his album when he travelled to England and France to complete his studies. In England he studied in Oxford and London. In Paris he visited Hugo de Groot. He then travelled via Orléans to Bourges to obtain his doctorate.

In the Netherlands Van Heemskerck visited professors in Leiden. Thanks to his good contacts in the literary world, Caspar Barlaeus and P.C. Hooft were also prepared to write something for him in Amsterdam. The only woman among the writers is the poet and glass engraver Anna Roemers. Together with her sister Maria Tesselschade she had an important place in Amsterdam's cultural life. Anna delivered a beautiful example of calligraphy for Van Heemskerck:

Happiness does not depend on the unthinking judgment of the people,
Happy is he who considers himself happy.