International friendship books

The album amicorum (friendship book) is often a travelogue in words and images. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, many students made an academic tour of Europe. Along the way, they collected contributions for their album. By means of place indications, it is possible to follow the route that students took with their booklets. In addition to learned quotes and memorable encounters, other aspects of the Grand Tour are also discussed in images of costumes, exotic customs and inscriptions in foreign languages. The album contributions point to the importance of an international network for the future career and status of an album owner.

In a time of great colonial expansion, many soldiers and civil servants stayed abroad for long periods of time, to defend and govern the appropriated territory. These 'Dutchmen' also created alba, which show us how they fared abroad.

The contributions in these alba amicorum give us an impression of ​​what a city looked like in the past. It should be remembered that such a representation did not always correspond to reality. Dueling lords and beautifully dressed ladies were not to be found on every street corner. The ‘snapshots’ more often reflected the interests of the early modern tourist or the idealised cityscape of a proud city dweller.