167. The Late H.A. Warmelink, Notary at Amsterdam

Recently I received a booklet on Benjamin Franklin as a printer. It was published (posthumously) to honour a Dutch book collector from Amsterdam, H.A. Warmelink. After reading it, I consulted the catalogue of his auction that was issued by Menno Hertzberger (1897-1982), the well-known Dutch antiquarian book dealer and one of the founders of the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers.

Auction catalogue H.A. Warmelink (1960)

The Auction-Sale of the Important Collection of Books of the Late H.A. Warmelink Notary at Amsterdam was published in two parts. The second part contained his collection of 'Modern Fine Printing'.

Hendrik Adolf (Henk) Warmelink (13 April 1890-14 November 1959), born in Deventer, was appointed as a notary in Amsterdam in 1932. One of the founders of the Dutch typography society 'Non Pareil', he was a connoisseur of typefaces, calligraphy and printing. 

His collection of fine printing contained examples of almost all modern private presses, such as the Ashendene Press, the Doves Press, the Eragny Press, the Essex House Press, the Golden Cockerell Press, the Golden Hind Press, the Merrymount Press, the Roycroft Press, Seven Acres Press, and the Tintern Press. His sale records five Kelmscott Press books: The Tale of King Florus and the Fair Jehane (1893, Peterson A21), Atalanta in Calydon (1894, Peterson A25), Hand and Soul (1895, Peterson A36) Laudes Beatae Mariae Virginis (1896, Peterson A42), and The Story of Sigurd the Volsung (1898, Peterson A50).  

He also owned five Vale Press books that were listed under the heading 'Ballantyne Press'.

Apuleius, De Cupidines et Psyches Amoribus (Vale Press, 1901)

Warmelink's sale mentioned the two Apuleius editions of the Vale Press, one in Latin and one in English: The Excellent Narration of the Marriage of Cupide and Psyches (1897), De Cupinides et Psyches Amoribus (1901). Two other VP editions were: Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam (1901), and A Bibliography of the Books issued by Hacon & Ricketts (1904). One pre-Vale publication was listed: Hero and Leander (1894).

It might be difficult to identify his books, as he probably did not use a bookplate.