Lost Erasmus book on childrearing returns to Rotterdam
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After more than four hundred years, a book by Desiderius Erasmus, a Dutch priest and humanist from the Renaissance, has returned to Rotterdam, Netherlands.
The book, La civilité puerile, published in 1609, offers advice on raising children and surfaced in the United States. Conservator John Tholen explained that the book was likely not preserved in libraries because it was intended as a practical guide, not a keepsake.
The rediscovered volume contains specific etiquette tips for children, such as wishing someone good health after they sneeze and washing hands before meals. The Rotterdam library already holds the largest collection of Erasmus’s works, including over 6,000 printed books. Bibliotheek Rotterdam acquired the book from an American antiquarian familiar with their Erasmus collection.
Library officials state that finding this “lost book” helps them understand more about Erasmus’s impact and ideas, and they believe this copy may be the only one remaining from an original print run of around one thousand.
