Description
KAMER VAN KOOPHANDEL EN NIJVERHEID TE BATAVIA [CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY IN BATAVIA].
Batavia: Bruining & Wijt, 1868.
The Kamer van Koophandel en Nijverheid te Batavia [Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Batavia] was by far and away the most important business organization in the Dutch East Indies. Founded in 1826, by the then Governor-General Leonard Pierre Joseph, Viscount du Bus de Gisignies (in office, 1826-30), the Kamer was at the head of an umbrella organization of regional chambers of commerce across the Netherlands East Indies, in addition to the being responsible for promoting private enterprise and trade in the colonial capital. It was massively influential, not just in the Indies, but also in the Metropolitan Netherlands, while some of its members maintained highly consequential roles in the global commodities trade.
The Present Work: A Sumptuous Presentation Piece and Valuable Work of Economic History
For some years during the 1860s, when the economy of the Dutch East Indies flourished, buoyed by high commodity prices, in part due to the turmoil of the U.S. Civil War, the Kamer van Koophandel en Nijverheid te Batavia issued grand yearbooks that detailed the activities of the chamber, along with meticulous analysis and statistics regarding the state of trade (with an emphasis upon Java’s globally important commodities); shipping; industry, currency circulation and agriculture; banking, etc., making it an incomparable resource for understanding the mid-19th century economy in the Dutch East Indies.
Present here is a unique example of the Kamer’s yearbook for 1867 (published in Batavia in 1868), as it is a presentation copy bequeathed to His Excellency Pieter Meijer (1812-1881), the incumbent Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies (in office, 1866-72), who was the organization’s leading patron. While all examples of the work feature a printed dedication to the Governor-General (on pp. v-vi), the present example extraordinarily is bound in custom full red morocco with elaborate gilt neo-rococo designs, while its upper cover bears the gilt inscription “Aan zijne excellentie den Gouverneur Generaal van Nederlandsch Indië” [To His Excellency the Governor General of the Dutch East Indies]. Indeed, it is the most beautifully adorned book from the Dutch East Indies we have encountered.
In the dedication to the Governor-General, which is dated at Batavia, October 15, 1868, and signed by signed A.J.W. van Delden (the Kamer’s Chairman) and J. van Gennep (the Secretary), it is noted that Meijer himself bought 50 examples of the yearbook, while otherwise the project benefitted from the “generous subscriptions” of the “trading community”. However, it is also noted that the work’s publication was delayed, as the endeavour challenged the capacity of the Kamer’s principals.
Turning to the main body of the work, it is divided into six chapters. Chapter I: Chronological Sketch of the Main Activities of the Chamber in 1867, describes subjects such as, for example, government product auctions, steam connections with Australia, the Annual Report of the Kamer, incoming duties of wheat and flour, the Agricultural Congress in Breda, warding off infectious diseases, the salt monopoly, telegraphs, improvement of the port of Batavia, counterfeiting of trademarks, and the International Sugar Convention.
Chapter II: Trade, features A. Trade with Europe, noting the ‘Articles of Export from Java and Madura’, being, for example, sugar, coffee, rice, indigo, rubber, pepper, tea, tobacco, etc., all produced at levels that were of global economic significance; while ‘Articles of Import into Java and Madura’, includes such things as linen, metals, provisions and beverages. Next, there is B. Domestic (internal) Trade, and C. Second Hand Trade.
Chapter III: Shipping, covers 1. Long-Distance Shipping (i.e., to Europe); 2. [Regional Shipping], discussing the state of the Dutch East India Steam Navigation Company, Besier & Jonkheyn Steam Navigation Company, Messageries Impériales, and the Java Steamboat Company; while finally there is 3. Coastal [short haul] Shipping.
Chapter IV: Industry, Trade, Currency Circulation and Agriculture, concerns the activities of the regional Kamer chapters across the Dutch East Indies and the state of the mentioned sectors in their respective territories. The chapters include those located in Bantam, Batavia, Buitenzorg, Krawang, Pranger Regencies, Cheribon, Lampongs, Palembang, Banka, Billiton, Riau, Western Borneo, and South and Eastern Borneo.
Chapter V. Banking, explains the state of the Javanese Bank and other banks and credit unions, backed up by the texts of key company reports.
Chapter VI: Diverse Subjects, covers such topics as the state of various infrastructure and transport enterprises; oil resources; the “evidential value of native writing in commercial matters”; postal service; plus, a sizeable section describing the condition of several large insurance companies; with the chapter followed by appendices featuring the texts of supporting documents.
As best as we are aware, the Kamer van Koophandel en Nijverheid te Batavia only produced the yearbooks, at least in a comparable form, for only six consecutive years, from 1864 to 1869, with each edition published (as here) the year following that which is covered. Subsequently, the Kamer issued less frequent, and seemingly less comprehensive reports, such as A.J.W. van Delden’s Vierjarig overzigt van de voornaamste onderwerpen, behandeld in de Kamer van Koophandel en Nijverheid te Batavia… [Four-Year Overview of the Main Topics discussed at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Batavia….] (Batavia: Ogilvie & Co., 1874), which seems to summarize the state of play during the four years after the publication of the yearbook for 1869. This being said, there are a couple exceptions, being a brief revival of the Kamer yearbooks for the years 1887 and 1888 (ex. Verslag over het jaar 1888 samengesteld door de kamer van Koophandel en nijverheid te Batavia (Batavia1889)). While a matter of speculation, perhaps it proved too expensive or labour intensive (a point hinted to in the dedication within the present work) for the Kamer to issue such detailed, sophisticated works on an annual basis.
A Note on Rarity
The present example of the Kamer yearbook is, of course, unique, owing to its sumptuous full red Morocco, gilt-adorned dedicatory binding. Pedestrian examples of the yearbook, in any of its issues, are very rare. We can trace a complete set for all six years of the 1860s series, held by the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, while a few isolated examples of single issues appear in Dutch libraries (ex. the Koninklijke Bibliotheek (The Hague) holds an example of the edition for the year 1864). Moreover, we can trace only a single sales record for another example (being for an edition for the year 1865) from the last generation.
References: Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin: Up 7440/230-1867, OCLC: 1148581959;
Cf. [1864 ed.]: Koninklijke Bibliotheek (The Hague): T 7881.
