Information
The Noord-Hollands Archief holds a rich collection of Dutch works on paper dating from the sixteenth to the eighteenth century, drawn from several sub-collections. This collection consists primarily of drawings, prints, and maps, which depict life and the landscape in North Holland over time while also offering insight into the development of towns and the province. Highlights include works by Maarten van Heemskerck, Hendrik Goltzius, Romeyn de Hooghe, Pieter Holsteyn, and Frans Post, among others.
A core component is the Provincial Atlas of North Holland, which includes manuscript maps of towns in the province produced around 1560 by Jacob van Deventer on commission from Philip II. The collection further comprises early modern topographical prints and drawings from Haarlem and the Kennemerland region, as well as eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century maps and presentation drawings by Rijkswaterstaat, including material related to the reclamation of the Haarlemmermeer.
The foundations of the collection were laid in the nineteenth century by collectors and archivists such as Adriaan Justus Enschedé and Cornelis Jacobus Gonnet, and was later expanded through acquisitions and bequests, including the print and drawing collection of Carl Gottfried Voorhelm Schneevoogt.
Jet Blokhuis, curator of image collections (February 2026)