Charles Joseph Emmanuel van Hulthem (1764–1832) was a bibliophile from the

Low Countries The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...

whose collection of books provided the first kernel of the

Royal Library of Belgium The Royal Library of Belgium (french: Bibliothèque royale de Belgique, nl, Koninklijke Bibliotheek van België, abbreviated ''KBR'' and sometimes nicknamed in French or in Dutch) is the national library of Belgium. The library has a history t ...

Life

Charles was born in

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded in ...

in the

County of Flanders The County of Flanders was a historic territory in the Low Countries. From 862 onwards, the counts of Flanders were among the original twelve peers of the Kingdom of France. For centuries, their estates around the cities of Ghent, Bruges and Ypr ...

(

Austrian Netherlands The Austrian Netherlands nl, Oostenrijkse Nederlanden; french: Pays-Bas Autrichiens; german: Österreichische Niederlande; la, Belgium Austriacum. was the territory of the Burgundian Circle of the Holy Roman Empire between 1714 and 1797. The p ...

) on 17 April 1764, the youngest of the nine children of Joseph-François van Hulthem and Isabelle vander Beke. He lost his father when still small, and was educated in the Augustinian College and the Collège Royal in Ghent.Victor Jacques, "Hulthem (Charles-Joseph-Emmanuel van)", ''

Biographie Nationale de Belgique The ''Biographie nationale de Belgique'' ( French; "National Biography of Belgium") is a biographical dictionary of Belgium. It was published by the Royal Academy of Belgium in 44 volumes between 1866 and 1986. A continuation series, entitled the ' ...

''
vol. 9
(Brussels, 1887), 692-705. After finishing his secondary education he was sent to

Lille Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Pref ...

to be trained in commerce, but after 15 months he begged his uncles to send him to university, and was allowed to matriculate at Leuven University. He graduated Bachelor of Law in 1788. As a student he had spent the vacations travelling to libraries, and had got to know Jean-Noël Paquot, whose manuscripts he would acquire in 1812. During the

Brabant Revolution The Brabant Revolution or Brabantine Revolution (french: Révolution brabançonne, nl, Brabantse Omwenteling), sometimes referred to as the Belgian Revolution of 1789–1790 in older writing, was an armed insurrection that occurred in the Austr ...

of 1789 he was elected to Ghent city council, and represented the city on a number of occasions, remaining in public office through the Austrian restoration of 1790 and the French annexation of 1795. In 1792 and again in 1796 he organised exhibitions of contemporary art in the city hall. After the Battle of Fleurus in 1794, he spent two months as a hostage in

Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; pcd, Anmien, or ) is a city and commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in the region of Hauts-de-France. In 2021, the population of ...

. In 1796 he was charged with selecting books and paintings from the religious houses that were being closed down, for the new public library and museum to be established in

Saint Peter's Abbey, Ghent Saint Peter's Abbey ( nl, Sint-Pietersabdij) is a former Benedictine abbey in Ghent, Belgium, now a museum and exhibition centre. Saint Peter's was founded in the late 7th century by Amandus, a missionary sent by the Frankish kings to Christianiz ...

. For three years he was a deputy of the Département de l'Escaut in the legislative

Council of Five Hundred The Council of Five Hundred (''Conseil des Cinq-Cents''), or simply the Five Hundred, was the lower house of the legislature of France under the Constitution of the Year III. It existed during the period commonly known (from the name of the e ...

in Paris, returning to local government thereafter. Van Hulthem was active on behalf of the botanical garden in Ghent, and promoted the first flower show held there. From 1809 to 1813 he was rector of the academy and the law school in Brussels. In 1811, together with the mayor of Brussels, he set up an art society that held its first salon on 4 November that year. He was an early supporter of the

United Kingdom of the Netherlands The United Kingdom of the Netherlands ( nl, Verenigd Koninkrijk der Nederlanden; french: Royaume uni des Pays-Bas) is the unofficial name given to the Kingdom of the Netherlands as it existed between 1815 and 1839. The United Netherlands was cr ...

, proclaimed in 1815, and of

Ghent University Ghent University ( nl, Universiteit Gent, abbreviated as UGent) is a public research university located in Ghent, Belgium. Established before the state of Belgium itself, the university was founded by the Dutch King William I in 1817, when the ...

, founded in 1817. He was elected to the Royal Academy in Brussels on 3 July 1816. He served as secretary from 1816 to 1821. He was also president of the Royal Agricultural and Botanical Society of Ghent. During the

Belgian Revolution The Belgian Revolution (, ) was the conflict which led to the secession of the southern provinces (mainly the former Southern Netherlands) from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands and the establishment of an independent Kingdom of Belgium. T ...

of 1830, his house in Brussels was on the front lines and his considerable collection of books, medals and antiquities was severely damaged. He died in Ghent on 16 December 1832. In 1837, the collection of approximately 60,000 manuscripts and printed books that he had left was acquired by the Belgian state for 315,000 francs and formed the basis of the collection of the

Library

Auguste Voisin Auguste Voisin (1800–1843) was a French-born Belgian historian, librarian and university professor. Life Voisin was born in Pernes-lès-Boulogne on 9 March 1800 and was educated at the royal college in Ghent and then Ghent University, where he ...

, ''Bibliotheca Hulthemiana ou Catalogue méthodique de la riche et précieuse collection de livres et des manuscrits délaissés par Ch. Van Hulthem'', vol. 1: Notice sur Charles van Hulthem. Théologie. Jurisprudence. Sciences et arts (Ghent, J. Poelman, 1836). * ''Bibliotheca Hulthemiana ou Catalogue méthodique de la riche et précieuse collection de livres et des manuscrits délaissés par Ch. Van Hulthem'', vol. 2: Sciences et arts (suite). Belles-lettres (Ghent, J. Poelman, 1836). * ''Bibliotheca Hulthemiana ou Catalogue méthodique de la riche et précieuse collection de livres et des manuscrits délaissés par Ch. Van Hulthem'', vol. 3: Histoire (Ghent, J. Poelman, 1836). * ''Bibliotheca Hulthemiana ou Catalogue méthodique de la riche et précieuse collection de livres et des manuscrits délaissés par Ch. Van Hulthem'', vol. 4: Histoire, sciences, arts et littérature des Pays-Bas (Ghent, J. Poelman, 1836). * ''Bibliotheca Hulthemiana ou Catalogue méthodique de la riche et précieuse collection de livres et des manuscrits délaissés par Ch. Van Hulthem'', vol. 5: Supplément (Ghent, J. Poelman, 1837).On Google Books
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hulthem, Charles Van 1764 births 1832 deaths People from Ghent Old University of Leuven alumni Members of the Council of Five Hundred Bibliophiles