Hendrik van Cronevelt

Patronymic: 
Cornelis
Other name: 
Krooneveld
Antony's: 
printer and next-door neighbor
Birth or Baptism date: 
February 25, 1663
Death or Burial date: 
January 29, 1708

In 1686, when he was 23 years old, Hendrik van Cronevelt was admitted as a master bookbinder into the St. Lucas Guild.

In 1688, Cronevelt bought the house next door to Leeuwenhoek, the Suikerhuis, on the northwest corner of the Hippolytusbuurt gracht and the Nieuwstraat. He lived there until he died in 1708, age 45.

According to the STCN (Short Title Catalog Netherlands), Cronevelt:

  • a resident of the Hypolitus-buurt, op den hoek van de Nieuwe-straet (Hypolitusbuurt, on the corner of the Nieuwestraat) from 1688-1697.
  • a bookseller from 1688 through 1702.
  • a printer from 1688-1698 and again in 1702
  • the City's printer in 1702 and 1704.

The STCN has 25 titles printed by Cronevelt, including the ten on the list below by Leeuwenhoek and one, by Govert Bidloo, of his letter to Leeuwenhoek. The other fifteen include a travel book in 1700 and book of letters in 1703, which doesn't match the STCN's summary data. The only municipal title listed was printed in 1704, a book of statutes and ordinances.

The books recording the Delft mayors' daily decisions have three items related to Croonevelt. On January 14, 1693, he was paid 98 gulden 12 stuivers for printing the city treasurer's tax collected forms (biljetten) to be delievered in 1695. On the same day, he was paid 4 gulden 10 stuivers for printing 2,000 forms to be used to record trips of the ferry (trekschuit) between Delft and Leiden. On January 28, 1694, he was paid 94 gulden 16 stuivers by the collector (ontvanger) of the 100th penny tax, George D'Acquet, for printing the forms to record D'Acquet's tax collections and binding them into a notebook (kohier).

Cronevelt had a prosperous printing business, including most of Leeuwenhoek's self-published letters. Specifically, between 1693 and 1702, he printed the third through seventh continuations of the letters as well as a new edition of the second continuation. He also re-printed Letters 32, 39, and 33 (in that order) in a booklet and Letter 41 by itself.

A week after he died, on February 7, 1708, Adriaan Beman was appointed to replace him as city printer. Pieter Buyster carried on his printing business.

Cronevelt had died by the time Leeuwenhoek was ready in 1718 to publish his next collection, Send-Brieven, for which he used Adriaan Beman.

1693-1702

Year Dobell shortened title AvL no
1693 13 Derde Vervolg der Brieven ... 68-75
1694 1a Ondervindingen en Beschouwingen der onsigtbare geschapene waarheden ... 32, 39, 33
  14 Vierde Vervolg der Brieven .... 76-83
1695 25 Arcana Naturae Detecta 32, 33, 37, 39, 40, 41, 61 - 92
1696 15 Vijfde Vervolg der Brieven ... 84-96
1697 12a Natuurs Verborgentheden Ontdekt: zijnde een Tweede Vervolg der Brieven ...  [Second edition] 61-67
  16 Sesde Vervolg der Brieven ... 97-107
  26 Continuatio Arcanorum Naturae detectorum ... 93-107
1698 17 A. van Leeuwenhoeks 41ste Missive 41
1702 18 Sevende Vervolg der Brieven 108-146

On the title pages, he spelled his name Krooneveld. On documents in the Delft archives, the notaries more often spelled his name Cronevelt.