Reinier Boitet


Reinier Boitet, was a Dutch publisher and writer who updated Dirk van Bleiswijk's History of Delft in 1729.

Biography

Boitet was the son of Simon Boitet, baker, and Aeltje van der Wel. In April 1717 he married Maria van Hulst and in 1718 he requested permission to start printing a newspaper. This permission was granted in 1721, after which he established his printshop on the Wijnhaven. His newspaper, in 1732 named Hollantsche Historische Courant, remained in press until 1775.
According to the RKD he collaborated with Gerard onder de Linden on several prints.
He was a bookseller in Delft who also made poems, but his greatest work was his update to Bleiswijk's "Description of the city of Delft", originally published in 1667. His assistants were H. Heussen and H. van Rijn, possibly also the poet Hubert Kornelisz Poot and R. Ouwens.

Works

Reinier Boitet merged Bleiswijk's biographical information with Karel van Mander and Arnold Houbraken's commentary on Delft painters. Van Mander wrote entries for Erasmus, Anthonis van Montfoort, Pieter Kornelisz. van Ryk, Michiel Jansz Mierevelt and his pupils, J. Jordaens, and Jaques de Moschero. Houbraken included all of these and wrote additional entries for Kristiaen van Kouwenberch, Leonard Bramer, Pieter van Asch, Adriaan van Linschoten, Hans Jordaans, Kornelis de Man, Johannes Vermeer, and Pieter de Hooge. Boitet seems to have ignored the entries he could not confirm, most notably omitting Vermeer and De Hooch. The biographies Boitet included were: