Yorkshire Philosophical Society

Event Information

Tulipomania: Banking with bulbs during the golden age of Dutch culture

Joint lecture with the Yorkshire Gardens Trust

Dr Eric T Haskell, Professor of French Studies & Interdisciplinary Humanities Director, Clark Humanities Museum, Scripps College, Claremont University Centre, California.

The astronomical rise of the vogue for tulips in Holland during the 1630s is the focus of this lecture which tells the story of horticultural whimsy gone awry. A three-year period of trading tulips on the Dutch stock exchange made single bulbs worth cart loads of riches and provoked a market crash that pushed Holland to the brink of bankruptcy. The history of the tulip will be examined in this light, as well as in terms of its role as an icon for understanding the aesthetic, social, and cultural contexts of Golden Age Holland.

Report
By Ken Hutson

Dr Haskell related the story of the Dutch popularity of tulips in the 17th century and the incredible prices at the height of the mania. In 1636 some single bulbs sold for more than ten times the annual income of a skilled craftsman. We also learnt about the early origins of the bulb elsewhere in Europe and its links with Turkey. The word tulip is believed to derive from the Turkish for turban. The flower became a coveted luxury status symbol in Holland. ‘Broken’ tulips, with their multicoloured lines and streaks, which are caused by a virus, were most prized.  These were relatively difficult to propagate, and thus commanded the highest prices.  All this spawned a thriving industry with traders importing bulbs in quantity, using hand-coloured illustrated catalogues as their marketing tools. Stock market trading in bulbs, particularly in futures, led to the painful end of this saga in 1637. Reality took over, prices collapsed and thousands were left with virtually worthless bulbs on their hands. The bubble had burst. Today, of course, the tulip is important to the Dutch economy both directly and as a tourist attraction.

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