Contents

Acknowledgements

List of Figures and Tables

List of Abbreviations

Introduction

Chapter 1 Origin and Typology of Lotteries in the Low Countries

1 Historical and Historiographical Context

1.1 An Invention Linked to a Boom in Risk and Speculation

1.2 From the Burgundian Netherlands to Italy: Rapid Expansion Across Urban Europe

1.3 Towards More Material Prizes

2 Lottery Typology in the Sixteenth-Century Netherlands

2.1 Public-Utility Lotteries Held by Civil or Religious Institutions

2.2 State Lotteries for the Common Good

2.3 Lotteries of Private Entrepreneurs for Commercial Ends

3 The Upsurge in Commercial Lotteries

3.1 “Secret” Closed-Circle Lotteries: The Abuses of the 1520s

3.2 Occasional Lotteries by Specialist Dealers: Tapestries, Paintings, Alabasters, Jewelry

3.3 International Traders and Lottery Entrepreneurs

Chapter 2 The Machinery of Success: Expert Valuation—Exhibition—Draw

1 Building Trust

1.1 A Transparent Procedure

1.2 Expert Valuation Procedures

2 Make Known, Make Seen: The Visual Means of Mediatization

2.1 Public Exhibitions

2.2 A Fanfare of Visual Communication

3 Theatralization: The Public Draw as Urban Spectacle

Chapter 3 Visualizing the Material and Moral Stakes of Institutional Lotteries

1 Illustrated Posters: A Feature of the Visual Culture of the Low Countries

1.1 From brieven van de lotinghe to loterijkaarten

1.2 Of German Origin?

1.3 Expressing the Hierarchy of Object Values Through Image and Text

2 Exploiting the Image’s Power of Persuasion

2.1 The “Portrait of the Prizes”

2.2 Interaction between Iconicity and Textuality

2.3 Combining the Appeal to Good Intentions with the Lure of Profit

3 Theatralization and Dramatization: The Human Impact

3.1 Isaac Claesz. van Swanenburgh’s Poster for the Leiden Lottery (1596)

3.2 The Posters of Claes Jansz. Visscher: Playing with Reduplication

3.3 Uses of the Poster as Image and the Poster as Object

Chapter 4 Lottery Posters and Booklets: The Role of Print in Structuring the Art Worlds

1 Lottery Posters in the United Provinces

1.1 Picturing Diversity, Novelty, and Luxury: The Lotteries of Hulst (1659–1660) and Terschelling (1666)

1.2 The Victory of the Object: The Durgerdam Lottery Poster (1688)

1.3 Demise of the Image: The Grootebroek Lottery Poster (1694–1695)

1.4 Commercial Lottery Posters: The Importance of the Painter’s Name

2 Booklets and Catalogues: New Tools of Mediation and Encouragement to Gamble

2.1 Arent van Gorp’s Lottery in IJsselstein (Utrecht) in 1651

2.2 Henry van Soest’s Lottery at the Antwerp Stock Exchange (1695)

2.3 The Primacy of Market Value and Novelty

3 A New Image of the Art Trade and Material Pleasure

3.1 A Model for Gersaint?

3.2 From Lottery Catalogue to Sales Catalogue

3.3 Lotteries and Material Culture

Chapter 5 Commercial Lotteries in the Spanish Netherlands: Actors, Networks, Risks, and Profits

1 Painter Claude Dorizi’s Lottery in Mechelen (1559–1560)

1.1 An Exceptional Lottery Permitted as an Exception

1.2 Paintings, Alabasters, Bronzes, and Mirrors: The Lures of the Game

2 The Invention of Immediate-draw Itinerant Commercial Lotteries

2.1 The Pioneer: Hans Goyvaerts

2.2 François Verbeelen, Painter to the Court: An Exceptional Entrepreneur

2.3 Verbeelen, Van Onderdonck, and Goyvaerts: A Bitter Rivalry

3 Political-Economic Conflicts of Interest between Central Government and Local Authorities

3.1 The Hostile Reactions of the Cities of Lille, Saint-Omer, Namur, Ghent, and Mechelen

3.2 The Efforts of Verbeelen and his Associates in the Principality of Liege

3.3 Verbeelen and the Archdukes’ Protection

4 Networks, Risks, and Profits

4.1 Were the Immediate-draw Commercial Lotteries Cost Effective?

4.2 A Strong Collaborative Organization

4.3 Unexpected Developments in the Kingdom of France

Chapter 6 At the Heart of the Commercial Lotteries

1 Abundance, Luxury, and Diversity

1.1 Lottery Inventories and the Hierarchy of Values

1.2 Ceremonial Silver: Value to be Trusted

2 New Images and New Luxuries

2.1 Van Onderdonck and the Predominance of Religious Painting

2.2 The Growing Role of Secular Genres in Verbeelen’s Lotteries

2.3 “Crystal” Glassware, Porcelain, Musical Instruments

3 Sartorial Appearances and Domestic Items

3.1 Mirrors

3.2 Appearance Accessories

Chapter 7 The Mirage of Art and Wealth: The Lottery’s Economic, Social, and Cultural Impacts

1 A Pseudo-Mechanism for Distributing Luck Fairly and Democratically

1.1 Who Could Try Their Luck?

1.2 Behavioral and Social Disorders

1.3 An Economy of Random Choice

2 Lotteries and Local Trade. Ripple Effect or Competition?

2.1 Lotteries and Fairs, a Difficult Cohabitation

2.2 Visibility and Accessibility

3 From the Material Temptation of the Lottery Displays to Moral Reflections on Vanity and Fortune: The Watershed Years of 1590–1610

Conclusion

Appendix

Bibliography

Index of Names

Index of Places