The Binz Library or the 'witch cabinet'
Carl Binz, a professor of medicine at Bonn Univesity, is considered to be the founder of modern Weyer research thanks to his biography of Johann Weyer, which is still significant today. His estate is housed in the Bibliothek am Hofgarten. The part of his estate dealing with the history of witch hunts has formed the foundation for Binz's own publications and became known as the 'Witch Library'.
Collection
Binz's extensive library concerning the history of demonology is made up of two main sections:
1. Prints from the 16th century onwards (although mainly from the 17th century), among these some of Weyer's own writings and demonological papers dealing with contemporary witchcraft debates (around Weyer), such as Bodin, Binsfeld or Lercheimer. Further notewirthy example's are Gassner's "Gallerie der Teufel" ('gallery of the devils') from 1777 or Christian Thomasius (1712/17).
2. Literature on the history of witch hunts and demonology from the second half of the 19th century, including Soldan/Heppe's 'History of Witch Trials' or Hansen's collection of sources, as well as shorter 'morality tales' and regional case studies.
Catalogue
The "witch closet" was re-inventoried in 2020/21 and a catalogue was created, in which the digital copies of the works (as of 2022) are linked. In this way, the works are easily accessible for your use. For non-digitized works that you wish to view on site, please refer to the usage instructions below.
User Instructions
- The Rare Books Collection can only be viewed after prior registration with Ms. Trimborn (substitute: Jannis Karst).
- An issue form must be completed in order to use any media within the collection. This issue is only possible upon presentation of an ID or passport. The name and address of the user must be noted on the issue form.
- Only one title can be viewed at a time.
- For questions and registration, please contact Ms. Trimborn.