CASE FILES

Sources for Numbers and Data

Tulip Mania 1636–37

Tulip Mania (1636-37) / 1636-37 / Dutch Republic / Mania/Bubble

Sources for Numbers and Data

This is a list of where the numbers in the diagrams and text come from in the source materials. Click the heading to expand.

Read moreNumerical ledger (16 entries)

ƒ90,000guilders (face value/nominal)Total sales of the Alkmaar auction1637-02-05・Basis: approx. 70 bulbs + 27 lots of 1,000 aas + pondgoed・Face value. Auction for the orphans of the late Winckel. Consistent with the "approximately ninety thousand guilders" in the textbook.Ernst Heinrich Krelage 1942 pp.80–81 (document 41: printed list of successful bids)

Approx. 5,000guildersMost expensive bulb1636–37・Basis: one bulb・Face value. Goldgar compares it to "a well-equipped house".Anne Goldgar— The Conversation 2018 Main text

37 peopleNumber of people who spent over 300 guilders1636–37. Denominator: buyers identified by Goldgar in documents.Anne Goldgar— The Conversation 2018 Text

Approx. 300 guilders/yearAnnual income of a master craftsman1630s. Nominal. Consistent with "around three hundred guilders" in the textbook.Anne Goldgar— The Conversation 2018 Text

0.035 → 0.17 → 0.11 guilders/aasPrice of a Switser1637-01-23 → 02-05 → 02-06/09. Denominator: 1 aas = 1/20 g. Nominal value.Peter M. Garber 1990 p.39

English Admiral 700→210, Admirael van Eyck 1,345→220, General Rotgans 805→138 guilders/bulbPrices of high-end bulbs (Table 2)1637-02-05 → 1642/43. Nominal value.Peter M. Garber 1990 p.39 Table 2

32% (1637–42) & 28.5% (high-end bulbs in the 18th century) %/yearAverage annual rate of decline1637–1642 / 1707–1739Peter M. Garber 1990 p.38

3½% of the contract priceCancellation fee rate1638-05-28. Denominator: contract price. Nominal value. 1638-05-28 Haarlem City Commission. The seller retains the bulbs. Consistent with "three and a half percent" in the textbook. Settlements between parties were often 5–10% (pp. 95–96).Ernst Heinrich Krelage 1942 p.97

2,000guilders/bulbPrice of Semper Augustus1625・Price per bulb・Garber's original source has not been verifiedPeter M. Garber 1990 p.37

ƒ120 (rejected asking price) → 385 → 1,400 → 1,500 → 1,100guilders/poundPrice of 1 pound of Switsers (notary records)1637-01-15 → 01-23 → 02-01 → 02-02 → 02-09・Denominator 1 pound・Nominal value: Same source material as Garber's series per aas (0.035 → 0.17 → 0.11)Ernst Heinrich Krelage 1942 pp.51–52 (excerpt from Posthumus)

30 stuivers → 2 gulden 2 stuivers → 3 gulden 15 stuiversgulden/aasPrice of 1 aas of Gouda1634-12-01 → Winter 1635/36 → 1636-05・Unit: 1 aas = 1/20 g・Face valueErnst Heinrich Krelage 1942 pp.49–50

1 bulb sold for ƒ1,000, offer of ƒ12,000 for 10 bulbs (refused) → 1 bulb for ƒ1,200 → offer of ƒ2,000–3,000 refusedguilders/bulbSemper Augustus (Wassenaer)1623 → 1624 → 1625・Denominator: one bulb・Face valueErnst Heinrich Krelage 1942 pp.32–33

Half a stuiver per guilder, maximum 3 guildersstuivers/guilderWine money (wijnkoop)1636–37・Denominator: transaction price・Face valueErnst Heinrich Krelage 1942 p.72

10% of the price%Cancellation fee for the florists' agreement1637-02-24・Denominator: price・Face value. Contracts after 1636-11-30. Not binding.Ernst Heinrich Krelage 1942 p.84

ƒ11,700 (in 3 installments)guildersSale after the crash1637-03-17・Denominator: lot of bulbs・Face valueErnst Heinrich Krelage 1942 p.98

Approx. 500 varieties・16 tulip books with approx. 450 illustrationsvarieties・books・illustrationsNumber of varieties and tulip books1636–37Ernst Heinrich Krelage 1942 pp.55–56, 59–60

Read moreSources for the numbers in the diagrams

Figure	What the figure represents	Value	Date/Period	Source and Location
Fig. 1	Figure without numbers	—	—	—
Fig. 2	Price of 1 pound of Switsers (common variety)	120	1637-01-15	Ernst Heinrich Krelage 1942 pp. 51–52 (excerpt from Posthumus)
Fig. 2	Price of 1 pound of Switsers (common variety)	385	1637-01-23	Ernst Heinrich Krelage 1942 pp. 51–52 (excerpt from Posthumus)
Fig. 2	Price of 1 pound of Switsers (common variety)	1,400	1637-02-01	Ernst Heinrich Krelage 1942 pp. 51–52 (excerpt from Posthumus)
Fig. 2	Price of 1 pound of Switsers (common variety)	1,500	1637-02-02	Ernst Heinrich Krelage 1942 pp. 51–52 (excerpt from Posthumus)
Fig. 2	Price of 1 pound of Switsers (common variety)	1,100	1637-02-09	Ernst Heinrich Krelage 1942 pp. 51–52 (excerpt from Posthumus)
Fig. 3	Sold three times in a Haarlem tavern with decreasing prices	—	1637-02-03	Ernst Heinrich Krelage 1942
Fig. 3	Auction for the orphans of Alkmaar totals 90,000 guilders	—	1637-02-05	Ernst Heinrich Krelage 1942
Fig. 3	Agreement of florists from 10 cities	—	1637-02-24	Ernst Heinrich Krelage 1942
Fig. 3	A sale of bulbs for 11,700 guilders is concluded with a notarial deed	—	1637-03-17	Ernst Heinrich Krelage 1942
Fig. 3	Resolution of the States of Holland	—	1637-04-27	Ernst Heinrich Krelage 1942
Fig. 3	Ruling by a Haarlem committee becomes binding	—	1638-05-28	Ernst Heinrich Krelage 1942
Fig. 4	1 Semper Augustus bulb for 1,000 guilders (Wassenaer's chronicle)	—	1623	—
Fig. 4	Three successful bids at decreasing prices. The next day, the 4th, trading stops	—	February 3, 1637	—
Fig. 4	Cancellation fee is 3.5% of the contract value	—	May 28, 1638	—

Read moreHow do we know?

Contemporary historical sources are divided into four groups. First, notarial records. Posthumus published excerpts in the 1920s, which allow us to read individual contracts from 1634 to 1637 and dispute settlements after the crash. Second, the printed list of successful bids from the Alkmaar auction of February 5, 1637. Third, three dialogue pamphlets published between February and May 1637, "Dialogues between Waermondt and Gaergoedt," and over 40 satirical songs and documents. Fourth, municipal and provincial public documents, which include the resolution of the city of Haarlem on March 7, the report of the provincial court on April 25, the resolution of the States of Holland on April 27, and the committee regulations of May 28, 1638.

These sources have biases. The majority of pamphlets were published by those attacking speculation, while documents defending it, such as "Flora's Podium," are few. Notarial records are biased toward disputed contracts. Semper Augustus rarely appears in transaction records, and many of the reported high prices were offers, not completed deals. No continuous price lists exist; prices are scattered by variety and weight.

Research is divided into three positions. Garber (1990) explains the high prices of rare varieties by market forces and opposes calling it a bubble. Thompson (2007) sees it as a "contractual artifact" where futures contracts were later changed into options. Goldgar (2007, 2018) counts participants from notary and bankruptcy records, rejecting the image of irrational frenzy, while acknowledging the fact of the price rise and the collapse due to fears of oversupply. The three researchers read the same historical sources and reached different conclusions, and it is not possible to determine which is correct.

Krelage (1942) is the most detailed general history written from the perspective of bulb growers, and it describes varieties, illustrated books, the mechanism of gatherings, and the handling by the city and province based on primary sources. Many of the dates and amounts in the main text are based on this book. Thompson's paper and Goldgar's monograph are only for confirming the title and publication; their texts are not included in the materials listed here.

What we know from — Types of sources