Since a passage was made in the Oudemanhuispoort to the gardens of the Vendelstraat, not only the light has changed, but also the sound. It now sounds like it sounds on the quiet Oudezijds, the echo of the gate has disappeared, just as the light has become lighter, greener. In the old days you really stepped into a tunnel, the light at the end of which you could perhaps see, but hardly experienced as such. The little light that came in came from the little square with the tall trees and the statue of Barlaeus and Vossius, scholars who each went to school at one of Amsterdam’s leading gymnasia. It is often dead quiet, but when the doors of the university open, you can imagine yourself back in the playtime of your old primary school.
I liked coming to the Oudemanhuispoort, if only for the wonderful passage to Staalstraat, where Cine Qua Non was already playing its lure. But I never bought much, the men who were in charge always knew exactly what everything was worth and then went the extra mile. But if you wanted to buy Graham Greene’s collected works in pockets in a short time, you’ve come to the right place, and what I loved was the ‘Book Mountain’ that was poured out on one of the tables every afternoon for a while. Everything in the mountain cost a guilder, I believe, and especially in the field of poetry there was often something to be gained.
My worst memory is of the Sunday afternoon when in the completely deserted Gate I found a trader carrying all the issues of the legendary magazine mandrill had lying around, except for one number, namely number 1. mandrill existed from October 1948 to January 1953, 52 issues, and wanted the Dutch New Yorker are, with beautiful covers, cartoons by Bertram, Boost, Hugh Jans and Wim van Wieringen, stories by Marga Minco, Ed Hoornik, Frits van der Molen, E. Elias, Apie Prins, Jacques Gans, and drawings by Remco Campert and Lucebert, just to name a few employees. 51 songs from mandrill. For sale! Expensive of course, but expensive has never made anyone poorer. But I hated that first issue that was sold separately that I fished a few tracks out of the stack and left it at that.
Eternal regret of course, regret, regret, regret, because the few songs I do have are beautiful. Just like the Oudemanhuispoort when I visited it recently. Many stalls, nice and busy and fine specialties, such as film, jazz, children’s books, classical music, small rodents, Mondrian and Alice in Wonderland. No mandrillbut regret is also a beautiful possession.
Guus Luijters regularly writes about books and bookshops in Amsterdam.