Society for Common Ownership of Land

The IISH received an important addition to the archive of the Vereniging Gemeenschappelijk Grondbezit [Society for Common Ownership of Land]. The Society had been established in 1901 by the Dutch writer Frederik van Eeden, and his Walden colony in Bussum was the spearhead of the movement. Their argument was that land and means of production should accrue to the community and be shared accordingly. The archive shows the organization in its infancy. The addition includes minutes of the meetings of the board (1916-1931), handwritten annual reports, reports from the local branches participating in the Society, and letters addressed to Frederik van Eeden (1903-1916) that occasionally shed light on the ramshackle potato growing in his Walden colony. In 1919 an inquiry was held among alleged adherents, and they informed the Society about their motives, work, working hours, and income. (Text: Margreet Schrevel)
Brief archival description