For the past ten years, the Dutch foundation Stichting Het Johan Borgman Fonds (HJBF) is actively involved in the preservation of the heritage of 20th-century Dutch academic Parapsychology and Spiritualism.
HJBF has gathered and processed a large collection of historical documents, books, journals and artefacts. Despite the historical relevance of all these materials, they were often mistreated, neglected and not conserved in the manner they deserved.
Given the relevance for future historians regarding these collections, the HJBF aims to preserve and promote these collections to sustain Borgman’s legacy. After processing and indexing these materials, they are typically handed over to public archival institutions (universities) and libraries both in the Netherlands and abroad.
Our donations to the Koninklijke Bibliotheek (National Library of the Netherlands) is one of the many examples that shows how our efforts contribute to the preservance of these collections. 500 new books and magazines on the subject of parapsychology were handed over between 2009 and 2014, rising to over a thousand in the present day. Our substantial contribution is also recognized in one this KB blog.
If you’d like to contribute in preserving the history of Dutch Spiritualism and academic Parapsychology, we’d gratefully welcome any relevant documents, journals, photographs, audiotapes and artefacts!
See below for examples of our (processed) collections. To explore some of our fascinating historical artefacts, some of which were used during spiritualistic seances, follow us on Instagram.
