'Tulipomania' in the books

By Karen Spiel

This time of year, we can buy bouquets of gorgeous cut tulips, and we can watch them bloom in gardens, or visit the tulip fields to the north. Looking at these graceful flowers, you would never imagine what a source of upheaval and disaster they once were.

"Tulipomania" is the name for the frenzied speculation in tulip bulbs that gripped Holland from 1634 to 1637. In Europe, delight and fascination with tulips had been steadily increasing since the Middle Ages, partly due to a mysterious characteristic: tulips are prone to a virus infection that is spread by aphids, and this infection results in "breaking," which is a streaking of color, in a flame-like pattern, which was much admired by gardeners. It was impossible to tell which tulips would manifest "breaking," but all tulips were a valuable commodity. People began buying and selling bulbs and tulip futures at higher and higher profits, sometimes risking all their possessions in a mania to get rich quick. Banks had special vaults for the bulbs, and people used them as loan collateral.

A single bulb might be a dowry for a bride, and a handful would buy a stately home. Many people made vast fortunes in a few weeks, as prices went higher and higher over 3 years. But then suddenly, bafflingly, no one wanted to buy tulip bulbs anymore, and in the wave of panic selling, many fortunes were instantly lost. The surge of bankruptcies caused economic depression.

"Tulipomania" by Wilfrid Blunt (1950) gives a brief and lively recounting of the tulip's history, from the first tulip seeds and bulbs stolen from Turkey and brought to Europe in the Middle Ages, through the height of the madness in Holland, and into the early 20th century. Included are 16 plates from 17th century watercolors.

"Hana in the Time of the Tulips" by Debra Noyes, illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline (2004) is a picture book retelling of tulipomania, for children. Hana's father has invested heavily in bulbs, and becomes more and more worried that his money will be lost in the fickle market. Hana worries, too, because her father is sinking into despair. Her friend Rembrandt helps her find a way to remind her father about what is really valuable.

If your interest is piqued, "The Tulip: the Story of a Flower That Has Made Men Mad " by Anna Pavord (1999) is a comprehensive history, full of plates and drawings, tracing the tulip from its origins in the east to modern western gardens, in over 400 pages of detail.

The tulip in the context of Holland's history is explored in the video "Tulip: Treasure of Springtime", a 20 minute documentary by Jim Waldsmith (2000). 24,000 acres of the Netherlands are devoted to tulips, and 400 million bulbs are exported to the U.S. annually. An elderly man describes how the starving Dutch used to grind tulip bulbs and bake them into a sort of cake, during the famine years of the Nazi occupation during WWII.

If you would rather just grow them, there are many books available in your local library, including "Tulip" by Liz Dobbs (2002). This book is full of beautiful photos, and practical advice. As she notes near the end, "...tulip breaking still occurs sporadically, and the first you will see of it is a plain-colored tulip breaking into white or yellow streaks. Once a plant has the virus, there is little you can do to stop the spread, except remove and destroy the plant-although you might want to keep it if you like the pattern!"

Karen Spiel is branch manager of the Delridge and West Seattle libraries and can be reached at wseditior@robinsonnews.com