Wilma had a strong sense of right and wrong. During the war, books and antiques from Jews were kept in the crawl space at home. The old art dealer Jack Vecht went into hiding there, the artist Melle, active in the resistance, ‘kept’ ration books there and occasionally came to hide for a few days. In this auction, lot number 8038 includes the chest that Jack gave the family after the war, as well as several works by the artist Melle. Special mention for the secretary with a work of art by Melle in the interior (lot number 8041).

Wilma herself joined the resistance when she was 17. She was a courier, including sten guns and ration cards. ‘If you do nothing, you are guilty’ was her opinion.

From ‘Uncle Jack’ Wilma learned to ‘look with her fingers’. He had a large collection of Northern Dutch majolica and looked at the shards, the lustre, the handiwork with her. Wilma herself developed a special preference for white Delftware. ‘Lobes are actually more beautiful than pleated dishes’ was her opinion. And also: ‘… I like utility ware the most. It is not made to be beautiful, has no pretensions, no bells and whistles.’ (from Vind nr 40 – Goed Verzameld, Fleur Poots). You can also recognize Wilma’s inquisitive eye and knowing fingers in the Persian pottery, the collection is clearly put together with love and knowledge.

The collection of ethnographica and pre-Columbian artefacts started with father Wim Schuhmacher. In the 1930s he regularly exhibited at his art dealer Carel van Lier on the Rokin together with artists such as Raoul Hynckes, Charley Toorop, Edgar Fernhout, Dick Ket and Carel Willink. Van Lier was a pioneer in the field of ethnographica in those years, he was the first in the Netherlands to organise an exhibition on this subject in the Stedelijk Museum in 1927. Wilma said that many of the Pre-Columbian objects come from her father’s collection, supplemented by her own purchases from, among others, the old Lemaire gallery in the Leidsestraat.

Special mention must be made of the showpiece of this collection, the horizontal grave sculpture from New Ireland, Malagan. Not only is the provenance special – already depicted in photos in Wim Schuhmacher’s studio and with a provenance number of Carel van Lier – but certainly also the powerful appearance, deep carving and well-preserved pigments are striking. (lot number 5604)

Of course, the collection of paintings remains. Because they are certainly not missing. Beautiful works by Jan Toorop, Anton Mauve, Jacob Maris and of course Wim Schuhmacher himself. The dark studio pieces by Suze Robertson (1855-1922) deserve a flashlight and closer study on the viewing days. After cleaning, these top pieces will show all their treasures.

With the passing of Wilma earlier this year, the famous antiquarian bookshop on the Geldersekade is now closing for good. Since the fifties, Max and Wilma specialized in Dutch literature. Max bought and Wilma made the scientific file catalogues. No one had knowledge like they did about binding variants, editions, publications. No one played such a major role in the knowledge of the publications of Dutch literature as Wilma and Max. Fortunately, the books will partly go to the Ritman library in the house with the heads and the archive to the collection of the University Library of the UVA. In Wilma’s words: ‘ultimately we are here to protect and preserve the art’. (Vind, no. 40).

‘This is the final farewell to a monument in life’, someone said at the funeral. And a new beginning for this collection with other collectors.