Center for Maritime Archaeology and Conservation Lecture Series
	Ab Hoving
	April 2006
by Wendy van Duivenvoorde
	The ships of the Dutch Golden Age were intricate and complicated machinery. Beautiful, sturdy, and reliable, they stand today as an important chapter in the history of European technology. Yet only a few study this complicated aspect of Dutch seafaring. Ab Hoving is one of those very few. He is recognized by the international academic community as one of the world's renowned specialists in historic shipbuilding, and undoubtedly the most knowledgeable scholar in the field of Dutch shipbuilding from the late 16th century onwards.
His books and papers--well-researched, comprehensive, concise, and clear--have been part of the mandatory readings for students in the Nautical Archaeology Program. Consequently, his work has inspired many students to following in his footsteps and experiment with wooden models in order to try to better understand the logics of shipbuilding technology. It must be noted that Hoving does not perform his research alone! As a true scholar, he works closely with his colleagues during the reconstruction of Dutch ships. His cooperation and joint research efforts with other fervent ship model builders and excellent illustrators, such as Cor Emke, Gerard de Weerdt, and Alan Lemmers, have played an important role in a recently published series of books and, consequently, their success. Helen Dewolf, Ab Hoving, and Kroum Batchvarov in the Riverside Campus Laboratoty seeing the ongoing Belle's artifact conservation.
	Hoving's name was one of the first to come up when the Nautical Archaeology Program's staff initiated a lecture series for their new Center for Maritime Archaeology and Conservation. Staff and students were delighted when he agreed to visit College Station for a few days to give a talk on his research, spend time with students and faculty, chat about shipbuilding, and discuss the possibility of publishing an English edition of his book Nicolaes Witsens scheeps-bouw-konst open gestelt by Texas A&M University Press. The publication of such an important translation will make Witsen's work, at least part of it, more accessible to foreign scholars, shipbuilders, historians, model builders and those otherwise interested. Jim Jobling, Ab Hoving, and Kroum Batchvarov in the Riverside Campus Laboratoty admiring one of CSS Alabama's guns.
Hoving visited College Station from April 4 to 7, 2006 and was a bit surprised to discover that he has a serious fan club in College Station. His visit was not only beneficial to the Nautical Archaeology Program.but also to himself. During a tour of the conservation research laboratory on the Riverside Campus by Helen de Wolfe (like Hoving, from Groningen descent), he was keen to learn about silicon-oil treatment for the conservation of shipwreck artifacts. As the curator of the ship model collection of the Rijksmuseum, Hoving hopes that the silicon-oil treatment may work well to support the fragile material of the standing rigging of the period ship models from the museum's collection.
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	Ab Hoving Bibliography
	Books
Hoving, A.J. 2005. William Rex: A Model of a 17th-Century Warship. Amsterdam: Waanders.     Hoving, A.J., and C. Emke. 2004. Het schip van Willem Barents: Een hypothetische reconstructie van een laat-zestiende-eeuws jacht. Hilversum: Verloren.     Hoving, A.J. and A.A. Lemmers. 2001. In tekening gebracht: de achttiende-eeuwse scheepsbouwers en hun ontwerpmethoden. Amsterdam: De Bataafsche Leeuw.     Hoving, A.J., and C. Emke. 2000. The Ships of Abel Tasman. Hilversum: Verloren.     Hoving, A.J., and G.A. de Weerdt. 1994. Nicolaes Witsens scheeps-bouw-konst open gestelt. Franeker: Van Wijnen.       Hoving, A.J. 1992. Het oorlogsjacht De Heemskerck: het schip waarmee Abel Tasman Nieuw Zeeland ontdekte. Amsterdam: Rijksmuseum Amsterdam
	Articles
Hoving, A.J. 1991. "Ship Camels and Water Ships." Model Shipwright 76: 32-36. Hoving, A.J. 1991. "A 17th-Century 42-feet Long Dutch Pleasure Vessel: A Research into Original Building Techniques." In Carvel Construction Technique Skeleton-first, Shell-first. Proceedings of the Fifth International Symposium on Boat and Ship Archaeology, Amsterdam 1988, ISBSA 5, edited by R. Reinders and K. Paul, 77-80. Oxbow Monograph 12. Oxford: Oxbow Books. Hoving, A.J. 1991. "Stern Carvings." Model Shipwright 78: 49-54. Hoving, A.J. 1991. "The Demonstration Model." Model Shipwright 77: 33-38. Hoving, A.J. 1991. "Ship Camels and Waterships." Model Shipwright 76: 32-36. Hoving, A.J. 1991. "The Marinemodellenkamer." Model Shipwright 75: 3-8. Hoving, A.J. 1991. "De Marinemodellenkamer." Modelbouwer 10: 602-604 Hoving, A.J. 1991. "Scheepsbouwmethoden in de 18de eeuw." Den Goeden Wind 12. Hoving, A. and R. Parthesius. 1991. "Hollandse scheepsbouwmethoden in de zeventiende eeuw". In Batavia Cahier 3. Herbouw van een Oostindiëvaarder, 5-11. Lelystad: Stichting Nederland bouwt een VOC-retourship. Hoving, A.J. 1990. "Away from the Drawing Board." Model Shipwright 71: 47-50. Hoving, A.J. 1989. "Away from the Drawing Board." Model Shipwright 69: 43-51. Hoving, A.J. 1988. "A 17th-Century Dutch 134-foot Pinas: A Reconstruction after Aeloude en Hedendaegse Scheepsbouw en Bestier by Nicolaes Witsen 1671." IJNA 17.4: 331-338. Hoving, A.J. 1988. "A 17th-Century Dutch 134-foot Pinas: A Reconstruction after Aeloude en Hedendaegse Scheepsbouw en Bestier by Nicolaes Witsen 1671." IJNA 17.3: 211-222. Hoving, A.J. 1987. "Seventeenth Century Dutch Ship Decoration." Model Shipwright 66: 30-34. Hoving, A.J. 1987. "A Pinasship of 134 Feet." Model Shipwright 60: 39-51. Hoving, A.J. 1986. "Dutch 17th-Century Shipbuilding." Model Shipwright 58: 28-36. Hoving, A.J. 1984. "Restauratie van scheepsmodellen." Modelbouwer: 39-41. Hoving, A.J. 1984. "Restauratie van scheepsmodellen." Modelbouwer: 70-73. Hoving, A.J. 1983. "Restauratie van scheepsmodellen." Modelbouwer: 668-671.