Salomon Hendricxsz Coster (1623 - 1659)

Field(s) of interest: scientific instruments | horology
Gender: male

Born: Haarlem, <1623
Died: Den Haag, 1659

Biography:
Clockmaker from Haarlem, who moved to The Hague in 1643. From 1646 his workshop was located the corner of the Wagenstraat/Veerkade. On the 16th of June 1657, a patent gave him the right for 21 years to make pendulum clocks, according to the system invented by Christiaan Huygens. Many clockmakers were apprenticed or worked for Coster, like Pieter Visbagh, Christiaan Reijnaert, John Fromanteel and Nicolas Hanet. After his death, his widow Jannetje Harmans Hartloop took over the business (until 20-9-1660) probably assisted by John Fromanteel. A year later (1660) Pieter Visbagh bought the firm and rented the house which he bought in 1671.

Collection: Museum Boerhaave Leiden.

Occupations:
Instrument maker: ~1643 (Den Haag)

Sources:
Servaas van Rooijen, A.J., 'Een mededinger van Christiaan Huygens', Album der natuur (1884).

Morpurgo, E., Nederlandse klokken- en horlogemakers vanaf 1300 (Amsterdam 1970), 30.

Doorman, G., Octrooien voor uitvindingen ('s-Gravenhage 1940), 224 and 292.

Wijnen, G., Het klokje met slingeruurwerk van Salomon Coster, expositie 1974(Amsterdam 1974).

Huygens, Chr., Oeuvres Completes (La Haye 1888), dl 2 (pag. 125), dl. 3 (pag. 4), dl. 17 (pag. 12).

Rooseboom, M., Bijdrage tot de geschiedenis der instrumentmakerskunst in de noordelijke Nederlanden (Leiden 1950).