Abraham Casteleyn

Printer and journalist
Abraham Casteleyn was a 17th century printer, publisher, and journalist in Haarlem. During the 1650s, he started two newspapers in his city of Haarlem, of which his Oprechte Haerlemsche Courant (Sincere Haarlem Newspaper) became known all over Europe.

Casteleyn worked for years as a journalist for the newspaper owed by Jan van Hilten, and after his death in 1656 he started his Oprechte. Casteleyn advertised his paper by sending copies of his paper to Van Hilten’s subscriber, guaranteeing quality and weekly reports of the most important events in Europe.

In 1663 Casteleyn commissioned a portrait of himself and his wife Margarieta van Bancken by the famous Haarlem painter Jan de Bray. The couple is portrayed sitting and holding hands as a sign of marital fidelity, while all the objects depicted in the painting, such as the books and globe, allude to his profession and erudition.