ABSTRACT
Of the one hundred general letters that were selected from the collection randomly, 45 mention the exchange of gifts, and of these 45 letters, 55 instances of gift exchange were mentioned. In the 180 letters that were chosen because they reveal details about festivities and rituals almost all refer to the exchange of gifts in some way or another, be it hospitality or the offering of presents. When it comes to the practices of exchange in twentieth-century Holland, the letters convey similarities and differences with seventeenth-century gift-exchange practices. Generally speaking, the networks, occasions and gifts largely coincide in both periods. However, there are some differences in the importance of certain networks over others, the timing of gift exchange for certain occasions as well as some innovations of occasions, and innovations in the type of gifts exchanged.
