author
Frans Eduard Pels Rijcken
A Dutch lawyer, writer, and rowing enthusiast from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, he is best remembered for practical writing that ranged from municipal law to sport. He also co-wrote an early Dutch handbook on rowing, showing how comfortably he moved between public life and everyday interests.
1 Audiobook
Nederlandsch handboek voor roeisport
by Pieter Helbert Damsté, Frans Eduard Pels Rijcken
About the author
Born in 1861 and later connected with Breda, Frans Eduard Pels Rijcken was a Dutch author whose published work reflects both legal training and a lively interest in civic life. His book Artikel 180 der gemeentewet shows him writing on municipal law, while his name also appears on Nederlandsch handboek voor roeisport, an early Dutch guide to rowing written with Pieter Helbert Damsté.
That combination makes him an interesting figure for modern readers: he was not only concerned with formal legal questions, but also with explaining a sport in a practical, accessible way. The surviving record suggests a writer who worked close to the institutions and pastimes of his time rather than apart from them.
He died in 1947. Though not widely known today, his books offer a small but revealing glimpse of Dutch public and sporting culture from his era.