Nothing says Spring like flowers, and in Holland—where we spent the better part of ten days earlier this month—that means tulips.

On this National Trust Tours trip, I was fascinated with the web of history that ties us together. And yes, even the beautiful tulip has much to teach us about that web and the fact that while history doesn’t repeat, it often rhymes.

Following Holland’s independence from Spain and the establishment of the Dutch Republic in the late 16th century, international trade helped fuel the first of three major Golden Ages in the country’s history. By the early 17th century, Holland was one of the richest countries in Europe.

What happened next has been repeated over-and-over again throughout the world when wealth is coveted and concentrated in the hands of the few. While the names and assets change, the pattern repeats. We’re in the midst of one of those periods here in the early 21st century.

Amsterdam’s Tulip Museum picks up the Dutch story.

“The coveted tulip became a status symbol for men of means and a chance for mobility for the working class, as those lucky enough to raise and sell an outstanding seedling could make a great deal of money.

In the fall of 1636 and the winter of 1637, speculation and frenzied trade elevated the price of tulips to dizzying heights. Newfound wealth and greed drove the price of a single bulb to equal that of a townhouse in Amsterdam.”

Yes, just one of these . . .

Came to cost as much as one of these.

Sounds like a cryptocurrency deal to me.

“This situation was not to last. Fortunes and reputations were lost when the tulip market collapsed in February 1637.”

Tulipmania is generally considered to have been the first recorded speculative bubble or asset bubble in history.

Tulips are still a big business in The Netherlands, a fact we discovered as we traveled to see the world-famous Keukenhof Gardens last Monday. Along with 40,000 other visitors.

I’m just guessing, but I wouldn’t be surprised if our selfie was one of about 25,000 taken that day.

Keukenhof does its best to live up to the title of “The Most Beautiful Spring Garden in the World.” Tulips aren’t the only featured flower. Anytime we caught a fragrance on the wind, we would turn and see some marvel, like this river of hyacinths, nearby.

I took one hundred or more photos, but I’ll showcase just a few that really caught my eye.

On our way back to our riverboat, we passed other fields. A few were designed for the “pick them yourself” tourists, but most were part of the very serious business of tulip bulb production.

As is true in many speculative bubbles, not everyone lost in the tulipmania craze. Some have called it more of a socio-economic phenomenon than a significant economic crisis. The term tulipmania is now often used metaphorically to refer to any large economic bubble when asset prices deviate from intrinsic values.

The Tulip Museum had a wonderful exhibit on Tulipmania. When one entered that part of the museum you were greeted by the sound of a single upright bass played by legendary jazz bass player, songwriter and raconteur Jay Leonhart singing his Tulip Song.

Leonhart has had a distinctive career, playing with the likes of Judy Garland, Duke Ellington, Thad Jones, Buddy Rich, Jim Hall, Peggy Lee, Mel Torme, Marian McPartland, Kenny Barron, Sting, James Taylor, Papa Joe Jones, Roy Eldridge, Jim Hall, Louie Bellson, Dick Hyman, Luciano Pavoratti, and many more. But he is best known from writing and singing idiosyncratic songs “about anything I wanted” which is probably how the Tulip Song came to be.

Another bit of off-beat history with a bass soundtrack is Leonhart’s Life In the Middle Ages.

Leonhart’s tale of finding himself next to Leonard Bernstein in first class on a New York to LA flight includes a funny introduction that describes his songwriting process (such as it is). And I’ll end with his most “famous” tune, Salamander Pie.

Happy Spring! And don’t pay too much for those tulip bulbs!

More to come . . .

DJB