With great sadness the Huizinga Institute has received the news of the passing of our dear colleague Boudien de Vries (1951-2025). Originally trained as a socio-economic historian and member of the Posthumus Institute for economic and social history, since the 1990s Boudien was one of the foundational scholars in the field of nineteenth-century Dutch cultural history. Combining quantitative and qualitative sources and methods in inventive ways, she substantially contributed to the study of bourgeois culture, urban culture, cultural associations, and the history of reading. As board member and editor of De Negentiende Eeuw, she actively promoted the fruitful collaboration between social, cultural, art and literary historians. In Een stad vol lezers. Leescultuur in Haarlem 1850-1920 (Prof. van Winterprize 2013) she masterfully integrated her lifelong fascinations and expertises in a meticulously researched landmark study. Generations of students and many former PhD candidates and colleagues will remember her for her wit, her precision and her warm and encouraging friendship.