Since receiving a copy of the Trip family tree (and having a bit of time on my hands), I’ve been exploring the internet to see what additional information is available. I have found several interesting tidbits, which I will write up as little articles of Tri(p)via. Here’s the first installment.

By the way, I’m the current holder of a volume of history about the Trip family, De Trippen in de 17E Eeuw (The Trips in the 17^th Century). Unfortunately, it’s written in Dutch which leaves it largely inaccessible to me.

The Trip family moved to Zaltbommel (central Holland, on the river Waal) before 1495. They built a house known as “De Trip” or “Trippenhuis”, where Jan Gerritsz (or Gerritszn or Gerritszoon = son of Gerrit) lived. Here’s a picture of it:

Gerrit’s grandson, Jacob Jansz Trip, was the patriarch of the family that established itself as an industrial power in Amsterdam. He had two sons: Elias, from whom we are descended, and Jacob. Jacob’s two sons, Louys and Hendrick were very successful and in 1662 they built themselves a double house (two separate houses behind a single front). Today, this house is the site of the Royal Dutch Science Academy. Here’s a picture of the new, improved Trippenhuis:

Here’s what one travel guide says about the house:

In the 17th century, the Golden Age, large mansions were already being built, generally with a cornice gable. The large building across the road is Amsterdam’s most magnificent city palace: Kloveniersburgwal 29, the Trip House. Amsterdam does not have an aristrocratic, but rather a civilian character: not royal palaces but private houses dominate. The only palaces Amsterdam boasts, are the Palace on Dam Square, which was to be the town hall, and civilian palaces such as the Trip House. The Trip House was built in 1662 by Justus Vingboons for the brothers Hendrick and Louys Trip, “arms merchants of the peace” (Ex Bello Pax), who wanted to have a more distinguished house than their big competitor Louis de Geer, who lived on the Keizersgracht. We should really say the Trip houses, as there are two semi-detached houses under the one roof, behind the one facade: Hendrick lived in the left part, and Louys lived in the right part. In the austere classicistical pilaster gable the symmetry has been carried to such extremes that the divisional wall between the two houses runs halfway between the middle windows. The fact that the Trip brothers were arms merchants, is obvious from the cannons in the tympan and the large chimneys on the corners which are in the shape of mortars! The interior is very special, with, among other things, ceiling paintings with birds which were discovered during the recent restoration. The building is now the domicile of the Royal Dutch Science Academy.

The Trippenhuis story doesn’t end there. On the other side of the canal is the Klein (small) Trippenhuis. Here’s the story from a Dutch hotel guide:

On this side of the canal the so-called Klein-Trip House, dating back to 1696, is located. It is a very narrow house (2.44 metres), but is broader in the back (approx. 5 metres). Popular legend has it that the facade is as wide as the front door of the Trip House on the other side of the canal. A servant of the Trip family is reported to have said during construction: “I wish I had a house as wide as the front door of the Trippenhuis”. There were some building materials left over and these were used to build him this little house. Unfortunately, this story is not true: Hendrick Trip was already dead in 1696.

Here are a couple of pictures of it: the left one shows the whole building; the right one is a nicer picture.

Now, this is a very narrow house, but unfortunately, not the narrowest in the world, or even Amsterdam.

Here's some more information about narrow houses from the Amsterdam Tourist Board.

The narrowest house in the world is located at Singel number 7. The tiny house is only one meter wide and not much wider than its front door. The people who live here must be on a never-ending diet... Admittedly, this is the back of the house; the front is quite a bit wider.

NARROWEST HOUSE IN EUROPE
Amsterdam, however, does boast the narrowest house in all of Europe. 22 Oude Hoogstraat is a tiny house with a clock gable, typical for Amsterdam. The front is only 2.02 meters wide. The house is 6 meters deep.

TRIPPEN HOUSE
Another narrow house is located nearby, on 26 Kloveniersburgwal. This building has a beautiful, 2.44-meter-wide list gable. The house is known as the ‘Trippen House’ or ‘The House of Mr. Trip’s coachman’. It is located right opposite the Trip House at no. 29. This Trip House is well over 22 meters wide and the broadest private residence in Amsterdam. The extremely wealthy brothers Lodewijk and Hendrick Trip had this house built in 1660. The brothers amassed a fortune from the iron, copper, guns and ammunition trade. Legend has it that Mr. Trip’s coachman exclaimed: 'Oh my, I would be happy if I had a house that was only as wide as the front door of my master’s house.' Mr. Trip overheard him and made sure that his wish came true.

The one on the left is Singel 7; the other two turned up in my search for “narrow house Amsterdam”.