Uitnodiging voor de kijkdag van een boekenveiling bij Van Benthem & Jutting te Middelburg before 1879

Editor: Here we have a printed invitation, before 1879, for a book auction preview day, held by Van Benthem & Jutting. It feels quite formal, almost bureaucratic in its presentation. I’m struck by how public this invitation makes the private act of dispersing a library. What can you tell me about its historical context? Curator: It’s fascinating how ephemera like this can illuminate social and cultural values. Notice the phrase "Particulieren Kijkdag" – "Private Viewing Day." This suggests a curated experience, but who were these "particulieren"? Were they specifically collectors, members of a certain social class, or academic background? It gives the event and the collection itself a kind of prestige. The print itself becomes a marker of status. Editor: So it's not just about selling books, but about signalling status? Curator: Exactly. The typography, even the use of Dutch rather than, say, French, then the language of diplomacy, reflects a deliberate effort to create a certain identity for both the auction house and its clientele. Book collecting in the 19th century was closely tied to ideas of nationhood, cultural heritage, and personal refinement. An event like this actively shapes those ideas. Did Van Benthem and Jutting target other specific demographics, perhaps through the types of books being sold? Editor: It seems to reflect a lot about how books operated as cultural objects. I hadn't really thought of the invitation as anything more than a notice. Curator: Precisely! That is where an examination of such historical material helps to reveal layers that often get obscured by other histories. The distribution of this collection shapes our very idea of Mr. G.A. Fokker.