Spelregels bij het Slaapmutsen / spel 1792 - 1847

Curator: Right, here we have “Spelregels bij het Slaapmutsen / spel,” roughly translated as "Rules for the Sleep Cap Game," a print on paper dating back to somewhere between 1792 and 1847, currently held at the Rijksmuseum. Hendrik Moolenyzer is credited, but that's his profile name, not necessarily the artist. What’s your take on it? Editor: It feels surprisingly modern, in a way. The stark typography is very striking. It’s… almost brutalist? Like a cold information sheet rather than a playful invitation to a game. What do you make of that contrast? Curator: You've nailed something crucial there, I think. We have to remember this piece exists in a world very different from ours. For the emerging middle class, even accessing the written word was a marker of a new kind of freedom. This seemingly 'brutal' typography you mentioned signals an aspiration: order, clarity, and maybe, most of all, access to knowledge. Do you see it that way, or perhaps as a dry governmental statement instead? Editor: No, I see your point about the aspiration to knowledge and clarity. It makes the piece less severe. Knowing it describes a game makes me see that starkness in the same way that Ikea does: flat-packed fun that needs your careful building! The instructions are as important as the game itself. Is the ‘Sleep Cap’ some old board game? Curator: "Sleep Cap" I am imagining perhaps was an after-dinner parlour game, nothing so elaborate as a modern board game. Imagine candlelight, perhaps a few glasses of wine… The typography’s clarity could ironically enhance the jovial mood. A dash of order amongst a little chaos. Perhaps this reminds us the very rules that govern our enjoyment often feel strangely arbitrary? It’s something to ponder. I learned a lot speaking about that, what about you? Editor: That little detail has totally transformed my interpretation.