Brief aan Philip Zilcken Possibly 1887 - 1888

Editor: Here we have “Brief aan Philip Zilcken,” likely from 1887-1888, by Adriaan Pit. It's a letter, drawn in ink and other media on paper, housed at the Rijksmuseum. It seems so personal, doesn't it? Just ink on paper, a candid handwritten letter. What do you see in this piece? Curator: Beyond the obvious function of conveying information, letters often served as potent cultural symbols in the late 19th century. The act of handwriting, the choice of ink, even the slant of the script... each carries psychological weight. Do you see any visual echoes of other forms that writing took? Editor: I do notice some aspects reminiscent of illuminated manuscripts, perhaps? The curves and flourishes have a kind of artistic sensibility. Curator: Exactly. Before mass communication, handwriting connected one soul to another with particular artistic sensibility. This piece embodies the cultural memory of crafted correspondence and how handwriting carries unique identity and intimacy. Even today, doesn't receiving a handwritten note feel different from an email? What emotions do you associate with it? Editor: Yes, a handwritten letter feels more sincere. Looking at this letter makes me think of that lost intimacy of written correspondence, almost like a fragment of a deeper conversation. It reminds us how communication evolved. Curator: Indeed. This letter isn’t just about its content, but about what handwriting meant culturally and psychologically during its time. It invites us to reflect on what we've gained and perhaps lost, in our own era of digital exchange.