Brief aan Anna Dorothea Dirks Possibly 1898

This handwritten letter was created by Jacoba Cornelia Jolles-Singels. The letter's script undulates across the page, a blue-black ink contrasting with the pale paper. This contrast, alongside the density of the writing, creates a sense of intimacy, like a whispered confidence. The formal structure of the letter is set by its script. The letter begins with a decorative flourish in red, and the text itself, a dense block of cursive, fills the space, creating a pattern that almost overwhelms its legibility. Jolles-Singels destabilizes the formal conventions of written communication by using a casual and personal style, creating a sense of immediacy and informality. The letter, in its totality, functions as a coded exchange between Jolles-Singels and her recipient. The visual materiality of the letter—the ink, the paper, the handwriting—becomes integral to understanding its message, reflecting broader cultural discourses around personal communication and female expression. The letter invites us to consider its layers of meaning, acknowledging its potential for ongoing interpretation and re-interpretation.