Briefkaart aan Philip Zilcken before 1887

This is a postcard to Philip Zilcken, sent from Hamburg and written by Arij Prins in 1887. The postal markings provide a glimpse into the workings of communication networks at the time. Germany, newly unified in 1871, was rapidly industrializing, and this postcard reflects that growth. It shows how systems of bureaucracy and infrastructure, like the postal service, were critical to shaping the modern experience of space and time. The act of corresponding, and the very existence of institutions that made it possible, also helped to constitute a shared European culture. Historians can use sources such as postal records, business documents, and personal letters to map these connections and to understand the social and cultural contexts that informed artistic production. The meaning of art is contingent on its institutional context.