Speldenverkoper 1688 - 1724

This print, made by Jacob Gole in Amsterdam around the turn of the 18th century, depicts a traveling salesman hawking pins. Look closely and you can see the fine lines, a hallmark of the engraving process. Gole would have used a tool called a burin to carve the image into a copper plate, with the varying depth and density of the lines creating the tonal range we see here. Prints like this were essentially a form of proto-mass production, allowing images to circulate widely. But they also offer insight into the lives of working people. This salesman, with his worn clothes and heavy boxes, embodies the labor and commerce of the time. The act of printing itself, requiring skill and precision, mirrors the painstaking work of crafting the pins he sells. The image invites us to consider the relationship between craft and commerce, reminding us that even everyday objects have a story to tell about the people who made and sold them.