Letter E c. 16th century

Curator: Here we have a woodcut print, simply titled "Letter E", from an anonymous artist, housed here at the Harvard Art Museums. It strikes me as quite formal, almost heraldic. Editor: I see that too, but the roughness of the cut lines gives it a folk art quality. I wonder about the labor involved in this repetition. Curator: Indeed. That roughness hints at a wider, more practical use—perhaps an early form of mass communication, beyond just decoration, connecting to the cultural memory of literacy itself. Editor: It definitely makes me think about the role of printmaking in disseminating knowledge and shaping cultural narratives. Each impression carries that potential. Curator: So, beyond the letter, we see a vessel for ideas, and the potential of widespread understanding. Editor: Exactly. It’s an everyday object imbued with significant cultural weight through material process.