Brief aan Philip Zilcken 1870 - 1930

This is Adriaan Pit’s handwritten letter to Philip Zilcken. Pit, who lived from 1860 to 1944, was director of the Rijksprentenkabinet, now part of the Rijksmuseum. This correspondence offers a personal glimpse into the cultural and intellectual circles of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Letters, as intimate forms of communication, reflect the writers' social standing, education, and personal relationships. Pit’s position as a museum director places him within a network of artists, collectors, and scholars who shaped artistic tastes and narratives. The act of handwriting itself signifies a certain level of care and formality, indicative of the social conventions of the time. How does the simple act of writing a letter, now nearly obsolete, connect us to past generations and their ways of communicating and connecting? Consider the value of such personal artifacts in understanding the human dimensions of art history.