Brief aan Ary Johannes Lamme 1822 - 1870

Curator: This is a letter by Josephine Fodor-Mainville to Ary Johannes Lamme, sometime between 1822 and 1870, a handwritten piece in ink on paper. What grabs you about it? Editor: The delicate script and aged paper give it such a tangible sense of history. It feels intimate, like eavesdropping on a private conversation. What strikes you most? Curator: Considering it from a materialist perspective, I'm interested in the labor involved. The meticulous act of handwriting itself becomes significant. Imagine the time and skill it took to produce this, compared to, say, mass-produced printed text. Editor: That’s true, it really highlights a different kind of value doesn't it? It emphasizes the *process* over pure content. Is that what you mean? Curator: Precisely! And beyond the individual labor, think about the larger systems at play. The ink, the paper—where did they come from? Who produced them? These raw materials and tools represent broader networks of trade and manufacturing, embedded in the culture and economy of the time. This affects our relationship with art, because we examine how the production changes our experience of viewing it. Editor: That makes me think about the accessibility of communication then. It wasn't instant, like an email, but crafted. Do you think the letter form influenced what or how people communicated then? Curator: Absolutely! The very act of writing a letter fostered a different relationship between writer and reader, based on sustained attention, deliberate phrasing and the expectation of delayed response, shaping the nature of social connections itself. Editor: This is fascinating, I hadn't thought about all the labor tied into something as simple as a letter! It really puts the "hand" back into handwritten. Curator: Exactly. Focusing on the material production transforms a simple document into a rich source for understanding not just personal exchange, but also larger social and economic systems.