Brief aan anoniem Possibly 1828 - 1832

This is a letter to an anonymous recipient, written in 1828 by Louis Royer. The material is paper, and the implement, a quill, dipped in iron gall ink. These were the everyday materials of literate society in the early 19th century. Consider the labour involved in producing this page, from the rag-pickers who gathered the raw material for the paper, to the papermakers and ink-makers, to Royer himself, trained in penmanship. The letter is a vehicle for communication, but also an index of social relations. Each stroke of the pen is a trace of the author's hand, inflecting the formal script with his own personality. The even, consistent texture of the writing implies care. The letter survives, not just as a message, but as a testament to a whole world of making, and a particular moment in the history of communication. It reminds us that even the simplest things can carry complex cultural meanings.