Tot lof en roem dees helden fier / Men haar scheepen vertoond op papier / Knipt ze uyt na uw behagen / Voor een kleyn geld kunt gy ze vragen 1770 - 1794

This uncut broadside, whose maker is Erven Hendrik van der Putte, presents a grid of ships rendered in woodcut. Prints like this one were relatively cheap to produce and buy, so they circulated widely. This one from the Netherlands likely dates to the 17th or 18th century, a time of booming maritime trade and naval power for the Dutch Republic. The image invites us to celebrate Dutch naval prowess. Yet it also functions as a template for a child’s game: “cut them out to your liking for a small price.” The text suggests that children, or perhaps adults, could cut out the ships and arrange them into a naval parade on a tabletop. Studying prints like this one involves archival research into the printing industry and the popular market for images. It also involves deciphering the politics of representation in the Netherlands during its time as a global power.