Overlijdensbericht aan Philip Zilcken en Henriette Wilhelmina van Baak Possibly 1911 - 1923

This is a condolence letter to Philip Zilcken and Henriette Wilhelmina van Baak, sent anonymously in the Netherlands. The postal stamp indicates the date: 24th of August. This artifact is a fragment of Dutch social life and speaks to the institutional history of mourning. Visual cues like the formal handwriting style, the type of paper, and the Dutch postage stamp, communicate the historical context. We may ask, what can this simple letter tell us about Dutch society at the time? Looking into resources like genealogical databases and historical postal records helps us understand social networks and the mechanics of communication at that time. This letter reminds us that history resides in quotidian objects and that museums are the custodians of these objects.