Prentbriefkaart met auto met vier mensen en een stel reusachtige eieren en een reusachtige aardappel aan de achterzijde 1909

Editor: Here we have "Prentbriefkaart met auto met vier mensen en een stel reusachtige eieren en een reusachtige aardappel aan de achterzijde," or a postcard with a car, four people, some giant eggs, and an even bigger potato from 1909 by Martin Post Card Co. The whole thing has such a surreal, dreamlike quality about it. What jumps out at you when you see it? Curator: Oh, that potato! It reminds me of when I was little, my grandmother had this one potato in her pantry, grew a kind of... face over several months. Anyway! It makes me wonder, doesn’t it? Are these really giant potatoes and eggs? Is it a trick of perspective? What *is* modern about this farmer? It almost feels like it’s making fun of progress somehow. Are we supposed to laugh, or are we supposed to think about the human cost of it? What do *you* think? Editor: That's such an interesting point about mocking progress. I was thinking it might be about the abundance of food. Maybe there was a shortage, and this felt like a humorous way to show what a plentiful future might look like? Curator: Abundance, yes. Almost to the point of absurdity, right? And the way the car is kind of sinking into what looks like a river—maybe even abundance has its cost? Maybe it's sinking into the mire of its own excess? And yet, there's something deeply appealing about the idea of enormous, easily accessible food, don't you think? A sort of modern cornucopia, or rather, a potatocopia? Editor: A potatocopia! I love that. I definitely came in thinking this was just a quirky, funny postcard, but now I see all these layers of meaning. Food, progress, potential disaster... thanks for making me think! Curator: The pleasure was all mine. And it proves you should never judge a book -- or a potato -- by its cover!