Leert uit Duimpjes aardig leven, ('t geen wij u in prent hier geven : ) / Zijt g'ondeugend, hoewel klein, dat uw eind' zal droevig zijn / Enfants si de Poucet, je vous donne l'image, c'est pour vous exciter à toujours rester sage; / Recherchez la vertu, c'est là le vrai moyen de vous faire chérir de tout homme de bien 1833 - 1911

Curator: Here we have a printed piece created between 1833 and 1911 by Brepols & Dierckx zoon. It's titled "Leert uit Duimpjes aardig leven, ('t geen wij u in prent hier geven : ) / Zijt g'ondeugend, hoewel klein, dat uw eind' zal droevig zijn / Enfants si de Poucet, je vous donne l'image, c'est pour vous exciter à toujours rester sage; / Recherchez la vertu, c'est là le vrai moyen de vous faire chérir de tout homme de bien." Editor: What a mouthful! At first glance, it strikes me as a kind of proto-comic, a really old-school storyboard filled with tiny human dramas and animals rendered in such sweet pastel colors. Curator: The piece presents itself as a lesson, or a moral tale. Consider how Thumbelina is evoked in the title, signalling a miniature world. The illustrations remind us that stories are important across generations and cultures to instill principles and beliefs. Editor: Absolutely, that’s instantly visible. Each little scene, so contained, is trying to say something weighty. Look at that tiny figure leading a bull; or the hanging pig. Almost like hieroglyphs but from our great grandparent's era! Curator: See how even the palette choice—red, yellow, blue—feels deliberately childlike, simple, like the stories themselves are stripped down to basics to deliver these values? Editor: The somewhat clumsy draftsmanship even adds to this impression. One gets a feeling the scenes are about basic everyday occurrences or activities. Not especially dramatic, but more like a collection of banal circumstances with looming morals, if you get my drift. Curator: It makes one think about childhood memories of such illustrations. Each scene almost functions like a symbolic snapshot frozen in time. Editor: Definitely food for thought—all these old lessons hanging in there within what appears at first glance like quaint illustrations. It serves as a stark reminder of the many unspoken codes governing lives once. Curator: A compelling way to reframe such historical narratives and re-experience our cultural heritage.