Vignet met een uithangbord met daarop een kan, een kop, flessen en glazen 1836 - 1912

This small drawing of a signboard, featuring a collection of bottles, glasses and a coffee pot, was made by Isaac Weissenbruch in the Netherlands. At the time it was made, the Netherlands was seeing considerable urban expansion, and commercial culture was on the rise. Signboards such as this one played a vital role in helping people navigate the increasingly complex city. As such, Weissenbruch’s image speaks to the importance of public-facing imagery in helping people orient themselves in the modern world. The simple, unadorned style reflects the pragmatic function of signboards, but the image also shows a pride in commerce and industry, hinting at a society that increasingly valued trade and enterprise. To fully understand art like this, it’s vital to explore urban and economic histories. Museum collections of ephemera, combined with city archives and trade directories, can offer valuable insight into how images like this served the public in their day to day lives.