Reisverslag c. 1880 - 1887

Louis Apol made this travelogue, most likely sometime in the late 19th or early 20th century, using ink on paper. The very nature of a travel journal speaks to a specific kind of mobility afforded by industrialization, especially to those with the means to partake. Consider the weight of the book in your hands and the repetitive act of handwriting, a stark contrast to our current, instantaneous forms of digital communication. The book’s pages, filled with elegant cursive script, reveal the intimate connection between thought, hand, and material. The grid pattern of the paper provides a subtle structure, yet it's the artist’s hand that brings the journal to life, rendering each entry as a personal record of experience. Think about the labor involved: not only Apol’s own, but also the anonymous workers who manufactured the paper and bound the book, and the social context of leisure, literacy, and access that made such a journey and its record possible.