Lijst van arm- en beenspieren in Duits en Latijn 1906 - 1945

This list of arm and leg muscles in German and Latin was made by Reijer Stolk, probably in the early 1940s, using a typewriter. The keys leave an impression directly onto the paper, with each strike producing a fixed letterform. It’s a process entirely of its time. Think about how this contrasts with the content. The subject matter – anatomical nomenclature – is rooted in the classical tradition. It gestures back to an era when knowledge was painstakingly handwritten. Typewriting, by comparison, seems abrupt, even violent. It brings the body into the industrial age. This simple document reflects profound social changes, specifically the rise of office work. It’s also shadowed by Stolk's own biography. He was murdered during the Second World War, perhaps a casualty of that violent historical moment. So, in the end, even a commonplace artifact like this can tell a complex story about the uneasy relationship between bodies, machines, and history.