Extra-Ordinaire Haagsche Courant met nieuws van het Alliantiefeest in 1795 Possibly 1795 - 1798

Editor: Here we have "Extra-Ordinaire Haagsche Courant met nieuws van het Alliantiefeest in 1795," potentially created between 1795 and 1798 by Johannes de Groot en Zoonen. It's an engraving – a detailed print on what looks like old paper. It feels very official and text-heavy. What strikes you when you look at this piece? Curator: I’m immediately drawn to the material context. Consider the labor involved in creating this print, and its intended function. This wasn't "high art," but a mass-produced object intended for broad consumption. We must think about who had access to this information, what sort of workshops were needed, and who bought this, then and now? The textile itself matters. Was the paper costly or easily accessible? What type of ink was used? How long would the printer spend in a day preparing the piece for its market? Editor: So, you’re focusing less on the specific historical event it depicts, the “Alliantiefeest,” and more on its production and circulation as a physical object? Curator: Precisely. The "Alliantiefeest" is *content*, and content changes constantly. But the tangible remains of printing production stay, unchanged. To analyze this piece fully, we have to consider how printed matter shaped the Dutch political landscape and fostered ideas. Was print considered more informative, therefore more valuable? Does the medium become a valuable symbol? We might ask how its mass production challenges traditional ideas around craft? Editor: That's a fascinating perspective! I never considered how much the medium itself contributed to the message. Curator: The means of production *is* the message, at least as important as that Alliantiefeest news! Editor: This makes me see how intertwined economics, technology, and politics were at the time. Thanks for shifting my perspective!