Publicatie van de voordracht om een nationale Dank-, Boet- en Bededag te houden op 24 juli 1805 1805 - 1806

This is a public announcement printed in The Hague in 1805, calling for a national day of prayer. Its monochrome appearance belies the complex social dynamics at play. The document’s very existence speaks volumes. Paper, then as now, was a product of industry, and printing even more so. This wasn’t a handmade artwork but a multiple, intended for wide circulation. You can see how the ink sits on the page, transferred by a machine in a government printing house. Note that the printing press wasn’t just a technology. It was a critical vector for the circulation of ideas. In this case, those ideas were about national unity and faith. The announcement sought to rally the populace during a period of political upheaval, using the readily available technology of the press to spread its message. The marks of production here are not just ink on paper, but an imprint of political and social will.