Dees prent is 't geld wel dubbel waard, Waar Asschepoester van den haard, / En in verdrukking van 't gezin, / Toch werd verheven tot vorstin 1820 - 1837

Curator: What strikes me about this piece – this little story-print from the 1820s or 30s by W. & J. Hissink, titled roughly "This print is worth double the money: Where Cinderella from the Hearth... Became exalted to Princess" – is the almost frantic energy it gives off. It’s like a tiny stage packed with drama. What do you see in it? Editor: It’s interesting that you call it "frantic." I saw something comforting in the familiar tale, though told in these almost chaotic little boxes, like a proto-comic strip. It feels very... Dutch, somehow. Very genre painting meets folk art. I'm wondering, how much were these images intended for children? Curator: Ah, a wonderful question! Considering the period and the presence of text alongside the images, it probably catered to a broad audience – families reading the story together, perhaps. I'm tickled by the awkward grace of the figures and the rudimentary perspective. They seem more interested in getting the story across than any academic realism. Isn’t there a raw, almost feverish quality to the romantic idealism at play here? It makes one feel like finding magic in daily existence isn't such a silly endeavor after all. Editor: Yes, the figures do have a certain… earnestness. I suppose knowing it was made in the Romantic period puts the sentimentality in perspective. You start thinking about yearning and longing – that desire to find magic as an escape from the mundane! Curator: Exactly. And in our time, with so many glossy, expertly crafted images assaulting us, maybe there’s something genuinely refreshing about this unpretentious little thing. It's a nice reminder to embrace the quirks and imperfections! Editor: It’s certainly given me a new appreciation for the pre-digital storyteller.