Titelpagina voor: W. Perkins, Alle de werken, deel 2, 1662 1662

Editor: Here we have Theodor Matham's engraving from 1662, which serves as the title page for the third part of William Perkins' collected works. It’s quite intricate. All those lines must have taken a very long time. What stands out to you? Curator: Immediately I'm drawn to the material implications of "Alle de werken." These are *works*, products of intellectual labor, made physical through printing. How was Perkins’ theology circulated and consumed? This print served as a crucial mechanism in that process. Editor: So, you’re looking at it less as a piece of art and more as… a commodity? Curator: Not just a commodity, but as evidence of the production and distribution of ideas. The engraving process itself – the labor of Matham, the cost of materials, the distribution networks of Johannes van Someren in Amsterdam – all contribute to the social life of Perkins' work. What socioeconomic strata did Matham occupy? Where did he learn the engraving skill and the techniques that made it such a detailed composition? Editor: That’s a perspective I hadn’t considered. It makes me think about how much effort went into just producing a single page. Curator: Exactly! Consider also the "old engraving style" cited in the tags. We might consider if that tag is a mere description, or also signals how the makers consciously created the title page to signal the qualities of gravitas and scholasticism which Perkins wished to have attributed to his "works". What impact would such qualities have on those who would acquire or resist the "works?" Editor: This has really changed my perception of the print. It's not just a title page, but a document of its time and the labor involved in making and sharing knowledge. Curator: Precisely! Looking at art this way, focusing on its materiality and the conditions of its creation, opens up a whole new level of understanding.