Briefkaart aan Philip Zilcken before 1898

This briefkaart, or postcard, was sent by Willem de Zwart to Philip Zilcken. While the exact date is unknown, the postmark suggests it was sometime in April. De Zwart, who lived through a period of intense social change and industrial expansion in the Netherlands, may have used the postcard as a modern form of communication. The postcard itself embodies a moment in the history of communication. It offered a relatively quick and accessible method for conveying messages. Postcards facilitated connections, much like today’s digital forms, though they existed within a different set of social and material conditions. Consider the handwritten message, the stamp, and the postal markings, each carrying traces of human effort and institutional processes. We might reflect on how such seemingly mundane objects can hold the essence of human interaction and societal infrastructure. The briefkaart is a testament to how human connection persists through changing technologies.