Letter Q 1630

Editor: So, this is Peter Aubry’s "Letter Q" from 1630, an engraving on paper. It's quite elaborate, almost overwhelming. It seems like pure decoration, but there's a strangeness to the faces included within the letter. What's your take on it? Curator: It’s fascinating when we consider the materiality and production of something like this. Engravings were essentially reproducible commodities. The "Letter Q," far from being "pure decoration", functions within a network of printmaking, distribution, and ultimately, consumption. These prints served specific social and economic functions beyond mere aesthetics. Editor: Like what, specifically? Curator: Think about it. Who was buying these things, and what did they *do* with them? These letter designs could be used by artisans – goldsmiths, embroiderers – to create luxury goods. The print is an intermediate step, a means to an end in crafting another object for a different market. The artist acts almost as a factory line here. Editor: So, the focus is less on Aubry's artistic expression and more on his role in this larger cycle of production and consumption? It's about the process from start to product? Curator: Precisely. Consider also the paper itself: where did it come from? What kind of labor went into its making? How did that paper then receive the marks etched by Aubry, each line demanding focused, skilled labor? These minute material and social histories are embedded in the print’s surface. Editor: I hadn't thought about the raw materials and labor behind the engraving. I was focused on its face-value artistry. Curator: The "artistry," if we can call it that, is secondary to the larger picture of materials and mechanisms behind luxury good culture in the 17th century. That’s where the real value—and the real story—lies. Editor: That shifts my perspective entirely. I’m now thinking about all of the material and process that make this ornate “Q”. Curator: Good! The object begins to speak its broader narrative then.