Briefkaart aan Cornelis Gerardus 't Hooft Possibly 1889

This is a briefkaart, or postcard, made by Jan Veth in 1889. The materials are simple: paper, ink, and adhesive. But don't let that fool you. These humble components speak volumes about the rise of mass communication. The printing of the word "BRIEFKAART", the stamps, the postmarks – these are all signs of a modern postal system, a complex infrastructure of labor and logistics. Envelopes could conceal a message; postcards lay it bare for all to see. Note the handwriting too, a personal touch amid the mechanization. Veth’s handwritten message would have been zipping across Amsterdam via trains and bicycles, a system fueled by industrial production and yet reliant on individual effort. The postcard is a quintessential artifact of its time, reflecting the tensions between mass production and individual expression. It's a reminder that even the simplest objects can tell us a great deal about the social and economic forces that shape our world.