Nieuwjaarswens van de Amsterdamse courantombrengers voor het jaar 1855 1854 - 1855

Curator: Today we are looking at "Nieuwjaarswens van de Amsterdamse courantombrengers voor het jaar 1855", or, "New Year's Wish from the Amsterdam Newspaper Carriers for the Year 1855," created between 1854 and 1855. It’s an engraving currently held at the Rijksmuseum. Editor: Immediately, I’m struck by the juxtaposition of formal lettering and those swirling, almost playful vignettes up top. It feels like a formal announcement trying to be festive. Curator: Indeed. Function plays a pivotal role here; this engraving served as a kind of broadside, a public notice distributed by the newspaper carriers to wish Amsterdam residents a happy new year and, of course, solicit a customary year-end tip. The lettering itself, note the typography, establishes hierarchy. Editor: Absolutely. It reminds me a little of how town criers operated. Think about the visual language; these tiny sketches function almost like little dreams, aspirations, and fears made small to keep them manageable. And what about the words themselves? Can we even begin to unpack what they mean for 1855 Amsterdam? Curator: While a full translation exceeds our time here, we can say the verses beneath, penned in a rather elaborate style, express hopes for prosperity and civic well-being for Amsterdam and its residents in the coming year. Think of them as seasonal greetings infused with local politics. The vignettes offer complementary views of Amsterdam’s landscape, economy, and global reach via maritime activity. Editor: And they are all contained, framed – little manageable worlds within a larger one that could at any moment overwhelm you. A safe wish in a safe package! I see the newspaper carriers wanting to please everyone – with very specific hopes and blessings at a very turbulent time, but delivered within boundaries. It is a stunning balance to achieve! Curator: Precisely. So, beyond mere distribution, it acts as an insightful microcosm reflecting the socio-political values and yearnings of its moment. Its formal textual elements interact compellingly with looser graphical forms; structural contrast underscores its multifaceted goals. Editor: Thinking about it now, in this digital age, with instantaneous, global communications... there’s something so tender and hopeful in its small scope, confined by medium and intention, something quite literally grounded and shared. Curator: A remarkable insight. Indeed, analyzing this artwork enables an experience that extends into understanding Dutch values on multiple axes through material form and communicative act.