Vierde pagina van een dagboek van een reis door Noorwegen met een foto van het achterdek van de Norse King Possibly 1895 - 1897

Curator: Look at this intriguing piece—a page from Hendrik Herman van den Berg’s diary, dating probably from 1895 to 1897. It combines ink drawing, albumen-print photography, and handwritten text on paper. Titled "Vierde pagina van een dagboek van een reis door Noorwegen met een foto van het achterdek van de Norse King", which translates to "Fourth page from a diary of a trip through Norway with a photo of the stern of the Norse King". Editor: My first thought? A bittersweet postcard sent from the past. It’s like stumbling upon a message in a bottle—a wistful glimpse into a voyage, captured in fading sepia tones. The script and the scene's geometry feel very intimate. Curator: Indeed, there's something inherently personal in combining a photograph with handwritten notes in a diary. The photo of the Norse King's stern serves as a documentary anchor, while the ink script suggests immediate, subjective impressions. Think of the burgeoning tourist industry at the time; capturing experiences visually and narratively became more accessible, fueling new forms of personal documentation. Editor: I’m particularly drawn to the handwritten text woven around the image—like the sea hugging the ship. You can sense the motion, the isolation perhaps. Did Van den Berg mean for this to be viewed publicly, or was this strictly for himself? What thoughts about his travels would he have wanted others to receive or discover? Curator: It's a compelling question, and something that's very indicative of 19th-century travel and society. Albums and travel journals often straddled a line between personal reflection and curated presentation. Even for private consumption, these diaries are self-conscious records influenced by social expectations and norms around travel, leisure, and documentation. Think of the Victorian interest in collecting specimens, pressing flowers; it's the impulse to document the 'exotic' – a sentiment imbued with the power dynamics of the period. Editor: Right. It feels like there is a certain colonial impulse to define through documenting. Well, however intentional Van den Berg's record-keeping was, I can say this piece makes me yearn for voyages to far, cold corners of the world. Curator: A nostalgic longing is part of its lasting power, I think. It captures the ephemeral nature of travel and memory, beautifully intertwined.