Algemeen Handelsblad Possibly 1940 - 1945

This is a newspaper, Algemeen Handelsblad, printed on Friday, May 17, 1940. It’s all text of course, dense columns, but the layout has a rhythm, a kind of process that makes it more than just information. I'm interested in the way the paper is aged, that yellowed tone suggesting time and history but also decay and fragility. And I can see the smudges and variations in the ink density, like the texture of a print, they reveal the mechanics of the printing process. There's a certain beauty in the imperfections, like the slightly misaligned headlines or the inconsistent spacing between words. I am drawn to the imperfect registration, areas where the ink bleeds slightly, adding to the feeling of immediacy. For me, it evokes not just the news of the day, but the material reality of its production: the press, the ink, the paper itself, becoming a kind of time capsule. It reminds me of Kurt Schwitters’ collages made with scraps of newspaper and ephemera, a recognition of the beauty and significance found in everyday materials. The newspaper embraces a sense of immediacy and multiple interpretations, turning information into a tangible artifact, full of rich potential.