Briefkaart aan Philip Zilcken Possibly 1902 - 1922

This is a postcard to Philip Zilcken, created by Edward B. Koster. We do not know the date of the work itself but we can see from the postmark that it was sent on August 23rd. The Netherlands in the late 19th century was a society undergoing significant transformation. As industrialization progressed, social classes became more defined, and artistic movements began to reflect these changes. Looking at this simple postcard, we can imagine the postal system as part of a modernizing bureaucracy; the postal stamp is a symbolic representation of the state, a feature of the culture of the time. To understand this postcard more fully, research into the Dutch postal system, social customs surrounding correspondence, and the Zilcken family could be revealing. By examining historical documents and institutional records, we gain insight into the social conditions that shaped this seemingly mundane piece of communication.