Brief aan Jan Jacob Lampsins van den Velden Possibly 1848

This letter to Jan Jacob Lampsins van den Velden was written in 1866 by Willem van der Worp, on a simple piece of paper with iron gall ink. The letter exemplifies the basic tools of bureaucracy, but also an older tradition of manuscript culture. Consider the labor involved: from the manufacture of paper, to the mixing of the ink, to the practiced hand of the writer. Each stroke is deliberate, communicating not only information, but also the writer's personality and social standing. The letter is also important as a document within a system. It represents an exchange within a network of power. Someone had to deliver the message, and someone else to read and act upon it. We may think of the art world as distinct from such everyday processes, but this piece of paper reminds us that all creative expression is enmeshed in social and economic realities.