Programma van de begrafenis van Willem III, koning der Nederlanden, op 4 december 1890 1890 - 1892

This is a printed program for the funeral of William III, King of the Netherlands, created by J. Waltman II in 1890. It's an item of ephemera, meaning it was made to serve a specific purpose and then be discarded. The program is printed on paper, likely using a lithographic process, which allowed for relatively quick and inexpensive reproduction. The choice of paper stock, the typeface, and the layout all contribute to a sense of solemnity and officialdom, fitting for the occasion. Consider the amount of labor and resources required to produce something like this en masse. The production and distribution of these programs speaks to the growth of print culture and the ways in which information was disseminated. The act of printing and distributing this program also served a social function, reinforcing a collective identity through shared rituals and symbols, reminding us that even seemingly disposable objects can carry significant cultural weight.