Geboortekaart aan Philip Zilcken after 1921

Curator: What a find! Here we have "Geboortekaart aan Philip Zilcken," or "Birth Announcement to Philip Zilcken," a delicate paper creation adorned with elegant ink calligraphy, dating from after 1921 and residing at the Rijksmuseum. Editor: At first glance, it evokes a feeling of quiet formality. The cursive script has a beautiful rhythm, but it feels a bit distant, impersonal. It's like a whisper of good news across time. Curator: Indeed. This isn't just an announcement, it's a glimpse into a very specific social custom. The style of the calligraphy itself speaks to a tradition, a cultivated way of sharing news in Parisian society at that time. The printed note allows Mr. and Mrs. Jean Buhot to announce the birth of their son Remi in a conventional fashion, but one still tied to social mores. Editor: Yes, the social mores! Look at the very opening: "Monsieur et Madame Jean Buhot sont heureux..." It emphasizes their collective joy as a couple, almost subsuming individual feelings into a presentation of familial unity, rather than individual expressions. A statement of couplehood rather than parenthood. The baby himself isn’t doing the talking just yet, even indirectly. Curator: Right, the individual experience is contained within a frame of social presentation. And this particular frame is undeniably bourgeois—note the address. Do you get a sense of constraint there? Editor: Absolutely. The choice of typography, though beautiful, feels tightly controlled. Each flourish is measured, precise. And even with all its elegance, it hints at potential anxieties of social status or proper behaviour, an attempt to fit a role or mold that is in place. Almost trying too hard? What would have happened if the typeface was blocky, modern, jarring! Scandalous I tell you. Curator: Scandalous indeed! The lack of any embellishment is quite striking though. No tiny illustrations, no colored ink, just pure text. It communicates everything directly through language and form. The message that counts above all is social propriety and, dare I say, social dominance. A baby boom. Editor: It's fascinating how much information can be gleaned from something so simple. From joy to class to a little hint of Parisian restraint, it's all there. Thanks baby! Curator: It truly makes you think about how we mark new beginnings and signal group and family membership even today and maybe always will.