Brief aan Jan Veth Possibly 1904

Here's a letter to Jan Veth, written in 1904 by Karel Johan Lodewijk Alberdingk Thijm. It's that thing we all love: dark ink on aged paper! The beauty of a handwritten letter, right? Those elegant, looping forms making up the words, so different from our cold digital fonts. Look at the curves and strokes, the pressure and release in the ink. Imagine the hand moving across the page, the pauses for thought, the little imperfections that make it so human. The color of the paper itself has shifted over time, and there's a pale stain, it's a reminder of its age, it's life. Letters have that quality. It's a kind of drawing, really, this kind of writing, not unlike Cy Twombly. It's about mark-making, a gesture captured in time. It suggests not just one meaning, but many, depending on where you stand.