Briefkaart aan Jan Veth Possibly 1896 - 1899

This is the back of a postcard, sent by the Dutch composer Alphons Diepenbrock, possibly around 1896, to the artist Jan Veth. At the time, sending postcards was a common means of communication. This card features a stamp, a postmark, and handwriting, revealing the social and institutional practices of the postal service in the Netherlands at the end of the 19th century. The royal crest in the upper left corner indicates the state's role in this communication system. The neat handwriting tells us something about the education and social class of the sender, and the destination, Bussum, was known as an artists' colony. We know, thanks to the archive reference at the bottom left, that this postcard is part of a series of correspondence. Historians can use resources like postal archives, biographical information, and social histories of the Dutch art world to reconstruct the context of this simple message. In this way, we understand not only the personal relationship between Diepenbrock and Veth, but also the broader cultural networks in which they operated.