Kermisprent van de Amsterdamse askarrenmannen voor het jaar 1844 1844

Editor: Here we have "Kermisprent van de Amsterdamse askarrenmannen voor het jaar 1844," or "Carnival Print of the Amsterdam Ash Cart Men for the year 1844," an engraving from 1844. It feels very much of its time – a glimpse into working-class life in Amsterdam, perhaps a bit idealized? What do you see in this piece? Curator: Immediately, I’m drawn to the materiality of this print. It’s an engraving, which means it was likely reproduced en masse. Who was the intended audience and what does that tell us about consumption patterns at the time? Notice the presence of both the image and the text; what social dynamics existed when an entire trade was represented via material like paper? Editor: So you’re thinking about the context in which it was made, how the print medium itself connects to social class. I hadn't considered it that way. Curator: Precisely. How does it relate to the labor and materiality of producing the image? This wasn't 'high art' intended for the elite, right? How do we interpret the portrayal of labor; can we even grasp the actual process from observing an engraving? Was it to show their pride? Perhaps a way to solicit better treatment, or tips? Editor: The print almost feels like a promotional item then? A form of self-advertisement or maybe even a plea for recognition. Curator: Yes, a form of commodity, absolutely. Look at the cityscape in the background, contrasted to the text beneath, seemingly "explaining" the workers. We might even think about this as a form of early marketing and how print facilitated these new commercial relationships. What kind of value was being produced here, for whom, and how? Editor: I didn’t expect to think so much about economics looking at this. Thanks, it’s given me a whole new way of looking at historical prints! Curator: Indeed, seeing art through the lens of material production can be so enriching!