Drukkerij van de Deli Courant Possibly 1908 - 1910

Editor: We're looking at a gelatin silver print, probably from around 1908-1910, titled "Drukkerij van de Deli Courant," which translates to "Printing house of the Deli Courant." It's an anonymous photograph, so we don't know who took it. It feels...busy. All these machines crammed together. What jumps out at you? Curator: It's wonderfully chaotic, isn't it? A real engine room of information, rendered in monochrome dreams. For me, it’s the light – how it spills in through the windows, almost tangible, illuminating the cogs and the dedicated folks operating those glorious, clanking beasts of industry. Notice how the photographer uses light to create depth. Doesn't it make you wonder about the stories that were printed here, the gossip, the news that shaped a community? What do you imagine filled those pages? Editor: Definitely local happenings, announcements…Maybe it even captured a moment in time like this one, if they ever ran photographs in the paper! How does knowing it was taken in Deli change how you see it? Curator: Ah, Deli. That infuses it with such potency. Knowing it was taken in the Deli region of Sumatra during that era of colonial expansion and burgeoning industry…well, suddenly those printing presses hum with a different kind of energy. It becomes a portrait of progress, tinged with the complexities of its historical context. Does that resonance shift the ground beneath your feet, creatively speaking? Editor: I think so. Seeing the machines gives the image an industrial vibe, but situating that in a colonial context makes you think about the people behind them, and what it meant to live there then. Thanks, I hadn’t quite clicked on that! Curator: Precisely! It is like a beautiful ghost of colonial industry captured, isn’t it?