Titel van een kookboek c. 1885 - 1911

This is the title page of a cookbook by Jozef Israëls. The writing is made with graphite pencil on paper, everyday materials for the most part, yet they carry a wealth of information. You can see in the artist’s script how the words are carefully and legibly drawn on the page. This reveals the importance of handwriting as an act of making, not just as a form of communication. It also speaks to the intimate labor of handwriting and how it was historically gendered, associated with domestic skills of women. The recipe book may have been written by 'Johanna', as stated in the script. It invites us to think about all the other forms of labor involved in producing a cookbook: from the farmers who grow ingredients to the cooks who prepare recipes, to the publishers. It is the materialization of social relationships. Looking at the cookbook this way, we can appreciate how it blurs the boundaries between fine art, craft, and everyday life.