Vers op een prent van de Leidse buskruitramp, 1807 1807 - 1808

This broadside, printed in 1807 by Erven de Ridder en Comp, commemorates the Leiden gunpowder disaster. It's made using relief printing, likely woodcut or wood engraving, a technique common for mass-produced images at the time. The stark contrast between the black ink and the paper emphasizes the catastrophic event. The choice of printing as a medium speaks to the desire to disseminate information quickly and widely. The imagery and text combine to convey the scale of the destruction and human toll of the disaster. Broadsides like this one were essentially the newspapers of their day, offering a visual and textual account of important events to a broad audience. The relatively inexpensive printing process allowed for the widespread distribution of news and opinion, reflecting a growing public sphere and a demand for information in a rapidly changing society. The use of print in this context highlights the democratization of information and the power of the medium to shape public perception, blurring the lines between art, journalism, and social commentary.