Brief aan Lodewijk van Deyssel after 1912

This is a letter to Lodewijk van Deyssel, handwritten by Jan Veth in the late 19th or early 20th century. The material, humble as it is—paper and ink—speaks volumes. In this era of burgeoning print culture, handwriting signaled intimacy and personal connection. Look closely, and you can almost feel the pressure of the nib on the page, the rhythm of Veth’s thoughts flowing directly from mind to hand. The smudges and corrections aren't imperfections, but evidence of a mind at work, grappling with language and ideas. The act of writing itself was a skilled craft, demanding penmanship and rhetorical flair. Veth was a man of letters, both literally and figuratively. The letter becomes a relic of a bygone era, reminding us of the slower pace of communication, and the value placed on personal correspondence. It stands in contrast to our digital age of mass production and instant messaging, inviting us to reflect on the human touch in an increasingly automated world.