Brief aan Philip Zilcken Possibly 1900 - 1926

This letter was composed in Paris in 1900 by Alidor Delzant. It is an ink on paper document, one of countless such missives sent in its time, but now preserved as a delicate artifact. The paper itself bears witness to the passage of time, its surface softly discolored. Note the iron gall ink, made from tannin, iron salts, and a binder, commonly used for its archival qualities since the Middle Ages. The hand-written quality is essential. The cursive script creates a direct connection to Delzant himself. This was a mode of communication accessible to a relatively privileged class, who had the leisure and education to engage in written correspondence. In contrast, the labor of producing the paper and ink would have been performed by others, marking a social division inherent in the object itself. Letters like this reveal the intimate relationships that sustain the art world, even as they hint at the larger economic and social forces at play. It reminds us that even the most seemingly ephemeral documents can offer valuable insights into the past.