Prospectus voor herberg Het Wapen van Amsterdam 1771

This print, made by Caspar Jacobsz. Philips around 1771, depicts an Amsterdam inn called "Het Wapen van Amsterdam," or "The Arms of Amsterdam." The printmaking process itself, likely etching or engraving, is crucial to understanding its purpose: to advertise the inn. Consider the labor involved. The artist, Philips, carefully renders the building's architecture, emphasizing its order and cleanliness. The typography is neatly arranged in both Dutch and French, aiming to attract a broad clientele. Even the paper itself has a smoothness. The print's function as advertisement connects it directly to the burgeoning tourist economy of the 18th century. Inns like this catered to a growing class of travelers, and this print was a tool to entice them. Thus, we can view this seemingly simple image as a carefully crafted object embedded within a network of labor, capital, and consumption. It blurs the line between art and commerce, inviting us to consider the social forces shaping its creation and distribution.