1. Christoffel Vos, the husband of Kee Vos, had died on 27 October 1878. In the summer of 1881 Kee came to Etten for a lengthy stay, and she and Vincent spent a great deal of time together (cf. letter 183). Probably thinking that she was just as fond of him as he was of her, he made her a proposal of marriage (180). He did not tell Theo about it, however.

2. A reference to Petites misères de la vie humaine, a book by Old Nick and Grandville; see letter 178, n. 6.

3. Van Gogh frequently used this expression, which he borrowed from Charles Dickens’s Little Dorrit: ‘How to do it must obviously be regarded as the natural and mortal enemy of How not to do it.’ See Dickens 1979, p. 500. The expression recurs in letters 212, 214, 220, 244, 289, 291, 306 and 401.

4. Taken from the poem ‘Onvermoeid’ (Tireless) by P.A. de Génestet. See De Génestet 1869, vol. 2, p. 90. See also letter 193, n. 25.

5. Kee Vos was the daughter of J.P. Stricker and Willemina Catharina Gerardina Carbentus, a sister of Mrs van Gogh, which made her Vincent’s first cousin.

6. Uncle Vincent and Aunt Cornelie van Gogh-Carbentus.

a. Meaning: ‘onder vier ogen’ (in private).

b. Meaning: ‘verwachtte’ (expected).

c. Meaning: ‘duidelijk wordt welke standpunten men inneemt’ (it’s becoming clear what the situation is, i.e. what the various standpoints are).

7. The celebration held to mark the Strickers’ 40th anniversary on 7 December 1881.

8. The closing lines of the poem ‘De edelmoedige wedervergelding’ (The noble retaliation) by Hieronymus van Alphen. See Van Alphen 1857, vol. 1, pp. 405-406. Also quoted in letter 180.

9. Possibly a quotation.

d. Meaning: ‘houd u stil’, ‘doe alsof u van niets weet’ (keep quiet about it, pretend to know nothing).

10. During this period Van Gogh made a number of drawings of women sewing in which he used watercolour: Woman sewing (F 867 / JH 67), Woman sewing (F 885 / JH 71), Woman sewing (F 886 / JH 69), Woman sewing (F 887 / JH 73), Woman mending stockings (F 888 / JH 68) and Woman sewing (F 1221 / JH 70).

11. Drawings of basket-makers are not known, but there are various drawings of models engaged in other indoor activities. It is impossible to say which drawings Van Gogh is referring to here.