1. It is not known who the printer was at Smulders lithography company. It is not certain that the printer’s was also at Laan 3 (cf. letter 253, n. 9).

2. Four impressions of this lithograph Old man (F 1658 / JH 256 ) are known. Two are in the estate, one with the autograph note ‘épreuve d’essai’ and one with ‘1re épreuve’. Since the one sent to Theo was the ‘very first’, the one in question here is probably the ‘épreuve d’essai’. See Van Heugten and Pabst 1995, pp. 34-37, 89, cat. no. 1.

3. For the use of transfer paper, see Van Heugten and Pabst 1995, pp. 14-15.

a. Means: ‘stevig gedaan’, ‘robuust’ (firmly done, robust).

4. One result of the session with this track sweeper may well be Young man with a broom (F 979a / JH 257). For Bezuidenhout, see letter 269, n. 3.

5. In contrast to what was assumed in the past, in Brussels Van Gogh was trying not to become an illustrator, but to learn more about printing processes. Cf. Van Heugten and Pabst 1995, pp. 14-15.

6. Maison Simonau & Toovey, that had existed since 1847, was a renowned printer in Brussels specializing in chromolithography. The firm was located at Pompe 3 (now the Rijksadministratief Centrum, on the corner of Koningstraat and Kruidtuinlaan). See J.H.M. van der Marck, Romantische boekillustratie in België. Roermond 1956; Almanach du commerce. Brussels 1870, p. 393; and SAB.

7. Van Gogh’s impression was correct: at this time lithography was losing ground to new printing and reproduction techniques.

8. The assumption that transfer paper was a new invention was incorrect; it had been in use for decades. See Van Heugten and Pabst 1995, p. 15.

9. Van Gogh had not written what follows to Theo before.

10. From this point Van Gogh was to draw several diggers over the course of a number of weeks. Only three of them are known: Digger F 906 / JH 260 , F 907 / JH 261 and F 908 / JH 258; whether these two are among them is impossible to determine. Cf. also letters 283, 285 and 287.

11. The lithograph measures 48.1 x 25.2 cm. The reduced version was never made as far as is known.

12. The litho was based on the drawing Old man with a stick (F 962 / JH 212 ). Van Gogh wrote about such studies in letters 270-272.