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315 To Michiel Antonie de Zwart. The Hague, Tuesday, 13 February 1883.

metadata
No. 315 (Brieven 1990 317, Complete Letters -)
From: Vincent van Gogh
To: Michiel de Zwart
Date: The Hague, Tuesday, 13 February 1883

Source status
Reproduction

Location
Unknown

Date
Date of postmark: Tuesday, 13 February 1883; this tallies with the words at the top of the letter: ‘Tuesday afternoon’.

Additional
Below the signature are the words ‘WelEd. Heer G. de Zwart. / Architekt / Voorburg.’ These lines must have been written after Van Gogh had folded the letter over twice. We regard them as an address, not as part of the letter.
The envelope belonging with this letter has been preserved. It is postmarked ‘’S GRAVENHAGE 4-5 N, 13 FEB 83’ on the front, and ‘VOORBURG 13 FEB 83 6-7 N’ on the back. On the 5 cent stamp is the numbering stamp 44 (for The Hague). It is addressed to ‘WelEd. Heer G. de Zwart/ Architect./ Kleine Laan./ Voorburg.
Ben Moritz, ‘Two unknown letters’, Bulletin Van Gogh 4-2 (1973), p. 27.

original text
 1r:1
Dinsdag middag

Geachte Heer de Zwart,1
Het doet mij leed U gisteren bij mij zijt geweest zonder mij t’huis te treffen – ik wist niet U dien dag komen zoudt.
Nu hoor ik van Giesenberg2 dat U morgen (Woensdag) naar alle gedachten weder hier op den Schenkweg komt. Daarom zal ik morgen zeker te huis blijven, daar ik U over een & ander betreffende eene kleine vertimmering &c. gaarne spreken wilde.
Met de meeste achting.

Uw dr.
Vincent van Gogh3

 2r:3
 2v:4
translation
 1r:1
Tuesday afternoon

Dear Mr de Zwart,1
I am sorry that you came to see me yesterday and did not find me at home — I did not know you intended to come that day.
Now I hear from Giesenberg2 that in all likelihood you will be coming to Schenkweg again tomorrow (Wednesday). I shall certainly stay at home tomorrow, because I should like to speak to you about one thing and another to do with some minor alterations.
Yours respectfully.

Your servant
Vincent van Gogh3
 2r:3
 2v:4
notes
1. We cannot say for sure whether the landlord at this time was Pieter Willem de Zwart, or his son Michiel Antonie de Zwart. We assume that it was the latter: a few letters addressed to him have survived.
2. Here Van Gogh spells the name ‘Giesenberg’, but in letter 412 it is ‘Kiezenberg’. The person in question is Willem Kiesenberg. He lived at Schenkweg 134 (later Schenkstraat 15), very close to Van Gogh. See Visser 1973, pp. 23-30.
3. Vincent added ‘van Gogh’ later.