1. In May 1884 Van Rappard was awarded a silver medal at the International and Universal Exhibition in the Crystal Palace, London, which opened on 23 April, probably for his painting Old woman at the spinning wheel . See for this painting: letter 344, n. 4; and exhib. cat. Amsterdam 1974, pp. 12, 86.

2. For Van Rappard’s Weaver , see letter 447, n. 5.

3. Going by the description this is Water mill (F 48a / JH 488 ). The Collse Watermill was close to Nuenen/Tongelre Station at Eeneind. By ‘the two other watermills’ Van Gogh must have been referring to the Opwettense and Hooijdonkse mills in Nederwetten. See De Brouwer 1984, p. 106.

4. Among the books Van Rappard sent were Charles Blanc, Les artistes de mon temps and Eugène Fromentin, Les maîtres d’autrefois: Belgique – Hollande; see letter 459.

5. In 1884 Whitsun fell on 1 June; we know from letter 449 that Theo did indeed go to Nuenen.