1 Mei, Verhuisdag (Moving Day)

This wood engraving depicts workers struggling to transport an enormous, malfunctioning contraption labeled "Verwarming" (heating system). The machine's unwieldy pipes and wheels dominate the composition while officials observe from the left—a visual joke about bureaucratic incompetence and wasted resources. Published in the Dutch satirical tradition that flourished in the 19th century, this print descends from the era of Gillray and Rowlandson. Such graphic commentary on government mishaps populated European periodicals, using exaggeration and mechanical imagery to mock institutional failure. The engraving's detailed cross-hatching and precise linework typify the reproductive technique that would soon give way to lithography and, eventually, the comic strip medium.