1883–1885 Brievengaardershuisje, Nuenen

Thanks to the Van Gogh family and their lively correspondence, we know quite a lot about the Van Gogh family and their son Vincent. Vincent’s letters to Theo are world-famous. His father also wrote letters, as did his sister Willemien.

These letters were taken by the Van Gogh family to the ‘letter collector’ in Nuenen. Alternatively, the letter collector would come to collect the post, using a dog-drawn cart. This ‘post office’ is located within walking distance of the vicarage in Nuenen.

Vincent did not only send letters. Drawings and canvases that he sent to Theo, or to painter friends such as Van Rappard, were also sent and received via this address. In letter 501, dated Wednesday 6 May 1885, we read that on that day Vincent took the painting *The Potato Eaters*, packed in a crate, to the post office to send it to Theo in Paris.