The Tiny Envelope We Almost Missed

It was the autumn of 2020. The world was in lockdown, grappling with the Covid pandemic. Around that time, we began cleaning, organizing, and archiving the family house. We started upstairs, in the living areas where my grandparents once lived, and slowly worked our way down toward the studios and workspaces.

In one of the bedrooms, tucked away on a shelf inside a cabinet, we stumbled upon a plastic bag filled with old newspaper clippings. Judging by the thick layer of dust, it hadn’t been opened in decades. One by one, we carefully pulled out the fragile papers: reviews, interviews, and exhibition announcements dating back as far as the 1950s. Some were too damaged to save, but others we managed to preserve.

Mantelpiece in the bedroom, covered with wallpaper designs and daguerreotypes by Shinkichi.

Love letter from Ferdi to Shinkichi, with tiny envelope.

left: Mantelpiece in the bedroom, covered with wallpaper designs and daguerreotypes by Shinkichi.

right: Love letter from Ferdi to Shinkichi, with tiny envelope.

Then, hidden among the yellowed pages, we noticed a tiny envelope attached to one of the articles. Just a few centimeters in size, it would have been easy to miss if we hadn’t examined everything so closely. Gently, we peeled it off the paper. On the front, written in neat handwriting, were the words: “To Shinkichi, from Ferdi.”

Inside was a long, folded letter accompanied by a drawing of a sun. It was touching and remarkable to find such a small, tender, and significant piece of history.The letter was a love note, tender, poetic and deeply personal, where Ferdi expressed her feelings for Shinkichi. It was not dated, but based on the context we believe it must have been written around 1953.

Shinkichi teaching Ferdi how to weld, Sucy-en-Brie, 1953

Ferdi welding, Sucy-en-Brie, 1953

Photos of Shinkichi Tajiri teaching Ferdi how to weld, Sucy-en-Brie, 1953

At that time, Shinkichi had just begun teaching welding with an acetylene torch. Among his students was Dutch sculptor Ferdi Jansen. Encouraged by her friend Lotte Ruting, Ferdi had left Amsterdam for Paris to fully dedicate herself to her art. There, she studied under Zadkine and met Shinkichi through the Dutch writer Simon Vinkenoog. A spark quickly ignited between them.

The book Laat deze brief nooit aan iemand lezen – briefwisseling tussen Hugo Claus en Simon Vinkenoog 1951–1956 was published in 2008 and collects letters exchanged between writer, poet, and artist Hugo Claus and writer/poet Simon Vinkenoog. Its English title is Never Let Anyone Read This Letter – Correspondence Between Hugo Claus and Simon Vinkenoog 1951–1956. In a letter dated 16 February 1953, Simon Vinkenoog mentions to Hugo Claus that his relationship with Ferdi had ended. Shortly afterward, Ferdi and Shinkichi entered a new phase, exploring whether their connection could develop into a committed relationship.

In her letter, Ferdi makes her devotion unmistakably clear. She writes: “I could wish your love for me would be the same; however, my love for you has become such an important part of my life, that even if I were never to see you again, you could not take it from me.”