Description:

17th C. Zurich
Zurich, Switzerland, ca. 1629
Handbook for Zurich Tinsmiths from 1629!
AD

This intriguing document in German seems to come from Zurich, which in the seventeenth century was an independent city-state operated by a group of guilds that were political, economic, and social institutions. The city's guilds shaped Zurich for four and a half centuries (1336-1798). While the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648) raged elsewhere in Europe, Zurich flourished economically. However, one of the last outbreaks of the bubonic plague that began in coastal areas of northern Europe reached Switzerland in 1629, and outbreaks occurred in Zurich, resulting in 1,718 more deaths than normally expected in the city of 5,000 to 6,000 residents.

This document may have been a sort of handbook for the Order of the Black and White, which was not one of the city's primary guilds but may have been related to the craft of tinsmiths. In Zurich in the seventeenth century, tinsmiths were part of the Zunft zur Schmiden (Smiths Guild), which included blacksmiths, sword smiths, pewterers, and bell makers.

[ZURICH.] "Ordnung des SchwartzundWeiß" (Order of the Black and White), 1629. 12 pp., 9" x 12.75". In German; bound with cord that attaches a clay seal with a wooden case. Heavy soiling to outside (p12); some edge soiling to other pages; clay seal complete but cracked into four pieces; wooden case for seal cracked and approximately 60 percent present. The shield on the seal features an eagle on the dexter side, parted per pale.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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  • Dimensions: 9" x 12.75"
  • Medium: AD

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