Details

Other Title:

Memoria.

Subjects:

Accounting -- Italy -- 16th century.
Accounting -- Italy -- 17th century.
History.
Accounting.
Italy -- History -- 16th century -- Economic aspects.
Italy -- History -- 17th century -- Economic aspects.
Italy.

Form/Genre:

Codices.
Account books.
Manuscripts, Italian.
Manuscripts, Renaissance.
Manuscripts, European.

Language:

Italian.

Summary:

Memoranda and account book of Gisberto and Giuseppe Orlandi (f. 1r, 2r), with a few later entries. The writer, Gisberto, belonged to a place called Castello della Piene, probably the name of a village but perhaps that of a house, almost certainly in Tuscany. The public notary of Siena is also mentioned: this was probably the nearest large town. Includes a series of notes made in 1574-1575 of all the money which he gave to his son, Antonio, when the latter was studying in Perugia. These are the sums paid for books and to various individuals mentioned by name, e.g. Tomasso di Lazaro; possibly they are schoolmasters, tailors or other tradesmen having some connection with a student's needs. One was certainly a bookseller. Also includes several notes of money paid for corn, then a note of his having a house built "beside our own," followed by a note of date when Messrs. Simone and Martino Lombardi began a fence for him. There are a several receipts for money received from Gisberto Orlandi written by others, e.g. Matteo Lazari, Nicolo Venizza, et al. The object of these transactions is not stated. The latest entry, dated 7 December 1620, was written by Jacomo Orlandi, evidently a descendant. Also includes two documents laid in between f. 5-6. These were evidently laid into the account book for safekeeping, but they have no connection with it. The larger one is an account of the movements of the army of the Duke of Parma in September 1642, with details of the places where they quartered and some account of his receiving authority to enter certain towns. The smaller document is an old recipe for making gold size.

Notes:

Ms. codex.
Title supplied by cataloger.
Foliation: Paper, 43; [1-43]; modern foliation in pencil, upper right recto. Folios 20-21 are smaller than the rest, but they appear to have been added before the manuscript was bound.
Script: Most entries written in a rapid italic script by Gisberto Orlandi.
Binding: Wrapped in a contemporary vellum document, apparently from an account book. Cover brittle and torn. Lower cover missing. Many stains and smudges. First and last few leaves frayed and torn.
Origin: Probably written in Tuscany. Entries date between 29 July 1554 and 1 June 1620. The two documents laid in are dated 1636 and 1642.
Modern bookseller's description pasted inside upper cover. Another more detailed typewritten description is on file in the Library.
The two documents laid in have been removed and placed in a separate folder that is shelved with the manuscript.

Penn Provenance:

Acquired, 1959.

Cited in:

Described in Zacour, Norman P. and Hirsch, Rudolf. Catalogue of Manuscripts in the Libraries of the University of Pennsylvania to 1800 (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1965), p. 100 (Ms. Italian 42).

Cited as:

UPenn Ms. Codex 284

OCLC:

155964262