Details

Subjects:

Accounting -- Italy -- 16th century.
Textile industry -- Italy -- Early works to 1800.
Textile industry.
Accounting.
Italy.

Form/Genre:

Codices.
Accounts.
Credit records.
Ledgers (account books)
Manuscripts, Italian.
Manuscripts, Renaissance.

Language:

Italian.

Summary:

Ledger of accounts probably belonging to Francesco Davanzati (based on similarities between Ms. Codex 1428, belonging to Francesco Davanzati, and Ms. Codex 1429, which does not have an attributed owner) for the years 1555-1560. Often includes the nature of a given transaction and the names of the counterparts involved. The person whose accounts are contained in the ledger appears to be involved in the textile business. The ledger mentions transactions with many different workers (including weavers, spinners and dyers) who were paid for their services. When recording these transactions, information about the various phases of wool manufacturing is also present. The ledger also contains records of expenses and revenues derived from manufacturing and selling textile products. Some of the expenses that appear in the ledger are related to household management (purchase of food, drink, furniture and linen). Three notes containing information about transactions dated 1605-1612 and related to the wine industry were laid into the manuscript and are now shelved with it in a separate folder. Transactions deal with the production of wine in the vineyards of Andrea de' Medici and the distribution of wine to a spedale dei poveri, which appears to be run by Francesco Pagoli.

Notes:

Ms. codex.
Title supplied by cataloger.
For another manuscript containing accounts belonging to Francesco Davanzati, see Ms. Codex 1428, Rare Book & Manuscript Library, University of Pennsylvania.
Pagination: Paper, 196; versos numbered 1-171, 173-181, [182-197], contemporary pagination in ink, modern pagination in pencil, upper left verso; rectos numbered [i], i-clxxi, clxxiii-clxxxi, [clxxxii-cxcviii], contemporary pagination in ink, modern pagination in pencil, upper right recto (pages 183-198 blank). Each opening has a matched Arabic numeral on the left and a Roman numeral on the right.
Layout: Written in 2 columns with vertical bounding lines in lead; the large column on the left with the name of the counterpart and a brief description of the transaction and the small one on the right with the amount of the transaction. Sometimes long lines are also used.
Script: Written in a cursive script, perhaps by multiple hands.
Watermark: Similar to Briquet, Fleche 6299 (Florence, 1518-1528).
Binding: Contemporary vellum, no. 128 on spine; the heading Debitori and creditori, no. 254 and letter A with decorative penwork on upper cover; lower cover wraps around upper cover with remnants of leather ties; decorative leatherwork on spine. Questionable note in later hand, Debitori e creditori Vincenzo Cristofano, 1501-1513, on upper cover.
Origin: Written in Italy between 1555 (p. 1) and 1560 (p. 180).
Forms part of: Gondi-Medici Business Records.

Penn Provenance:

Sold by Bernard M. Rosenthal, 1961.

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. 213 (Ms. Lea 348).

Cited as:

UPenn Ms. Codex 1429

OCLC:

311120301