Details

Subjects:

Mannelli, Filippo.
Mannelli, Piero.
Accounting -- Italy -- 17th century.
Finance -- Italy -- Early works to 1800.
Speculation -- Early works to 1800.
Speculation.
Finance.
Accounting.
Italy.

Form/Genre:

Codices.
Accounts.
Ledgers (account books)
Manuscripts, Italian.
Manuscripts, European.

Language:

Italian.

Summary:

Ledger of accounts of Filippo and Piero Mannelli for the "fair" of 1602 that was held in Pisa, northern Italy, probably written by Clemente Guardini (signature, f. 1r). It contains short descriptions of the transactions, which were probably made using bills of exchange, their amounts and, in certain cases, the name of the counterpart involved (including members of some of the most important Florentine families, such as the Amadori and the Capponi). A bill of exchange is a written order by one person to his bank to pay the bearer a specific sum on a specific date. Prior to the advent of paper currency, bills of exchange were a common means of exchange. Filippo and Piero Mannelli appear to be involved in such transactions both as drawers and as drawees. A fair, a usually quarterly event in northern Italy, was one of the largest markets for complex bills of exchange. In these fairs there was no physical delivery of the traded asset, but they attracted large volumes of investors nonetheless. In the event of a fair, like the one in Pisa in 1602 mentioned in the title of the manuscript, businessmen and bankers such as Filippo and Piero Mannelli traded different currencies or commodities and these transactions usually happened via bills of exchange. Some merchants purchased considerable numbers of bills of exchange from various counterparts (such as Filippo and Piero Mannelli) to hedge the risk of the transactions, and made money betting on the difference of prices of the same asset which occurred on different markets because the same asset (in this case currencies and commodities such as gold and silver) does not trade at the same price in all markets.

Notes:

Ms. codex.
Title from upper cover.
Pagination: Paper, i (paper) + 13 + i (paper); versos numbered 1-13, contemporary pagination in ink, upper left verso; rectos numbered [i], 1-12, contemporary pagination in ink, modern pagination in pencil, upper right recto. Each opening has matched numerals on both sides.
Layout: Written in 2 columns with vertical bounding lines in lead; the large column on the left with the description of the transaction, and the smaller one on the right with its amount. Itemized accounts of single transactions or long lines are also used.
Script: Written in a cursive script, probably in the hand of Clemente Guardini (signature, f. 1r).
Watermark: Unidentified watermark, very faint, containing a circle.
Binding: Contemporary vellum; heading Scartafaccio di Filippo e Piero Mannelli e compagni di Pisa, fiera di Giugno 1602, and signet M on upper cover; lower cover wraps around upper cover with remnants of leather ties.
Origin: Written in Pisa in 1602 (f. 1v).
Forms part of: Gondi-Medici Business Records.

Penn Provenance:

Sold by Bernard M. Rosenthal, 1963.

Cited in:

Described in Zacour, Norman P. and Hirsch, Rudolf. Catalogue of Manuscripts in the Libraries of the University of Pennsylvania to 1800: Supplement A (4), Library Chronicle 37 (1971), no. 1, p. 17 (Ms. Lea 537).

Cited as:

UPenn Ms. Codex 1502.

OCLC:

320082518

Access Restriction:

Access to this item is subject to staff review.