Beschreibung:

BARDI - FLORENCE: BANKING, INSURANCE AND THE MANUFACTURE OF SILK. Records of the Bardi Bank of Florence and its branch in Lyons (16 volumes, various dates between 1471 and 1511) and of the Arrigucci Silk Manufactory in Florence (5 volumes, 1487-91), together twenty-one volumes, folio and quarto, manuscripts on paper: A.I. Bernardo di Giovanni de' Bardi of Florence, Bank ledger, including accounts and register of correspondence, 1473-89, one volume, 287 x 220mm, 336 leaves (blank: 77-89v, 100v-120, 179v-180, 239-259, 276v-280, 309v-310, 312v-336), five leaves loosely inserted. Original wallet-style vellum, three external kermes-stained bands attached with plaited vellum strips on spine and cross-hatched vellum strips on upper and lower covers, metal buckle (upper border rubbed) labelled in pen. This manuscript records transactions (principally the purchase and sale of silk) with many of the noted contemporary Florentine merchants including Pierfrancesco and Giuliano de' Medici, Piero de' Pazzi, Niccolò Martelli, Piero da Ricasoli, Andrea Cavalcanti and others; also payments (f.6v) to the painter Lorenzo di Piero (one for the decoration of a coffer). The letters (ff.310-321) are directed to Bruges, London, Lyons, Ferrara, Pisa, Avignon and elsewhere. A II. Bernardo de' Bardi, Bank ledger listing creditors and debtors, with accounts and register of correspondence, Florence, 1474-75, one volume, 231 x 163mm, 92 leaves (blank: 39v-60 and 15 final leaves). Original wallet-style vellum attached with vellum strips (rubbed), labelled in pen. Transactions are recorded with Lorenzo de' Medici, Gerolamo Frescobaldi, Tommaso di Giovanni de' Bardi and merchants in Antwerp and London. Most of the trade is in textiles: silks, brocades, velvet, damask, tapestries and clothing. A III. Bernardo de' Bardi and Company of Lyons, Ledger, 1484-87, one volume, 292 x 218mm, 64 leaves (blank: 18v, 27v-30v, 43v-44v, 53v-60v, 62v-64v). Original vellum, vellum ties. Transactions are recorded with merchants in Florence and other Italian cities, and in Avignon, Geneva, Montpellier, Paris, Bruges and elsewhere. The trade is in textiles, gold and precious stones, sugar (Portugal and Madeira) and spices. A IV. Bernardo de' Bardi and Company of Lyons, Ledger with accounts and register of correspondence, 1484-87, one volume, 90 leaves (83 numbered twice; blank: 9v-10v, 24-24v, 31v-32v, 50-50v, 59v, 70v, 90v). Original wallet-style vellum, attached with vellum ties, labelled in pen. This is a copy of three separate texts, the second being a transcript of A III. The first details transactions with most of the great commercial houses of the day: Medici, Ricasoli, Strozzi, Portinari, Arrigucci and Tornabuoni. A V. Bernardo de' Bardi and Company of Lyons, Register of debtors and creditors, 1487-89, one volume, 290 x 215mm, 192 leaves (blank: 88-94v, 144-149v, 144-149v, 170-179v, 181v-183, 185-192v), one loosely inserted leaf. Original wallet-style vellum with three goatskin bands attached with plaited vellum strips on spine and cross-hatched vellum strips on upper and lower covers, some strips defective, metal buckle, labelled in pen. A VI. Bernardo de' Bardi and Company of Lyons, Accounts book with miscellaneous memoranda, 1487-89, one volume, 333 x 237mm, 240 leaves (blank: 45v-49, 204v-240), one leaf loosely inserted. Original wallet-style vellum, with five goatskin bands attached with plaited vellum strips on spine and cross-hatched vellum strips on upper and lower covers, some strips defective, metal buckle, labelled in pen. The text provides details of the textile and spice trades. Most of the great merchant houses of the period are represented. A VII. Filippo di Giovanni Arrigucci and Company of Florence, silk manufacturers, Register of silk weavers and details of silk made by the company, 1487-91, one volume, 332 x 238 mm, 192 leaves (blank: 44-100v, 114-120v, 128-140v; 142v-160v, 165-182v, 185-191, 192), one contemporary leaf loosely inserted. Ori