[Ledger of Medici accounts].

Format:

Book

Manuscript

Language:

Italian

Subjects (All):

Medici, House of--Archives.

Medici, House of.

Medici, Andrea de'.

Medici, Vincenzo de'.

Accounting--Italy--16th century.

Accounting.

Italy.

Genre:

codices (bound manuscripts)

accounts

credit records

ledgers (account books)

Manuscripts, Italian.

Manuscripts, Renaissance.

Manuscripts, European.

Archives.

Penn Provenance:

Sold by Bernard M. Rosenthal, Inc. (New York), 1961.

Physical Description:

96 leaves : paper ; 344 x 236 mm bound to 358 x 238 mm

Place of Publication:

[Italy], 1585-1614.

Language Note:

Italian.

Summary:

Ledger of accounts of Andrea and Vincenzo de' Medici, son of Carlo de' Medici, for the years 1585-1612. Often includes the nature of a given transaction and its amount, as well as listing the names of the individuals that act as counterparts in the transaction. In certain cases the transactions are in kind (examples of the produce used for these payments are chestnuts, grains, cattle feed, cattle, swine) but cash transactions are more common. The counterparts in the transactions are often employees or tenants of Vincenzo de' Medici, and as such can pay in kind, or receive in kind payments. Other transactions are related to the management of the textile business, an area of extreme importance for the Medici family, or to debts and credits with textile trade counterparts.

Notes:

Ms. codex.

Title supplied by cataloger.

Pagination: Paper, i (paper) + 96 leaves + i (paper); rectos numbered [i], 2, iii, [iiii], 5-19, xx-xxiii, [xxiiii-lxxii], lxxiii-lxxv, 76-82, [lxxxiii-xcvi], contemporary pagination in ink, modern pagination in pencil, upper right recto; versos numbered [1], 2-23, [24-72], 73-82, [83-96], upper left verso (leaves 24-72 and 83-96 are blank). In most cases, each opening has a matched arabic numeral on the left and a roman numeral on the right.

Layout: Written in 3 columns with vertical bounding lines in lead; the smaller column on the left with the transaction number or the year in which the transaction took place, the large central column with the transaction and a brief description of it, and the smaller one on the right with its amount in arabic numerals. In certain cases the large central column contains itemized accounts of a transaction within one entry. In the occurrence of both a debt and a credit with a specific counterpart, credits are usually listed on the left page and debts on the right page of an opening, with the same individuals appearing as debtors or creditors on facing pages.

Script: Written in a cursive script, perhaps by multiple hands.

Watermark: Similar to Briquet, Fleur-de-lis 7105 (Rome, 1565), but with rounder petals.

Binding: Contemporary vellum, no. 53 on spine; the heading Ent[rat]a e uscita del libro, no. 34, signet VA and letter B with decorative penwork on upper cover; lower cover with remnants of leather ties wraps around upper cover; decorative leatherwork on spine.

Origin: Written in Italy between 1585 (p. 1) and 1614 (p. 81).

Forms part of: Gondi-Medici Business Records.

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. 197 (Ms. Lea 247).

Cited as:

UPenn Ms. Codex 1303

OCLC:

297592100