Unsern freundlichen Gruß zuvor / Ehr - und Achtbahr besonders gute Freund….
2 broadsides [33.5 x 20cm at fold], letterpress, gothic type. A few marginal tears and folds; remains of original red wax seals, with tiny perforations at center of each broadside where seals were broken; ink spots and small dampstains on one broadside; each signed, with hand-written addresses on verso. Two 1696 German broadsides, apparently unrecorded, addressing the regulation of “foreign” merchants of brass and copper wares at the yearly fair (Jahrmarkt) of Celle (“Zelle”) in Lower Saxony, a town at that time subject to the Electorate of Braunschweig-Lüneburg. These sheets are rare survivals of printed legal ephemera dispatched to local authorities at the passage of new statutes. The broadsides, originally folded and closed with wax seals, carry hand-written addresses, suggesting that they were intended for the village of Medingen (Bad Bevensen), located on the route between Celle and Lüneburg. These metal trade edicts were reprinted in a volume of collected laws pertaining to Braunschweig-Lüneburg in 1700. Original broadsides of this sort were considered to be of little use once their texts had been integrated into comprehensive law books, making the survival of the present examples especially unusual. The March 16 broadside reinforces a previous ban on foreign craftsmen of copper and brass pots, cauldrons and braziers (“Kesselführer und Träger auch Messungs- und Kupferhändler, Beckenschläger, Grapen, Roth- und Kannengiesser”) from selling their wares outside the Jahrmarkt of Celle, because this practice both deprives local craftsmen of their livelihood and leaves buyers with shoddy merchandise (“untauglichen Waaren”). There must have been some controversy surrounding this edict, as the second broadside, issued just four months later on July 23, clarifies that foreign wares are subject to confiscation unless the foreign tradesman in question can produce the appropriate government permit. Magistrates are instructed to ensure that these permits are originals, as much misuse has occurred with illegally produced copies. Both broadsides are signed at the bottom by the appropriate official. Not in OCLC, KWK, or COPAC. Reprinted in Fürstliche Braunschweig-Lüneb. Zellischen Theils Policey-Ordnung … (Hannover and Zell: Förster and Hoffmann, 1700). pp. 807-08.
Price: $875.00