Description
Book SynopsisWe are very lucky to have small, contemporary records of history scattered throughout our soil in the form of lead seals. With a couple of notable exceptions, they have largely been ignored by archaeologists and historians, but the recent explosion in the numbers found and recorded has helped to bring their importance and potential to the attention of those interested in our heritage. This book is intended to be a repository of the salient information currently available on the identification of cloth seals, and a source of new material that extends our understanding of these important indicators of post medieval and early modern industry and trade. It is, primarily, a guide to help with the identification of cloth seals, both those found within and those originating from the United Kingdom. Most of the extra examples, referenced beneath the images, can be quickly located and viewed through access to the internet.
Table of ContentsIntroduction to Cloth Seals: Aim; Sources; Introduction; Basic Identification of Cloth Seal Type; Component Parts of a Cloth Seal; The Use of Lead Cloth Seals; Alnage & Subsidy; Cloth Seal Matrices; Lead v Wax Seals; The Type of Seals Attached to a Cloth (and Woven Marks); Dating of Cloth Seals; Ordering of Presentation; Images; List and Description of Seals: Seals of Known Locations; Seals of Known Monarch; Seals with Type of Cloth Named; Seals for Faulty Cloth; Seals of Guilds and Companies; Broad Arrow Seals; Alnage Seals; Searchers’ Seals; Clothworkers’ Personal Seals; Other Seals Conventionally Grouped with Cloth Seals; Continental Seals; Cloth Seal Identification Resources; Handling, Cleaning and Obtaining Images of Lead Seals; Bibliography; Appendix 1: Time-line of Events & Legislation in the Textile Industry with Emphasis on the Use of Cloth Seals & the Information They Displayed; Appendix 2: Types of Cloth; Appendix 3: List of Known Alnagers and Their Agents; Appendix 4: Known 16th & 17th Century Clothworkers’ Privy Marks; Appendix 5: Distinctive Identification Features on Cloth Seals; Appendix 6: Tubular Cloth Seals Employed by the Dutch Immigrant Cloth Makers in 16th and 17th Century England; Index
