17th Century Fabric Samples
Archivio Saminiati Pazzi
The commercial exchanges and economic activities of the Saminiati Pazzi family – a Tuscan mercantile dynasty – between the 15th and 19th centuries are documented by the accounting records and commercial letters that make up the archive of Saminiati Pazzi family.
Included in the tens of thousands of documents that testify to the relationships between the trading companies of the time and numerous cities in Italy and around Europe, there are also fabric samples dating back to the first half of the 17th century. These are still well-preserved satins and taffetas that were attached to letters and price lists according to a technique that is still in use today: in the case of a difference between the two sides of the fabric, the surface would only be partially glued to the page with one of the corners folded to show warp and weft at the same time.
Further information is available in the journey “Satins and taffetas in seventeenth century samples: Evidence of the textile trade in Tuscany and Europe in the 17th century” in the Highlights section of the ASBOC – Bocconi Historical Archives homepage.