Letter from Franco de Winter, Bruges to Philippo Corsini, London. [manuscript], 1571 January 30

Bruges, Belgium, 1571 January 30

1 item ;

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Belgium -- Bruges, -- production place.

272865 MS

From dealer's description: "16th Century "Venetian Merchants' Correspondence: January 30,1571;1/2-page letter from Franco de Winter in Bruges to Philippo Corsini in London. Extremely fresh, clean and attractive on thick paper. A beautifully-written letter concerning going to Dunkirk to load a ship according to Corsini's instructions; "it would be best to wrap the trunks so that officials would not be suspicious." There was no official government-run system of postal communication in England until the 17th Century. In the 16th Century trade was underway and robust within the British Isles and the continent of Europe and the merchants needed to correspond. Between 1514 and 1600, they established their own messenger service called the "Merchant Strangers' Post", employing couriers between London and the continent. In the 1980s, the auction house Robson Lowe held 2 auctions of late 16th Century correspondence to the Corsini family residing in London. This archive was the only commercial correspondence addressed to the City of London known to have survived the Great Fire of London in 1666. This item's provenance is the 9/4/1984 Robson Lowe auction. Suffice it to say that this merchant's letter is among the oldest of its kind extant today, each piece being scarce and highly-prized by collectors and historians interested in pre-governmental/unofficial postal communication and documentation of 16th Century trade."

272865