CLOTH SEAL

2 comments

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  Paul Cannon wrote @ 17:11:43 on the 4th June 2012.

  I recognise this as a cloth seal from the Dutch city of Amersfoort. The arms are those of this city and the inscription can be seen to read AMERSFOORT. For a group of earlier Amersfoort seals see http://wf4.nl/Engels/paginaJan/janlakenloden4engels.htm Amersfoort was famous for a type of cloth known as Bombazine. As to the meaning of the other face I am grateful to Francien Snieder, Archaeologist for the City of Amersfoort, for much of the rest of this comment. The second and third lines of visible text read 'NED EL' (not NEL EL as suggested in the record). This stands for 'Dutch ell'. This term came into use in 1820 when the provinces of the Netherlands were forced by Napolean to accept the metric system. Prior to this date there was no standard length of the ell. Most Dutch cities had their own standards. For instance an ell in Delft measured 68cm but a Middleburg ell was 70cm. The new standard unit 'Dutch ell' continued in use until 1869 when it was replaced by the term metre. With the meaning of 'NED EL' now being understood the first line makes more sense if it represents a numeral. A close examination of this line seems to me to suggest that it reads '14'. Francien Snieder informs me that the Amersfoort textile industry continued to be important till about 1860. The earliest date this seal could have is 1820. However the numbers 2 and 1 either side of the arms would seem to date it to precisely 1821. Compare the way the dates of the earlier seals are represented in the above website. I am grateful to Francien Snieder whose information has led to the proper identification of this seal. She has also commented that it is not recorded in the Netherlands and is previously unknown.

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  Paul Cannon wrote @ 18:00:43 on the 4th October 2012.

  The following link on a Dutch website is to one side of a more complete version of this seal. http://www.dutchartefacts.nl/?page_id=288&nggpage=3 See item number 30. It clearly shows that the three line inscription does read 14/NED/EL.