Cloth Seal, Madder Seal as described in a 1631 proclamation
Madder Seal as described in a 1631 proclamation found in Winchester City Records in the Hampshire Record Office.
This entry is to help identify seals for madder dye (not cloth that has been dyed in madder) from information uncovered by Paul Cannon:-
"The following is a transcript of a printed document preserved amongst the Winchester City Records in the Hampshire Record Office [W/B6/3]. It is a volume into which have been inserted a number of official printed proclamations.
A Proclamation for Preventing of Deceipt used in the Importation of Madder
That Our graver of Our Mynt and seales, or any other whom Our said officer shall imploy, shall from time to time frame and make such severall stamps and seales, to bee engraven with our Armes or otherwise as he shall think fit, always observing that the stamps for the best sort of Madder, shall be engraven with the word, Cropp. For the second sort with this word Ghemeeney and for the third and worst sort, with this word Mull.
If the madder was mixed with earth or sand upon the seal shall be added Mixt. Then shall the said Officer enter in a booke to be kept for that purpose the weight of the sand or earth so mixt therewith & upon the seale shall be added this word Mixt with a figure, shewing that the same madder is mixt and imperfect and shewing also in what proportion in the hundred pound weight that mixture is made, upon which side of the seale also shall be exprest the name of the port or place whereinto the said Madder was first brought, with certain figures and letters of direction unto our said officers Office Books of Register.
Officer George Bedford MDCXXXI [ie 1631]
Customs House at London
For a fuller version of Bedford’s patent see Foedera, conventiones, literae et cujuscunque generis acta publica inter reges angliae et alios quosvis imperatores, reges, pontifices principes, vel communitates:.
The roots of the madder plant have been used for centuries as a dye see Wikipedia. It would appear that at the time of the proclamation there was a problem with the adulteration of madder being imported into England. The unusual word ‘Ghemeeney’ I think relates to the Dutch/Flemish word ‘Ghemeen’ for ‘common’. I believe that much of our madder at this time was imported from the Low Countries."
See PAS LON-0B718E as a probable example identified by Paul Cannon.
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