A merchant's mark is an emblem or device adopted by a merchant, and placed on goods or products sold by him in order to keep track of them, or as a sign of authentication. It may also be used as a mark of identity in other contexts.
A selection of merchants' marks used by medieval merchants of the City of Norwich, England
Merchant's mark of Thomas Horton (d. 1530), wool merchant of Iford, Wiltshire, used on English woollens sent to Flanders. Engraved on his monumental brass c.1520 in Holy Trinity Church, Bradford-on-Avon
Merchants' marks are as old as the sealings of the third millennium BCE found in Sumer that originated in the Indus Valley.[1] Impressions of cloth, strings and other packing material on the reverse of tags with seal impressions indicate that the Harappan seals were used to control economic administration and trade.[2][3]Amphorae from the Roman Empire can sometimes be traced to their sources from the inscriptions on their handles. Commercial inscriptions in Latin, known as tituli picti, appear on Roman containers used for trade.[4]
The Mystical Sign of Four, also called the "Staff of Mercury"
To manage the risks of piracy or shipwreck, merchants often consigned a cargo to several vessels or caravans; a mark on a bale established legal ownership and avoided confusion. Early travellers, voyagers and merchants displayed their merchant's marks as well to ward off evil. Adventurous travellers and sailors ascribed the terrors and perils of their life to the wrath of the Devil. To counter these dangers merchants employed all sorts of religious and magical means to place their caravans, ships and merchandise under the protection of God and His Saints.
One such symbol combined the mystical "Sign of Four" with the merchant's name or initials. The "Sign of Four"[8] was an outgrowth of an ancient symbol adopted by the Romans and by Christianity, Chi Rho (XP), standing for the first two letters of Christus in Greek letters; this was simplified to a reversed "4" in Medieval times. The evolution of this symbol is shown in M. J. Shah's article.[9] The "Sign of Four" is called the "Staff of Mercury" (Caduceus) in German and Scandinavian literature on house marks.[10]
The joint stock company or limited liability company was another way to reduce a merchant's risks of loss of ships and merchandise from dangerous voyages and travel. By royal charter a monopoly was assured and a merchant's personal liability was limited to the amount of his own investment. If a voyage succeeded the gains accrued to all of the investors in proportion to their invested capital shares. Modern institutions, corporations and trademarks, find some of their origins in these symbolic and legal devices for limiting physical and pecuniary risks.[citation needed]
East India Company
Symbols on a blue Scinde Dawk postage stamp (1852)
When the East India Company was chartered by Elizabeth I, Queen of England in 1600 it was still customary for each merchant or Company of Merchant Adventurers to have a distinguishing mark which included the "Sign of Four" and served as a trademark. The East India Company's mark was made up from a '+', a '4' and the initials EIC.
This mark forms the central emblem displayed on the Scinde Dawk postage stamps.[11] Also, it was a central motif of the East India Company's coinage.[12]
^Seals were used to make impressions in wet clay as a means of sealing shipments of goods. D. H. Kelley and B. Wells, "Recent Progress in Understanding the Indus Script", Review of Archaeology. Vol. 16, No. 1 : 15–23.(1995).
^Asko Parpola, "Study of the Indus Script", p. 52. Paper read at the 50th ICES Tokyo Session on 19 May 2005 in Tokyo. 20 April 2010 at the Wayback Machine
^Geoffrey Cook, "A Unicorn Seal", The Ancient Indus Civilization (on line).
^J. Theodore Peña, Roman Pottery in the Archaeological Record, p. 106. Cambridge U. Press (2007) ISBN0-521-86541-7
^Sylvia L. Thrupp, The Merchant Class of Medieval London (1300–1500). U. Chicago (1948).
^. Archived from the original on 8 October 2006. Retrieved 23 November 2006. Corpus Vitrearum Medii Aevi – Browne's Chapel
^D. Christison, "The Carvings and Inscriptions on the Kirkyard Monuments of the Scottish Lowlands; particularly in Perth, Fife, Angus, Mearns, and Lothian", in Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, Volume 36 (1901–02): Fig. 114, p. 117.
^ Scinde District Dawks – The Premier Stamps of Asia
^C. G. Homeyer: Die Haus- und Hofmarken, Berlin 1870, Tuve Skånberg: Glömda gudstecken. Från fornkyrklig dopliturgi till allmogens bomärken (2003) under Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 2.5 licens Lund 2003, Anders Bjønnes : Segltegninger fra hyllingene i Norge 1591 og 1610, Oslo 2010.
^East India Company coin 1791, half pice, as illustrated.
Further reading
Davies, H. W. (1935). Devices of the Early Printers, 1457–1560: their history and development. London: Grafton & Co.
Elmhirst, Edward Mars (1959). Dow, Leslie (ed.). Merchants' Marks. Harleian Society. Vol. 108. London: Harleian Society.
Ewing, W. C. (1850). Notices of the Merchants' Marks in the City of Norwich. Norwich: Charles Muskett.
Girling, F. A. (1964). English Merchants' Marks: a field survey of marks made by merchants and tradesmen in England between 1400 and 1700. London: Oxford University Press.
Gloucestershire Notes & Queries, Vol. 5, p. 107; Vol. 6, pp. 9–12
Rylands, J. Paul (1910). "Merchants' marks and other medieval personal marks" (PDF). Transactions of the Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire. 62.
January 07, 2023
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A merchant s mark is an emblem or device adopted by a merchant and placed on goods or products sold by him in order to keep track of them or as a sign of authentication It may also be used as a mark of identity in other contexts A selection of merchants marks used by medieval merchants of the City of Norwich England Merchant s mark of Thomas Horton d 1530 wool merchant of Iford Wiltshire used on English woollens sent to Flanders Engraved on his monumental brass c 1520 in Holy Trinity Church Bradford on Avon Contents 1 History 1 1 Ancient use 1 2 Middle ages and early modern period 1 2 1 Legal requirements and superstitions 1 2 2 East India Company 2 See also 3 References 4 Further readingHistory EditAncient use Edit See also Cylinder seal and Stamp seal Merchants marks are as old as the sealings of the third millennium BCE found in Sumer that originated in the Indus Valley 1 Impressions of cloth strings and other packing material on the reverse of tags with seal impressions indicate that the Harappan seals were used to control economic administration and trade 2 3 Amphorae from the Roman Empire can sometimes be traced to their sources from the inscriptions on their handles Commercial inscriptions in Latin known as tituli picti appear on Roman containers used for trade 4 Middle ages and early modern period Edit Symbolic merchants marks continued to be used by artisans and townspeople of the medieval and early modern eras 5 to identify themselves and authenticate their goods These distinctive and easily recognizable marks often appeared in their seals on documents and on products made for sale They are often found on headstones and in works of stained glass 6 brass and stone serving in place of heraldic imagery which could not be used by the middle classes They were the precursors of hallmarks printer s marks 7 and trademarks Legal requirements and superstitions Edit The Mystical Sign of Four also called the Staff of Mercury To manage the risks of piracy or shipwreck merchants often consigned a cargo to several vessels or caravans a mark on a bale established legal ownership and avoided confusion Early travellers voyagers and merchants displayed their merchant s marks as well to ward off evil Adventurous travellers and sailors ascribed the terrors and perils of their life to the wrath of the Devil To counter these dangers merchants employed all sorts of religious and magical means to place their caravans ships and merchandise under the protection of God and His Saints One such symbol combined the mystical Sign of Four with the merchant s name or initials The Sign of Four 8 was an outgrowth of an ancient symbol adopted by the Romans and by Christianity Chi Rho XP standing for the first two letters of Christus in Greek letters this was simplified to a reversed 4 in Medieval times The evolution of this symbol is shown in M J Shah s article 9 The Sign of Four is called the Staff of Mercury Caduceus in German and Scandinavian literature on house marks 10 The joint stock company or limited liability company was another way to reduce a merchant s risks of loss of ships and merchandise from dangerous voyages and travel By royal charter a monopoly was assured and a merchant s personal liability was limited to the amount of his own investment If a voyage succeeded the gains accrued to all of the investors in proportion to their invested capital shares Modern institutions corporations and trademarks find some of their origins in these symbolic and legal devices for limiting physical and pecuniary risks citation needed East India Company Edit Symbols on a blue Scinde Dawk postage stamp 1852 When the East India Company was chartered by Elizabeth I Queen of England in 1600 it was still customary for each merchant or Company of Merchant Adventurers to have a distinguishing mark which included the Sign of Four and served as a trademark The East India Company s mark was made up from a a 4 and the initials EIC This mark forms the central emblem displayed on the Scinde Dawk postage stamps 11 Also it was a central motif of the East India Company s coinage 12 See also EditBrand Seal emblem Factory mark House mark Livestock branding Symbols and terminology Mason s mark Monogram Union labelReferences Edit Seals were used to make impressions in wet clay as a means of sealing shipments of goods D H Kelley and B Wells Recent Progress in Understanding the Indus Script Review of Archaeology Vol 16 No 1 15 23 1995 Asko Parpola Study of the Indus Script p 52 Paper read at the 50th ICES Tokyo Session on 19 May 2005 in Tokyo Archived 20 April 2010 at the Wayback Machine Geoffrey Cook A Unicorn Seal The Ancient Indus Civilization on line J Theodore Pena Roman Pottery in the Archaeological Record p 106 Cambridge U Press 2007 ISBN 0 521 86541 7 Sylvia L Thrupp The Merchant Class of Medieval London 1300 1500 U Chicago 1948 CVMA Corpus Vitrearum Medii Aevi Archived from the original on 8 October 2006 Retrieved 23 November 2006 Corpus Vitrearum Medii Aevi Browne s Chapel http spencer lib ku edu sc ptrsmark shtml University of Kansas Libraries Kenneth Specer Research Library Special Collections D Christison The Carvings and Inscriptions on the Kirkyard Monuments of the Scottish Lowlands particularly in Perth Fife Angus Mearns and Lothian in Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland Volume 36 1901 02 Fig 114 p 117 https web archive org web 20091027143019 http www geocities com mjshah geo scinde scinde html Scinde District Dawks The Premier Stamps of Asia C G Homeyer Die Haus und Hofmarken Berlin 1870 Tuve Skanberg Glomda gudstecken Fran fornkyrklig dopliturgi till allmogens bomarken 2003 under Creative Commons BY NC ND 2 5 licens Lund 2003 Anders Bjonnes Segltegninger fra hyllingene i Norge 1591 og 1610 Oslo 2010 Scinde District Dawks The Premier Stamps of Asia excerpted by M J Shah from Manik Jain and S B Kothari The Silver Key to The Golden Treasure of Indian Philately East India Company coin 1791 half pice as illustrated Further reading EditDavies H W 1935 Devices of the Early Printers 1457 1560 their history and development London Grafton amp Co Elmhirst Edward Mars 1959 Dow Leslie ed Merchants Marks Harleian Society Vol 108 London Harleian Society Ewing W C 1850 Notices of the Merchants Marks in the City of Norwich Norwich Charles Muskett Girling F A 1964 English Merchants Marks a field survey of marks made by merchants and tradesmen in England between 1400 and 1700 London Oxford University Press Gloucestershire Notes amp Queries Vol 5 p 107 Vol 6 pp 9 12 Rylands J Paul 1910 Merchants marks and other medieval personal marks PDF Transactions of the Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire 62 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Merchant 27s mark amp oldid 1123751984, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
