Roman commented: >>> >> I once looked >> into the price of high quality paper in 16th century Augsburg, paper of the >> kind one would use to copy lute music. A ream of folio sized paper (about >> 9x12) in Augsburg cost the equivalent of a kitchen servant's monthly >> salary. Today a ream of highest quality paper could be bought with three >> hour's work by a dishwasher. > > I don't doubt the numbers, and I'm not surprised to learn that paper is > cheaper now than it was then, but it would be a big mistake (as Ahnold would > say) to simply do the arithmetic and conclude that paper in 16th-century > Augsburg was about 500 times as expensive as it is now. Indeed, there are varying grades of paper even now, and the range can be from $1 to $50 for a 20"x40" sheet. Student grade printmaking stock sells for no less than $5 per sheet, which is an hourly rate of a sales clerk at Tower Records. RT<><><>
Yes, I got the prices of paper manufactured in Augsburg during the 16th century from a history of papermaking in Bavaria during the Renaiissance. The histoiry gave the prices for the many grades of paper, and usuaully only the very best was used in music manuscripts. You can often tell the grade of paper from the watermark. Even in the 16th century these marks were regulated by a consortium of papermills in Bavaria. They also treid to prevent counterfeiting of papers. Some mills would imitate the watermark of a famous papermill in order to sell their papers. The consortium put a stop to that practice, and watermarks had trade mark status Crowns, moons and Ps were some of the figures that indicated the grade of paper. I was simply indicating how expenseive paper was back then. But to get a true valuation, one would have to assemble more prices than just the salary of a scullery maiden, as Donatella showed us. Incidentally some of the very first manuscript paper with _printed_ lines for music was made in Augsburg around 1546, and it had six lines for lute tablature. Melchior Newsidler (son not brother of Hans) copied some of his tabkatures on the printed papers. Stanley Boorman told mne he knows of no earlier _printed_ music manuscript paper. But by the 18th century many statiuoners had a machine that would rule the paper with music staves. The whole subject of music rastrology can be fascinating. But don't get me started. Adieu. Arthur. <>
