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1580 / Jost Amman / Frankfurt am Main, Germany.

Funarius, Der Seiler

Source: Hartman Schopper, Panoplia Omnium Liberalium Mechanicarum et Seden-tariarum Artium Genera Continens, Frankfurt am Main, 1568, p. 99.
We take a look inside the ropemaker’s workshop. There are two ropemakers presented. They are dressed in modern costumes (the one on the left has a tall hat with a small brim on his head, tied with a ribbon). The man standing on the left is spinning thread. With his left hand, he reaches for the hemp fibers hanging from above. With his right hand, he twists the cord by moving the reel, on which is already wound the cord he had harnessed earlier. The ropemaker seated on the left probably makes a loop at the end of the rope, scooping it onto a tall conical peg standing in front of him – striking the cord with a wooden mallet. The workshop equipment is visible: the finished, coiled cords and ropes lie on the floor, stand leaning against the wall, hanging from pegs fixed high on the wall. Other cords – strung individually or in coils and coiled in round balls – hang from the window frame, suspended outside.
In 1568, two richly illustrated works containing rhymed commentaries on the woodcuts appeared in print in Frankfurt am Main. Both show „all the professions in the world”. Panoplia Omnium Liberalium Mechanicarum et Seden-tariarum Artium Genera Continens with texts by Hartmann Schopper contains 115 woodcuts, while Eygentliche Beschreibung aller Stände auff Erden, hoher und nidriger, geistlicher und weltlicher, aller Künsten, Handwercken und Händeln… with poems by Hans Sachs illustrates 133 woodcuts. The same works by Jost Amman were placed in both works. Later, in 1585. , Tommaso Garzoni published another encyclopedic collection of professions – La piazza vniversale di tvtte le profesi del mondo. The work was translated into German and then published in print (it had several editions). The 1641 edition reinserted Jost Amman’s woodcuts, which had previously appeared in the Ständebuch. In all three old prints, a ropemaker can be found among other more than a hundred professions.
Jost Amman (1539-1591) was a Swiss painter, printmaker and the most prolific book illustrator of the 16th century. He made some 1,500 prints – illustrating more than 50 books. He trained in Zurich, later worked in Basel, and in 1561 opened a workshop in Nuremberg, where he settled permanently. He specialized in woodcut book illustration and map engraving. He also produced portraits and stained glass designs. He was an illustrator of the customs and costumes of his era. He represented the artistic style known as Mannerism.
Funarius. Der Seiler
Ropemaker
Conficio validos ex cannabe restio funes,
Et vaga sollicita retia texo manu.
Æquoris in tumidi quibus alligo flumine puppes,
Atq iuuencorum cornua fracta domo.
Nauita congestis vbi claßibus exit in altum,
Ille valet nostris funibus absq nihil.
His ex in aerijs, qui pulsat turribus æra
Indiget, bis fluuios vtitur omnis amans.
Scilicet in terris quæcunq vagantur ex errant,
Restibus indomitis restio stare facit.
material / technique
paper, colored woodcut
dimensions:
height / width
11.6 cm (16.2 cm) / 29 cm (30.5 cm)

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1877 / Spisz, Polska

Zestaw maszyn powroźniczych (kołowrotek i wózek), ludowy

XIX-XX w. / Polska

Zestaw maszyn powroźniczych (kołowrotek i wózek), ludowy

1708 / Friedrich Frisius / Leipzig, Germany

Ceremoniel der Seiler

The woodcut is from the publication: Friedrich Frisius, Der vornehmsten Künstler und Handwercker Ceremonial-Politica, Leipzig 1708. It is an illustrated presentation of various crafts, guilds, and jobs, among which ropemaking is also described.
The ropemaking workshop is divided into two rooms. On the right, a ropemaker, with the help of a reel fixed on the wall, spins thread, pulling out hemp fibers, which he has wrapped around his waist and on his left arm. Behind him, a young helper brings a new batch of fibers. Coiled ropes hang on the walls. On the floor lies a cat (?).You can see a section of the window and the entrance to the adjacent room. On the left, a woman pours with a ladle a dark liquid from a bale into a bucket held by a man – perhaps a customer. Presumably this is a substance for impregnating ropes (tar, pitch, „oily”). Behind him, a second customer is selecting ropes. On pegs against the wall hangs the goods on offer: cordage, ropes, ropes and ropes (dangling or hanging freely). Some ropes lie on the bench, or are leaning against it. A tin watering can is also visible. The costumes of the five people are varied, characteristic of the 16th rather than early 18th century.
A graphic print with this depiction, which is in the Graphic Collection of the German National Museum in Nuremberg, dates to around 1550.
material / technique
paper, colored woodcut
dimensions:
height / width
11.6 cm (16.2 cm) / 29 cm (30.5 cm)

Zobacz także 

1877 / Spisz, Polska

Zestaw maszyn powroźniczych (kołowrotek i wózek), ludowy

XIX-XX w. / Polska

Zestaw maszyn powroźniczych (kołowrotek i wózek), ludowy

<1699 / Abraham Santa / Nuremberg, Germany

Der Seiler

Source: Abraham a Sancta Clara, Etwas für Alle/ Das ist: Eine kurtze Beschreibung allerley Stands- Ambts- und Bewerbs-Persohnen / Mit beygedruckter Sittlichen Lehre und Biblischen Concepten… published by Christoph Weigel, 1699, p. 500.

It is dated to circa 1730.

The engraving shows an open ropemaker’s workshop building and the square in front of it (the so-called ropemaker’s track – without a roof). Several ropemakers (one in the foreground, right) are spinning threads from hemp fibers, which they have wrapped around their waist. As they work, they step back. Some ropes are suspended from hooks attached to tall poles. On the left you can see a ropemaking machine loaded with stones, operated by several ropemakers. Two of them turn a crank, twisting the thick rope. During this process, the machine moves forward, gouging ruts in the ground. This happens because the twisted rope shortens.

Above the representation are the words:

“Der Seiler

Der Gang sey schlecht,

Das Werck nur recht.”

Powroznik

Maybe his gait bad

But the work – good.

Below the performance is a poem:

“Der Frommen Wandel scheint nichts werth

In Augen, die ihn nicht verstehen:

doch so kann man zum Himmel gehen,

Wann man der Welt den Rucken kehrt,

und seine Augen fleissig wendet,

dahin, wo unser Werck sich endet.”

The fate of the pious worth nothing sometimes

When the world cannot understand him:

However, by this road he will reach heaven,

Who turns his back to the world

And on his work he diligently ponders

Until the end crowns our work.

(translated by Ewa Dybczynska)

Abraham a St. Clara’s work, Etwas fur Alle (in German) or Iets voor Allen (in Dutch) – Something for Everyone – was an imitation of an older publication. In 1694, Amsterdam artists Jan and Casper Luyken published Spiegel van het Menselyk Bedryf, a collection of one hundred engravings depicting arts and crafts. The graphic representations were accompanied by the name of the profession, a short sentence (above) and a six-line poem (below). The book was a great success and was reprinted many times (until 1767). Other printers and booksellers also tried to profit from the popular bestseller. The 1699 version by Abraham de St. Clara had as many as 200 engravings.

Abraham a Santa Clara (1644-1709) – was an Austrian Augustinian monk, preacher and author of popular devotional books, known for his great eloquence.

material / technique

paper, copperplate

dimensions:

height / width

17.7 cm / 9.5 cm

Link1

Zobacz także 

1877 / Spisz, Polska

Zestaw maszyn powroźniczych (kołowrotek i wózek), ludowy

XIX-XX w. / Polska

Zestaw maszyn powroźniczych (kołowrotek i wózek), ludowy

before 1724 / Jeremias Wolff / Augsburg, Germany

Der Seiler

The engraving shows a ropemaker (right) spinning thread from hemp fibers, which he has wrapped around his waist, wrapped in an apron. Standing next to him is a woman (left), who, according to the text below, is the owner of a ropemaking workshop, assisted by a man in love with her. The second ropemaker turning the crank of the machine (the ropemaking wheel) can be seen slightly behind the first ropemaker. Actually, they should be facing each other, but perhaps the author made such a move for compositional reasons. A castle on a hill is visible in the background.

Der Seiler.

Ich helff euch früh und spat die stärcksten Seile spinnen

Und ihr habt selbsten mich ans liebes-Seil gebracht.

Ich helff euch euer Brod durch meinen Fleiß gewinnen,

Helfft ihr mir zu dem Fleisch, wornach mein Herzte tracht.

Hätt ich den Liebes-Gott, der mich so sehr thut kräncken,

Ich wolt ihn heute noch mit diesem Strick aufhencken.

Ropemaker

I help you from dawn till night to spin the strongest ropes

And You alone lead me on a love cord.

I help You through my toil to gain Your bread,

Let me gain the carnal reward my heart craves.

If I had this idol of love that experiences me so much,

I would still like to hang it today on this here cord.

(Translated by Ewa Dybczynska)

On the left: “C. Pr. S. C. Majest.” [Cum Privilegio Sacræ Caesareæ Maiestatis – by permission of the Holy Imperial Majesty]. On the right: “Ieremias Wolff excudit Aug. Vind.” [Jeremias Wolff engraved, Augusta Vindelicorum = Augsburg].

Jeremias Wolff (1663-1724) – Augsburg copperplate engraver and publisher; built the largest art publishing house of the 1st half of the 18th century, which employed the best engravers of its time.

material / technique

paper, copperplate

dimensions:

height / width

35 cm / 23 cm

Zobacz także 

1877 / Spisz, Polska

Zestaw maszyn powroźniczych (kołowrotek i wózek), ludowy

XIX-XX w. / Polska

Zestaw maszyn powroźniczych (kołowrotek i wózek), ludowy

1770 / Iohannes Amos Comenius / Warsaw

Restio & Lorarius / Ropemaker & Saddler

The card comes from the publication: Jan Amos Comenius, Świat rzeczy pod zmysły podpadających we czterech językach odmalowany y poprawiony, (Joh[annes]. Amos Comenii, Orbis sensualium pictus quadrilinguis emendatus), Warsaw 1770, pp. 312-315.

The graphic representation shows the interior of the saddler’s workshop (left) and the workspace of the ropemakers (right). Two ropemakers are spinning thread from hemp. A ropemaker (1) spins thread (2) from hemp fibers (4) wrapped around himself. The second ropemaker, sitting on a stool, turns a crank to move the ropemaking wheel (3). The drive is translated to a spinning hook on which the thread is attached. The work is done on a ropemaking track, along which the first ropemaker moves backwards, bounded by a fence, with a gate in the background. In the foreground are arranged the coiled yarn (5), cordage or cordage (6) and ropes (7).

(312)
LXXXI.
Restio & Lorarius
The Ropemaker and the Saddler
Graphic representation of a saddler’s workshop and ropemakers working on the ropemaking circuit.
Below and on the following pages were texts (known from other copies):
Restio, 1 m. 3. ropemaker, 1
contorquet spins
funes, 2 ropes, 2 (cordage) funis, m. 3. rope.
agitatione turning
rotulæ, 3 pegs, 3 rotula, f. 1. peg.
e stupa, 4 with carding, 4 stupa, f. 1. carding.
vel cannabi, or hemp cannabis, f. 3. hemp.
quamfibi circumdat. which ties around himself.
(313)
LXXXI
Im Buch der Richter Cap. XVI. V. 7. 9 [Book of Judges, 16, 7-9].
[Latin text].
And Samson answered her, if they had bound me with seven strands of raw threads, which have not yet withered, then I shall wither, and be as another man: but he hath broken off the threads, and as one would break off a thread that is scorched with fire: and the power thereof was not known.
[French and German text].
Le Cordier & le Ceinturier.
Der Seiler und Riemer.
Le cordier, 1 Der Seiler 1
En tournant drehet
Ion rouet, 2 Seile, 2
retord, cable durch Umdrehung
toutes fortes de Ordes, cordages 3 des Rads, 3
d’étouppe, 4 aus Werd, 4
ou de chanvre, orer hanff,
gu’il a mis autur de lui. So er um sich leget.
(314)
Sic fiunt Thus they make themselves
Primo forward
funiculi, 5 yarns, 5
tum restes, 6 then powroz, 6 (poitronki) reftis, f.3.
powroz.
tandem at the end
rudentes. 7 well or sailing ropes, 7 rudens, m. 3. Rope

[Further on Saddler]
Orbis Sensualium Pictus (The Sensual World in Pictures) published in 1658 in Nuremberg is the first book written with children in mind,. The author was Jan Ámos Komenský, also known as Komenius (1592-1670). He was a philosopher, reformer and Protestant thinker, but first and foremost a renowned Czech educator. He devoted his entire life to practical educational activities, compiling school textbooks and theoretically developing pedagogical and didactic issues, thus laying the foundation for modern pedagogical principles.
His best-known and highly regarded work Orbis sensualium pictus is an illustrated primer for the youngest children, published in Latin and German. The book was originally intended to be an improved version of the Latin reading book Janua linguarum reserata, designed to facilitate the mastery of Latin. However, when creating Orbis pictus, Jan Amos Komenský used for the first time a modern method combining a written text with a graphic representation of it in the form of numerous illustrations. This method was intended to simplify the process of transmitting knowledge to young students.
Orbis pictus was translated into many languages. The first four-language edition (Latin, German, Italian, French) appeared in 1666. A year later, a Polish translation came out of the printers. The book was also published in English, Czech and Hungarian. For a century after its publication, it was the most popular textbook in Europe and the prototype of modern language learning materials.
material / technique
paper, woodcut
dimensions:
height / width
9.3 cm / 10 cm
A. Fijałkowski, Orbis Pictus świat malowany Jana Amosa Komeńskiego, Warszawa 2008,
A. Fijałkowski, Tradycja i nowatorstwo w Orbis sensualium pictus Jana Amosa Komeńskiego, Warszawa 2012,
A. Fijałkowski, Jan Amos Komeński Świat w obrazach rzeczy dostępnych zmysłom, Warszawa 2015, Komenský Jan Amos.
Świat w obrazach opisany po polsku w dziele Jana Amosa Komenskiego wydanym w Brzegu w 1667 roku, Brzeg 2017,

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1877 / Spisz, Polska

Zestaw maszyn powroźniczych (kołowrotek i wózek), ludowy

XIX-XX w. / Polska

Zestaw maszyn powroźniczych (kołowrotek i wózek), ludowy