Description

The Book of Trades was first published in Frankfurt in 1568 as the result of cooperation between the poet and cobbler Hans Sachs, the artist Jost Amman and one of their most influential contemporary German publishers, Sigmund Feyerabend. The book contains 114 texts, each illustrated with a woodcut, that describe the spiritual and secular hierarchy of the time as well as numerous trades and professions. This current edition is in two volumes. The original print from 1568 is reproduced in facsimile based on the copy in the Royal Danish Library. The facsimile is accompanied by a transcription of the printed text as well as, for the first time ever, a parallel transcription of Hans Sachs' handwritten text of 1565. The second volume contains various materials related to the texts: a comprehensive commentary with explanations of both words and subjects, a word index, a rhyme register, a list of discrepancies in the second edition of The Book of Trades of 1574, and various concordances that also include Hartmann Schopper's Latin edition of 1568. With its description of 16th century trades and professions, this edition is not only intended for philologists but also for a broad readership with an interest in the history of civilization.