Jost Amman, Representations of Different Trades, from Hans Sachs, Eygentliche Beschreibung aller Staende auff Erden (1568)
Abstract
Hans Sachs’s Ständebuch depicts trades and occupations in the widest sense – it starts with the Pope and the Emperor, goes on to describe a range of tradesmen and their various specialties, and ends with several types of jesters. The diverse illustrations are accompanied by short descriptive rhymes. Jost Amman (1539–1591), a Zurich-born resident of Nuremberg, was famous for his book engravings. In these scenes, he depicts the closely related trades of bookbinding, printing, writing, engraving, and papermaking.
Source
The Bookbinder.
Binding books of all sorts ‘tis my call /
Religious and secular / large and small /
In parchment or in boards of wood
My studs are strong, my closures good
I add nice clasps / and stamps to embellish /
Then I press the books with relish /
And guild the spines of some I do /
I earn good money at it, too.
Translation: GHI staff
The Book Printer.
I am very adept with the printing press
I spread ink with skill, no more, no less /
As soon as my helper pulls the lever /
We print a page to last forever
Lots of learning comes in a book /
It's easy enough to take a look
Scribes wrote books in earlier times /
Until the press was invented in Mainz.
Translation: GHI staff
The Etcher.
I am an etcher of skill so tender /
Whenever I’m given an image to render /
That is drawn on a board in feather and ink
Then I etch it with my instrument /
After printing, it will be clear cut
This image / that has been drawn up /
Will be etched on paper for all to see /
Artful and near permanent shall it be.
Translation: GHI staff
The Paper Maker.
I need rags to run my paper mill
The water turns the wheel once still /
So that cut-up rags turn to pulp /
Swelling from the water they gulp /
I make paper / and press sheets between felt /
Squeezing out water that therein dwelt
Then I hang the sheets / and let them dry /
Snow white and smooth / a delight for the eye.
Translation: GHI staff
The Type Founder.
I pour type in the print shop to begin
It is made of bismuth / lead and tin /
I arrange the type accordingly /
Putting letters in order as need be
Latin and German letters can I do
I pour Greek letters sometimes, too
Capital letters / periods and others so fine
They’ll look quite nice in a printed line.
Translation: GHI staff
Source: Hans Sachs, Jost Amman (Illustrations), Eygentliche Beschreibung Aller Stände auff Erden. Hoher vnd Nidriger, Geistlicher vnd Weltlicher, Aller Künsten, Handwercken vnd Händeln, [et]c. vom grösten biß zum kleinesten, Auch von jarem Ursprung, Erfindung vnd gebreuchen. Franckfurt am Mayn: Feyerabents, 1568. SLUB Dresden. Available online at: http://digital.slub-dresden.de/id278811973/5
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Further Reading
A Sixteenth-Century Book of Trades: Das Ständebuch. Translated, with an introduction by Theodore K. Rabb. Palo Alto, CA: The Society for the Promotion of Science and Scholarship, 2009.