Research: "Niccolo da Fabriano"

Huck

Hi Ross,
probably you remember "Nicolo da Fabriano" as the peacemaking "altre fabricante die carta" in Bologna in the brawl of some playing card
producers in Bologna in the year 1427.
http://trionfi.com/0/l/51-bologna/
Probably you also remember the "Mantovani" (or similar written Mantuan, Mantoani), mentioned in the article of Gherardo Ortalli, who somehow imported a card printing press around the year 1436/37 and variously appeared in the Ferrarese documents.
http://trionfi.com/0/p/04/

"un debito di 13 lire e 7 soldi contratto da Bartolomeo con il cartolaio Nicolo d Fabriano" (refers to "Tesi Blason Berton No 543" ?) at p. 171 in the internet document
http://www.noalenostra.org/noalenostra/visita/Pietro_da_Noale.pdf

Cartolaio means (nowadays) "stationer", so we must probably imagine, that Niccolo (if this is the same man) is a paper trader from Fabriano, the city with the best paper. As the relevant family is of some importance at the university of Padova, it seems, that he trades paper for the university use.

"Bartolomeo" seems to be Bartolomeo Francesco Mantovani (or "Noale"; Noale is the name of a location between Venice and Padova) (1408 - 1451) doct. art. et. med (married Maddalena Cavedon and Margherita Brazolo), son of the notaio Alberto Mantovani (died 1439/40)
compare family tree at p. 176 in Internet document.

There is a familiary contact mentioned to a German/Dutch student in the years 1433-1437: Gisbert Hambruch of Breda, son of Guglielmo (which should be Wilhelm). Another German name is Enrico Phippen figlio de Adriano = Henricus Phippen de Zevenberghen = de Septemmontibus (Zevenberghe is a location near Breda), of relevance for the year 1433. p. 158/159
Of this both Gisbert seems to have been in unclear manner active in the contratto to the cartolaio Nicolo da Fabriano.

The Mantovani/Noale family is called "una famiglia di medici a Padova nel XV Secolo"

At
http://www.noalenostra.org/noalenostra/visita/libro3.pdf (same domain)
Bartholomeo also is noted, now as "Bartholomeo Montagnana" (Montagnano is another city in the region)

Well, there are doubts, if this Mantagnano and the Mantovani from Ortalli are really related. The Ortalli-Mantovani is around 1450 in Sassuoli, relative far away from Ferrara (in the south of Modena) and much more far from Padova.

It is a little bit curious, that someone orders in Ferrara some printing from Sassuoli.

Generally the name "Niccolo da Fabriano" is not rare, I found at least 4 different of them.
 

Ross G Caldwell

Very interesting, thanks for the results.

Niccolo (Nicolo) da Fabriano is too popular to settle, but it is interesting that he is called in "cartolaio" in your document.

The Orioli document gives more to his name -

"in domo habitationis magistri Nicolai Antonii de Fabriano cartarii..."

In the longer part of the deposition, which settles the fight, it says "Iohannes quondam Iohannis de Cologna de Alamania qui facit cartexellas depictas ad ludendum ... suprascripti Iohannis cartarii..."

So they call Johann of Cologne someone who "makes painted playing cards" and later, in short form they call him a "cartarii". So "Master Nicolo Antonio da Fabrirano cartarii" is also a cardmaker (especially as he is given the title "master").
 

Huck

Ross G Caldwell said:
Very interesting, thanks for the results.

Niccolo (Nicolo) da Fabriano is too popular to settle, but it is interesting that he is called in "cartolaio" in your document.

The Orioli document gives more to his name -

"in domo habitationis magistri Nicolai Antonii de Fabriano cartarii..."

In the longer part of the deposition, which settles the fight, it says "Iohannes quondam Iohannis de Cologna de Alamania qui facit cartexellas depictas ad ludendum ... suprascripti Iohannis cartarii..."

So they call Johann of Cologne someone who "makes painted playing cards" and later, in short form they call him a "cartarii". So "Master Nicolo Antonio da Fabrirano cartarii" is also a cardmaker (especially as he is given the title "master").

Hm ... I have from Orioli:

Alcuni anni piu tardi e precisamente nel 1427 ci incontriamo in un autentico fabbricante di carte da giuoco, le quali ormai hanno abbandonato l'esotico nome di "naibi" per non conservare che quello d "carteselle". E questi un tedesco, certo Giovanni di Colonia, figlio di alto Giovanni, "qui facit cartesellas depictas ad ludendum" Costui in quell'anno stipulava un istrmento di pace per remissione di querela, causa ingiurie e percosse ricevute da un Giovanni fabbricante di carta, detto "Zohane da Bologna", il quale venuto a diverbio col tedesco, gli aveva scaraventato sulla testa una brocca da acqua, ed il malcapitato dipintore di carte da giuoco ne era uscito tutto malconcio e sanguinoso. Cio nonostante il buon tedesco s'indusse a perdonare al proprio offensore, rilasciando al figlio di lui formale promessa per atto pubblico di desistere da ogni procedura contro di esso; e simile atto fu stpulato nell'abitazione di un altre fabricante die carta, maestro Nicolo da Fabriano, che sembra si fosse assunta l'opera di paciere fra il manesco "Zohane da Bologna" ed il pittore di carte da giuoco tedesco.

Is there meanwhile better material? The original document?


Added:
"Cartolai were stationers, as well as often booktraders, cartai were usually papermakers."
In Bolognese context (1389) it seems, that "cartai or cartari" was used synonymous ...
Carmen C. Bambach in an Jstor-article "The Purchases of Cartoon Paper for Leonardo's "Battle of Anghiari" and Michelangelo's "Battle ... ... short notes at p. 99 and 112

http://www.jstor.org/stable/4603713...&resultsServiceName=doBasicResultsFromArticle


Well ... the Fabriano business was paper-selling and Niccolo with a habitation in Bologna probably was of importance for the paper-export to Northern Italy and to North Europe ... naturally he had a lot of knowledge about paper and its contemporary use. Woodcut technique was a new dimension for the paper market, so naturally he would be interested to learn about it (and perhaps he had learnt it already).
Generally I would assume, that a "Cartolaio" had a higher social class as a humble "playing card producer".
 

Huck

I found something:

http://wwwcsi.unian.it/educa/storia/diaspora.html

As a reference:
S. Collodo, Artigiani e salariati a Padova verso la metà del Quattrocento e il maestro cartaro Nicolò di Antonio da Fabriano, in «Critica storica», 13, 3 (1976).
The report has about 20 pages

The author is specialist about Padova (many publications)
http://www.storia.unipd.it/PROFILI/MATERIALE/PUBBLICAZIONI/silvana.collodo.pdf

His/her most stuff is from Padova and this time the "Antonio" is mentioned, which should mean, that this Nicolò di Antonio da Fabriano is our man from the Bolognese note.
 

Huck

We had 2-3 years ago the Orioli text 1908 translated by Franco Pratesi.

Pratesi gave a comment to "fabbricante of carte".

The Italian text:
"Alcuni anni piu tardi e precisamente nel 1427 ci incontriamo in un autentico
fabbricante di carte da giuoco, le quali ormai hanno abbandonato l'esotico nome di "naibi" per non conservare che quello d "carteselle". E questi un tedesco,
certo Giovanni di Colonia, figlio di alto Giovanni, "qui facit cartesellas
depictas ad ludendum" Costui in quell'anno stipulava un istrmento di pace per
remissione di querela, causa ingiurie e percosse ricevute da un Giovanni
fabbricante di carta, detto "Zohane da Bologna", il quale venuto a diverbio col
tedesco, gli aveva scaraventato sulla testa una brocca da acqua, ed il
malcapitato dipintore di carte da giuoco ne era uscito tutto malconcio e
sanguinoso. Cio nonostante il buon tedesco s'indusse a perdonare al proprio
offensore, rilasciando al figlio di lui formale promessa per atto pubblico di
desistere da ogni procedura contro di esso; e simile atto fu stpulato
nell'abitazione di un altre fabricante die carta, maestro Nicolo da Fabriano,
che sembra si fosse assunta l'opera di paciere fra il manesco "Zohane da
Bologna" ed il pittore di carte da giuoco tedesco."

Franco's translation:
"Some years later on, and precisely in 1427, we meet a real maker of playing
cards, which had by then left the exotic name of “naibi” keeping that of
“carteselle”. This is a German, a certain Giovanni from Colonia, son of another
[altro!] Giovanni, who makes cartesellas painted for playing. He signed in that
year a legal document for peace after a legal action because of insults and
blows suffered from a cardmaker Giovanni named Zohane from Bologna, who during
an altercation with the German had thrown upon his head a jug for water and the
unlucky painter of playing cards came out black and blue all over and bloody.
The good German decided nevertheless to forgive his offender, giving to his [of
Zohane] son a public act with a formal commitment to desist from any procedure
against him; and such act was drawn up in the house of another cardmaker
[actually, fabbricante di carta means paper-maker, - and Fabriano was a known
source - while fabbricate di carte means card-maker –
it may be a mispelling], master Nicolo from Fabriano, who seemingly had
undertook the task of peacemaker between quick-handed Zohane from Bologna and
the German painter of playing cards."

... I feel insecure now, if there had been two "fabbricante di carta" (Paper producer) and only a single man, a German of Cologne, Giovanni, who makes playing cards ... whatever the son of Giovanni did, stays a mystery.