Russian Cloth Seals in Britain: A Guide to Identification, Usage and AngloRussian Trade in the 18th and 19th Centuries,Used

For many decades in the 18th and 19th centuries, Russia was the world's greatest exporter of flax and hemp and Great Britain its major customer. Most studies of flax and hemp and their associated industries have hitherto concentrated on the economic and historical events surrounding the rise and fall of these industries in Britain. This book is based on a large body of new material consisting of leadalloy seals that were attached to bundles of flax and hemp exported from Russia and aims chiefly to describe the different seals that were used and to explain the reasons why they were employed. It offers a short history of their use, a guide to their identification and a catalogue of items recovered in Britain, opening up a valuable new source of material for analysing a different aspect of the history of commercial relations between Russia and Britain and providing assistance for finders and museum curators in identifying and deciphering these objects correctly. The text guides the reader through the different types of seal so far recorded using illustrations, transliterations of the Cyrillic texts found on the seals and explanatory tables, as well as a comprehensive catalogue. Analysis is conducted of the information found in the seals. This information provides us with a picture of the manner in which the export of these products from Russia to Britain was handled and allows us to make comparisons over different periods of time and to analyse the different systems of quality control used. It also enables us to record the geographical distribution of Russian ports used for the export of flax and hemp to the UK, where the spread of their distribution tells us something of the redistribution of these imports and provides an understanding of the use to which their byproducts were put as part of the agricultural practices of the 18th and 19th centuries.Table of ContentsProlegomena1. Russian trade with Britain1.11.2 Russian flax and hemp trade with England1.3 Russian flax and hemp trade with Scotland2. Russian ports2.1 St Petersburg2.2 Riga2.3 Archangel2.43. Background to the use of leadalloy seals3.1 Quality control (brack, braque) in the Russian Empire4. Grades of flax and hemp4.1 Terms used in grading4.2 Archangel flax4.3 St Petersburg flax4.4 St Petersburg hemp4.5 Riga flax grades4.6 Grades in other Baltic ports4.7 Russian hemp4.8 Summary of flax and hemp sorts4.9 Maps4.9.1 Russia 174019054.9.2 Northern and Central Russia4.9.3 St Petersburg and the Baltic4.9.4 Southern RussiaPart One: Lead Seals of Russ ian Origin5. Russian seals and their characteristics5.1 Flax and hemp bundle seals5.1.1 Summary of flax and hemp seal types5.2 Characteristics of Russian seals5.2.1 Russian seals, 1740s17605.2.2 Unprovenanced Russian seals, 1740s17605.2.3 Russian seals, 1760s1840s5.2.4 Obverse of Russian seals, 1760s1840s5.2.5 Reverse of Russian seals, 1760s1840s5.2.6 St Petersburg seals, 1830early 1840s5.2.7 Seals with two surnames5.2.8 St Petersburg seals, 1840s1850s5.2.9 Archangel seals 285.2.10 Archangel seals, pre1820s5.2.11 Archangel seals, 1820s1839 295.2.12 Obverse of Archangel seals, 1820s18395.2.13 Reverse of Archangel seals, 1820s18395.2.14 Archangel seals, 183819025.2.15 Seals from adjacent provinces5.2.16 Russian words and abbreviations on Archangel seals5.2.17 Quality control officers (desyatniki)5.2.18 Date of Russian flax and hemp seals5.2.19 Initials of producers/owners/agents5.2.20 Letters and digits on the reverse of Russian lead seals5.2.21 Initials on the obverse/reverse of St Petersburg seals5.2.22 Post numbers on Russian seals5.3 Railway seals5.4 Furtrade seals5.5 Miscellaneous Russian seals5.5.1 Seals with Russian State arms5.5.2 Seals with Russian city arms5.5.3 Seals bearing State arms5.5.4 Seals with St Petersburg city arm5.5.5 Seal with arms of Siberia5.6 Russian trade seals5.6.1 Possible unidentified flax seals5.6.2 Seals with links to