A silk-ribbon partnership in the late 17th century Padua:

the “Eredi Giupponi & Co.”

Abstract

This paper aims to analyse an almost neglected sector during the pre-industrial period: the ribbon-manufacturing. Using ten years of balance sheets of a partnership active in the second half of the seventeenth century Padova, the article focuses on the management of the company, the work organization, technology and markets. Beside the analysis of the varieties of organizational forms and labour relations experienced during the early modern capitalism, the aim is to invite the discovery and regeneration of productive territories which can still recall tradition and complexity even if they disappeared during and after the industrialization process.