Bartels, C. & Bingener, A. & Slotta, R., eds.; Das Schwazer Bergbuch, Band 1: Der Bochumer Entwurf von 1554. Band 2: Der Bochumer Entwurf und Endfassung von 1556. Band 3: Der Bergbau bei Schwaz in Tirol im mittleren 16. Jahrhundert. Bochum: Deutschen Bergbau-Museum, 2006. Three volumes in quarto, Band 1, pp. xviii, 1, 174. (Facsimile of the original manuscript of 1554, in color with numerous colored illustrations). Band 2, pp. 175-611, (The Buchum Mining Museum draft final revision of 1556). Band 3, pp. 612-983 (A history of mining near Schwaz in Tyrol in the middle of the 16th century, with numerous full page colored illustrations.
The set is complete and in the original color illustrated paper covered boards. The bindings and contents of the set are in fine condition.
This three volume work is a facsimile of the original Schwazer Bergbuch manuscript of 1556 produced in Schwaz in Tyrol. The manuscript is considered one of the most important sources for the early history of mining in the mid 16th century. The manuscript was apparently produced by a clerk under the guidance of a mining official in one of the most productive gold, silver and copper mining areas in Europe at that time. The work contains hand drawn and colored illustrations which give us insights into methods of mining at that time, the mining processes and technology of the time, detailed information on the working world above and below ground. The importance of the work truly is in the illustrations presenting the working conditions and way of life of miners together with the tools, processes and techniques they used. It also goes into the importance of mining. The work is mostly illustrated in color.
The book was produced in the middle of the sixteenth century, a time of crisis in the mining industry. It therefore served as a promotional piece to renew the interest of the sovereign princes in the region in mining and thus to help end the crisis in the mining industry in Tyrol.
In the 15th century the town of Schwaz had grown into the second largest community in Austria after Vienna and miners were attracted there by its rich silver and copper deposits. Such was its economic importance, that when Emperor Maximilian I ascended to the throne, Schwaz in Tyrol became the financial foundation for his ambitious undertakings. The manuscript addresses every aspect of the mining community, specifying mining law and regulations, equipment and clothing, social hierarchies, and even includes topographic details with the first illustrations of the local villages and mountainous landscapes ever produced.
The original manuscript was never printed as a book and the few hand-written and illustrated copies were intended for a small and exclusive circle of investors to buy shares in the mines. This faithful reproduction is an invaluable source for the history of mining in Schwaz.
