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Deciphering
Riga Cross Keys
Seals .. example |
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obverse
Crossed
Keys with
+ |
The
crossed keys are the Arms of the City of Riga, but
also
of other cities. To be a Riga seal there must be a +
between
the keys, at the top, and a number 1, 2 or 3
between
the keys at the bottom to indicate the grading.
(A
cross in the form of a X may indicate another city)
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reverse
blank |
The reverse of a Riga seal is usually blank.
We do have a couple of
examples of X types with
a 4, (which could be 4 band quality hemp) and Pst which could suggest St. Petersburg for the X seals.
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The City Arms are used on their own for Driebandt (Threeband) flax in
Memel and this
could well be the case for Riga and other Baltic
States ports.
Notes:-
variations are numerous.
From the late 18th Century
Riga had a method of grading flax for sale on the world
markets which, unfortunately, was committed to paper,
and not
put on the seals.
Project member Sebastian Graham located
reports in the Belfast Linen Trade Circular
for 1863 which gave the grades of flax available from
Riga to the UK for that time.
In order of quality and price, WFPHD
(White Fine Picked,Yellow Threeband flax),
WFPK (White Fine Picked Crown flax), HFPK (Yellow Fine
Picked Crown flax)
FPK (Fine Picked Crown flax), PK (Picked Crown flax
whilst a bundle from the port
of Koenigsberg was FWPCM (Fine White Picked Crown
Marienburg flax). |
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The letter on the right of the group was called the
base letter to which other letters
were added at the front to further describe the flax.
The code for Riga grades and types which was also
used at some other ports is
..
3 = Threeband
4 = Fourband is
superior to 3-band , both
exported to England from Libau & Memel.
A = cleaned.
B = Badstuben, a type of
Threeband
(Drujaner & Coupland flax)
BG = Badstuben Geschnitten,
Badstuben Cut
(as above)
CM = Crown Marienburg.
CR = Courland Rakitzer was
not as good as the other Rakitzers
CPH =
Crukken Pass Hemp .. preferred types are from Russia and
Poland
D = Driebandt,
Threeband. The
City Arms used alone for Threeband flax in
Memel.
DC =
Druana Crown from Tilsit
DD = Drujaner Dreibandt,
Drujaner Threeband .
DR = Druana (Drujaner) Rakitzer,
High Quality White Russian .
DRD = Drujaner Risten Dreibandt,
Drujaner Bundle Threeband,
fine fibre, moderately long,
clean, soft, white, silver coloured
and fit for spinning the finest yarns.
.
DW = Dreibandt Wrack,
Threeband Brack
F = Fein, Fine
FHD = Fein Hoff's Driebandt, Fine Hoff's Threeband;
FPHD = Fein Puik
Hoff's Driebandt, Fine Picked Threeband. (Portuguese)
FPK = Fein Puik Kron, Fine Picked Crown.
FPSD = Fein Puik
Slansky Driebandt, Fine Picked Slanitz Threeband, Fine Pink
Slansky
threeband.
FWPCM = Fine White Picked Crown Marienburg flax from the port of Koenigsberg.
G. German
G
= BEST from Pernau
G = Geschnitten, cut rejected crown.
G = Grau, Grey.
GRD = Geschnitten Risten Dreibandt, cut bundle threeband.
GW = Giligen Brack, Low Grade Threeband.
H = Hell, Heel, Light, Yellow.
H = Heide, TOW when
used as the base letter .
HD = Hoffdreibandt,
Hoff's Threeband (English) from Livonia ,
Light Driebandt.
HFPK (Hoff) Yellow Fine Picked Crown flax.
K
= KPOHЪ (Kron) Crown is high quality long
strong filament flax. Better grades are
PK, FPK &
ZK.
KPC =
Konigsberg Podolia Crown from Tilsit
KRK = Kourland Rakitzer Kron, High Quality Courland Rakitzer Crown.
LC = Lithuanian
Czukken hemp
is as Rein Hemp but less oily and soft.
LD = Leiden
Dreibandt, Lieden Threeband.
LD = Lithuanian
Dreibandt, Lithuanian Threeband.
LD = Livonian
Dreibandt, Lindlandischan Threeband from Livonia
LH = Livonian
Hoffdreibandt, Livonian Threeband Hoff from Livonia
LOD = Livonian Ordinary Driebandt,
Threeband, or Low Ordinary Driebandt.
LR = Lithuanian
Rakitzer, High Quality Lithuanian flax
but not as good as the other Rakitzers
LRK = Lithuanian
Rakitzer Kron, High Quality Lithuanian Krown flax
LS =
Lithuanian Slanitz .. dew retted via Riga .. also called
Wellish Slanitz or Wiasma Slanitz
M = Marienburg or
Marienburg Clean, High grade Crown, source of best quality
Livonian flax for Riga.
MБ possibly Marienburg Badstube,
a second grade flax from Riga .
MG = Marienburg Geschnitten, Second Quality Marienburg.
MR = Marienburg Rakitzer = equivalent quality to
Rein Hemp, Rhine Hemp
MRC = MC = Mohilow Russian Czukken hemp
MRD = Marienburg Risten Dreibandt, Marienburg Bundle Threeband.
NB = Notabene is another name for Paternoster
NC =
Newstadt Crown from Memel
NP = Paternoster
is also Badstuben Cut (Sent to Portugal)
O = OTБOPHЬII (OTBORNI) is Select
grade
Obsolete Russian Measurement
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obsolete_Russian_units_of_measurement
OC =
Oberland Crown from Tilsit
OD = Ordinary Driebandt, Threeband.
OH = OUTSHOT is short second sort hemp.
P = PICKED, Puik (Pink)
PD = Puik Driebandt, Picked Threeband, pink threeband.
PH = Puik Heide, PIicked Tow flax
PH = PASS HEMP .. usually from Lithuania or Samogitia.
PHD = Puik Hoff's Driebandt, Picked Threeband. (French) Pink
Threeband from
Livonia.
PK. Pass Krown (flax) is very short but clean and free of woody particles.
PK = Picked Krown (Pink Kron) flax.
PLD = Puik Livonian Dreibandt, Picked Linlandischan Threeband, Pink
Livonian
Dreibandt from Livonia.
PSD = Puik Slansky Driebandt, Picked Slanitz Threeband, pink
Slansky threeband
PW = Puik Wrack, Picked Brack, Pink Wrack
flax
PZ (ПЗ) is possibly ПEH ЗAБPAKЪ
lowest quality hemp codilla.
R (chista = clean) from
Hemp seal of
1733
R = Risten, bundles
R = Rakitzer
R = Risten, Bundle.
RC = MRC = Mohilow
Russian Czukken hemp
RG = Rakitzer Geschnitten, lowest grade of
Crown
Cut
Rakitzer.
RH (MR) Rein (Rhine) Hemp is
the longest best hemp, oily, strong and free of
Codilla
and woody particles ..
sometimes listed as MR = Marienburg Rakitzer
RSC = Russian
Slanitz Crown from Memel
S. Select
is soft, silk-like flax in 3 grades
S. Spinning
grade
S. Superior
grade
S = Sanft, Sweet, Superior
SD = Slansky Driebandt, Slanitz Threeband.
SFHD = Superior Fine Hoff's Threeband.
S G = cut
SH = Slansky Heide, Slanitz Tow
SPK =
Superior Picked Krown
TR = Thiesenhausen Rakitzer, a type of High Quality Lithuanian flax
grown on the estate of
Count
Thiesenhausen was of long harle, strong, even, clean, white and
soft.
W = Weiss, White
.. is made up in bundles of 12, 9 and 6 heads called bobbins.
W = Wrack (Brack) Bracked flax
WC = Wilna Crown from Memel
WFPHD
White Fine Picked, Yellow (Hoff) Threeband flax
WFPK White Fine Picked Crown
flax
WK = Wilma Krown on reverse of seals
replacing NP
WS = Wellish Slanitz or Wiasma Slanitz
XHDX = Extra Hoff's Threeband flax
XRX = Extra Rakitzer flax
ZABR,
ZABRACK, (ЗAБP, ЗAБPAKЪ)
lowest quality hemp
ZK = Zinc
Crown
(Zins Kron) flax |
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bagged in a machine which churned out thousands of bags an hour and fastened them together with an identical seal such as "Tate & Lyle Sugar" bag seals.. A bale seal however was used specifically to fasten together huge bales of raw vegetable material such as hemp and flax plants. These seals were applied one at a time by a port inspector and gave unique information like the inspector's name. the post where they worked, the name of the port, the initials of the previous grower/owner or agent, the quality and grade of the flax and the date it was graded. Whereas identical bag seals were produced in the 1000's .. the flax seals were an individual item .. actually touched and applied by the inspector who's name is on the seals ..some 200 years ago. with 1000's of different individuals. The social history gleaned from this information of the 18/19th century Industrial revolution is priceless .. bringing to life the names of those forgotten common people who made Russia and Britain great. The picture shows these people working on the quayside in Riga, Latvia.
