Netherlands 1694 "The Book of Trades" by Juan Luyken and his Son Casper
Netherlands Set of 5 Antique prints from the 1694 "The Book of Trades" by Juan Luyken and his Son Casper. Each print has a moralistic poem about the trade from the Dutch Golden Era.
Antique engraving titled "De Kammemaker" (The Comb Maker) by Jan Luyken, published in the late 17th century as part of his work Spiegel van het Menselyk Bedryf (Mirror of Human Activities). The text describes the trade and offers a moral reflection.
Title: The Comb Maker
Trade: Artisans are depicted making combs, likely from horn or tortoise shell.
Moral: The text contrasts the daily grooming of hair with the human heart, suggesting that while physical appearance is easily managed, the heart remains a "brooding place of Sins".
The Comb Maker
Comb from the burr,
Ere it's worse.
The hair of the head is dishevelled by night,
Is brought back into order in the morning.
Man is full of quick bonds;
But the true main piece in the heart
Often sits, alas, dishevelled for years,
And remains a breeding ground of Sins
Comb from the burr,
Ere it's worse.
The hair of the head is dishevelled by night,
Is brought back into order in the morning.
Man is full of quick bonds;
But the true main piece in the heart
Often sits, alas, dishevelled for years,
And remains a breeding ground of Sins
The Scale Maker
Keep good weight,
For a close face/inspection.
O Equalizer of our Mind,
How necessary it is for us to weigh,
A temporal and an eternal Good,
To which our greatest interest lies
If that Eternal part is not neglected
Then the Scale is corrupted and bad.
The Glassblower
A finer material,
Lies beneath the rough.
Pleasing vessel, crystal glass,
Transparent, as if without a body:
So shall the being of the pious,
After it is finally prepared,
From the oven of this Time and Strife,
Come forth into the Eternal light.
The Tanner
What good is slavery,
They forget it best there.
Although the hide is not good to eat,
It is not unworthy to be discarded for that reason:
Everything is brought to use through diligence:
Except for the great profit of Souls;
That they let swing and destroy,
Like rags, which they do not regard.
The Candlemaker
Loses the least,
For great profit.
While the fire consumes the candle, the house is honored with light;
That was the goal in the making:
Earthly man of flesh and blood, God wants the Light in his Spirit,
Through the body's dying and forsaking.
