B chapter.indd - Charles Babbage Institute - University of Minnesota

Erwin Tomash Library
Barnard, Francis Pierrepont Barozzi, Francesco
B 94
Binding: original cloth boards; gilt-stamped spine and front
cover
Pagination: pp. 358, [2]
Collation: A–2Y 4
Size: 283x219 mm
Reference: Pul HA, p. 116
Barnard was professor of medieval archaeology at the
University of Liverpool. At the time he began this work,
there was little interest in casting counters or jettons, as
they are also commonly known—from the French jeter,
to throw. Jettons are the counters that are used on the
European table abacus. Counters used on a counting
board were the principal mechanical aid to calculation
used in Europe during the Middle Ages. Terms such as
borrow one, carry two, lay a wager and over the counter
originated with the use of jettons and the counting board.
Counters were known as gettoni in Italy, casting counters
in England and rechenpfennig in Germany.
In early times the counters were simply small pebbles
or similar items. About the year 1200 they began to be
minted in a coin-like format, the production of which was
a major industry in Nuremberg from 1525 to 1700. Jettons
came in a nest (usually a cylindrical metal case), which
was often considered a suitable New Year’s gift. The
Typical jetton, B 94
image stamped into the jetton varied greatly but usually
included a bust of the ruler on one side and some device
(often a cross or other simple symbol on early versions)
on the other (see illustration). Jettons were used up to the
late 1700s, and many highly decorative examples exist
for special areas or purposes—for example, the French
minted special jettons for use in their North American
colonies in the middle 1700s.
This work is divided into three parts. The first discusses
the jetton itself and catalogs many of them by decoration
and inscription. The second section deals with counting
tables and cloths. The last part is concerned with the
methods used for performing arithmetic (casting) as
described by various authors.
This is considered the standard reference book on jettons
and their use. Fox publishers reprinted it in 1981.
Illustrations available:
Title page
Plate 2 of jettons
Reckoning cloth
B 95
Barozzi, Francesco (1537–1604)
Nest of jettons, B 94
Il nobilissimo et antiquissimo giuoco Pythagoreo
nominato rythmomachia, cioè battaglia di consonantie
de numeri, in lingua volgare a modo di parafresi
composto.
Year: 1572
Place: Venice
Publisher: Gratioso Perchacino
Edition: 1st
Language: Italian
Binding: modern paper boards
Pagination: ff. [2], 24
Collation: A–F 4 G 2
Size: 196x130 mm
Reference: Rcdi BMI, Vol. I, p. 83; Soth/Zeit BCM, Vol. III,
#875–#498, p. 38
107