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Schoolbook for office-clerks and book-keepers in the making

[FOERTSCH, Markus Fredrik].
De naaste en kortste weg, om Jongelingen, door eigen oefening, tot de Komptoiren en den Koophandel bekwaam te maaken.- Verhandeling over het Reedery- of zoogenaamd Scheeps-Boekhouden, neffend een uitgewerkt Journaal en Grootboek, waar in leerlingen, en verder gevorderde zelfs, een volmaakt denkbeeld verkrygen van dit deel des Boekhoudens.

Amsterdam, J.B. Elwe, 1779. 2 parts in 1 vol. 4to. Contemp. wrappers. With numerous examples of book-keeping. 108; 39, (1 blank) pp.

Popular text book for young men to become office clerks and book-keepers, as well as merchants, in the most direct and shortest way by means of personal exercises. The book's contents are extensively listed in four numbered points on the title-page. It firstly treats the basic rules and teaches about money exchange, insurance, shiploading, average, transport, stock market, banks, etc. In the second place the book teaches in questions and answers like a catechism the main subjects of commerce applied to the art of book-keeping, intended as a theoretical introduction to book-keeping. And thirdly the book presents a practical course of book-keeping, consisting of the book-keeping of the complete bussiness of a merchant from the statement of affairs, assets and liabilities to the balance sheet. And finally, in a separately paginated part, the young men are taught the book-keeping of a shipowner's bussiness, including a complete journal and ledger. This last part was also available under separate title. The book is published anonymously but the author signed his full name to the preface, Markus Fredrik Foertsch or Förtsch.
The work is as far as the first three parts are concerned the re-publication of quite a different title published in 1773 under the author's full name: "De Leidsman, of de Regte Wegwyzer tot de Negotie, strekkende tot een spiegel voor onkundigen in 't commercie-wezen, die daarin opgeleid worden. Als meede tot een klaar begrip voor de Leermeesters, om langs dien weg dezelve trapsgewyze daar toe op te brengen", as we discovered by comparing both titles. This title is not known to Ten Have, who only discusses the present work, the added part on Italian book-keeping, and an earlier text book by Förtsch on Italian book-keeping, published in 1765 and re-published in 1769. Only the fourth part present here is in first edition. Nothing about the author's personal life is known. In the preface the author praises the Merchant's Academy for boys of professor Bosma, and claims to have himself instructed over one hundred and forty book-keepers. He states to have published a manual for Italian book-keeping as well. Ten Have discusses the works of Förtsch at length because several of his ideas are of interest as he worked for some time as a book-keeper himself. His method was mainly based on De Graaf and Desaguliers. Published as a chapbook/school book the work is very rare.

Good, uncut copy.

Ten Have, Leer boekhouden in de Ned. tijdens de 17e en 18e eeuw, pp. 167-170 (not knowing of an earlier edition); not in STCN, only one copy found recorded (UB Leiden).

Related Subjects: Bookkeeping Economy Schoolbooks

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