Thread by @dbellingradt

That's an early modern street seller, selling broadsides and printed paper crowns for christmas.
Step 1 of #PaperCrownsForChristmas

The street seller is a detail of a painting from Joos de Momper the Younger, a Flemish painter active in Antwerp between the late 16th century and the early 17th century. So the paper crowns were likely sold in Antwerp or nearby.
Step 2 of #PaperCrownsForChristmas

Mobile sellers of paper products, like newspapers, broadsides, pamphlets etc., were a thing in early modern Europe. In fact, they were almost everywhere. And paper crowns were seasonal extras.
Step 3 of #PaperCrownsForChristmas

https://twitter.com/dbellingradt/status/1376450084632723457?s=20&t=KihQFnjqb2qjhJoDZvhb8Q

History knows that paper crowns were a printed product that usually derived from a folded paper sheet. The printers of around 1600 might have been inspired from Epiphany cakes which were back then often decorated with a paper crown on the top.

Step 4 of #PaperCrownsForChristmas

And all this leads to the question: who knows of paper crown templates from early modern printers or publishers? Do these prints still exist somewhere? #BookHistory to the rescue. #PaperCrownsForChristmas