ABSTRACT
These are the initial results of a research project that I have been conducting for some years on the hat makers' guild in Italy during the early Modem Era. The idea of studying this professional body occurred to me after reading a late eighteenth century Bologna source. The document shows how these craftsmen were able to work out a philosophy strongly rooted in the productive and commercial context, the moral values of which are inextricably linked with production techniques, international trade routes and the commercial policies of the countries producing the raw materials.1 In short, the document presents a highly suggestive mixture of economic theory and practice able to capture the profound contradiction of the product distribution of felt hats, which was fitted in between the production system (urban and corporate) and the organisation of the raw materials market, such as that of wools and pelts (the international supply of raw materials selected on the basis of quality, negotiation, and the shipment of materials based on a firm network of operators and services).
