First of all, Kiliaen van Rensselaer's patroonship of Rensselaerswijck wasn't even acquired until 1631. It wasn't until the early 1650s that a Van Rensselaer (Jan Baptist) set foot in the New World. Also, brickmaking didn't come until the 1650s; the "yellow bricks" so often mentioned came from ships' ballast probably bought from the brickyards near Wijk bij Duurstede in the Netherlands. I suggest that Fitch's source for this statement be checked.

Charles Gehring
New Netherland Project

>>> [log in to unmask] 02/07/03 15:30 PM >>>
To Historians All!
 In  "American Building: The Historical Forces That Shaped It" by James
Marston Fitch a line on page 13, reads as follows:
"In 1628 the canny Rensselaers were producing the favorite Dutch yellow
brick on their estates near Albany, N.Y., and selling them to all comers for
fifteen florins a thousand."

My question : How can "fifteen florins" be converted to a 2003 monetary
value?

Leo Dodd
Historic Brighton