Michael de Vezin

Travelogues concerning Cyprus include valuable information about many aspects of life in the island, among other about the appearance of its inhabitants. Clothing is the first item one observes when coming into contact with the people in a foreign country, and is pivotal in creating a first impression of the local population. Travellers refer also to the raw materials and the textiles used for making clothes.     Michael de Vezin, of French origin but born in London, was during 16 years His Britannic Majesty’s Consul for Aleppo and Cyprus. He died at Larnaca in 1792, aged 51. In his notes, de Vezin bequeathed various accurate and most important testimonies about Cyprus: In his records on the yearly produce of the island, the consul reckons cotton as the chief article of produce, the price of which depended chiefly on the orders from Europe. The best cotton was produced in “Lapitho” (Lapithos). Another product related to dress making, was silk. According to de Vezin, Cyprus produced about 9,000 okes of white silk, the finest of it in “Citherea” (Kythrea). In 1745, 40,000 okes of silk were collected. At Paphos and the neighbourhood fine yellow silk was produced to the extent of 4,000 okes, but it was worth from 3 to 4 p. less than the white. Most of it was sent to Cairo in Egypt. De Vezin refers also to manufactured, coarse silk stuffs, which were sought after chiefly in the Greek islands, also to ordinary linen, as well as to printed cottons and calicos. On the other hand, bales of the cloth called Londrins seconds were imported from France; gold-embroidered stuffs were also imported, as well as lace from Lyon. Among various goods, which Venice sent to Cyprus, were cloth and headkerchiefs of all kinds (Cobham 1908, 368, 371-373).