AS AN OCCUPATION
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In reply to:
ORIGINS OF STENZEL NAME
Michael John Stenzel 2/02/01
AS AN OCCUPATION
Stenzel was also the name for a wooden tool.It seems to have been used in the garment industry and is described as being used to make a good cut impression.Furthermore it is described as a wooden tool used by a person who operates a cloth shears or cutter, where the moving blade or knife of a large cloth shears is moved against a wooden tool which is lying underneath.My reference for this is also DUTSCHES WORTENBUCH, VERLAG VON S. HIRZEL, Liepzig 1860 & 1932, which reads in part under STENZEL, m. werkzeugname, wohl zu stenzel l gebildet: stenzel, beim tuchscheerer ein holzernes werkzeug, womit der laufer oder die bewegliche klinge der groszen tuchscheere gegen den lieger bewegt wird.” JACOBSSON 287b.
Other ties to this is that in early Bohemia before 1700 Stenzel may have been written as Stanzl.In modern German the -el ending is masculine and is the means or instrument to do something.Also, Stanz-e means metal stamp, die, puch, etc., therefore Stanz-el would be that instrument or means that made a stamping machine work.
The areas of Silesia and Pozen were major clothing producing areas of Europe.After the sewing machine, the next major development was made in 1860 in Leeds England of a band knife machine that could cut several thicknesses of cloth at one time.Silesia was at its hight as a garment area in the late 17th century through late 18th century.
A technological dictionary (Technologisches Worterbuch) published in 1932 listed a word “Stenzilpapierherstellungsmaschine” described as being a machine for making paper stencils.This is interesting for two reasons, first it shows the use of “zil” instead of “zel” and an English translation of “cil”, and second, it doesn’t take much imagination to realize the operation and function of such a machine would be similar to the earlier onethat cut cloth.
The Coat of Arms for STENTZEL from Silesia shows a clothed arm from a cloud with a sword stabbing into the ground.I believe the arm has cloth because of the garment production, the sword represents the cutting scissors, stabbing into the ground representing the wooden block.Another interesting Coat of Arms was for STENSZEWSKI from Prussiaand shows a sword cutting a wavy band of cloth.