Zwischen "policie" und "strengster Verschwiegenheit". Europäische Adressbüros der Frühen Neuzeit im Spannungsfeld obrigkeitlicher und privater Interessen

Intelligence offices emerged in European urban centers beginning in the seventeenth century. Most were privately run institutions and procured work, goods, real estate, and capital. They registered requests in protocol ledgers and sometimes published them in advertising papers. The registration procedures that intelligence offices imposed on job seekers contributed to surveillance and disciplinary power. The data stored by information offices were coveted by the authorities, and in some cases, the existence of intelligence offices inspired far-reaching fantasies of control that aimed to transform them into registration or credit information offices.