The Winterthur Library

 The Joseph Downs Collection of Manuscripts and Printed Ephemera

Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum

5105 Kennett Pike, Winterthur, DE  19735

302-888-4600 or 800-448-3883

 

 

OVERVIEW OF THE COLLECTION

 

Creator:         Yoder, Don                                        

Title:               Roughwood collection of European fraktur

Dates:             1658-1868

Call No.:         Col. 853

Acc. No.:        09x85.1-.30

Quantity:        30 items [2 boxes, 1 folder]

Location:        3 G 14, and map case C, drawer 2

 

 

 

BIOGRAPHICAL STATEMENT

 

Don Yoder is professor emeritus of folklife studies at the University of Pennsylvania, where he taught from 1956-1996.  A native of Pennsylvania and descended from early German settlers of that state, he graduated from Franklin and Marshall College in 1942 and received a graduate degree from the University of Chicago in 1947.  He taught briefly at Union Theological Seminary (New York), Muhlenberg College, and Franklin and Marshall College before becoming a professor at the University of Pennsylvania.  His studies have focused on Pennsylvania German folklife and on Quaker culture.  He became interested in the European background of various American regional and ethnic cultures and frequently traveled in Europe to research that topic.  Dr. Yoder was a founder of the Pennsylvania Folklife Society and a longtime editor of its journal.  He has written and edited numerous books and articles related to folklore and folklife, including fraktur, hex signs, and music, and has directed a number of dissertations in the field. 

 

 

SCOPE AND CONTENT

 

A collection of fraktur created in Europe and assembled by Dr. Don Yoder. Many of the fraktur included in this group were used by Yoder to argue that Pennsylvania German fraktur were derived from the professional handwriting of officials of local and regional government and folk-cultural traditions in Europe. These include examples from Austria, Silesia, Alsace, and Switzerland.

 

Wedding contracts, letters from godparents, a birth certificate, and a baptismal letter are among the forms found in this collection. Some objects are quite rare, such as the Taufzettel, which would have been folded around a coin and presented to a child by godparents after his or her baptism.  Also included are 3 prayer books, several birthday and New Year greetings, indentures, wills, instructions for making soap (from Lititz, Pennsylvania), and a circa 1850 American lithograph entitled “The Follies of the Ages, Viva la Humbug!”

 

These fraktur document the parallels in teaching between Protestant schools in Europe and America: both sought schoolmasters who could write legal or ecclesiastical documents, teach children to write and to read texts and music, and play an organ for church services; both also had access to German and Swiss writing manuals.  This collection makes it clear that American fraktur both compared and differed in significant ways from European examples: they were not official governmental documents, they incorporated both old and new designs, and they combined elements from writing manuals with folk motifs.

 

Some of these items were used as illustrations in Bucks County Fraktur, edited by Cory M. Amsler (Doylestown, Penn.: Bucks County Historical Society, 1999).

           

 

ORGANIZATION

 

The items have been grouped by type (wedding contracts, birth and baptismal records, letters and greetings, other documents, and prayer books), and within each category are in chronological order.

 

 

LANGUAGE OF MATERIALS

 

The materials are in German.

 

 

RESTRICTIONS ON ACCESS

 

Collection is open to the public.  Copyright restrictions may apply.

           

 

PROVENANCE

           

Purchased from Dr. Don Yoder.

 

 

ACCESS POINTS

 

Topics:

            Folk art, Germanic.

Fraktur art.

            Illumination of books and manuscripts, German.

            Baptismal records.

            Birth certificates.

            Birthday cards.

            Marriage certificates.

            New Year cards.

            Prayer-books.

           

 

 

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE COLLECTION

 

Location: 3 G 14, and map case C, drawer 2

 

 

Box 1:

 

Folder 1: Trauschein (wedding contract)

 

09x85.1           Trauschein [wedding contract, endorsed as Heiratsbrief], Leopold Kruckel and (?) Miltaller, 1658.

Hand-drawn and lettered on laid paper; ornamental initial letter (but no color) and first two lines in calligraphy; fairly good condition (piece missing, some fold lines have parted.

(museum no. 2009.0001.019)

 

09x85.2           Trauschein [wedding contract, endorsed as Heiratsbrief] of Philip Pfneissel and Catharina Rätz.  Haschendorff, Austria, 1731. 

The text begins “In the name of the Most Holy Trinity, God Father and Son and Holy Ghost, amen.”  Philip was a widower, and Catharina was the daughter of Stefanus and Susanna Rätz.  They were married August 12, 1731.  This document serves as both wedding certificate and wedding contract. 

Hand-drawn and lettered on laid paper; ornamental initial letter (but no color) and first four lines in calligraphy; endorsement also includes ornamental letter; good condition.

[Amsler, Bucks County Fraktur, fig. 14]   

(museum no. 2009.0001.001)

 

09x85.3           Trauschein [wedding contract, endorsed as Heiratsbrief], Hans(?) Siegl [or Siegel] and Rosinna(?) Milner, 1771.

Hand-drawn, lettered, and colored (faded) on laid paper; several ornamental letters, and 3 lines of text in calligraphy; ornamental border, outside endorsement also ornamented; good condition

(museum no. 2009.0001.013)

 

09x85.4           Trauschein [wedding contract, endorsed Heuratsbrief (sic)], Adam Leeb (or Leer) and Anna Eder, daughter of Johannes and Ursula Eder, 1780. 

Hand-drawn, lettered, and decorated on laid paper; decorative initial letter, half the lines in calligraphy; fair condition (taped fold lines)

(museum no. 2009.0001.008) 

 

 

Folder 2: Trauschein (wedding contract)

 

09x85.5           Trauschein [wedding contract, endorsed as Heiraths-Brieft], Tobias Payer and Theresia Siglin, 1803. 

Hand-drawn, lettered, and colored on paper; with elaborate borders, even on endorsement, partly in calligraphy; good condition

(museum no. 2009.0001.010)

 

09x85.6           Trauschein [wedding contract, endorsed as Heiraths-Contract], Ferdinand Graf and Elisabeth Mühl, [daughter of Conrad and Susanna Mühl?], 1812. 

Hand-drawn, lettered, and colored on pale blue paper; decorated initial letter, in different colored inks; fair condition (parted along fold lines)

(museum no. 2009.0001.012)

 

09x85.7           Trauschein [wedding contract, endorsed as Heuraths-Contract], Stephan Gratzer and Anna Spath, 1833.

Hand-drawn and lettered on paper; with decorated initial letter, 3 lines of calligraphy, and other decoration, including decoration of endorsement, good condition

(museum no. 2009.0001.011)

 

09x85.8           Trauschein [wedding contract], Michael Gellman and Theresia Müllner, 1845.

Hand-drawn, lettered, and colored on wove paper; decorated initial letter, colored flower border; fair condition (tape along fold lines).           

(museum no. 2009.0001.007)

 

09x85.30        Heuraths-Contract (sic) [wedding contract], Mathias Grahwahl and Katharine Pinter, November 15, 1849. 

                      Hand-drawn and lettered on laid paper; slightly decorated initial letter, and two lines of calligraphy.

                      (museum no. 2009.0037.001)

 

09x85.31         Ehe Vertrag [wedding contract], Mathias Pfintser and Rosalie Pint, March 4, 1854.  (Dates from endorsement: March 7 and April 26, 1854.)

                        Hand-lettered on wove paper, with printed and embossed design at top of page 1, indicating payment of 15 kreutzer; wax seal on page 3.

                        (museum no. 2009.0037.002)

 

 

Folder 3: Birth and baptismal documents

 

09x85.9           Göttelbrief [letter from godparent], from Caderina Hütz to her godchild.  Alsace, 1748.  The child was baptized in June 1748.

Printed at Haguenau, with manuscript additions; hand-colored on laid paper; good condition; mounted on board.

[Amsler, Bucks County Fraktur, fig. 28]       

(museum no. 2009.0001.004)

 

09x85.10         Geburtschein [birth certificate] for Anna Dorothea Rössel.  Rentschen, Glogau, Silesia, 1793. 

Hand-drawn, lettered, and colored on laid, Dutch paper with Blau watermark, muslin-lined; good condition.

[Amsler, Bucks County Fraktur, fig. 27]       

(museum no. 2009.0001.003) 

Note: this is an oversized item, housed in map case

 

09x85.11         Taufzettel from Peter Kupferschmid to his godchild.  Summiswald, Canton Bern, Switzerland, August 9, 1812. 

This would have been folded around a coin and presented to the child by its godparents after its baptism.

Printed, with manuscript additions, and hand-colored on wove paper; good condition.       

[Amsler, Bucks County Fraktur, fig. 29] 

(museum no. 2009.0001.005) 

 

09x85.12         Taufbrief [baptismal letter] for Phillip Lorentz.  Lemberg, 1819. 

(This large heart format is similar to Pennsylvania baptismal certificates.)

Hand-drawn, lettered, and colored on wove paper; good condition.  Hand-written text inside a heart with decorated outline; heart between two baskets containing plants; all within a decorated border.

[Amsler, Bucks County Fraktur, fig. 30].

(museum no. 2009.0001.006) 

 

09x85.13         Göttelbrief [letter from godparent] from Salomea Kauffman to her godchild.  Hunspach, Alsace, August 2, 1830. 

The translated text reads: “God hath, dear child, conveyed thee into this world healthy and perfect on his angel wagon, and hath also this day received thee in grace through thy holy baptism into the congregation of the righteous.  This is the heartfelt wish of thy faithful godmother Salomea Kauffman….”

Hand-drawn, lettered, and colored on wove paper; pinpricked design; good condition.   Two roosters, one of either side of a basket of flowers, with flowered and dotted border.  All elements of decoration indicated by pinpricks.

[Amsler, Bucks County Fraktur, fig. 26] 

(museum no. 2009.0001.002)

 

 

Folder 4: Letters and greetings

 

09x85.14         Decorated letter from Ferdinand Mayer to father, 1843.

Hand-drawn, lettered, and colored on paper; fair condition.

The chief part of the design is similar to a garden, showing placement of trees and a path.  Also has decorative border, with initials AM.    

(museum no. 2009.0001.014) 

 

09x85.15         Birthday greeting from son, Anton Paur, to his father, 1850. 

The son began school in 1848. 

Hand-written and colored on paper.  Text within a floral wreath.

(museum no. 2009.0001.017) 

 

09x85.16         New Year’s Wish from son to father, 1857. 

Hand-drawn and lettered, on paper; good condition.  Picture of a stone monument, with plants on either side.

(museum no. 2009.0001.015) 

 

09x85.17a-b    Birthday greetings to mother and father from Franz, 19th century. 

Two items; hand-drawn, lettered, pin-pricked, and colored on paper; good condition.  (The pin-pricking was probably to simulate embossed paper.)   Letter to father decorated with dove, hearts, and flowers.  Letter to mother decorated with flowers.

(museum no. 2009.0001.018.1-.2) 

 

 

Folder 5: other documents

 

09x85.18         Bill of Sale, 1839. 

Hand-written on paper; fair condition.

(museum no. 2009.0001.016) 

 

09x85.19         Apprentice Certificate, Johann Kopp, mason trade, 1826.

Hand-drawn, lettered, and colored (calligraphy letters only) on paper; good condition.

(museum no. 2009.0001.009) 

 

09x85.20         Meisterbrief, Leadon, September 13, 185-. 

Printed certificate, with decorative border, filled in by hand.

(museum no. 2009.0001.029)

 

09x85.21         Lehrbrief [indenture], Milner-Meister, May 30, 1861. 

Printed certificate, lithographed by H. Lampel in Gratz.  A very elaborate design with columns, lions, a double-headed eagle, urns, tools of various trades, etc.

The back of the document was stamped in the 1940s.

(museum no. 2009.0001.028) 

 

 

Folder 6: other documents

 

09x85.22         Religious text, school exercise, no date. 

Hand-drawn, lettered, and colored on paper; good condition.  Design includes a snake wearing a floral crown.  

(museum no. 2009.0001.020)             

 

09x85.23a-c    Instruction for soap making from rapeseed oil, Moravian, Lititz, Pennsylvania, ca.1780.  Also two drawings of barrels to be used in soap making process (one drawing at end of text in booklet, other drawing on lose paper).  

Hand-lettered and hand-drawn on laid paper, good condition

(museum no. 2009.0001.024.1-.3) 

 

09x85.24         Testament [will], Konradt, 1807. 

Handwritten, with printed design (space for a seal?)

(museum no. 2009.0001.026)

 

09x85.25         Testament [will], Conardt, 1811. 

Handwritten. 

(museum no. 2009.0001.027)             

 

09x85.26         “The Follies of the Ages, Viva la Humbug!”

Lithograph on wove paper, American, c. 1850.

A collection of vignettes dealing with a number of situations, including Emigrant Commissioners, Angel Gabriel lecture, free lovers, a man offering a slave a chance to escape, sea bathing, and a train wreck on the Camden-Amboy rail line.

(museum no. 2009.0001.023) 

 

 

Box 2: prayer books

 

09x85.27         Roman Catholic Prayer Book of Eva Catharina Sahervöckh, 1691.

Hand-written, with nineteenth-century embossed binding.

Title page translation: “A beautiful little prayer book, in which various devotional and very useful prayers drawn from other beautiful prayer books have been compiled into this.”  The volume was an Easter present to Eva in 1691.

A partial index to the volume is found on the last page.  Some additional prayers (for days of the week) have been written on pale blue paper and laid inside the back cover.

[Amsler, Bucks County Fraktur, fig. 20]       

(Museum no. 2009.0001.025)  

 

09x85.28         Gebetbuch (prayer book), 1754.

Leather binding with broken clasp; hand-written text and drawings, added religious prints, 1754, with nineteenth-century binding. 

Prayers written in different colored inks.

Index to prayers follows page 290; additional prayers follow index.  On last page are items dated 1866-1868.

(Museum no. 2009.0001.021) 

 

09x85.29         Prayer book, 1781.

Leather binding stamped with initials MK and date 1781, with hand-written text.  The date 1861 is also written on the first page.  The prayers are written in different colors of ink.

(Museum no. 2009.0001.022)