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Authored by Society president George Meiser IX |
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Over 500 pieces of Pennsylvania hand-done fraktur and printed house blessings, birth, baptismal, confirmation, and marriage certificates are included in the extensive and rich permanent collection of the Historical Society. For over 125 years fraktur served as a “carrying stream” for preserving the typical designs and dialect of Pennsylvania German folk art. The society’s collection is recorded on microfilm, making it available to anyone researching history and genealogy. These records are in the Society’s library.
The word “Fraktur” refers to a type of German lettering or typeface used from the fifteenth century until World War II. Fraktur lettering is decorative and is often compared to our Old English Gothic. Americans use the word “fraktur” to refer to decorated manuscripts made by and for Pennsylvania Germans and German-Americans.
Most fraktur are Geburts und Taufscheine, birth and baptismal certificates. They were made primarily for Lutheran and Reformed families, for whom baptism is a sacrament. Most fraktur were made about 1745 to 1920 in southeast Pennsylvania. Following the Revolution, the demand for Taufscheine soared. Many schoolmasters, artists, and scriveners turned to printed forms to expedite production.
Berks County families preferred “personalized” forms. In this respect, Berks County held onto the fraktur tradition longer than did neighboring counties. Not only does Berks County fraktur represent a cornucopia because of sheer numbers of fraktur that came from this region, it also represents a microcosm of the history of American Taufscheine made possible by a mutually beneficial trade among schoolmasters, printers, and scnveners.
Berks County holds a special place in the field of American fraktur. Its geographically centralized location in southeast Pennsylvania caused major fraktur artists and itinerants to crisscross the county as they carried on a brisk trade in the Taufsclieine market. Reading printers created the printed source these artists and scriveners needed to expedite production. In all respects-variety of media, form, subject matter, and especially techniques and quality of printing and particularly the endless “angel” forms-this county was the center of it all.
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Images from the Historical Society of Berks County Pa archives
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