Fraktur

The tradition & historical record

Fraktur is a highly artistic and elaborate illustrated folk art created by the Pennsylvania Dutch, named after the Fraktur script associated with it. Place of creation also includes Alsace, Switzerland, and the Rhineland which also contributed to the folk art. Most Fraktur were created between 1740 and 1860. Fraktur drawings were executed in ink and/or watercolors and are found in a wide variety of forms: the Vorschriften (writing samples), the Taufzettle (baptismal certificate), and the Taufpatenbreif (Baptism letter from Godparents), book plates, and floral and figurative scenes. The earlier Fraktur were executed entirely by hand, while printed text became increasingly common in later examples. Common artistic motifs in Fraktur include birds (distelfinks), hearts, and tulips, as well as blackletter (Fraktur) and italic calligraphy. ¹

Many major American museums, including the American Folk Art Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Mercer Museum, and the Winterthur Museum have Fraktur in their collections. Important Fraktur have been sold by major American auction houses and antique dealers for prices in excess of $100,000. The definitive text on Fraktur is widely considered to be The Fraktur-Writings or Illuminated Manuscripts of the Pennsylvania Germans, written by Dr. Donald A. Shelley and published by the Pennsylvania German Society in 1961. In late 2004, the majority of Dr. ¹

Notable fraktur artists within the Pennsylvania German community include: ¹

Christian Alsdorff Johannes Bard Samuel Bentz Martin Brechall George Peter Deisert George Heinrich Engellhard Johann Adam Eyer Johann Conrad Gilbert Samuel Gottschall Johann Jacob Friedrich Krebs Christian Mertel Conrad Trevitz Daniel Otto Johann Henrich Otto Daniel Peterman Francis Charles Portzline Daniel Schumacher Johannes Ernst Spangenberg Christian Strenge John Van Minian Other artists of note include Jacob Strickler, from the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, and Anna Weber, an Ontario resident and one of a few fraktur artists active in Canada. Anonymous artists whose work is recognized include the Cross-Legged Angel Artist, the Ehre Vater Artist, and the Sussel-Washington Artist. Stylistically related work was produced by Ludwig Denig. ¹

The text above is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Fraktur (folk art)”, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. ¹

Fraktur is illuminated folk art created by the Pennsylvania Dutch, according to the structured record cited below. This entry was generated automatically from that record and has not yet been reviewed by a person familiar with the tradition. ²

The source record links this tradition to 12 external registers, which can be verified through the citation. ²