Caption: "Fraktur" are decorated manuscripts or documents of early Pennsylvania-Germans and other German-American immigrants. Although rooted in medieval European manuscript art, American fraktur differed in that they were personal family records rather than legal documents or texts. They were created for many reasons: as teaching tools, to document births and baptisms, or to show ownership, as exemplified by this 1785 bookplate.
Spruance Library/Bucks County Historical Society, SC-58. No. C-09
Caption: The first fraktur created in North America were drawn by artists at the Ephrata Cloister around 1750. Early fraktur were created with inks, paints, and paper produced at the cloister.
Ephrata Cloister Collection
Caption: The most popular type of American fraktur was the "taufschein," or birth and baptismal certificate. They were intended as a decorative memento rather than legal record of the events, and were meant to be displayed in the home. This taufschein was created for a girl named Margaret Heller, born in 1818 in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
Historical Society of Pennsylvania
Caption: Most fraktur created before 1900 used German as the preferred language. Although we have come to use the term "fraktur" to refer to this form of art, in standard German, the word actually refers to the decorative hand lettering similar to Old English or Gothic, and the typeface derived from it. This birth and baptismal certificate from 1795 exemplifies the formal nature of the lettering.
Spruance Library/Bucks County Historical Society, SC-58. No. A-10
Caption: Some scholars believe the forms and characters that appear on fraktur to have religious symbolism. For example, it has been suggested that a three-petal tulip represents the Holy Trinity. However, for the most part fraktur was a commercial venture, and artists were trying to attract customers of varying religious affiliations. It may be, therefore, that the simple shapes and bright colors were merely practical, and intended to attract potential customers. This circa 1819 birth and baptismal certificate includes many of the popular forms, including birds, flowers and animals.
Spruance Library/Bucks County Historical Society, SC-58. No. B-16
Caption: Most early fraktur were created by schoolmasters entirely by hand. Later, printing was used to create the forms and professional scriveners were employed to personalize them. This attractive "taufschein" or circa 1801 birth and baptismal certificate was created entirely by hand in Berks county.
Courtesy the State Museum of Pennsylvania (58.3)
Caption: Many types of frakur were created for many different reasons. This 1785 example is a religious poem.
Spruance Library/Bucks County Historical Society, SC-58. No. C-22
Caption: Fraktur was also created simply for fun. Some schoolmasters created drawings as rewards of merit for their students. Others were simply decorative pieces. Regardless of purpose, fraktur was attainable and personal art, and very popular with 19th century rural families of Pennsylvania.
Courtesy the State Museum of Pennsylvania (84.50.3)
Caption: Fraktur was sometimes used by schoolmasters as a teaching tool. This example includes religious verse, but was intended to also be a penmanship model, from which students could practice their handwriting.
Spruance Library/Bucks County Historical Society, SC-58. No. A-07
Caption: Another common type of fraktur was a house blessing or Haussegen, such as this example from Bucks County, circa 1820. They were meant to as good luck charms for the family home.
Spruance Library/Bucks County Historical Society, SC-58. No. A-16
Caption: Relatively rare are fraktur that relate stories. These two panels are part of a series that tell the story of The Prodigal Son. The top panel illustrates the son taking leave of the father; the bottom shows the son as swineherd.
Courtesy the State Museum of Pennsylvania (top: 67.139.1; bottom: 67.139.2)
Caption: Beginning in the early 19th century, some fraktur were commercially printed, then personalized for the customer by professional scriveners. German was still the preferred language of these forms, but later English versions began to appear as well. Go to (link to interactive) to print your own copy of this fraktur.
Courtesy the State Museum of Pennsylvania (63.19.31)