Sunday 30 October 2016

American Folk Art - part 4 - Frakturs

Continuing a major series on American Folk Art featuring 21 postings. Folk Art encompasses art produced by artists and ordinary folk with little or no training in the arts, and is traditionally utilitarian and decorative rather than purely aesthetic. The period I’m covering is the C18th and C19th.
See parts 1-3 also for earlier works.

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This is part 4 of a 21-part post on American Folk Art:

This post looks at Frakturs (see description below) and the work of scrivenors and decorators.
Fraktur is both a style of lettering  and a highly artistic and elaborate illuminated folk art created by the Pennsylvanian German. 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 Taufscheine (birth and baptismal certificates), marriage and house blessings, 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, hearts, and tulips, as well as black-letter and italic calligraphy,

Today, many major American museums, including the American Folk Art Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Philadelphia Museum of Art have Fraktur in their collection. Important Fraktur have been sold by major American auction houses and antique dealers for prices in excess of $100,000.

1760c Ephrata Frakture
ink and watercolour on paper

1770-1800c Fraktur by Johann Heinrich Otto (c1733-c1800)
watercolour, pen and ink and graphite on paper 33.5 x 42.1 cm
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City

1775c Adam and Eve
attributed to the Sussel-Washington Artist

1776c Baptismal Certificate for Maria Gertraud
by the Sussel-Washington Artist
watercolour and ink on paper  16.3 x 20.6 cm

1776c Two Soldiers
attributed to the Sussel-Washington Artist

1780c Fraktur attributed to Johann Heinrich Otto
watercolour and pen and ink on paper 21 x 33.3 cm
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City

1780c By the Sussel-Washington Artist
watercolour and ink on paper 19.7 x 15.9 cm

1782 Birth and Baptismal Certificate by Johann Heinrich Otto (c1733-c1800)
ink and watercolour on paper 32.1 x 40 cm
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City

1785 Religious Poem, Bucks County, PA

1788 Birth and Baptismal Certificate by Johan Zug
ink and watercolour on paper 30.5 x 39.4 cm
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City

1795 Birth and Baptismal Certificate, Dauphin County, PA
watercolour and ink on paper 31.1 x 37.5 cm

1795-1805c Small Fraktur of Man and Woman, attributed to Friedrich Krebs (1749-1815), probably Berks County, Pennsylvania
10.2 x 15.2 cm

1795c Christian Mertel, Berks County, PA

1797c Durs Rudy, Lehigh County, PA

1798 Birth and Baptismal Certificate for Anna Maria Oberle
attributed to Johannes Ernst Spangenberg (c1755-1814)

1800 Drawing of the Crucifixion
watercolour, gum arabic and ink on paper 34.3 x 26.7 cm
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City

1800 Love Token
watercolour on paper 33 cm diameter
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City

1800c Durs Rudy, Lehigh County, PA
"Adam and Eve"

1801 George Geistweite, Centre County, PA

1801c Birth and Baptismal Certificate attributed to Georg Friederich Speyer (active 1774-1801c) Berks County, PA letterpress hand-coloured in ink and watercolour 33.7 x 40.6 cm
Philadelphia Museum of Art, PA

1803 "E.M.M" Bucks County, PA

1806 Flyleaf
ink on paper 30.8 x 26.2 cm
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City

Samuel Bentz (1792-1850) Lancaster Pennsylvania:


1807 (attributed to) Birth Certificate for Johannes Giwler 5 January 1807
watercolour and ink on paper 24.1 x 19.1 cm

1811c (attributed to) Birth Record for Lydia Glasz

1828 Bookplate for Elisabeth Niszly 20 February 1828

1830c (attributed to) Presentation Drawing inscribed to Evans Steiner

1835 Birth Certificate for Catherine Styre 18 August 1835
ink and watercolour
 

1838 Birth Certificate for John Rayer
watercolour on paper 23.8 x 18.4 cm
*          *          *          *          *


1809c Birth Certificate Fraktur by Reverend Henry Young (1791-92-1861), Centre County, Pennsylvania
watercolour and ink on paper 24.8 x 19.7 cm

1809c by Martin Brechall (1783-1830) Fraktur Birth-Baptismal Certificate
watercolour and ink on paper 33 x 19.4 cm

1810c Presentation Fraktur, probably Lehigh County, PA

1810c Susanna Hübner (1750-1818) Letter "H"
watercolour and ink on paper

1813 House Blessing printed by Samuel Baumann (1788-1820)
relief print and letterpress with watercolour hand-colouring 31.8 x 39.4 cm
Philadelphia Museum of Art, PA

1815 (Unknown artist) Montgomery County, PA
ink and watercolour on paper 9.1 x 7.6 cm
Philadelphia Museum of Art, PA

1820 Daniel Otto (1770-1822c) Birth and Baptismal Certificate for Katterina Dinges

1820 Johannes Setzer, Bucks County, PA

1821 Jacob Leith Presentation Fraktur

1822 Birth and Baptismal Certificate
ink and watercolour on paper 31.4 x 39.7 cm
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City

1822 Charles E. Munch
Birth Certificate

1830 "S.K. - H.K." Bucks County, PA

1830 Durs Rudy "The Prodigal Son"

1830c Johannes Bard, York County, PA "Hunting Scene"

1830c Pennsylvania Fraktur inscribed "Ubraham Weiny"
ink and gouache on paper 29.2 x 39.4 cm

1834 Samuel Gottschall, Montgomery County, PA

1834 Samuel Gottschall, Montgomery County, PA

1834 Samuel Gottschall, Montgomery County, PA

1834-35c (attributed to) Samuel Gottschall (1808-1898)
Adam and Eve watercolour and ink on paper 20.3 x 31.8 cm

1835  (Unknown) Fraktur

1840-55 Birth and Baptismal Certificate by Francis Portzline (1771-1857)
watercolour wash, gum and ink on paper 32.5 x 39.5 cm
Philadelphia Museum of Art, PA

1840-55 Birth and Baptismal Certificate by Francis Portzline (1771-1857)
ink with gum on paper 37.5 x 28.6 cm
Philadephia Museum of Art, PA

1840c Pennsylvania School, Officer on Horseback
watercolour on paper 12.7 x 14 cm

1840c Sarah Kriebel "Swenkfelder Building, PA"

1843 Religious Text attributed to Maris Kriebel (1826-) Montgomery County, PA
graphite, ink and watercolour on paper 31.8 x 34.5 cm
Philadelphia Museum of Art, PA

1850c Henry Young, Centre County, PA

1851 Francis Portzline, Union County, PA

1854 "Valentine" Fraktur dated 22 May 1754

Two identical printed certificates hand-decorated differently:

1857 Birth and baptismal certificate for Amanda Cressman (b. December 12, 1857)
Printed by Blumer und Leisenring, Allentown, PA Decoration and infill by Martin Wetzler
relief print and letterpress with watercolour, pen and ink by hand 41.9 x 34.3 cm

1859 Birth and baptismal certificate for Mente Agnes Elisabeth Trump (b. June 15, 1859)
Printed by Blumer und Leisenring, Allentown, PA
relief print and letterpress with watercolur, pan and ink by hand 42.7 x 35.6 cm
Philadelphia Museum of Art. PA

n.d. "M.R." Montgomery County, PA

n.d. Fraktur

n.d. Fraktur