European "Lettre de Bapteme" is a hand-done fraktur on off-white laid paper, mounted within a window mat. This is a baptismal letter in German script, dated 1811. Most others of this form were printed, not freehand. A running vine of tulips and other flowers -- colored with red, green and blue -- is captured by two line borders, a red outer one and a blue inner line border. At top center of flower border is a heart and another at bottom center. Each has writing within. Small handwritten inscription written later along top above red line border. Middle is illegible; at far left is "Decede / Wolff Jean George" and at far right is "83 ano 8 m. 19 j." The French word "Decede" means deceased.
Centerfield of fraktur has German script text, divided at midline by a thin line border. The text begins: "Werde Fromm und mach le gross werde deiner Eltern..." The child was born April 22, 1811 and baptized April 30, 1811.
Mittelhausbergen, France (just outside town of Strasbourg)
Fold lines, two vertical and two horizontal, with some tears and breakage at intersections of fold lines. General soiling with some foxing; various scattered dark brown to light brown stains. Top has small hole to left of center and at right of center is a break at fold line. One inch down from right top corner at edge is a semi-circular brown stain with edge nick. Streaked line stain near bottom left corner. Colors are still vivid.
Object ID
G.02.10.1
Place of Origin
Mittelhausbergen, France
Credit
Gift of Dr. and Mrs. David T. Mininberg, Heritage Center Collection
Birth and Baptismal Certificate for birth of Michael Cassel of Dauphin County. Hand-done fraktur has single heart design as well as text and decoration created entirely by Friedrich Krebs (1749 - c. 1815) on a half-size sheet of laid paper. Mounted in an old flat profile frame, now removed.
Within a large central heart drawn with scallops only is the text done in German: the black is in script and the red is conventional German. (Note: These frakturs were produced by Krebs ahead of time with the red. The black script is the infill, done with family information). Each bottom corner of fraktur has a large bird with up-turned head (hand printed with woodcut), perched on a tulip with additional large petaled flower extending upward along each side. Amorphous motif at bottom center resembles stylized wings of putti. Faded watercolors are red, green, brown and some yellow in top center flower.
Text begins with --? Township in Dauphin County in 1818. Born to the parents on the 7th of January was a son in the sign of Capricorn at 4:00 in the evening. The father was Jacob Cassel and the mother was Salom(?), nee Juinin(?). Son was baptized by ---? ----? 30th of April and given the name Michael ----?. Sponsors were Wilhelm Juin(?) and his wife Li--na(?). (The sponsors were likely the maternal grandparents.)
No watermark visible.
Perhaps the same families as another 1/2 size Krebs BBC done in 1815 for the Cassel/Juius(?) families of Dauphin County (Earnest, p. 467). See other half-size BBCs with single heart motif (copies in this file). See NOTES.
The 1790 Census lists a Jacob Cassel living in Montgomery Co. (no Cassels in Dauphin County).
Strong soil, foxing and mottled liquid stains throughout, resulting in some color bleeding. Reverse side is especially bad with moisture stains and foxing. There is a horizontal center fold and some additional horizontal creases. Multiple short vertical wrinkles appearing as near-tears, esp. through mid-section. One tear up from bottom to right of center about 1" long. Removed from frame and acidic mounting. Edge at left is ragged with small losses. The other three sides have been unevenly hand cut.
Object ID
P.05.24.1
Notes
The Earnests note that Krebs was the most prolific of all fraktur artists. He was a Hessian soldier, later becoming a schoolmaster in Swatara Twp., in what is now Dauphin County. He lived on 3 acres of land just west of Hummelstown. His fraktur work included a very broad area of eastern PA counties as well as New Jersey. (See Earnest, Papers for Birth Dayes, pp. 460-467).
See other examples:
Shelley, Pa. Ger. Fraktur, fig. 34. Geo. Scott Sale, 1994, lot #420, Deyerle Sale, 1995, lot #422-424, Free Library of Phila., fig. 300, Klaus Stopp, Printed BBCs of the German Americans, Vol. I, pp.140-145,
