Pennsylvania German Broadsides and Fraktur
This digital site includes some 270 images from the holdings of Rare Books and Manuscripts in the Special Collections Library. Fraktur (the word is both singular and plural) is a German word that originally described a type of printing similar to Old English Gothic. The term today refers to drawings on paper made with pen, ink, and watercolor, using fancy penmanship and illustrations such as birds, hearts, flowers, and angels. Fraktur were commonly used
in the 18th and 19th centuries to document births and baptisms, marriages, and house blessings, among other occasions. The collection also includes broadsides (sheets of paper printed on one side only, such as commentaries on religious texts and political events) and German-language newspapers. These documents provide insight into the everyday life of German immigrants and show the process of acculturation of German settlers to their new environment.
