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Taufschein for Johannes Dottere
Northhampton County (or Bird-in-the-Hand) Artist
Photographer…
Taufschein for Johannes Dottere
Taufschein for Johannes Dottere
Northhampton County (or Bird-in-the-Hand) Artist
Photographer…
Taufschein for Johannes Dottere Northhampton County (or Bird-in-the-Hand) Artist Photographer unidentified
Record Details

Taufschein for Johannes Dottere

Datec. 1831
Place/RegionProbably Chestnut Hill Township, Pennsylvania, United States
MediumWatercolor and ink on paper
Dimensions15 1/16 x 12 "
Frame Dimension: 20 5/8 x 17 3/4 x 5/8 "
Credit LineGift of Ralph Esmerian
Accession number2013.1.32
CopyrightThe American Folk Art Museum believes this work to be in the public domain.
Description

The term Fraktur comprises a number of embellished calligraphic forms produced within Germanic communities in America. Because they were commissioned or received from active members of their own community, fraktur is rarely signed. This Taufschein, or birth certificate, is distinctive for the fresh clear colors and graphic cartoon–like imagery that illustrates the maxim “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush”—or, as translated here, “in the woods.” The so-called Bird-in-the-Hand Artist is also known as the Northampton County Artist because the texts refer to families in that Pennsylvania region.

Stacy C. Hollander, "Taufschein for Johannes Dottere," exhibition label for Jubilation|Rumination: Life, Real and Imagined. Stacy C. Hollander, curator. New York: American Folk Art Museum, 2012.

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated with new research. Records are reviewed and revised, and the American Folk Art Museum welcomes additional information. 

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