Liebesbriefc. 1790Sheet: 13 1/4 x 13 1/4 " (33.7 x 33.7 cm)
Frame: 16 1/2 x 16 1/2 x 5/8 " (41.9 x 41.9 x 1.4 cm)Watercolor and ink on cut paperGift of Ralph Esmerian2005.8.370Open cutwork Valentine with 4 concentric motifs: central flower with scallopped ring around; urns of flowers alternating with drawings of tulips, leaves, and flowers; hearts with blue borders and German inscriptions in red; hearts with blue borders and German inscriptions in red interspersed with open cut work of tulips and branches.1545383379Christian StrengeDrawingsThe American Folk Art Museum believes this work to be in the public domain.German inscription. Translation of center text: "Loving without possessing is harder than digging stone. Loving without being together is most certainly the greatest pain. This little letter belongs to the heart of my most beloved."East PetersburgEast PetersburgUnited StatesPennsylvaniaWorks on PaperEast Petersburg"Christian Strenge was born October 15, 1758. He served as a Hessian soldier during the Revolutionary War in von Rall's Grenadier Regiment fighting in New York in 1776. After the war, he settled in Hempfield Township in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, where he became a schoolmaster in the Mennonite schools and Justice of the Peace. As schoolmaster, he drew vorschrift, taufschein, bookplate, music books, rewards of merit, and family records, many of them including his 'signature' crested bird, which first appears in his work in 1793." (Sotheby's); born 1757 (Earnest)frakturDuring the Revolutionary War, approximately one quarter of the forces fighting on behalf of the British were hired units of Hessian soldiers. Johann Christian Strenge was one such soldier, in the regiment of Grenadiers. He arrived in New York in 1776, and was captured when George Washington crossed the Delaware. He was released to the British, but when the regiment returned to Hesse-Cassel in 1783, Strenge was not among them. As did many Hessian soldiers after the war, he deserted and remained in the newly formed United States, establishing a life as a schoolmaster, scrivener, justice, and property owner in Lancaster County; he also taught in Chester County. Strenge made many forms of fraktur, including bookplates, writing samples, birth records, presentation frakturs, tunebooks, and Liebesbriefe—or love letters.
This is one such example, in the circular form favored by Strenge. The center and each of the sixteen hearts are beautifully inscribed with inked sentiments of undying love and faithfulness. The cut-work includes urns, flowers, and leaves as well as hearts, and it is further embellished with floral and other motifs in watercolor and ink. Such tokens of affection were given on days not necessarily related to February 14, Valentine’s Day. Neither the giver nor the recipient of this Liebesbrief is noted; however, love letters of this nature were an accepted way for a young man to express his devotion to a girl of his choosing.
Stacy C. Hollander, “Liebesbrief,” exhibition label for Self-Taught Genius: Treasures from the American Folk Art Museum. Stacy C. Hollander and Valérie Rousseau, curators. New York: American Folk Art Museum, 2014.
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.
To help improve this record, please email photoservices@folkartmuseum.orgvalentinepapercut
In 1776, Hessian-born Johann Christian Strenge was one among twelve hundred men who either were conscripted or enlisted in the 5th company of the Grenadier Regiment, led by Colonel Johann Gottlieb von Rall, to fight for the British during the American Revolution. The troops arrived in New York in August; by December, the majority had been taken captive in the pivotal Battle at Trenton, when General George Washington’s Continental Army crossed the Delaware River to make a surprise attack in the early morning hours of December 26. The Hessian soldiers were marched to Philadelphia where they were paraded through the streets before being interned in camps in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Strenge gained his freedom in 1777, and rejoined his regiment. After the war ended in 1783, he did not return to Europe with his regiment but instead remained in Lancaster, married, and had a daughter. Two years after the untimely deaths of both wife and child, he remarried and, by 1794, had purchased land in East Petersburg, where he removed with his growing family. Here he became a respected and successful schoolteacher, scrivener, justice of the peace, and property owner.
Strenge was a member of the Reformed Church, but he made many forms of fraktur for Mennonite, Lutheran, and Reformed constituencies. These included bookplates, writing samples, birth records, presentation frakturs, tunebooks, and elaborate papercut Liebesbriefe, or love letters. The center and each of the sixteen hearts in this Liebesbrief are beautifully inscribed with conventionalized inked sentiments that appear in other similar examples by his hand.
Stacy C. Hollander, "Liebesbrief," exhibition copy for American Perspectives: Stories from the American Folk Art Museum Collection. Stacy C. Hollander, curator. New York: American Folk Art Museum, 2020. 17851795 2005 8 37 "Christian Strenge was born October 15, 1758. He served as a Hessian soldier during the Revolutionary War in von Rall's Grenadier Regiment fighting in New York in 1776. After the war, he settled in Hempfield Township in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, where he became a schoolmaster in the Mennonite schools and Justice of the Peace. As schoolmaster, he drew vorschrift, taufschein, bookplate, music books, rewards of merit, and family records, many of them including his 'signature' crested bird, which first appears in his work in 1793." (Sotheby's); born 1757 (Earnest)frakturDuring the Revolutionary War, approximately one quarter of the forces fighting on behalf of the British were hired units of Hessian soldiers. Johann Christian Strenge was one such soldier, in the regiment of Grenadiers. He arrived in New York in 1776, and was captured when George Washington crossed the Delaware. He was released to the British, but when the regiment returned to Hesse-Cassel in 1783, Strenge was not among them. As did many Hessian soldiers after the war, he deserted and remained in the newly formed United States, establishing a life as a schoolmaster, scrivener, justice, and property owner in Lancaster County; he also taught in Chester County. Strenge made many forms of fraktur, including bookplates, writing samples, birth records, presentation frakturs, tunebooks, and Liebesbriefe—or love letters.
This is one such example, in the circular form favored by Strenge. The center and each of the sixteen hearts are beautifully inscribed with inked sentiments of undying love and faithfulness. The cut-work includes urns, flowers, and leaves as well as hearts, and it is further embellished with floral and other motifs in watercolor and ink. Such tokens of affection were given on days not necessarily related to February 14, Valentine’s Day. Neither the giver nor the recipient of this Liebesbrief is noted; however, love letters of this nature were an accepted way for a young man to express his devotion to a girl of his choosing.
Stacy C. Hollander, “Liebesbrief,” exhibition label for Self-Taught Genius: Treasures from the American Folk Art Museum. Stacy C. Hollander and Valérie Rousseau, curators. New York: American Folk Art Museum, 2014.
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.
To help improve this record, please email photoservices@folkartmuseum.orgvalentinepapercut
In 1776, Hessian-born Johann Christian Strenge was one among twelve hundred men who either were conscripted or enlisted in the 5th company of the Grenadier Regiment, led by Colonel Johann Gottlieb von Rall, to fight for the British during the American Revolution. The troops arrived in New York in August; by December, the majority had been taken captive in the pivotal Battle at Trenton, when General George Washington’s Continental Army crossed the Delaware River to make a surprise attack in the early morning hours of December 26. The Hessian soldiers were marched to Philadelphia where they were paraded through the streets before being interned in camps in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Strenge gained his freedom in 1777, and rejoined his regiment. After the war ended in 1783, he did not return to Europe with his regiment but instead remained in Lancaster, married, and had a daughter. Two years after the untimely deaths of both wife and child, he remarried and, by 1794, had purchased land in East Petersburg, where he removed with his growing family. Here he became a respected and successful schoolteacher, scrivener, justice of the peace, and property owner.
Strenge was a member of the Reformed Church, but he made many forms of fraktur for Mennonite, Lutheran, and Reformed constituencies. These included bookplates, writing samples, birth records, presentation frakturs, tunebooks, and elaborate papercut Liebesbriefe, or love letters. The center and each of the sixteen hearts in this Liebesbrief are beautifully inscribed with conventionalized inked sentiments that appear in other similar examples by his hand.
Stacy C. Hollander, "Liebesbrief," exhibition copy for American Perspectives: Stories from the American Folk Art Museum Collection. Stacy C. Hollander, curator. New York: American Folk Art Museum, 2020.