{"object":[{"sourceId":{"label":"Source ID","value":"3391"},"copyright":{"label":"Copyright","value":"The American Folk Art Museum believes this work to be in the public domain."},"creditline":{"label":"Credit Line","value":"Gift of Ralph Esmerian"},"endDate":{"label":"End Date","value":"1815"},"sortNumber":{"label":"Sort Number","value":"2005     8   44"},"invno":{"label":"Accession number","value":"2005.8.44"},"description":{"label":"Description","value":"Copybook with seven full-page frakturs, two full-page drawings, fourteen small drawings, and 164 fraktur illuminated page headings interspersed throughout the book; the first full-page fraktur contains a trumpeting angel over a heart enclosing script over tulip vines and leaves, all in red, green, and yellow, all within a yellow and salmon scalloped and banded border; the second is similar to the first with the same colors; the third full page fraktur is of two soldiers on horseback, one above the other, each soldier wearing red, yellow, black, salmon, orange, and blue dress uniforms with their pistols drawn, the horses have overall red spots; the fourth full page fraktur is a tribute to the marriage of the artist to Esther Schuerrer, December 5th, 1815, with a heart at the bottom with German script, surmounted by elaborate tree of life with multicolored scrolled trunk, two pair of tulips, assorted birds, and large central eagle, all flanked by a pair of facing men in waistcoats, all intricate designs in vibrant colors of salmon, yellow, red, brown, and blue; the fifth full page example is similar to the fourth stylistically, the facing figures being women in colonial dress; the sixth full page depicts an intricate multicolored tree of life with rooster, parrot, peacocks, etc., all in red, blue, yellow, and black; the seventh example is similar to the sixth, but with animals including a central lion figure, a cat, a goat, a monkey, a squirrel, and a rabbit."},"medium":{"label":"Medium","value":"Watercolor and ink on paper, with leather binding"},"geographyPlaceregion":{"label":"Place/Region","value":""},"media":{"label":"Media","value":[{"mediaURL":"https://collection.folkartmuseum.org/internal/media/dispatcher/3044/full","mediaDepartment":"Object Photographs","mediaType":"Image","mediaId":"3044"},{"mediaURL":"https://collection.folkartmuseum.org/internal/media/dispatcher/3045/full","mediaDepartment":"Object Photographs","mediaType":"Image","mediaId":"3045"},{"mediaURL":"https://collection.folkartmuseum.org/internal/media/dispatcher/3046/full","mediaDepartment":"Object Photographs","mediaType":"Image","mediaId":"3046"},{"mediaURL":"https://collection.folkartmuseum.org/internal/media/dispatcher/5229/full","mediaDepartment":"Object Photographs","mediaType":"Image","mediaId":"5229"},{"mediaURL":"https://collection.folkartmuseum.org/internal/media/dispatcher/5230/full","mediaDepartment":"Object Photographs","mediaType":"Image","mediaId":"5230"}]},"title":{"label":"Title","value":"Book of Arithmetic Problems of Johannes Whisler"},"geographyCity":{"value":""},"textEntriesWebsitedisplaytext":{"value":["Schoolbooks are shared spaces between a teacher and student; were the drawings on the pages of this ciphering book intended to be seen, or were they the private musings of a restless mind? Johannes Whisler\u2019s fantastical doodles evoke Benjamin Franklin\u2019s observation that \u201cAll Boys . . . begin to make Figures of Animals, Ships, Machines, &c. as soon as they can use a Pen.\u201d The left-hand page displays mathematical problems using examples from history and commercial exchanges. Unlike the personal notations that follow in German, they are written in English, attesting to the importance of mercantile and legal interactions between Pennsylvania Germans and their English neighbors. Perhaps not coincidentally, the facing page shows a drawing of two mounted figures leveling pistols directly at these word problems.Whisler was around nineteen years of age when he began these computations, according to the earliest date that appears in the pages. His entries progress from business-related math problems to personal narratives. His courtship and marriage to Esther Shearer on December 5, 1815, is entered in a simple substitution code that, when deciphered, records the day and hour they met. Other pages reveal cures, reports to public school directors, and drawings of hearts and animals, as well as a portrait of a young clerk\u2014perhaps Whisler himself?Stacy C. Hollander, \u201cBook of Arithmetic Problems of Johannes Whisler,\u201d 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.","Fraktur","Purchased by Whisler as blank volume in 1814. He was a schoolmaster, scrivener, and fraktur artist. drawings, 164 illustrated page headings....depicts an interrelationship of three 19th-century occupations--schoolmaster, scrivener, and fraktur artist. In addition to Whisler's decorative letterings and illustrations, the volume contains the baptismal records of the teacher and his wife ad his description of their courtship. (Phila Inquirer)","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.org"]},"bibliography":{"label":"Bibliography","value":""},"collections":{"label":"Collections","value":"Books"},"geography":{"label":"Geography","value":""},"id":{"label":"Id","value":"154549"},"geographyState":{"value":"Pennsylvania"},"geographyCountry":{"value":"United States"},"onview":{"label":"On View","value":"0"},"people":{"label":"Artist / Maker","value":{"displayOrder":"1","personRole":"Artist","personID":"105","content":"Johannes Whisler"}},"classifications":{"label":"Classification(s)","value":"Books/Manuscripts/Information Artifacts"},"textEntries":{"label":"Text Entries","value":["Schoolbooks are shared spaces between a teacher and student; were the drawings on the pages of this ciphering book intended to be seen, or were they the private musings of a restless mind? Johannes Whisler\u2019s fantastical doodles evoke Benjamin Franklin\u2019s observation that \u201cAll Boys . . . begin to make Figures of Animals, Ships, Machines, &c. as soon as they can use a Pen.\u201d The left-hand page displays mathematical problems using examples from history and commercial exchanges. Unlike the personal notations that follow in German, they are written in English, attesting to the importance of mercantile and legal interactions between Pennsylvania Germans and their English neighbors. Perhaps not coincidentally, the facing page shows a drawing of two mounted figures leveling pistols directly at these word problems.Whisler was around nineteen years of age when he began these computations, according to the earliest date that appears in the pages. His entries progress from business-related math problems to personal narratives. His courtship and marriage to Esther Shearer on December 5, 1815, is entered in a simple substitution code that, when deciphered, records the day and hour they met. Other pages reveal cures, reports to public school directors, and drawings of hearts and animals, as well as a portrait of a young clerk\u2014perhaps Whisler himself?Stacy C. Hollander, \u201cBook of Arithmetic Problems of Johannes Whisler,\u201d 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.","Fraktur","Purchased by Whisler as blank volume in 1814. He was a schoolmaster, scrivener, and fraktur artist. drawings, 164 illustrated page headings....depicts an interrelationship of three 19th-century occupations--schoolmaster, scrivener, and fraktur artist. In addition to Whisler's decorative letterings and illustrations, the volume contains the baptismal records of the teacher and his wife ad his description of their courtship. (Phila Inquirer)","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.org"]},"beginDate":{"label":"Begin Date","value":"1814"},"culture":{"label":"Culture","value":"Pennsylvania German"},"displayDate":{"label":"Date","value":"1814\u20131815"},"exhibitions":{"label":"Exhibitions","value":[{"exhibitionDisplayDate":"Wednesday, June 20, 2012 - Sunday, October 7, 2012","exhibitionEndISODate":"2012-10-07","exhibitionID":"151","exhibitionISOBeginDate":"2012-06-20","exhibitionBeginDate":"2012","exhibitionTitle":"COMPASS: Folk Art in Four Directions","exhibitionEndDate":"2012"},{"exhibitionDisplayDate":"Tuesday, December 11, 2001 - Sunday, June 2, 2002","exhibitionEndISODate":"2002-06-02","exhibitionID":"207","exhibitionISOBeginDate":"2001-12-11","exhibitionBeginDate":"2001","exhibitionTitle":"American Radiance","exhibitionEndDate":"2002"},{"exhibitionDisplayDate":"Tuesday, November 16, 2004 - Sunday, August 23, 2009","exhibitionEndISODate":"2009-08-23","exhibitionID":"132","exhibitionISOBeginDate":"2004-11-16","exhibitionBeginDate":"2004","exhibitionTitle":"Folk Art Revealed","exhibitionEndDate":"2009"},{"exhibitionDisplayDate":"Wednesday, September 27, 2017 - Thursday, February 8, 2018","exhibitionEndISODate":"2018-02-08","exhibitionID":"214","exhibitionISOBeginDate":"2017-09-27","exhibitionBeginDate":"2017","exhibitionTitle":"Highlights from Self-Taught Genius","exhibitionEndDate":"2018"},{"exhibitionDisplayDate":"Tuesday, May 13, 2014 - Sunday, August 17, 2014","exhibitionEndISODate":"2014-08-17","exhibitionID":"171","exhibitionISOBeginDate":"2014-05-13","exhibitionBeginDate":"2014","exhibitionTitle":"Self-Taught Genius","exhibitionEndDate":"2014"}]},"dimensions":{"label":"Dimensions","value":"13 × 8 1/8 × 1 15/16\" (closed)"}}]}