Free Library of Philadelphia: PA German Manuscript Collection

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Visit our Tour Destination: Pennsylvania page to see the entire tour of the state’s Save America’s Treasures sites.

John Freadrich tune booklet (Notenbuchlein) with Harmonics.
FLP Borneman Ms. 56.
Image courtesy of Free Library of Philadelphia, Rare Book Department.

Free Library of Philadelphia: PA German Manuscript Collection

1901 Vine Street

Philadelphia, PA

Website:  Free Library of Philadelphia

Free Library of Philadelphia: Rare Book Department

Free Library of Philadelphia: Fraktur Collection (in addition to the fraktur, this guide includes images and information regarding many of the manuscripts preserved through the Save America’s Treasures grant)

The Treasure:  The Pennsylvania German manuscript collection at the Free Library of Philadelphia reveals the great artistry and craftsmanship of the Pennsylvania German communities that flourished in the state in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Accessibility:  The Rare Book Department at the Free Library of Philadelphia is open Monday through Saturday from 9 to 5, with a daily tour of the General Collections at 11 a.m.

Plane geometry problem from a
mathematical exercise book.
FLP Borneman Ms. 155.
Image courtesy of the Free Library of
Philadelphia, Rare Book Department.

Background:  As part of his “Holy Experiment,” William Penn (1644-1718) advertised his new colony, the Province of Pennsylvania, throughout Europe, making it known that he welcomed persecuted minorities. Many Germans responded, creating a pathway into Pennsylvania (through Germantown, then located right outside Philadelphia) that provided assistance and encouragement for immigrants. Mennonites, Amish, Schwenkfelders, Lutherans, members of the Reformed Church, and many other religious denominations and sects were represented among the individuals and families that embraced Penn’s invitation.

The cultures of these new “Pennsylvania German” communities were distinctive, as the immigrants quickly adapted their traditional folkways to the American environment. They expressed themselves through a vibrant and colorful folk art that reflected their religious and social convictions.

But while the craftsmanship of their work was often charming, and sometimes deeply artistic, it was not recognized for its quality until the great heyday of the late 18th and early to mid-19th centuries had passed. Finally, in the early 20th century, collectors like Abraham Harley Cassel, Henry Chapman Mercer, Howard W. Kriebel, and Henry S. Borneman realized that the local attics and barns were sheltering often remarkable cultural documents, as valuable for their artistry as for their history.

In 1955, the Free Library of Philadelphia purchased the great collection of Henry S. Borneman, Esq., founder and first Dean of the Temple University School of Law. Taking deep pride in his own Pennsylvania German heritage, Borneman collected a broad range of items, including a magnificent collection of fraktur—paper documents (birth, baptismal, and wedding certificates; writing samples; awards; holiday greetings; etc.) decorated with a distinctive “broken letter’ calligraphy and often embellished with exuberant artistic designs.

Account book (1856-1858)
of Saml Serfass.
FLP Borneman Ms. 93.
Image courtesy of the
Free Library of Philadelphia,
Rare Book Department.

Justly proud of their world-class fraktur collection, the Free Library of Philadelphia has taken exemplary care of the fraktur, making it digitally accessible through a resource guide on their website. With their 2011 Save America’s Treasures grant, the Free Library turned to the other items in the Borneman Collection, seizing the opportunity to conserve and digitize the Pennsylvania German manuscripts, books, hymnals, and business account records that Borneman had collected. As they become more accessible, these items will continue to add to our understanding of life in the early Pennsylvania German communities.

Here are some more beautiful examples of some of the treasures that have received conservation treatment through the grant.

Bookplate for Johannes Funck from an
account book in German and English recording
his business transactions from 1789-1814.
The book plate is the work of
Johannes Ernst Spangenberg, formerly known
as the Easton Bible Artist.
FLP B-1032.
Image courtesy of the Free Library of
Philadelphia, Rare Book Department.

Geometry problems from a
mathematical exercise book.
FLP Borneman Ms. 156.
Image courtesy of the Free Library of
Philadelphia, Rare Book Department.

"The Incense Hill of Zion" (Zionitischer Weyrauchs Hugel),
a hymnal of the Ephrata Cloister with elaborate pen work
by the sisters of the cloister.
FLP Borneman Ms. 2.
Image courtesy of the Free Library of Philadelphia,
Rare Book Department.

Notes from the Editor:  

“If I were an 18^th century manuscript, and had a broken spine, and detached boards, not to mention all kinds of other injuries to my pages, I think I would contact the Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts (CCAHA) for a restoration appointment because I know that a lot of careful and expert work is needed to restore a manuscript.”

Quoted from the

Pennsylvania German Collection blog

at the Free Library of Philadelphia

I’ve highlighted this particular quote for two reasons.  First, it nicely links to the Free Library’s excellent ongoing blog series on the history behind these amazing manuscripts. Go and enjoy! And, second, I’m quoting it because I love the compliment it pays to my work place, the Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts!

Other Recommended Sites:  Pennsylvania is home to many historic sites and museums that honor its Pennsylvania German heritage. Just an hour’s drive north of Philadelphia, you can learn about Mennonite and Schwenkfelder cultures at, respectively, the Mennonite Heritage Center and the Schwenkfelder Library and Heritage Center (which also has one of the world’s finest collections of fraktur).

Music Copybook of Sarah Horsfield, Bethlehem, July 14, 1833.
Laid paper, gall ink, watercolor;  leather.
FLP Borneman Ms. 143.
Blog entry:  If I'm Happy, Then I Must Sing, Part 4.
Image courtesy of the Free Library of Philadelphia,
Rare Book Department.

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© 2013 Lee Price