Object Record
Images
Metadata
Object Name |
Bookplate |
Object ID # |
1989.22.1 |
Title |
Jacob Geissinger bookplate by Andreas Kolb, Upper Saucon,1791 |
Creator |
Kolb, Andreas, 1749-1811 (attributed) |
Place of Origin |
Upper Saucon Township, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania |
Date |
1791 |
Material |
Laid paper, ink, watercolor |
Dimensions |
H-5.375 W-3.25 inches |
Description |
Bookplate for Jacob Geissinger of Upper Saucon Township, on the front flyleaf of a copy of the Mennonite catechism "Christliches Gemueths-Gespraech" (Germantown: Michael Billmeyer, 1790). The plate is dated May 1, 1791. The first two lines of the ownership statement are in pink-red fraktur lettering with yellow highlights, and the rest of the text is in German script. There are two human faces depicted, one above the ownership inscription and one below. The face above appears to be set in the middle of a flower or has wings like a Virgin Sophia (it's difficult to tell. The face below is set on a calligraphic flourish, but also has stylized wings. There are a couple small blue tulips growing out of the owner's name. Colors used: red, blue, yellow and brown. There are swaths of this coloring (but mostly yellow) surrounding the bookplate, with a flourish at the bottom, and red dots between the lines of text. The book itself is in a light-brown leather binding, has a single clasp, and is in poor condition, with both covers detached. The bookplate is attached to the front cover, but detached from the book. |
Notes |
TRANSCRIPTION: Jacob Geissinger \ gehoeret Diesses buech- \ lein [zu] Soll eĆ nun verlohren gehn, \ So Kan Man hir Mein Nahme Sehn, \ in Ober Saccon wohne ich, geschrie- \ ben den 1ten Tag May im Jahr \ Anno 1791 TRANSLATION: This little book belongs to Jacob Geissinger. Should it become lost, one can see here my name. I live in Upper Saucon. Written the 1st day of May in the year 1791. |
Provenance |
Attributed to Andreas Kolb (1749-1811). Made for Jacob Geissinger. There were several boys named Jacob Geissinger in the Saucon vicinity in 1791. This plate is part of a series of similar bookplates by Andreas Kolb in Mennonite catechisms in Upper Saucon, all dated in the spring of 1791. See list of Kolb's fraktur in Hershey, "Andreas Kolb", Mennonite Quarterly Review (April 1987). There is another series of bookplates in this same edition of the Christliches Gemueths-Gespraech, done later in 1791 in the Deep Run Mennonite school and attributed to John Adam Eyer (see pg. 258 in Amsler, "Bucks County Fraktur" (Doylestown, PA, 2001). For more on the relationship between Kolb and Eyer, see Hershey, "Andreas Kolb", MQR (April 1987), pp. 132-134. |
Related Publications |
Hershey, Mary Jane Lederach. "Hidden Treasures in the Mennonite Heritage Center Fraktur Collection". Der Reggeboge 46:2 (2012), p. 20-21. Hershey, Mary Jane Lederach. "Andreas Kolb, 1749-1811: Mennonite Schoolmaster and Fraktur Artist". Mennonite Quarterly Review LXI (April 1987), pp. 121-201. |
People |
Kolb, Andreas, 1749-1811 |
Related Objects |
Show Related Records... |
Notes on Related Objects |
Gemueths-Gespraech bookplates by Kolb and Eyer, 1791 |
Search Terms |
Bookplates |
Collection |
Fraktur |