Item Info

Scripts/Text: Fraktur; German script
Language: German
Weiser Number: 500
Physical Description: Leaf
Material: Wove paper; ink
Transcription:

Der Friede Gottes sei mit dir.

Geburts= \ und \ Taufschein.
Diesen beiden Ehegatten: Als \ David Schall \ und seiner Hausfrau Katharina \ eine geborne Ende \ wurde ein \ Söhnlein geboren den \ 23ten January im Jahr \ unsers Herrn, 1840 in Hereford \ Taunschip, Berks \ Caunty, im Staat Pennsylvanien, \ in Nord Amerika. Ist getauft und erhielt den Namen William \ den [blank] \ im Jahr unsers \ Herrn 1840 von Herrn Karl Herrmann \ Taufzeugen waren: \ die Aeltern selbst.

Gedruckt und zu haben bei \ Guth, Ruhe und Young, \ Allentown, Pa.

[in upper left]
Wann wir kaum gebohren werden, \ Ist vom ersten Lebenstritt \ Bis zum kühlen Grab der Erden, \ Nur ein kurz gemeß’ner Schritt. \ Ach! mit jedem Augenblick \ Gehet unsre Kraft zurück; \ Und wir sind mit jedem Jahre, \ Alle reif zur Todten=Bahre.

[in upper right]
O, wer weis, in welcher Stunde, \ Uns die letzte Stimme weckt, \ Denn Gott hat’s mit seinem Munde \ Keinem Menschen noch entdeckt. \ Wer sein Haus nun wohl bestellt, \ Geht mit Freuden aus der Welt;\ Da die Sicherheit hingegen, \ Ewig’s Sterben kann erregen.

[in lower left]
Ich bin getauft, ich steh’ im Bunde, \ Durch meine Tauf, mit meinem Gott! \ So sprech ich stets mit frohem Munde, \ in Kreuz, in Trübsal, Angst und Noth. \ Ich bin getauft, des freu ich mich, \ Die Freude bleibt mir ewiglich.

[in lower right]
Ich bin getauft, ob ich gleich sterbe, \ Was schadet mir das kühle Grab? \ Ich weiß mein Vaterland und Erbe, \ Das ich bey Gott im Himmel hab’: \ Nach meinem Tod ist mir bereit, \ Des Himmels Freud und Feyer=Kleid.

[in lower center]
Ich bin getauft in deinem Namen \ Gott Vater, Sohn und heiliger Geist! \ Ich bin gezählt zu deinem Saamen, \ Zum Volk, das Dir geheiligt heißt. \ O! welch ein Glück ward dadurch mein, \ Herr, laß mich dessen würdig sein! 
 

Translation:

May God’s peace be with you.

Birth and Baptismal Certificate.
To these two married people namely David Schall and his wife Katharina, a born Ende, a little son was born on the 23rd of January in the year of our Lord 1840, in Hereford Township, Berks County, in the state of Pennsylvania, in North America. Was baptized and received the name William on the [blank] in the year of our Lord 1840 from Mister Pastor Karl Herrmann. Sponsors were the parents themselves.

Printed and to be had from Guth, Ruhe and Young, Allentown, Pa.

[in upper left]
Scarcely born into the world, it is only a short measured pace from the first step to the cool grave in the earth. O with every moment! Our strength diminishes, and with every year we grow more ripe for the bier.

[in upper right]
And who knows in what hour the final voice will awaken us, because God has not revealed this to anybody yet. Who tends to his house will depart from the world with joy. Because surety, in contrast, can provoke eternal death.

[in lower left]
I am baptized, I stand united with my God through my baptism. I therefore always speak joyfully in hardship, sadness, fear and need. I am baptized, that’s a joy for me. The joy lasts eternally.

[in lower right]
I am baptized, and when I die, how can the cool grave hurt me? I know my fatherland and legacy that I will have with God in Heaven. After death, Heaven’s garment of joy and celebration is prepared for me.

[in lower center]
I am baptized in your name, God, Father, Son and Holy Ghost. I am counted as one of your seeds, to a people that you blessed. O! What fortune for me! Lord, let me be worthy of it!
 

Category: Birth and Baptismal Certificate (Geburts und Taufschein)
Media Type: Letterpress Prints
Source: Rare Book Department
Notes:

Hand-lettered; printed form. The main text, with the blanks infilled in German script, is within a rectangular frame in the center of the document. The verses in Fraktur within rectangular frames are in the upper corners, on the sides, and in the lower center. In the upper center is a square image of a man administering the baptism to a kneeling man. They are at the banks of a river; mountains and tress are in the background. To their upper left is a dove from which emanates a ray of light toward the baptized man. Next to the main text are two inward facing angels. Both are holding flowers in one hand. In the lower corners are two birds perched on leafy twigs with flowers. The entire document is framed by a decorative border.

Associated Names: Young, William
Provenance: Scott Francis Brenner

Bibliography:

Klaus Stopp, The Printed Birth and Baptismal Certificates of the German Americans (East Berlin, Pa.: Russell D. Earnest Associates, 1997) vol. 1, p. 246.

Secondary Place Town/Township: Geographic Coverage State/Province:Pennsylvania
Geographic Coverage City/Town/Township:Hereford Township
Geographic Coverage Note:Based on location of birth
Geographic Coverage Region/County:Berks

Creation Place Town/Township: Creation Place Note:Based on location of printshop
Region/County:Lehigh
City/Town/Township:Allentown
State/Province:Pennsylvania

Creation Year (Single Year or Range Begin): ca. 1852
Image Dimensions Width: 44 cm
ShelfMark: FLP 1026
Creator Name: Anonymous - Scrivener
Reuben Guth (?-?) - Printer/Publisher
Augustus Ruhe (?-?) - Printer/Publisher
William Young (?-?) - Printer/Publisher