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Okay, as a German American, I can say with a clear conscience that German food is lacking in imagination. I’ve tried to love it, really, I have. But in the end, I’ve asked it if we could just be friends.

On the other hand, early German Americans, and there were a bazillion of us thanks to free farmland being given away in the very fertile colony of Pennsylvania, seemed to be full of inspiration, whimsy and flights of fancy when it came to decorating the otherwise visually bland world of Colonial America. They decorated EVERYTHING. Blanket chests, family bibles, marriage certificates, house blessings, broadsides… you name it.

All that 18th and early 19th century German American folk art is known as “Fraktur”, and our beloved Philadelphia Free Library is holding a symposium on this very influential local phenomenon. Many of their fraktur treasures will be on display, and local artists and art teachers, as well as those who love the arts and local history, should get a real kick out of both the exhibition and the symposium.

Get your quills and brushes, scribes and whittling knives tuned up for action! The exhibit is on display Monday through Friday, 9am to 5PM.

Free Library of Philadelphia
1901 Vine Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103
(215) 686-5416
www.freelibrary.org