Fraktur has its roots in 16th century Germany, where it was first a German script used in writing. Fraktur refers to the broken or fractured style of lettering. It is now known as artistic folk art created by Pennsylvania Amish, Mennonites and other German speaking groups. Christopher Dock, a schoolmaster who had taught in Germany, and later Pennsylvania, wrote in one of his books that he would give to students that excelled “a flower drawn on a paper or a bird”. He would give a student who learned to read a special certificate. These gifts given to students were pieces of Fraktur. Many school masters who followed did the same, and over the years many of these pieces were created. These schools were predominantly German language, but by the mid 1840’s most children were attending English community schools and this art was no longer created. In the early to mid 1900’s, it was again revived by local artists who copied old pieces of this art. In the late 1900’s it again became popular as stitched, written and painted art. The image below is a birth and baptismal certificate.
