Once a vibrant part of religious life for many Pennsylvania Germans in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Fraktur manuscripts today are primarily studied for their decorative qualities. The Word in the Wilderness takes a different view, probing these documents for what they tell us about the lived religious experiences of the Protestant communities that made and used them and opening avenues for reinterpretation of this well-known, if little understood, set of cultural artifacts. The resplendent illuminated religious manuscripts commonly known as Fraktur have captivated collectors and scholars for generations. Yet fundamental questions about their cultural origins, purpose, and historical significance remain. Alexander Lawrence Ames addresses these by placing Fraktur manuscripts within a "Pietist paradigm," grounded in an understanding of how their makers viewed "the Word," or scripture. His analysis combines a sweeping overview of Protestant Christian religious movements in Europe and early America with close analysis of key Pennsylvania devotional manuscripts, revealing novel insights into the religious utility of calligraphy, manuscript illumination, and devotional reading as Protestant spiritual enterprises. Situating the manuscripts in the context of transatlantic religious history, early American spirituality, material culture studies, and the history of book and manuscript production, Ames challenges long-held approaches to Pennsylvania German studies and urges scholars to engage with these texts and with their makers and users on their own terms. Featuring dozens of illustrations, this lively, engaging book will appeal to Fraktur scholars and enthusiasts, historians of early America, and anyone interested in the material culture and spiritual practices of the German-speaking residents of Pennsylvania.

The Word in the Wilderness: Popular Piety and the Manuscript Arts in Early Pennsylvania (Pietist, Moravian, and Anabaptist Studies)

Arts & Photography

Ames, Alexander Lawrence

Religious

Penn State University Press

A lavishly illustrated volume showcasing some of the most important bookplates produced in America from the collection of the Grolier Club.\nA miniature work of art, a bookplate may be viewed as a metaphorical portrait of a collector or library, using the designer’s personal graphic style. It also tells a story about the relationship between the artist and the patron. Illustrious collectors ranging from Eleanor Roosevelt to Harry Elkins Widener, J.P. Morgan and Paul Mellon come to life through bookplates by such celebrated figures as Dorothy Sturgis Harding, Eric Gill, Walter Crane, Rudolph Koch, and Rockwell Kent. Grolier Club Bookplates, Past & Present is a veritable who’s-who of both book collectors and the graphic artists who created their personalized ex-libris over the past 130 years, down to the present day. This carefully researched and amply annotated book not only provides a feast for a bibliophile’s eyes but also explores the meaning behind bookplates and their legacy as cultural indicators in book history.

Grolier Club Bookplates: Past and Present

Lasner, Mark Samuels

Collections, Catalogs & Exhibitions

The Grolier Club

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Books by Ames, Alexander Lawrence