UVA History of Childhood, Parenting, and Family Building-addition 81 Pennsylvania German Taufpatenbrief

Content Description

This addition to MSS 16758, The University of Virginia Collection on the History of Childhood, Parenting, and Family Building, contains a Taufpatenbrief on a single leaf of milled paper. It was possibly issued in Lancaster, Pennsylvania in 1830. This is a taufpatenbrief, featuring a woodblock illustration of a child being baptised, roughly illuminated in red and green, and accompanied by verse, an ornamental border, and signatures and date of 1830 in ink. Printed in German, the Taufpatenbrief (Taufpate: “godparent” and brief: “Letter”) serves as a printed acknowledgment of a child’s baptism by their godparents or sponsors. The Taufpatenbrief was traditionally accompanied by a gift. This tradition originated in sixteenth-century Germany and was later carried over to the United States, where it was celebrated among Pennsylvania German immigrants in the Shenandoah Valley and Pennsylvania.

Acquisition Type

Purchase

Provenance

Purchased from Palinurus Antiquarian Books, 4 August 2025.

Language of Description

English

Script of Description

Latin

Restrictions Apply

No

Use Restrictions

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