09/10/2021
Starting this month and until September 2022, we want to bring some of the treasures of our museum directly to you. We are kicking off this new program with a lovely and nostalgic custom: Poetry booklets or Poesiealben in German.
Poetry booklets, small, bound volumes with blank pages meant to be filled by friends and relatives, have enjoyed centuries of popularity in Germany. Our book is 108 years old, and belonged to a young girl from Langeneck, Bavaria, not far from the Austrian border, who immigrated to the US after World War I. This book was a present for her Catholic confirmation ceremony, which means she was probably about 12 or 13 years old when she received it.
The practice of poetry books dates back to the 1500s when aristocrats and wealthy citizens began to leave their names, coats of arms, and a motto in a so-called Album Amicorum, or friendship book. University students would invite their professors to compose a greeting--often in Greek or Latin--accompanied by an allegorical drawing. The custom soon spread, and by the 18th century, greetings, short poems, either self-composed or borrowed from a famous writer, as well as literary quotes accompanied by drawings had replaced the mottos of earlier years. Poetry books had their heyday in the 19th century when members of literary circles commemorated themselves with verses and artistic creations along with pressed flowers and even locks of hair. In the 1880s, scrap pictures also became popular along with a short poem or proverb, and even young children had poetry books that they would give to their friends, teachers, and relatives. The custom remains somewhat popular today, although trends come and go, and even young people take it seriously enough to get out their fountain pens, draw thin lines in pencil to ensure an even script, and decorate their chosen pages with drawings, or more likely adhesive stickers.
Starting this month and until September 2022, we want to bring some of the treasures of our museum directly to you. We are kicking off this new program with a lovely and nostalgic custom: Poetry booklets or Poesiealben in German.
Poetry booklets, small, bound volumes with blank pages meant to be filled by friends and relatives, have enjoyed centuries of popularity in Germany. Our book is 108 years old, and belonged to a young girl from Langeneck, Bavaria, not far from the Austrian border, who immigrated to the US after World War I. This book was a present for her Catholic confirmation ceremony, which means she was probably about 12 or 13 years old when she received it.
The practice of poetry books dates back to the 1500s when aristocrats and wealthy citizens began to leave their names, coats of arms, and a motto in a so-called Album Amicorum, or friendship book. University students would invite their professors to compose a greeting--often in Greek or Latin--accompanied by an allegorical drawing. The custom soon spread, and by the 18th century, greetings, short poems, either self-composed or borrowed from a famous writer, as well as literary quotes accompanied by drawings had replaced the mottos of earlier years. Poetry books had their heyday in the 19th century when members of literary circles commemorated themselves with verses and artistic creations along with pressed flowers and even locks of hair. In the 1880s, scrap pictures also became popular along with a short poem or proverb, and even young children had poetry books that they would give to their friends, teachers, and relatives. The custom remains somewhat popular today, although trends come and go, and even young people take it seriously enough to get out their fountain pens, draw thin lines in pencil to ensure an even script, and decorate their chosen pages with drawings, or more likely adhesive stickers.
