If you can read the text in the image above: well done! You have mastered the German language, and you are old and / or skilled enough to read Fraktur.
This specific typeface, like its handwritten counterpart, Sütterlin, went out of fashion in the 1940s. Until then, most German literature, newspapers, and scientific writing had been printed in this typeface.
Currently, it is utilized for decoration, as a few traditional German, European, and U.S. newspapers adorn their names in Fraktur on the masthead. Fraktur is still used to print texts among the Amish and Mennonites in the Americas.
What types of text printed in Fraktur will you most likely encounter?
German land registers date back an incredible long time, and although digitalization has progressed, many abstracts of titles will still be handwritten in Sütterlin. The number of people who are able to read and write in Sütterlin is in sharp decline. Those who possess that skill are in high demand within the legal and financial industry. Being able to trace the origins of a piece of land or its distribution can be a major hurdle.
It is also possible that you will encounter Fraktur if you do research, and your source was published before the 1940s.
Having been blessed with parents and grandparents who passed on their writing skills to their children, I was able to read it an early age. Since I possess several rather antique books, I am happy to have the ability to read Fraktur of various styles. Little did I know, that a skill that seemed futile would one day become a USP.
If you are not among the lucky ones who are able to read it, you now know who to turn to.
0 Comments