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Title: Eine Wahre Und Approbirte Kunst in Feuersbruensten Und Pestilenz Zeiten Nuetzlich Gebrauchen [Himmelsbrief]
Description: S. l.[Pennsylvania]: s. n. 1780. Softcover. Broadside, n. d. (ca 1780 [?]; date obtained from a himmelsbrief at Yale, closely resembling, identical dimensions, similar border, similar typography); 7 3/4 x 12; single sheet, recto only; several crease lines with small punctures at intersections; age-toning to margins; a few small nicks to edges; illustrated with a geometrical border; double columns; good to very good. Himmelsbrief, in Pennsylvania Dutch, or, Himmelsbriefe, in German, was a religious document which, according to the text, had been invented by a gypsy in Prussia in 1714 and had been first printed in Koeningsberg in 1715. It gave a prayer which was supposed to protect the family owning the broadside from fire, pestilence, and lightning. It also assured pregnant women that carrying it on their body would repel witchcraft and sorcery. Though extremely popular with the Pennsylvania Dutch and wildly published in German in the late 18th and all through the 19th centuries, the "heavenly letters" were also printed in English and various Scandinavian languages. Most of them were sold at fairs and markets and even peddled throughout rural communities. Ill.: 0. 2.

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Price: US$ 780.00 Seller: ZH Books
- Book number: 001457

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