Gift Drawing for Paul Feeg

This drawing by Berks County scrivener Georg August S. Hainbach (active 1876-1919) was made as a gift for Paul Feeg, a young invalid who suffered from rheumatic fever. Hainbach was a prolific itinerant fraktur artist who traveled throughout the countryside and created personalized frakturs for significant family events. His most common creations were Bible records, which are unsurpassed in beauty both for their penmanship and drawing. He was very fond of children and often made drawings for them free of charge. As noted in Papers for Birth Dayes: Guide to The Fraktur Artists And Scriveners (Russell D. and Corinne P. Earnest, [East Berlin, Pennsylvania, 1989], pp. 349-354), when Hainbach visited families whose children were sick, he would sketch pictures of their animals for them as 'sympathetic tokens.'

This small picture was likely meant to be a Christmas gift for Paul Feeg, as it is dated 'December 24, 1892' and it depicts young Feeg's dog. The Feegs, who were originally the Von Feeks, immigrated from Austria and settled in Womelsdorf, Pennsylvania around 1720-30. The patriarch of the family, Thomas, was a miller who made his living on the Tulpehocken Creek. The family was situated about 15 miles from Krick's Mill, which is cited on the drawing, and it is likely that Hainbach included the site of Paul's father's employment as part of his detailed recording process. Over a thousand pages of Hainbach's notes have been discovered which will allow scholars to some day trace his activities. Included in the illustration is Hainbach's personal trademark, a little bird in a tree.