Can anyone read German? (0/1)

Bob Streeter thatbookstore.RemoveThis@charter.net wrote:

 >I have a book here about Wilhelm II by Paul Meinhold, published in
 >Germany 1912. While looking through the book, I found a letter tucked
 >in which I can't begin to reard. It's in the old handwritten German
 >script, dated Potsdam, 1888 (I think)

You mean Fraktur?

 >There is a black border arounf
 >the page, which I am told signified death or funeral correspondence.
 >At the top of the first page is a very regal llooking "W", topped with
 >a crown. The letter is signed but I can't read the name. I did find an
 >image of, Kaiser Wilhelm, father of Wilhelm II. This does appear
 >similar.

You're not being clear. What is similar to what else--the image to the
writing?

 >If anyone give me an idea of what this says I'd appreciate
 >it. I'll try to include some links to images of the letter, but not
 >sure if they'll work.

Links good, images themselves not.

 >If not, email me and I'll try to send images.
 >I have visions of the letter being from Kaiser Wilhelm, maybe his last
 >will. "I do hereby leave Germany to Junior" Am I close?

Almost certainly not, though stranger things have happened.


--
"Justice is as strictly due between neighbor nations as between neighbor
citizens. A highwayman is as much a robber when he plunders in a gang, as when
single; and a nation that makes an unjust war is only a great gang."

--Benjamin Franklin<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Can anyone read German? (0/1) 

In article <tntjc0lc3g943pjak5dmt6ltemtl1fum3d DeleteThis @4ax.com>, Bob Streeter
<thatbookstore DeleteThis @charter.net> wrote:

 > I have a book here about Wilhelm II by Paul Meinhold, published in
 > Germany 1912. While looking through the book, I found a letter tucked
 > in which I can't begin to reard. It's in the old handwritten German
 > script, dated Potsdam, 1888 (I think) There is a black border arounf
 > the page, which I am told signified death or funeral correspondence.
 > At the top of the first page is a very regal llooking "W", topped with
 > a crown. The letter is signed but I can't read the name. I did find an
 > image of, Kaiser Wilhelm, father of Wilhelm II. This does appear
 > similar. If anyone give me an idea of what this says I'd appreciate
 > it. I'll try to include some links to images of the letter, but not
 > sure if they'll work. If not, email me and I'll try to send images.
 > I have visions of the letter being from Kaiser Wilhelm, maybe his last
 > will. "I do hereby leave Germany to Junior" Am I close?

Try a page like this one
<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.omniglot.com/writing/german.htm" target="_blank">http://www.omniglot.com/writing/german.htm</a>
that has the modern English equivalents of German alphabets in Fraktur
(used for printed and written German from the 16th century until 1940). If
you can write out your letter in English letters, you could then go to
<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.google.com/language_tools" target="_blank">http://www.google.com/language_tools</a> and get a rough translation from Google.

(I went through this process translating an old Albertus Magnus book that
was printed in Fraktur.)

Otherwise, there are translators that will do it for you (for a fee, of course)

good luck

Pris

--
sears at vt dot edu
<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://filebox.vt.edu/users/sears/" target="_blank">http://filebox.vt.edu/users/sears/</a><!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Can anyone read German? (0/1) 

I suggest you look in the yellow pages
under translation services.
 >> Stay informed about: Can anyone read German? (0/1) 

No, it wouldn't be fraktur, as that's only the old German typeset used.
There is, however, an old German cursive alphabet, which is very hard to
decipher nowadays even to a native German.

I'm German & familiar with such writing, so if you post a link to the
letter, I'll do my best to translate it.

Best--
pp

"Bob Streeter" <thatbookstore.TakeThisOut@charter.net> wrote in message
news:tntjc0lc3g943pjak5dmt6ltemtl1fum3d@4ax.com...
 > I have a book here about Wilhelm II by Paul Meinhold, published in
 > Germany 1912. While looking through the book, I found a letter tucked
 > in which I can't begin to reard. It's in the old handwritten German
 > script, dated Potsdam, 1888 (I think) There is a black border arounf
 > the page, which I am told signified death or funeral correspondence.
 > At the top of the first page is a very regal llooking "W", topped with
 > a crown. The letter is signed but I can't read the name. I did find an
 > image of, Kaiser Wilhelm, father of Wilhelm II. This does appear
 > similar. If anyone give me an idea of what this says I'd appreciate
 > it. I'll try to include some links to images of the letter, but not
 > sure if they'll work. If not, email me and I'll try to send images.
 > I have visions of the letter being from Kaiser Wilhelm, maybe his last
 > will. "I do hereby leave Germany to Junior" Am I close?<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Can anyone read German? (0/1) 

 >No, it wouldn't be fraktur, as that's only the old German typeset used.
 >There is, however, an old German cursive alphabet, which is very hard to
 >decipher nowadays even to a native German.

I had to learn it once to decipher some 19th-century German inscriptions.
Unfortunately too many letters look just alike -- as I recall, the lowercase E
looked very like an N or an R, so a great many words turned into nothing but
what looked like mmmmmm or nnnnnn or rrrr. Handwritten Russian (which looks a
bit similar) has the same tendency. It helps to have some mnntal tnlnpathy
going.

There is a recent book called _Deciphering Handwriting in German Documents_, by
Roger P. Minert, that may be of some use, reviewed at
<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.pgsa.org/bookrD.htm" target="_blank">http://www.pgsa.org/bookrD.htm</a>

I couldn't get <a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.ggrs.com/events/handouts/handout_script.pdf" target="_blank">www.ggrs.com/events/handouts/handout_script.pdf</a> to load just
now, but it looked useful.

--Helen<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Can anyone read German? (0/1)