A Vernacular Architectural Saturday Afternoon Digression. . .

 

 

Sounds like a Syd Barret-era Pink Floyd composition, doesn't it?  Or possibly something from The Move.

 

The above book arrived via DHL a couple of hours ago (our mail lady brought it to the door for a signature), and I am just tickled pink by the depth of the subject matter and overall fine quality of the reprint.  I actually forgot all about my order of the book a few weeks back, so its arrival was a lovely surprise.

Anyway, 510 pages of copious text (in German), photographs, mechanical drawings, and tables.  Very pleased with the purchase!  A source I have been aware of, and meant to purchase a copy "one day" for several years, but it was not until Charles Grant's recent how-to piece in the 2023 Wargamers' Annual and the related discussion over on the Fife and Drum Miniatures forum that I took the leap.

A bit pricey, but look around online for alternative sellers to Amazon, which is what I did, and you might be able to pick up a copy of this coffee table-sized tome at considerable savings.  Always a good thing, because more is left in the war chest for toy soldiers, paints, and scenic items!  My own copy cost roughly half of those on Amazon in price with a bit more to cover shipping from Germany.

It's worth noting that the text is NOT old-fashioned Fraktur script, which makes use much easier for modern eyes.  But even if you don't want to attempt close reading and/or translation with a German-English dictionary, there is lots of information to be gleaned from the pictures and illustrations for scratch-building models of rural structures to set an admittedly Germanic scene atop our respective tables.

 

Here's a bit more information abut the book for anyone who might be interested in whether, or not to track down a copy: 

 

Das Bauernhaus im Deutschen Reiche und in seinen Grenzgebieten (1905/1906). Mit historisch-geographischer Einleitung  (Farmhouses in the German Reich and Its Frontier Areas.  With Historical-Geographical Preface. . .  My very rough translation).  The author/editor was Dietrich Schäfer

The book was apparently reissued in 2000 and contains, besides copious text, numerous illustrations and architectural drawings of rural structures found around Imperial Germany just before the First World War.  Also included are many tables with information on the various styles of farmhouses and outbuildings as they existed at that time.  The book was originally funded and published by a national association of architects and engineers, based in Dresden, early in the 20th century.  

 

Again, my own translation is very rough -- off the top of my head in fact -- so native speakers of German are invited to chime in if I've made mistakes anywhere.  I would usually ask The Grand Duchess Sonja to assist, but it's fun to stretch my own linguistic wings from time to time.  Who knew that all those years of studying Norwegian (both written varieties), Swedish, Danish, Old Norse, and a semester of Dutch would be so helpful when it comes to approaching the occasional German text?

 

Ok, time now for a bit more jaeger painting!  I've held forth more than long enough for everyone.  Blah, blah, blah. . .

Kind Saturday Afternoon Regards Everyone,

-- Stokes