The Lord's Prayer - Vater Unser
This extraordinary series of handcolored copperplate engravings from the early 19th Century (probably circa 1830) illustrate the Lord's Prayer (in German: Vater Unser) by accompanying it by a moral story easy to comprehend for people living during a time when conflicts were raging across the continent of Europe.
These rare and beautiful prints come from the estate of the well known Swiss collector of Kaspar Christen.
They were published in Nuernberg by Fr. Campe.
Please click on each of the thumbnail images to see an enlargement!
Dimensions: Each print measures Around 7.5 X 10.5 inches (26 X 18 cm)
Condition: Some light toning. The third print has a light brown discoloration streak, but not very conspicuous, and the last print has a few small old worm tracks.
We have provided a loose translation of the texts under each image.
Please contact Village Antiques for prices or more Information
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Our
father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name
"With this prayer, Father True (Vater Treu) and his family,
the son, the daugher in law, and their two children, greet the
morning sun. Pray and work, so they say, and the land will provide
for you....
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Thy Kingdom come
After a hard days work, Father True sits at the door and
the children play around him. The old man holds a newspaper
in which he reads of the threat of war and becomes worried.
The priest comforts him. |
Thy will be done,on earth as it is in heaven.
What old Mr. True feared has come to pass. War has come,
and with it a plague. Father and son are ill and neither can
work. The family is in debt, and the cruel bill collector is
not moved by the cries of the children. He takes everything
from the poor family, but he cannot take away their trust in
God. |
Give us this day our daily bread
After the death of Father True and his son, and the razing
of the village, the poor mother struggles to save her children
from starvation by walking to more fortunate lands. Those who
hear her story are moved to help her. |
Forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us,
The war has turned everything upside down, the rich have become
beggers, and the hardened bill collector has lost his house
and all his friends, and he was driven into the forest. Then
Mrs. True and her children appeared to him like angels. The
collector was stricken by his memory of what he had done to
this poor family, but Mrs. True spoke to him the words of
the prayer above. |
And lead us not into temptation
As the tired mother emerged from the dark woods, she found
a wallet with 1000 ducates inside. Her first thought was only
to find the rightful owner. She saw a rider in the distance,
and called to him. When he realized how honest she was, he
told her to keep the wallet and to find happiness. |
but deliver us from evil
Finally the family was able to return to their destroyed
village, where they went first to the ruins of the church to
pray. Her prayers are heard and the soldiers leave the fatherland.
The citizens rebuild the village more beautifully than before.
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