Pa. German Birth Certificate c. 1940

"Pa. German Birth Certificate" is a watercolor painting by Ethelbert Brown (1855-1995) that documents the birth and baptism of Mathias Cefumou and Magdalene Lammin in 1788. The artwork is written in Pennsylvania Dutch (a dialect of German) and features delicate watercolor illustrations of birds and flowers, a common motif in folk art. This certificate is an example of an artistic tradition practiced by Pennsylvania Dutch communities in the late 18th and 19th centuries.