photoshack Loc: Irvine, CA

I have several samples included in this post; wondering if any can definitively decipher the writing and tell us what the language is, and any words that can be translated?

My friend is 80 and this is a family document; so far he has not been able to find anyone (even at colleges here) who can read these.

He thinks this is a travel document of some sort. I'm sorry for the low quality images, but his son sent them as phone captures in low res.

(Download)


(Download)

DrWilk Loc: .

By the looks of these, quite possibly Danish.

One Rude Dawg Loc: Athol, ID

The seal at the top of the second picture looks Russian, like at the time of the Tsar. That is before the commies took over. :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: Need better pictures.

Quixdraw Loc: x

Looks like old Germanic longhand -- seal looks like the old Austrian coat of arms. There might be a German American club around. An old German could probably read it.

teesquare Loc: USA

I am guessing German...But I will forward this link to a friend who has a degree in German. She will be able to tell us.....

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

The last one appears to have an Austrian seal or stamp (Kronen is plural for Krone).
(They really should be scanned to a hi-res PDF.)

alliebess Loc: suburban Philadelphia

The handwriting looks like German from the 1940s or earlier. Perhaps a college professor who teaches German could help?

balticvid Loc: Queens now NJ

I don't know but I'll ask a friend who was born
in Berlin Germany.

photoshack Loc: Irvine, CA

THANK YOU for your inputs; I will try to get them to scan the document instead of cellphone picture.

2Dragons Loc: The Back of Beyond

I looked up the date in the first picture which was "26 Dezember 1904". The word 'Dezember' is German for December.

photoshack Loc: Irvine, CA

My friend says he will go and get the document scanned; I am out of town for most of next week but I will post the PDF of a hopefully decent scan when I get back.

Again, many thanks...

Quixdraw Loc: x

Photoshack -- you will likely need an old person. As with here where the kids no longer learn cursive, I believe they stopped teaching the old style right after WWII. Had an old distant relative who wrote my Dad in that style -- he was completely fluent and had a heck of a time translating.

teesquare Loc: USA

The following is from my friend with a degree in German languages:


In the blue documents, I can make out some German words such as “mit ihm” (with him). At the end of the letter, there appears to be a good wishes for the person to whom it is written. The yellow document appears to have official printed sections that I think could be some Slavic language, possibly Russian. The person referenced with a last name ending in ky could be Russian, as the same name in Polish is usually ended in ki such as Rob Gronkowski, the Patriot’s football player. My neighbor in Va. told me her last name that ended in a ky was Russian and Polish would be ki. Unfortuanately, I am not as familiar with reading the script and the photos are not crystal clear. I did see on the different pages what appeared to be something “around December 26 of 1904” and on another page possibly 1907. Was not sure of the month, possibly October. It might be some type of travel document. In 1904, Dresden was Gdansk, I believe. It was in Poland which was under Russian control. So, there could have been eastern and western language used. One of the stamps said “Kronen”, which has to do with a crown. I would take this to be German which would fit with Germans in Gdansk or East Prussia near Poland.

This is a lot of speculation from what little I could read. If I saw it in person, I might get a bit more of the German. Would have to convert the Russian to the little bit of Greek I know from sorority days to try to read it. Do you have access to the originals? Does any of what I said above make sense to the family owners of the documents? Are the owners near any Russian Orthodox churches or synagogues. Not sure if the person was Christian or Jewish by the last name.

This was fun. I only hope what I say is correct or leads to more revelations.
Maureen


SO - it appears that if you can get some better photos, and a bit of the family history ( because that really does matter in cases where you are translating a potential "cross-cultural" handwriting...) I can see if Maureen would give it another go....

photoshack Loc: Irvine, CA

This is FANTASTIC! I will share this with my friend who has a difficult time doing stuff on the computer. I will be getting full scans of the original so it should be high quality. I will also ask if Mr. Solo (which is shortened from the name you mentioned Solowysky) and try to get some more background. Mr. Solo really doesn't know what this is, and he is the oldest surviving family member. He is Jewish, and there may be something of historical significance there.

Again...thank you!

vin

DrWilk Loc: .

Gdansk was actually Danzig and was in German (Prussian) hands, not Dresden or Russian.