*Annemarie Andersen

Freelance expert for old German scripts


Handwriting is a cultural asset

Are there still old handwritten documents in your family or loving poems in grandma’s poetry album and you can’t read them? I would be happy to help you decipher them!

I am passionately dedicated to the old German scripts Suetterlin and Kurrent and will gladly help you with the transcription and translation into today’s Latin script. I open up historical content for you in order to save it from oblivion and thus build a bridge between the generations.

Or would you like to prepare a special surprise for friends or relatives and send them a letter or postcard written in old German script? I am also very happy to help with that!

Example …

*Example …


… of a successful transcription.

Excerpt from a diary at the beginning of the 20th century.

Unsere alte Stadt.
In meiner Erinnerung habe ich sie, wie sie vor ungefähr 20 Jahren aussah. Wenn man vom Bahnhof kommt und die Bahnhofstraße hinter sich hat, so geht man über den Fahrweg der Neustadt durch ein schmales Gäßchen; den Namen weiß ich nicht mehr. Vorbei kommt man nun am Neustädter Kirchhof, der aber nur noch den Namen führt, sonst aber ein kahler Platz ist, auf dem die Neustädter Kirche, das Pfarrhäuschen und einige Wohnhäuser stehen. Dann lernt man das eigentlich Charakteristische der Stadt kennen; nämlich eine der vielen Treppen, welche man in fast allen Stadtteilen findet. An beiden Seiten sind alte Stadtmauern, dann kommt eine Biegung, wieder Treppen und Mauern, und wir sind in der neuen Straße und nach einigen Schritten in der belebtesten und Hauptstraße der Stadt, der Rautenstraße. Hier ist Geschäft an Geschäft, auch eine Straßenbahn fährt bis zum Bahnhof.

(Our old city.
I remember it as it looked about 20 years ago. If one comes from the station and has the Bahnhofstrasse behind oneself, then one passes the driveway of Neustadt through a narrow lane; I don’t remember the name. Now you pass the Neustadt churchyard, which only has the name, but is otherwise a bare square, on which are the Neustadt church, the parish house and some residential buildings. Then one gets to know the actual characteristic of the city; namely one of the many staircases, which can be found in almost all parts of the city. On both sides are old city walls, then comes a bend, again stairs and walls, and we are in the new street and after a few steps in the busiest and main street of the city, the Rautenstrasse. Here is store after store, even a streetcar runs to the train station.)

Calculation

*Calculation


The work includes reading, comprehension, research and writing down. Of course, each handwriting is individual and thus it also requires some time of reading up. The general quality of the scan and the readability of the document itself are also factors. In order to be able to estimate the effort and price to the best of my ability beforehand, it is recommended that you send at least a sample page with your request. 

Contact

I look forward to hearing from you!

As I am also a freelance expert for specialized translations and language services for German and English, I look forward to you visiting https://annemarie-andersen.de/en/home/ as well!