The Art and Madeline Slicer Turnvereine Stein Collection

What do German beer steins and gymnastics have in common?  Quite a lot, actually.  Although beer steins have been around for several hundred years and represent a range of subjects, the steins in this collection depict a unique time period in history:  the development of sporting clubs in nineteenth-century Germany.

This extensive collection of more than 100 steins, glasses, and other drinking vessels (and related memorabilia) were all created by or represent German sporting organizations called Turnvereine, known in the United States as the Turners.  

Begun by Friedrich Ludwig Jahn in 1811 in Berlin, these clubs eventually shaped the direction of the YMCA and ultimately, Springfield College. The historical period represented in this collection ranges from the mid-nineteenth century through 1942, with the bulk of the materials dating from 1880 to 1934. (Note: the collection’s donor made a conscious decision not to collect any Turnvereine produced in Germany during Nazi Germany or World War II.)

The collection was donated to Springfield College Archives and Special Collections in March 2015 by Art and Madeline Slicer, two alumni of Springfield College.

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Photo of Art and Madeline Slicer

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The collection was donated to Springfield College Archives and Special Collections in March 2015 by Art and Madeline Slicer. Art Slicer was raised in…

4F shield

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The items in this collection bear many of the symbols and expressions associated with Father Jahn and the Turnvereine in Germany. One predominant…

Frish, Frei, Stark und Treu

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A variation on the 4F shield was a combination of two F's, an S and T, which represents "Frish, Frei, Stark, und Treu" ("fresh, free, strong, and…