A distelfink is a stylized goldfinch, probably based on the European variety. It frequently appears in

Pennsylvania Dutch The Pennsylvania Dutch ( Pennsylvania Dutch: ), also known as Pennsylvania Germans, are a cultural group formed by German immigrants who settled in Pennsylvania during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. They emigrated primarily from German-spe ...

folk art. It represents happiness and good fortune and the

Pennsylvania German The Pennsylvania Dutch (Pennsylvania Dutch: ), also known as Pennsylvania Germans, are a cultural group formed by German immigrants who settled in Pennsylvania during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. They emigrated primarily from German-spea ...

people, and is a common theme in hex signs and in fraktur. The word ''distelfink'' (literally 'thistle-finch') is (besides ''Stieglitz'') the German name for the European goldfinch.

In popular culture

In the story "

The Sign of the Triple Distelfink "The Sign of the Triple Distelfink" is a Donald Duck comic story by Don Rosa. It serves primarily to establish the origin of Gladstone Gander's extraordinary luck. The story was first published in the Danish '' Anders And & Co.'' #1998-04; the ...

", the American

cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and ...

Don Rosa used a ''triple distelfink'' hex sign as the origin for

Gladstone Gander Gladstone Gander is a cartoon character created in 1948 by The Walt Disney Company. He is an anthropomorphic gander (male goose) who possesses exceptional good luck that grants him anything he desires as well as protecting him from any harm. Thi ...

's remarkable luck.

Notes

External links

Example of a distelfink
American art Visual motifs {{decorative-art-stub