The House Book, once often the only book in the house besides the Bible, was always at hand when edification, advice, comfort, or entertainment was sought. It served as a repository for family documents and contained, in addition to religious instruction, advice for household management and instructions for making remedies. It gathered the knowledge of the elders and educated the descendants about customs, festivals, songs, recipes, sayings, and games, as well as the fairy tales and legends of their towns and regions. The Hamburg House Book adopts the traditional form of the family book and enriches it with a wealth of useful knowledge for the modern Hamburg resident. Contemporary design and modern illustrations are combined with graphic elements of the conventional house book. The book addresses its themes with humorous distance, but not without seriousness.