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How God Spoke to the Pennsylvania Dutch and Moravians Through the Media

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Dedication
This blog post is dedicated to Corinne Earnest who left time on May 26, 2016. Without Corinne, Patricia, and Russell Earnest’s unflagging dedication to Fraktur, we would all still be trying to put together many of the pieces of the historical puzzle that they have researched, and solved. She was not zealous for her own purpose, but rather reached out and shared freely her great love and knowledge of Fraktur with everyone. We all shall miss Corinne.

Introduction
The Pennsylvania Dutch and Moravians produced their everyday tools and utensils from seven media: stone, wood, glass, metal, clay, textiles, and paper. Both decorative Fractur script and motifs, as well as everyday cursive calligraphy adorned this material culture, capturing both the spiritual and secular principles then prevalent. In this post we take a look at the scripts and motifs; the practical aspects of time and materials; and how God spoke to the Pennsylvania Dutch and Moravians through the media.

Adam & God
When Adam, father of all mankind, realized his memory wasn’t going to be good enough to remember all the names he had given to earthly living things, he thought he’d better have a talk with God. Now God didn’t want Adam to remember everything, so He said: “Adam, a man can’t keep everything in his head. There should be another way to remember, don’t you think?” Adam, being very relieved, agreed, and so God gave Adam a set of symbols that could be used to keep a record of things. Adam’s children carried on the tradition, and their children’s children, and over time others called these symbols letters or alphabets, and this way of remembering writing.

Writing School in Session
Today, the world over we find varying alphabets, and mankind is still using them to remember. So it was, too, in the eighteenth century when around 1760 people began to ask Johann Michael Schirmer, a writing master, mathematician, and school teacher in the free imperial city of Frankfurt am Main to put together a practical self-instructional handwriting book for the use of young people and adults. Schirmer had very little free time and was reluctant, but finally realized he was the only one who had the broad knowledge and skill necessary to inspire youth to take up the pen and learn to write German in Fraktur, Current, and, chancery scripts, and to notate their Latin, Italian and French in round lettering known as Literae Rotundae and square lettering or Romanae Quadratae. Schirmer’s title page indicates that Current, Canzleÿ, and Fractur are to be understood as German calligraphy, and Cursiva, Rotunda, and Quadrata as Latin calligraphy.

Current Script
Current, also known as German script, was so named, according to Schirmer, because it was “currently” in common use among the general public. He emphasized that his exercises were so designed to teach one to write in this cursive script with ease and clarity as if one letter grew out of the other.

Chancery Script
Canzleÿ or chancery script was created from Fractur quite by accident in the chanceries and scriptoria. As shortcuts were found to speed up the making of initial capital letters, first lines, and other applications in Fractur script, rules were altered. Eventually a whole new set of criteria was recognized under the name of chancery script. Schirmer advises the reader that there was no uniform agreement among writing masters concerning this.

Fractur Script
Initially German-speaking calligraphers preferred writing in Fractur, but found it required a great deal of time and skill to do so. This made it unsuitable for everyday situations, and, as already mentioned, encouraged simplification in the rules. So it is not surprising that scribes naturally developed a handwriting for daily use, and eventually designated Fractur exclusively for the ornamentation of initial letters, opening text, and important words in documents. Schirmer notes that only after the introduction of the printing press, [1] did people begin referring to the script as Fractur. Although there is no proof of this, one thing is certain: Fractur deriving from the Latin word Fractus, and meaning fractured or broken, certainly was used by those printing or handwriting these angular broken letters, and is still used today to describe its fonts and calligraphy.

Cursiva, Round Letters, Square Capitals
Schirmer categorizes Cursiva, Rotunda, and Quadrata as Latin calligraphy. Quadrata or Square Capitals were tedious to form because of their straight lines and angular configuration, making them more suitable for carving inscriptions on stone with a chisel than for writing a text on parchment or paper with a pen. Calligraphers, therefore, as with Fractur, in the course of time modified the shape of this script to a rounder lettered form that could be written with a flowing connected hand and speed for everyday use, calling it Cursiva. They reserved the Square Capitals for special headings and text on paper, and used them on readily conducive media such as stone or metal.

Intended for cursive handwriting, Schirmer includes large and small Round Letter (Literae Rotundae) alphabets in lower case (Gemeine), as well as decorative upper case (Versalien) examples,. He also introduces Literae Romanae Quadratae (Square Capitals) to be used as ornamental lettering.

Ornamented Letters in Latin and French
For those writing in Latin and French, Schirmer recommends twelve (12) examples in round capital letters to decorate introductory lines.

Ornamented Letters in German
When writing in German, he suggests using any of the following thirty-eight designs in lowercase Fractur to ornament initial text.

“Youth’s Lifelong Obligations”  Vorschrift by Johann Michael Schirmer, ca. 1760
Schirmer’s European writing samples are not only exercises to master the various scripts, but are also reminiscent of what we find in similar Pennsylvania Dutch and Moravian Vorschriften in America: a combination of design examples, practice formulas, and moral tips, taken mostly from the Bible, hymns, and religious poems, to keep young and old on the path to heaven. The following text from his “Youth’s Lifelong Obligaions” parallels what we find in American writing samples of the time period:

Focus on your Creator when young, and have Him ever before your eyes and in your heart.
With unfeigned love, childlike diffidence, and total confidence, dedicate the first fruits
of your endeavors to Him. Accustom your lips not to curse or swear, and never be afraid
to use them in prayer, praise, and thanks. Be diligent in learning the Word of God, and live
your life accordingly. Be humble towards everyone, and respect the elderly. Always be willing to oblige your friends and enemies. Avoid hateful words and foolish actions. Shun the temptations of youth, and remain chaste and virtuous. Be steadfast in your work, and eat your bread with dignity. Bann all falsehoods and lies. Harbor no evil thoughts nor associate with bad company. [2]

“Connoisseurs’ Writing Sample for Reading and Writing” by Wilhelmus Faber, 1812
A comparable American Vorschrift created by Wilhelmus Antonius Faber (active ca. 1790-1820) in 1812 for Johannes Klinger, a school boy living in Exeter Township in Berks County, Pennsylvania, demonstrates not only text similarities, but also mirrors a number of precepts found in Schirmer’s Writing School in Session or German, Latin, and French Writing Samples:

  • Firstly, Faber uses Fractur script for the initial lines as suggested by Schirmer, and chooses a double band decorative element similar to Illustration 7 of “How to Decorate Opening Lines Written in German,” (Copperplate No. 46 ) to ornament the opening religious text “Wohl dem den der Herr in…” Just as Schirmer demonstrates the use of calligraphic flourishes in “Youth’s lifelong Obligations,” (Copperplate No. 40), so too we find Faber embellishing not only the initial letter “W” with flourishes, but also, in similar fashion, all along the top of the line.
  • The religious text in Fractur script paraphrases the Psalmist David, and then in German script quotes verses 9-11 from Psalm 91, demonstrating the every day cursive handwriting the student is more likely to use throughout his life. The upper and lower case alphabets in Current script are included for practice purposes.
  • The final line Johannes Klinger’s Writing Sample, 28th November 1812 is important text identifying the owner, and, accordingly is also done in Fractur.

Connoisseurs’ Writing Sample for Reading and Writing, 1812
He whom the Savior blesses in his work and household shall prosper. For the Lord is your refuge, and the Most High your deliverance. No evil will befall you, and no plague come nigh unto your dwelling. For He has entrusted you to his angels that they may protect you wherever you may be [Psalm 91:9-11].
A B C D E F G H I K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z A a | b c d e f fs g h j i k l ll m n o p q r s ss s t u v w x y z tz ch ß sch sl si tz
Johannes Klinger his Writing Sample, Exeter the 28th of November 1812 [3]

Faber was most likely a school teacher, and is best known for his decorative Scherenschnitte or cutwork that frequently encircles the text. However, he also made writing samples such as the FLP example. It has been suggested that he was Moravian since he reputedly once lived in Lititz, Pennsylvania, a Moravian community in northern Lancaster County. He was also, however, active in Berks, Bucks, Chester, Dauphin, Lebanon, Montgomery and Northampton Counties. Knowledgeable in German, Latin, and English, his calligraphy is remarkably fine, and that of a trained scrivener.

A New Definition of Fractur, 1897
In 1897 another meaning of Fractur was introduced that has redefined the way we think of Pennsylvania Dutch and Moravian material culture. In September of that year Henry Chapman Mercer gave a talk The Survival of the Mediaeval Art of Illuminative Writing Among Pennsylvania Germans to American Philosophical Society members in Philadelphia. He suggested that it would be much more convenient if all Pennsylvania German illuminated manuscripts be called Fractur. Since then objects with or without Fractur script can be called Fractur. For example, a bird or flower or geometric design on paper, textiles, clay, wood, glass, metal, or stone with or without any text can be referred to as Fractur. The material culture of both groups, therefore, is represented through visual, as well as written Fractur. Stone and textiles, per Ellen Gehret in This is the Way I Pass My Time, vie with works on paper for containing the most Fractur script, and hand towels are “more verbal than any other form of Pennsylvania German needlework with the exception of samplers.” [4]

“My God, Through the Blood of Christ” Sampler by Elisa Kulp, 1816
Elisa Kulp, a Mennonite living in the Franconia area of Montgomery County Pennsylvania, worked a most extraordinary sampler in 1816. An A B C sampler with square capital letters in the upper half, along with floral and geometric designs in the lower ensured that she would be able to number and mark her linens with her name or initials for inventory, as well as have a template of decorative motifs to embellish other textiles throughout her life. It is worthwhile pointing out that household textiles were highly valued, and an important part of one’s estate.

Elisa embroidered her name in full twice, and also added her initials so that there would be no doubt to whom this lovely piece belonged. She also embroidered two spiritual reminders, both in square capital letters:

  • MEIN GOTT ICH BITT | DURCH CHRISTI BLUT | MACHS DOCH MITT | MEINEM ENDE GUT or MY GOD I ASK YOU THROUGH THE BLOOD OF CHRIST TO ASSURE ME A PEACEFUL END.
  • O EDEL HERZ BEDENKE DEIN ENDE or O NOBEL HEART CONTEMPLATE YOUR END.

The origin or inspiration of these phrases can be traced to Ämilie Juliane, Imperial Countess of Schwartzburg-Rudolstadt (1637-1706), who was born in 1637 in Barby, a place which in the eighteenth century was to become strongly associated with the Moravians. Like Luther, this noble lady considered prayer and diligence key necessities to one’s life, meditating three times daily. She died in Rudolstadt in 1706. Ämilie Juliane is known to have written over 500 hymns, one of which Die Eile des Lebens or The Hurriedness of Life contains the phrase Elisa cross-stitched “Mein Gott ich bitt durch Christi Blut Machs doch mit meinem Ende gut.” This refrain comes at the end of each of twelve verses, “My God, my God, I ask you through the blood of Christ to assure me a peaceful end.” The beginning of the third verse “Lord, teach me always to contemplate my end,” or “Herr, lehr mich stets mein End gedenken’ may have inspired Elisa to encircle a flowering heart motif in the center of the bottom half of her sampler with the entire command “O Edel Herz Bedenke Dein Ende” or “O Noble Heart, Contemplate your End.” This was a saying near and dear to the Pennsylvania Dutch and appeared frequently on samplers and towels in the abbreviated form OEHBDDE.

“That Which You Want Others to Do” Susanna Steltz Plate by Georg Hübner, 1789
There are two kinds of Pennsylvania Dutch and Moravian redware: the greater majority falls under utilitarian in glazed, unglazed, or partly glazed ware; and a much smaller group of “fancy” glazed and decorated ware. Georg Hübner, a potter in Limerick Township, Montgomery PA made a slip decorated, sgrafitto dish thirteen inches in diameter for Susanna Steltz in 1789 that falls into the latter category. Slipware refers to glazed pieces that have had an element of design added such as a drawing, date, name, or saying. For sgraffito, from the Italian for “scratched,” the slip is painted on the surface and the design is scratched through the slip revealing the contrasting red clay beneath. Although such a piece showed off the potter’s skills, and was less likely to be used daily, there is evidence from marks of wear and tear on some that not all were presentation pieces. The Steltz piece, however, appears to have been rarely used, and does, indeed, demonstrate Hübner’s masterful work.

The potter inscribed the outer rim of the plate in Fractur script with a command Jesus gave to the multitude in his sermon on the Mount found in chapters 5-7 of St. Matthew, and chapter 6 of St. Luke—specifically Matthew 7:12, and Luke 6:31, as well as the date and name of the plate owner: “ March 5th 1789 the plate of Susanna Steltz. All that you would have others do unto you, do unto them.” [5] The inner portion is decorated with a double-headed eagle as per the Fractur script between the two heads: “Portrayed here is a double-headed eagle.” [5] Please note that this is not a Holy Roman Empire double-headed eagle bristling with authority and might, but rather a double-headed eagle of totally different temperament to whom Hübner gave a broad and flowering Pennsylvania Dutch heart.

“Dear People, Observe” Pennsylvania Stove Plate, 1753
Radiant-heat stoves existed in northern Europe as far back as the mid-sixteenth century. The tradition of casting them in iron with low relief decorative and textual elements, both secular and religious, also originated on the Continent. Some of the eighteenth-century German-speaking immigrants to Pennsylvania brought these cast iron stoves along with them to heat their homes, and when they needed to replace or repair damaged or worn plates, found iron masters who could replicate the traditional plates at local forges.

The Pennsylvania Dutch house in the mid- to late eighteenth century consisted of three rooms on the main floor: a Küche or kitchen on one side of a centrally-located chimney, and a family living space known as the Stube or “room,” as well as the Kammer or “sleeping chamber” on the other. The fireplace opened into the kitchen and, just as in Europe, the most economical way to heat the Stube was via the cast iron five-plate jamb stove, which when put together, formed an open box that could be put against an opening in the wall shared with and opening into the kitchen fireplace. Placing hot coals or burning wood from the fireplace side into the stove opening provided heat in the Stube without the annoyance of smoke.

These plates were made in the same way as in Europe, and typically were adorned with secular or religious inscriptions done in Romanae Quadratae or Capital Square Letters. Fractur visual motifs such as tulips, stars, medallions, wheat sheaves, and human figures often depicted a Biblical story with or without a saying, reminding the viewer of his temporal existence, and need to take stock of the eternal path he was forging.

One unusual stove plate, however, stands apart from all the others, and appears to be a political satire on an event taking place on September 14, 1753. As Henry Chapman Mercer noted in 1914 in his work The Bible in Iron, and as is still the case:

No event on September 14, 1753, either in Pennsylvania, where James Hamilton
(1748-54) was Governor, or in Germany or England, where Frederick the Great
and George the Third reigned, appears to explain this joke or satire (the only
caricature in the whole collection), upon some person, so publicly well known as
to strike the popular fancy and increase the sale of a stove at that time. [6]

This stove plate’s message was easily understood by the denizens of southeastern Pennsylvania in 1753, and although we don’t yet know the true significance of its imagery and text, we can at least contemplate both its visual, and verbal elements.

Two vaulted panels are divided by a vertical molding: At the top on the left in relief are the letters “17.” In the center a rider, in tricorn hat and long coat, clenches a sword in right hand, while holding aloft possibly a torch in his left hand. He conspicuously sits upon a goat. At the top on the right are the letters “53.” In the center a man on foot, wearing a headdress and long coat faces the rider, and with both hands holds a sword in horizontal position in front of him.

Underlined Romanae Quadratae or Square Capital Letters follow:

SEHET. ZU. IHR LIBEN.      DEAR PEOPLE, OBSERVE
LEUT. WIE. DER. HERR      HOW THE GENTLEMAN
AUFF . DIESEM PFRTE       RIDES UPON THIS HORSE.
REIT. D 14 SEPTEMBR      THE 14th OF SEPTEMBER

“Michael Weber Rests Here in God” Tombstone

“Well over one thousand examples of handcarved decorated gravemarkers exist in Pennsylvania German graveyards with German inscriptions and decorations not unlike those on Fraktur.” [7] The tombstone of Michael Weber, a Revolutionary War veteran, is one of these, and, although the tombstone cutter failed to include any Fractur visual motifs, he chose to inscribe Fractur script, a much more difficult task than if he had used the Square Capital Letters or Romanae Quadratae so suited to stone carving. This marker, unlike many that have been damaged by vandalism, acid rain, and neglect is well cared for and clearly legible: “Michael Weber rests here in God. He was born September 29, 1735 and died December 24, 1826 at age 88 years, 2 months, and 25 days.” [8] As so many others before him, who had used the tools of their trade upon stone, wood, glass, metal, clay, textiles, and paper, this tombstone carver consciously left a lasting warning and promise, one which reaches us even today as we read upon the gravemarker: “O wayfarer, consider your end, which can come all too quickly. Put on Christ Jesus, through whom you can be redeemed.” [8]

Endnotes
[1] Johannes Gutenberg introduced the first movable type printing press in Mainz ca. 1440.

[2] “Youth’s Obligations Towards Life,” a translation of Schirmer’s writing sample “Lebens Pflichten der Jugend,” in Geöfnete Schreib=Schule…Franckfurt am Maÿn: Selbstverlag, ca. 1760, copper plate No. 40. For original Fraktur script see Fig. 8. The following is a transcription thereof: Bedenke an deinen Schöpfer | in der Jugend, und habe denselben immer vor Augen | und im Herzen: widme ihm die Erstlinge deiner Kraft, in hertzlicher Lie= | be, kindlicher Furcht und vollkommenem Vertrauen. Bewohne | deinen Mund nicht zum Fluchen und Schwören, und schäme dich | nicht, denselben im Beten, Loben und danken aufzuthun. Lerne fleis= |sig das Wort Gottes, und führe dein Leben darnach [.] Sey demü= | thig gegen jedermann, und ehre die Alten. Befleissige dich der | Dienstfertigkeit gegen Freunde und Feinde. Schandbahre | Wort und Narrentheidung laß ferne von dir seyn. Fliehe die Lüs= | sten der Jugend, und halte dich keusch und züchtig. In deinem Be= | ruf sey fleissig, und esse dein Brod mit Ehren. Verbanne die | Falschheit und Lügen. Hege keine böse Gedanken, und meide | endlich alle böse Gesellschaft.

[3] “He Shall Prosper Whom the Savior Blesses,” a translation of Wilhelmus Faber’s 1812 Johannes Klinger Vorschrift. For original Fractur and German script, see Fig. 9. The following is a transcription thereof: Vorschrift der Liebhabern zum Lesen und Schreiben, 1812. Wohl dem, den der Herr in | seiner Arbe[i]t segnet, und seine Haushaltung beglücket. |[Luther Bibel, 1545; Psalm 91: 9-11] Denn der Herr ist Deine Zuversicht der Höchste ist Dein Zuflucht. Es wird Dir kein |übels [sic] begegnen, und keine Plage wird zu Deiner Hütte sich nahen. Denn er hat seinen [sic] | Engel befohlen über Dir, daß sie Dich behüten auf allen Deinen Wegen.
A B C D E F G H I K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z A a | b c d e f fs g h j i k l ll m n o p q r s ss s t u v w x y z tz ch ß sch fl fi tz
Johannes Klinger seine Vorschrift, Exeter d 28ten November 1812

[4] Ellen Gehret, This is the Way I Pass My Time: A Book About Pennsylvania German Decorated Hand Towels (Birdsboro, PA: Pennsylvania German Society, 1985), 5.

[5] For original Fractur script, see fig.10. The following is a transcription of the plate rim: “Mertz.5ten 1789 Susanna Steltz, ihre schüssel, Alles was ihr wolt das euch die Leute Duhn sollen Das Duth ihr ihnen.“ Between the two eagle heads, the transcription reads: “Hir ist Abgebilt ein dobelter Adler.”

[6] Henry Chapman Mercer. The Bible in Iron (Doylestown, PA: Bucks County Historical Society, 1961), 59, No. 73, “The Man and the Goat.”

[7] Gehret, 5.

[8] For original Fractur script, see Fig. 12. The following is a transcription of the tombstone: “Hier | ruhet in Gott | Michael Weber | er war gebohren den 29 . | September 1738, und starb | den 24 . December 1826, | in dem Alter von 88 Jahre, | 2 Monate und 25 Tage. | O, Wanders Mann | Gedenk ans Ende. | Das leichtlich kommen kann; | Vielleicht auch gar behende, | Und ziehe Christum Jesum an, durch den man selig werden | kann.

SOURCES
Arthur Cecil Bining. Pennsylvania Iron Manufacture in the Eighteenth Century. Harrisburg: PA Historical Commission, 1938.

“Wilhelmus Antonius Faber” in Russell D. and Corinne P. Earnest, Papers for Birth Dayes: Guide to the Fraktur Artists and Scriveners. East Berlin, Pa.: Russell D. Earnest Associates, 1997, 2nd ed., vol. 1, 264-265.

Wilhelmus Faber’s Johannes Klinger 1812 Vorschift in Henry S. Borneman, Pennsylvania German Illuminated Manuscripts. Norristown, Pa.: Pennsylvania German Society, 1937, published as plate 3.

Ellen Gehret. This is the Way I Pass My Time: A Book About Pennsylvania German Decorated Hand Towels. Birdsboro, PA: Pennsylvania German Society, 1985.

Tandy and Charles Hersh. Samplers of the Pennsylvania Germans. Birdsboro, PA: Pennsylvania German Society, 1991.

Stacy C. Hollander et al., American Radiance: The Ralph Esmerian Gift to the American Folk Art Museum Catalog. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 2001, 141-142, no. 104 [Georg Hübner].

 Catherine E. Hutchins., et al. Arts of the Pennsylvania Germans. New York, NY: Published for the Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum by Norton: 1983.

Henry J. Kauffman and Quentin H. Bowers. Early American Andirons and Other Fireplace Accessories. Nashville, Tn: Nelson [1975].

Henry J. Kauffman. American Copper & Brass. [Camden, N.J.]: T. Nelson [1968].

_______________. Early American Ironware: Cast and Wrought. Rutland, Vt.: C.E. Tuttle Co., 1966.

_______________. Pennsylvania Dutch: American Folk Art, New York: Dover Publications, [1964], 94-95 [Georg Hübner].

Henry Chapman Mercer. The Survival of the Mediaeval Art of Illuminative Writing Among Pennsylvania Germans. [Doylestown, Pa: Bucks County Historical Society], [1897].

_______________. The Bible in Iron. Doylestown, PA: Bucks County Historical Society, 1914, 59, No. 73, The Man and the Goat. Google Books, Accessed 22 July 2016 https://books.google.com/books?id=kC9PAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false

Lisa Minardi. A Colorful Folk: Pennsylvania Germans & the Art of Everyday Life. Winterthur, DE: Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum, Inc., 2015, fig. 20, 22 [Georg Hübner].

_______________. “A Colorful Folk: Pennsylvania Germans And The Art Of Everyday Life,” In Collect Interiors + Collections Online, Fig. 5. Photograph by Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library. Accessed 27 July 2016.   https://www.incollect.com/articles/a-colorful-folk-pennsylvania-germans-and-the-art-of-everyday-life

Betty Ring. Girlhood Embroidery: American Samplers and Pictorial Needlework,
1650-1850 . New York: A. A. Knopf, 1993.

Earl F. Robacker. “Pennsylvania Redware,” in Pennsylvania Folklife. Vol. 46, No. 3 (1997), 137-142. Pennsylvania Folklife Magazine. Book 150. Accessed 26 July 2016 http://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/pafolklifemag/150 [Georg Hübner].

Margaret B. Schiffer. Historical Needlework of Pennsylvania. New York: Scribener, 1968.

Johann Michael Schirmer. Geöfnete Schreib=Schule oder Deutsche, Lateinische, und Franzöische Vorschriften. Frankfurt am Maÿn: Selbst Verlag, ca. 1760.

Peter Steltz Sr., Last Will and Testament, with Codicil, 1832. Wills, Vol 6-7, 1821-1839. Proved and Letters Testamentary Granted to Valentin, Christian, and Peter Steltz Jr.; Author: Montgomery County (Pennsylvania). Register of Wills; Probate Place: Montgomery, Pennsylvania

John J. Stoudt. Pennsylvania German Folk Art: An Interpretation. Allentown, Pa.: Schlecters, 1966, 313 [Georg Hübner].

Stove Plate – Eighteenth Century. Pennsylvania. The State Museum of Pennsylvania. 33.107.3, accessed 9 July 2016 http://statemuseumpa.org/biblical-guidance-cast-iron/

Swan, Susan Burrows. A Winterthur Guide to American Needlework. Winterthur, Del.: Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum, 1976.

_______________. Plain & Fancy: American Women and Their Needlework, 1650–1850. Austin, Texas.: Curious Works Press, 1995.

Marjie Thompson, Kathleen L. Grant and Alan G. Keyser. Forgotten Pennsylvania Textiles of the 18th and 19th Centuries. Cumberland, ME: Linen Press, [2005?].

Daniel Berkeley Updike. Printing Types Their History, Forms, and Use: A Study in Survivals. Cambridge:Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1962, 2 vols.

Anna Maria Weber, m. n. Angelmayer (6/21/1749-4/3/1834), Friedensville Cemetery, Friedensville, Pa Accessed 10 July 2016 http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=80302681

Michael Weber (1738-1826), Friedensville Cemetery, Friedensville, Pa.Accessed 10 July 2016 http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=16462194&ref=acom

Winterthur Research Fellow, Moravian and Pennsylvania Dutch Material Culture, 2016
Every year Winterthur provides fellowships to a select group of scholars for research
in their chosen areas of study in social and cultural history, including material culture, architecture, decorative arts, design, consumer culture, garden and landscape studies, Shaker studies, travel and tourism,the Atlantic World, and objects in literature. ~ Winterthur Research Program

Thanks to a short-term research fellowship this summer at Winterthur I have been able to study rare books such as Johann Michael Schirmer’s ca. 1740 Geöfnete Schreibschule in the Winterthur Museum Library Collection of Printed Books and Periodicals; objects in the Winterthur Museum Collection; and manuscripts in the Joseph Downs Collection of Manuscripts and Printed Ephemera.  All has contributed to my research for a book in progress Heavenly Fraktur: How Fraktur Influenced Pennsylvania German and Moravian Material Culture. This blog post is based on that research. My sincere thank you to all at Winterthur who have made this fellowship possible.

My thanks also to Donald Trump of the Friedensville Evangelical Lutheran Church; Joanne Kintner and Robert Wood of the Goschenhoppen Historians, Inc.; Patricia Herr, Author and Collector; Dorothy McCoach, Independent Textile Conservator; Janine Pollock and Joseph Shemtov of the Rare Book Department at the Free Library of Philadelphia.

How God Spoke to the Pennsylvania Dutch and Moravians Through the Media Blog Post including transcriptions; translations; and photo images, except for images of the Elisa Kulp 1816 Sampler; the Susanna Steltz Plate; and Sehet zu ihr liben Leut Stove Plate,
© 2016 Del-Louise Moyer.

The Elisabeth Köbler Embroidered Taufschein

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The Elisabeth Köbler Embroidered Taufschein, part of the Goschenhoppen Historians Fraktur collection, is one-of-a-kind. Worked in 1830 by someone with the initials of J. K., it commemorates the birth and baptism of Elisabeth Köbler born fifty-four years earlier on October 9, 1776 at the “Blue Church” in Coopersburg, Pennsylvania. It’s hard to imagine what the occasion was that prompted the creation of the Taufschein. Whatever it may have been, this special gift definitely was intended to be a public remembrance for it is framed to be hung on a wall—of itself unusual—with the embroiderer’s initials and date of creation prominently visible.

Original parish records for the “Blue Church” do exist, but are presently unavailable. Thus all following information is based on copies from several sources that were intended primarily as genealogical aids. It is hoped that some day soon the primary manuscripts will be available to confirm spellings, and to locate marginal notations that are so often not transcribed when extrapolating family history entries. Per these secondary sources of the birth and baptismal records of St. Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Coopersburg, Pennsylvania, often called the “Blue Church” because of the blue cast to its plastered stone exterior walls, Elisabeth Köbler, the baby featured in the embroidered Taufschein, was born October 9, 1776, the fifth child of Jacob Köbler and his wife Christina, née Kerschner, and baptized December 8, 1776. (Johann) Philip Wint/Wind, then aged seventeen, and Elisabeth Knöple were the godparents.

Jacob Kepler and Maria Christina, née Kirschener were married May 18, 1762 at the “Blue Church“ by Rev. Johann Andreas Friderich (Clarence E. Beckel, ed., Records of St. Paul’s Lutheran and Reformed Church (Blue Church) 1748-1892, Bethlehem, Pa: Bethlehem Public Library, 1937, p. 186). Georg and Margaretha Kerschner were Maria Christina’s parents.   Jacob and Christina’s

  • first child was  Johan Georg  born   February 23, 1763.
  • second             Johann Jacob  born   April 4, 1765.
  • third                 Johannes         born   June 5, 1771.
  • fourth              Maria C.           born   February 20, 1774.
  • fifth                  Elisabeth         born   October 9, 1776.
  • sixth                 Andreas          born   March 16, 1779.
  • seventh           Susanna          born   April 7, 1781.

The Köbler surname has a variety of spellings in the secondary sources such as Kepler, Keppel, Koepler, Käbler, Kebler, Kepple. It is not known if this is how they actually appear, or if the letters were incorrectly transcribed.

Very little information has been found for Elisabeth Knöple (also Kneply, Kneeply, Kneple, Knepple, Kneppley), one of the sponsors. There is, however, an Elisabeth Kneply who took communion on October 31,1818 at St. Paul’s, and she may very well be the same person as Elisabeth’s sponsor. Records show that after Friedens Church was built at Friedensville, Pa in 1793, the Knepli family members began attending there. In fact, some of the Kneplis are buried in the old part of Friedens Church cemetery.

Johann Philip Wint/Wind  (1759-1841), the other sponsor, was born to Andreas and Anna Elisabetha Catharina Wind on September 9, 1759. He was baptized at St. Paul’s Lutheran “Blue Church” on September 22, 1759, and per communion records maintained an active relationship with the church into the 1820s (C. Beckel, ed. Blue Church Records, p. 20). He also is known to have attended Friedens Lutheran Church on a regular basis after it was established in 1793. Per his last will and testament made July 19,1837 [Witnesses: Jacob Dillinger and Peter Newhard, and proved November 26, 1841], Wint/Wind was a very well-to-do tanner by trade, owning several tracts of land and tenements in both Upper Saucon, and Salisbury Townships, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. It has been suggested that he may have been an organ builder or musician. This does not seem to be the case for he mentions nothing about being a keyboard or organ builder in his last testament whereas he does mention that he has a tannery that he is bequeathing to his son Andrew, and makes other references to the tanning trade, which obviously was his principal occupation. According to a credit entry for Philip Wint, Sr in the original Friedens Church account records, he actively supported building and maintenance projects up to May 1841. He died November 8, 1841 and is buried in row five of the old part of Friedens Church cemetery next to his wife Elisabeth Mohry Wind/Wint.

The Goschenhoppen Historians bought the Elisabeth Köbler Taufschein from Elwood Hoot, an auctioneer at West Point near Lansdale, PA for $125 ca. 1964-1970 according to an accession note, and entered it officially into the collection in 1972. Both the separately embroidered initials and year J 1830 K, and the Elisabeth Köbler Taufschein are worked in cotton thread, two ply polychrome silk thread and wool yarn on a bleached cotton ground. Kinds of stitches include: cross, chain, and French knot.

The embroiderer replicated in her embroidery the main decorative elements Heinrich Ebner (1783-1850), printer in Allentown, Pennsylvania used in his printed Taufscheins of the early 1820s. These include the reclining putto atop a billowing cloud in the center at the top of the piece. He is facing to the left, and holding a hunting horn in his left hand, a sealed envelope in his right. Facing inwards and standing on clouds are two angels, who flank the central birth/baptismal text. Both are equipped with lyres: The one on the right is holding a wreath with her raised right arm, and the other on the left is looking at a bird perched on her elevated left hand. Below each angel is a bird sitting on upward-stretching boughs, grasping at berries above him. Branch and bird form a symmetrical unit and face inwards. The embroiderer added additional elements not present on the Ebner Taufschein such as floral vines of tulips and flowers reminiscent of the sun; a cherry tree in front of each angel, and a sleek bird at her feet. The ever present baptismal verses announcing the brevity of life and importance of baptism usually found on printed Taufscheins of the period are noticeably absent from this piece.

The birth and baptismal certificate is not only embroidered, but also originally watercolor or tempera was used to paint the putto’s hair and body, as well as the angels’ faces and arms. Its mahogany veneer-on-pine frame is original to the Taufschein, which was intended to be a display piece. Dorothy McCoach, a leading textile conservator, conserved the piece in 1996, at which time the embroidered Taufschein was removed from the frame and its tacked mounting. Upon completion of conservation procedures, the two embroidered pieces were hand-stitched to cotton polyester slipjacketed 4 ply museum board and reframed in the original frame. The two original wood backings were returned to the Goschenhoppen Historians. It was hoped that perhaps additional information about Elisabeth Köbler had been appended to the backings, but, per Mrs. McCoach in an email response of October 26, 2015, nothing was written on either one.

Fortunately, with digital magnification, it is possible to read the much faded embroidered Fraktur script:

Transcription

Geburt und Taufschein

Diese beyde Ehegatten als Jacob Köbler | und seiner ehelichen Hausfrau Christina | eine gebohrne Kerschnern ist ein Dochter zur | Welt gebohren den 9ten Tag October | im Jahr unsers Herrn 1776 Diese | Dochter ist getauft worden und ehielt | den Namen Elisabeth die Taufzeugen | waren Philip Wint und Elisabeth Knöple.

Translation

Birth and Baptismal Certificate

A daughter was born to these two married people Jacob Köbler and his legal wife Christina, maiden name Kerschner, on the 9th of October in the Year of Our Lord 1776. This daughter was baptized and received the name Elisabeth. The sponsors were Philip Wint and Elisabeth Knöple.

The embroiderer of Elisabeth Köbler’s Taufschein had to be someone, either a family member or a friend, who had access to Elisabeth’s birth and baptismal information possibly from St. Paul’s Lutheran “Blue Church” records or from a family member. Had there been an original birth and baptismal certificate from which to work, one suspects the motifs from Ebner’s printed Taufschein, contemporary to the time in which the needleworker was actually making the piece, would not have been substituted for original decorative elements. We don’t know if Elisabeth was still alive in 1830, but if so, as already mentioned, she would have been fifty-four years old. Johann Philip Wind is the only one for whom we have additional records attesting to some of his life activities. The needleworker who worked this embroidery could never have guessed that this token of her hands and heart would one day be one of the very few footprints left to show that Elisabeth Köbler, her family, and her baptismal sponsors ever walked this earth.

Sources

Brunner, Raymond J. That Ingenious Business: Pennsylvania German Organ Builders. Publications of the Pennsylvania German Society, vol. 24, Birdsboro, Pa.: Pennsylvania German Society, 1990, 177. [Re. Wint]

Church Records at St. Paul’s “Blue” Churc,h Upper Saucon Township, Lehigh County, PA., transcribed from a copy in Easton Public Library 1948. T.S. Housed at St. Paul’s Blue Church, 5900 Applebutter Hill Road, Coopersburg, PA 18036-9500.

Das ist Daß Trosties und Kirchen Buch Vor Die gemeine friedens kirch in ober Sackunna Taunschip Northampton Caunty Den 25ten februarius 1797 [Friedensville, Pa., 1797].

Gehret, Ellen. This is the Way I Pass My Time: A Book About Pennsylvania German Decorated Hand Towels (Birdsboro, PA: Pennsylvania German Society, 1985).

Glattfelter, Charles H. Pastors and People: German Lutheran and Reformed Churches in the Pennsylvania Field, 1717-1793, vol. 1 of 2. Publications of the Pennsylvania German Society, vols. 13, 15, Breinigsville, Pa.: Pennsylvania German Society, 1980-81, 346-347 (Friedens Church), 357-358 (St. Paul’s Blue Church).

Kirchen Buch| für die Gemeine in Sauccunen in sich haltend | Getaufte, Copulirte und Verstorbene Leute angefangen im Jahr Christ 1748, St. Paul’s Blue Church, 5900 Applebutter Hill Road, Coopersburg, PA 18036-9500 [Presently unavailable].

Stopp, Klaus. The Printed Birth and Baptismal Certificates of the German Americans, vol.1 of 6. Mainz, Germany and East Berlin, Pa: privately published, 1997-1999, 157-63.
[Re. Heinrich Ebner]

Wind, John Philip Find a Grave. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=80213507&ref=acom Accessed 28 October 2015.

­­­_______________. Last Will and Testament: Probate Records, 1812-1920 ; Index 1812-1965;
Author: Lehigh County (Pennsylvania). Register of Wills; Probate Place: Lehigh, Pennsylvania.

My thanks to Bob Wood, Nancy Roan, and Linda Szapacs of the Goschenhoppen Historians; Dorothy McCoach, Textile Conservator Consultant; the Rev. James Hammond, and Kathy Exner of St. Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran “Blue Church” of Coopersburg, Pa.; the Rev. Lisa Borrell, Don Trump, Harvey Kichline, and Jeanette Petersen of Friedens Evangelical Lutheran Church, Center Valley, Pa.

Blog Post including transcriptions; translations; and photo images
© 2015 Del-Louise Moyer