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Page 26 text:
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MADE.BY J.HAW; MAN.1 LOBAGHS. iss With the communities as sparsely settled as they were, it was natural that the interests of each individual should be centered around the home and family. Great importance was attached to any family event, particularly engagements and weddings. For this reason, the wedding chests and bridal boxes were among the most important and cherished articles that the crafts- man could produce. The wedding chest was very similar to our modern hope chests, as far as design and purpose are concerned for in it the bride kept all of the things which she planned to use in her future home. Beautifully woven spreads were made by hand and kept safely tucked away in some corner of the wedding chest with samplers and lovely handiwork of all kinds. The chest itself was decorated with the usual designs—plumed knights on horseback, birds, tulips, fuchsia, and forget-me-nots. The designs and general pattern of the chest differed ac- cording to the locality. Skilled cabinet-makers travelled from farm to farm, within a compara- tively small area, of course, and made the chests, each in his own particular style, using for the most part the same general designs with a few variations. The most elaborate chests hav- ing sunken panels, mouldings, and supporting arches, came from the section around Lancaster County. The bride box was a much smaller round or oval-shaped box. It was a gift from the groom to his bride a few days before the wedding and was filled with all sorts of ribbons, laces, and other bits of finery dear to women's hearts. The inside of the box was quite plain, but the outside was decorated with the human figures, lovebirds, hearts, the ever-present tulip, and scrolls. Often there v ere inscriptions, such as: Those who live in honor, let no man put asunder.” As in all other forms of their art, Pennsylvania German ironwork was a consummation of tradi- tions that had been handed down to them from earlier generations. When these Germans fled from Holland and southern Germany in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries to a land free for all worshippers, they brought with them the rude cast iron art of the Middle Ages, an art that was preserved largely by Luther's Bible through the Protestant Reformation. As a result this form of Pennsylvanian art work, although original in its patterns and designs, was but a con- tinuation of the ironwork done by the German craftsmen in the seventeenth century. 18
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Page 25 text:
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In the sgraffito, on the other hand, the whole piece of pottery was dipped in the slip and cov- ered entirely. Then the design was scratched in the slip. Thus the slip-traced pottery was characterized by a light design on a dark background; and the sgraffito, by a dark design on a light background. Ornamental gift-dishes”, given in much the same way as our Christmas cards or Valentines, and pie plates, containing the famous wide variety of pies, were two special types of pottery frequently found. Another interesting phase of this folk-art was the fractur-work, or illumination” as it is some- times called. By illumination is meant the decorations or designs on the pages of books, man- uscripts, or documents. The designs were applied in a water color by means of a quill made from geese, ducks, or crows' feathers. The art was usually practiced by clergymen and school- masters who in this way added small sums now and then to their unimpressive salaries. Illumination was used on taufschein (birth certificates), eheschein (marriage certificates), tod- schein (death certificates), and vorschrift (samplers of writing). Almost every family had at least one piece of fractur-work. For, in addition to these already mentioned, it was put in hymn collections, book-markers, wall texts, and even the family Bible. The designs were much the same as in all other places: birds, flowers, trailing vines, precise and formal trees, geometric figures, and many flourishes and scrolls. The colors were originally the typical bright ones, but with the coming of the printing press, the colors and designs grew weaker and weaker, finally dying out altogether. It is interesting to note, that, so many years later, fractur-work is again coming into vogue, and it is being prized just as much as it was many years ago. Now we come to a phase of the folk art which many consider the most delightful of all—namely, the furniture. Here, as everywhere else, were the bright colors so typical of the people. All of the furniture was strong sturdy stuff, designed to last for years and years of hard wear. The greatest care, however, was given to the making of chests and cupboards, for it seems that the tradition of the times, like that of the Middle Ages, was that it was a symbol of respectability and thrift to own a good chest.” As the family increased its wealth, it added to its store of chests and cupboards. V WT rr rr
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Page 27 text:
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One of the principal items of the ironwork was the early stove. Being crude affairs, with no pipes, or draft openings, they would doubtless seem to us very awkward, but to the people of the time, they served their purpose quite satisfactorily. They consisted of five plates of cast iron, placed against the wall, and opening into the next room by means of a small hole in that wall through which the fire was tended. On all sides of the stove, Biblical scenes and char- acters from familiar stories came to life, making the stove literally a Bible in Iron . On other stoves, hearts, tulips, scrolls, and other usual designs were used. In time all ornamentation, Biblical and otherwise, gave way to the inscription of the maker's name or the name of the furnace from which it came. Another important form of ironwork was the heavy cast iron hinges and locks. Even here we find Pennsylvania German pattern and designs prevailing, for many hinges were fashioned as hearts or other convenient designs. Finally, we must consider for a short time the beautiful glassware for which the Pennsylvania Germans are noted. The most highly prized pieces are those of Baron William Henry Stiegel, who was recently brought before the public eye in One Red Rose Forever. The Stiegel glass- ware, an outgrowth of the old German art, and brought to this country by Baron von Stiegel, was the first art in which America could claim superiority over Europe. This glassware enam- eled or etched in color, is considered a prize by the majority of collectors. Thus it is quite evident that, forgotten though it may have been, Pennsylvania German art has finally come into its own. People are awakening to the fact that in spite of its simplicity, or per- haps we should say because of it, this folk-art is truly a great heritage and one well deserving of all the praise and recognition we can give it. As a practical art, one with which the people lived day by day, it meant much to its creators and holds something for us if we will only look for it. For, of such sturdy stock was composed our great nation, in which all peoples, great and small alike, can express themselves to the fullest extent of their abilities.
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