Kutztown University - Keystonia Yearbook (Kutztown, PA)

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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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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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Acknowledgements for Material Used In Article BOOKS 1. Barber, Edwin A. Tulip-ware of the Pennsyl- vania-German potters.” Philadelphia, Patterson White Co., 1926. 2. Frederick, Justus G. The Pennsylvania Dutch and their cookery.” • . • 1 ' New York, The Business Bourse, 1935. 3. Mercer, Henry C. The Bible in Iron.” The Bucks County Historical Society, 1914. PERIODICALS 1. Design,” vol. 33, March 1932. PEOPLE Dr. John Baer Stoudt, Allentown, Pa. Edward L. Hettinger, Reading, Pa. Guy Reinert, Boyertown, Pa. Dr. Arthur D. Graeff, Philadelphia, Pa. Acknowledgments for photographs used in ar- ticle. Pictures loaned by or photographed in: 1. Page 15 2 fracturs—Reading Museum. . . Cradle—Reading Museum. 2. Page 16 Glassware—Landis Valley Museum. China—Landis Valley Museum. 3. Page 17 Quilts—Mrs. Fred Baer of Kutztown, Mrs. Paul Herman of Kutztown. Chest—Reading Museum. 4. Page 18 Coverlets—Landis Valley Museum. Spinning wheel—Hershey Museum. 5. Page 19 Glassware—Hershey Museum. China—Reading Museum. 6. Page 20 Stovoplates—Landis Valley Museum. Hinges—Landis Valley Museum. 20