Fraktur presentation piece for Susanna Netzlin (Nissley?) Pressure-mounted on tan matboard and framed in small frame.
Watercolor and ink on rectangular, laid paper, done in dark brown red and yellow. Three bars of color at perimeter in red, yellow and dark green create outside border. Filling top half of inner space is the name of "Susanna Netzlin" written in large red letters, incorporating leafy vines with three different flowers.
Bottom half of page is filled with seven lines of German religious verse. Another leafy vine fills the bottom space adorned with four different flowers.
(Written by Wendell Zercher)
Provenance
Donor, Mr. Clarke E. Hess of Lititz, PA, describes this page as a presentation piece done for Susanna Nissley (?) probably in Warwick Twp. Hess cites another example of this unknown artist's work in the book Pennsylvania German Fraktur and Color Drawings by Landis Valley Associates, 1969, plate #48 (a vorschrift done in 1769).
The $975.00 cost was reimbursed by Irene. N. Walsh.
Paper embrittled and very weak. Multiple breaks, holes and tears. Large holes at center of dark brown border on right side and bottom. Multiple areas of paint loss. White fibers attached to red border at left side and bottom. Soiled and stained overall. Paper edges are uneven with minor losses, especially corners at top and bottom left. Horizontal fold across center.
Birth record, masterfully hand-done in German on laid paper. for Maria Siegrist by unidentified artist known as the Leacock Twp. Artist. Executed in ink with watercolored decoration of dark blue and red. Placed in heavy flat brown-stained frame.
Central text block has twelve lines of beautifully executed printed letters, with magnified, elaborate initial letter of subject's name done in fraktur style and decorated with tulips and scrolling. Two vertical panels flank text block, filled with tulip trees growing out of striped pitchers. Top narrow panel decorated with symmetrical arrangement of similar tulip plant sideways from center.
Text begins with the name of subject, Maria Siegrist, born April 22, 1794 in Lampeter Twp. The remainder is religious in nature.
Earnests note paper has an "IB" watermark. The Earnests indicate ten pieces known by this artist. Most of his work is birth records with no baptisms, indicating he did work for the Mennonite community. Six of his works are for families in Leacock Twp. (thus his moniker) and two are for families in Lampeter Twp.
Acid-burn darkening overall; liquid staining along right edge, esp. at pitcher, one spot on last word of text and strong staining along left edge throughout tuliptree. Hole of approx. 1/8" near upper edge to right of center, smaller hole along left edge 2.5" below corner; twin pin holes at center of top edge. Minor losses along right edge.
Backboard is acid-free matboard. Removed original wood backboard & replaced it with regular foam core board.
Chest of polar stands on four blue-green ogee bracket feet, fitted with casters. Lid has molding pegged to 3 sides and supported by strap hinges. Keyhole at front center has only the ghost of its original oval escutcheon. Grab lock with key. Wrought iron handles on a heart-shaped plate are located at each end. Interior of chest has a till on the left.
Red-painted platter-shaped panels are positioned at each end, two on lid and two on front. Above these front panels is a very thin, long, white-painted reserve containing a painted inscription "17 ANNA NISLESIN 95." This is flanked by geometric floral/star rosettes.
This is a 'sister' chest to the Potzer chest (P.79.103) varying only in paint decoration and feet. Similar chest sold in Geo Scott sale in 1994. (Written by Scott Sagar.)
Provenance
Provenance indicated by inscription and handwritten note: "This chest is for Eli" is penciled on the underside of the lid. Paper pasted to till reads: "This is the property of Ella R. Peterson (with contents) Jan. 1960, Anna B. Rohrer. Formerly was your Great Grandmother"s Maria Hershey Haverstick."
Donor states chest descended to her through the Haverstick family of the Wabank area of Lancaster Twp. It was used in a farmhouse on Rice Road, near the west bank of the Conestoga River. Peterson states the Haverstick property was later sold to a Mr. Rice who owned it until he died circa 1985. There is reportedly a Haverstick cemetery nearby.
The chest was donated by Mrs. Ella R. Peterson of Willow Valley Square in Nov. 1995. Value: $7,500.
Significant wear to wood, esp. where dog chewed on feet; right front foot has piece broken off. Paint is worn and faded overall, with scratches and chips in many places. Lock escutcheon missing.
Bowfront mahogany veneer chest of drawers in the Hepplewhite style. Four drawers have progressing depths from the top to the bottom, each with overpressed drawer pulls two per drawer. At the top center of each drawer is a brass escutcheon keyhole. The top of the chest and each drawer are decorated with satin wood inlay. Chest is supported at its base by four french feet which feature a slightly outswept bracket foot combined with a valence skirt.
Provenance
Dr. Alexander Speer (James Buchanan maternal cousin)
Commonly known as a lamp stand due to its principle use; its four legs made it safer than the earlier candle stands. This mahogany table top is nearly square and of a plain design. The skirt is three inches deep and contains a single drawer that is almost the full width of the skirt. The extant pull is a reproduction; the original would have been plain with a small brass knob. The table is supported by four tapered legs with a ring turning at the top of each and a raised band six inches above the end of each leg.
This frog doorstop serves as an iconic symbol of James Buchanan's attachment to his favorite spring at his Wheatland farm, and was donated because it was an appropriate piece.
Lignum vitas wood caster with round, bowl-like top, pierced for shaking out pounce. Base is ring-turned tapers smaller to broad top, flat bottom. Small, shallow dotted pattern in two bands near bottom. Lip at top has thin groove. Top screws onto base that would be filled with pounce, which is a fine powder made from powdered cuttlefish bone. Pounce was used both to dry ink and to sprinkle on a rough writing surface to make it smooth enough for writing.
Esther 'Hetty' Parker, James Buchanan's housekeeper, chose this among several other household items that Buchanan noted she was to be allowed to choose after his death. Miss Hetty gave this to the daughter of her neighbor. Miss Steckman donated this to the Wheatland collection in 1938.
A Federal era washstand with a top and lower shelf. Top shelf has a centered opening to support a wash basin with two square pockets at the back corners to store a bar of soap and/or a shaving mug. The wood splash back is three sided and scroll cut with a raised back; the sides slope down to rounded shoulders at the front skirt that has bead trim both top and bottom. The top shelf surmounts four square blocks that transition to double ring and ball turned uprights. The lower shelf is mounted 18.5" below the top shelf with a full width drawer on its skirt with a wooden mushroom-shaped drawer pull in the center and double-bead trim at the bottom. The lower shelf surmounts four square blocks that transition to double ring and ball turned legs that terminate on peg feet.
Leaded glass. 10 sided bottom. Finger-cut design toward bottom. 10 sided finger-cut shoulder. Neck has 3 beaded rings and flattish lip. Stopper is drop-shaped, pointed at top and is 7 faceted. Body is slightly flared to shoulder.
