Framed silhouette of gentleman in profile, facing viewer's right. He is perhaps early-to-middle-age years, dressed in high collar and coat. Below is the name "Amos Ellmaker" handwritten in cursive in faded black ink.
Image is cut out of a rectangle of white wove paper, superimposed on a matching piece of black silk and secured with stitches at periphery. There is a window mat of faded marbelized paper, frame is molded walnut.
Same marbelized paper also covers back of frame. Clipping from printed biographical article is pasted to back.
Moderate wear and aging overall. Wove paper is darkened with fold lines and pin holes. Frame is worn with loose joints. Frame backing paper shows wear at corners and was cut to remove artwork, replaced and secured with cellophane tape, now removed except for bottom strip, leaving adhesive residue.
Object ID
P.03.11.01
Notes
According to the Biographical Annals of Lancaster County, Amos Ellmaker (b. 2-2-1787 and d. 11-28-1851) was a man of intellect and attainment. He was grandson of immigrant Leonard Ellmaker (Germany to Earl Twp in 1726) and son of Nathaniel Ellmaker. He attended Princeton College, then law school in Litchfield, Conn. He began practice in Hbg., served as an officer in the War of 1812, later was appointed prosecuting attorney for Dauphin Co., elected to the State House of Representatives, appointed Presiding Judge for the district composed of Dauphin, Lebanon and Schuylkill counties, was later appointed Attorney General of Pa., but resigned in 1821 to move back to Lancaster. Judge Ellmaker was in 1832 a candidate of the anti-Masonic party for Vice-President of the U.S. In 1816, he had married Mary Rachel Elder of Harrisburg. They had six children.
Oil painting of Mrs. Alexander Hood seated on red chair with draped red curtain behind. Her dark brown hair is parted in the center and she is wearing a white covering with ruffles along sides covering her ears. The two wide sashes/ties hang down to her waist. A dainty lace collar piece, unattached, is around her neck with opening in front. She wears a black dress with gathers from a front vertical seam that ends in a point below her waist. Long sleeve visible on her left arm has two sections of gathers on the upper arm. Her left hand rests on her lap.
Artist: Arthur Armstrong, American portrait painter (b.1798-d.1851).
Some crackling overall. Some paint rubbed off above wooden edges. Some fine vertical streaks on woman's dress, left elbow. A small spot on right side of painting above red chair. Canvas nailed to stretcher bars in tact.
Bookplate is done on wove paper that is adhered to the detached front cover of a leatherbound New Testament and framed in a modern red and black frame. Unusual borders, motifs and strong primary colors of red, blue and yellow. Borders are bands of red and blue-painted rectangles at sides and red hears on a band of yellow at top and bottom. Additional red hearts flank side borders at top. Top 1/3 of bookplate has a compass-drawn motif of overlapping circles. The middle 1/3 of page is the text in German "Dieses Neue Testament/ Gerhort/ Henrich Scherch/ Ihm zur Lehr and Gott zur/ Ehr, Geshrieben im Yahr, 1823." Bottom of page has a large design of red and yellow fruit hanging from blue leaves dotted with red. (Written by Wendell Zercher)
Paper is generally good; colors have been smeared. lifted and muddled, esp. along top edge and bottom 1/3 of bookplate, probably due to moisture damage. Tear of 1 1/2" extends from left edged ( 1 1/2" up from bottom) into center of page. BP is adhered to detached front cover of NT that is deteriorated brown leather with metal hooks for clasps still intact; residue to glue at four corners.
Sampler on linen in painted yellow frame with brown felt liner. Worked in silk thread of colors: brown, tan, beige, lt. and dk.blue, lt. and dk. green and yellow.
5 sections divided by 4 horizontal borders. Description from top to bottom: Upper case alphabet in brown, tan, beige and dk. blue
Brown border- upper case alphabet in lt blue, tan, dk. green, dk. blue and beige, internally separated by lt. blue border
Beige border- in brown lettering is:"Emily Wilson Hopkin(s)/ Worked this sampler in/ the 8th year of her age"
Beige and blue border- "1826" in brown followed by embroidered figures: ? (in queen stitch), strawberry fruit plant, ?(in queen stitch), peacock, tree, and ?(possible animal). (all figures above a beige and tan "grass" border).
Entire sampler is surrounded by a lt. blue border.
(Written by Michael Middleton)
Provenance
Donor is granddaughter of Henry Slaymaker Magraw and Emily Hopkins Magraw, (married in Oct. or Nov. of 1840, according to "Marriages & Deaths...") Henry S. Magraw became an attorney in Lancaster in 1838 (Ellis & Evans, p. 245). By 1840, H.S. Magraw was listed as living in Pittsburgh.
Watercolor of a dove on a flowering branch on ruled cream colored paper which has been closely trimmed, then pasted onto another sheet of paper. Penciled outline around portions of dove. Painted in green, bright orange, purple and black, then over-varnished. Appears to have been done by an Amish hand, according to the Earnest, due to the palette used.
Re-framed in a sample black wood frame by Lancaster Galleries. (2001)
Provenance
Purchased for $475.00 from Russell and Corinne Earnest, Feb. 28,2000.
See Earnests' book, Fraktur, Folk Art and Family, 1999, pp. 74-75.
Minor acid burn. Received from seller in a pink paper mat in a dark pink wooden frame with a metal ring on top. Removed from acidic mount and reframed by Lancaster Galleries for exhibition.
Birth record in German for Barbara Eschlemann made on laid paper by Johannes Schopp/Schopf Artist. Paper has Ephrata watermark (CIB in tulip design). Framed in old frame of softwood with dark, crazed finish and applied blocks at corners.
Execution is typical of this artist's design with horizontal orientation, outer and inner double-line borders with central heart having an open ring at top from which emanate vining flowers. Space between inner and outer borders is especially full with typical flowers of muted colors as well as a crown at top and shells at top and a large one at bottom center.
(By Wendell Zercher)
Within the hearts is the text including Barbara Eschlemann's birthdate: 8 January 1777.
Provenance
Purchased by Irene Walsh from Russell D. Earnest Associates for $1,750.00. Received on 7 Dec. 2004.
Breaking at fold line; two corners missing and two corners with small holes. 3-inch tear extends from left bottom corner to right side. Tear at bottom, 2" from right corner, extends upward 1/2 inch. Additional tears with losses at bottom, esp. at center. Two extensive tape repairs made on reverse. Several moisture stains along bottom.
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.
Vase splat chair, back top rail is faced with a crotch-grain mahogony veneer and is a wide concave cross member with rounded ends, a rolled cresting and scroll-cut lower edge. The top is supported by plain rounded uprights that are a continuation of the square rear legs that have a backward saber curve.
The back is open with a wide urn-shaped splat that surmounts the upholstered, rectangular slip seat. The front rail has a conforming shape to the seat and is supported by the front legs that are flat and shaped in a reverse ogee curve with rounded front edges.
Vase splat chair, back top rail is faced with a crotch-grain mahogony veneer and is a wide concave cross member with rounded ends, a wide concave crest and scroll-cut lower edge. The top is supported by plain rounded uprights that are a continuation of the square rear legs that have a backward saber curve.
The back is open with a wide urn-shaped splat that surmounts the upholstered, rectangular slip seat. The front rail has a conforming shape to the seat and is supported by the front legs that are flat and shaped in a reverse ogee curve with rounded front edges.
American Sheraton bookcase has a flat overhanging molded cornice. Upper cabinet enclosed by a pair of glazed doors, each with six oblong panes set in straight molded mullions. Doors flanked at sides and center by narrow plain stiles, hung with butt hinges. The lower cabinet has two raised panel doors flanked at sides and center by narrow plain stiles and hung with butt hinges. The lower cabinet has two center swing raised panel doors that surmounts four bracket feet at the corners.
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)
Framed theorem of stencil-painted fruit on light brown cotton velvet. Painting is a still life of variously colored fruits: melons, peaches, apricots, a half-eaten pear, grapes with leaves, plums and a pomegranate. Composed on a blue-colored base or table. An insect is depicted near bottom center below grapes.
There is no border signature or date. Frame is a flat-profiles with walnut veneer facing.
Provenance
Found in the Slaymaker attic among other framed objects, in very dirty conditions. Unknown maker, but possibly done at a Moravian school such as the one at Lititz. See Slaymakers at Linden Hall on page 147 of Slaymaker history.
Taken to Dottie McCoach for conservation June 1, 1998. Returned Sept. 17, 1998. See report in this file. After treatment the piece is still dark, stained and moisture damaged along the bottom.
Butterfly series purple transfer print. Central design features a bird, flowers and a butterfly. 3 butterflies with alternating flowers decorate the outer rim.
A purple design with "Butterfly" in the center is on the bottom of the dish. A crown with the maker's name is impressed onto the bottom: "Clews Warranted Staffordshire."
Two older stickers: "SD #49A" and "H 189."
Year Range From
1818
Year Range To
1834
Storage Location
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, PA
Storage Room
DAC
Storage Wall
West Wall
Storage Cabinet
Unit 33
Storage Shelf
Shelf 3
Object Name
Saucer
Width (cm)
15.24
Width (ft)
0.5
Width (in)
6
Depth (cm)
3.81
Depth (ft)
0.125
Depth (in)
1.5
Condition
Good
Condition Date
2022-10-20
Condition Notes
Color on pattern is somewhat pale and part of design appear worn off.
Butterfly series purple transfer print. Central design features a bird, flowers and a butterfly. 3 butterflies with alternating flowers decorate the outer rim.
A purple design with "Butterfly" in the center is on the bottom of the dish. A crown with the maker's name is impressed onto the bottom: "Clews Warranted Staffordshire."
Two older stickers: "SD #49A" and "H 190."
Year Range From
1818
Year Range To
1834
Storage Location
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, PA
Storage Room
DAC
Storage Wall
West Wall
Storage Cabinet
Unit 33
Storage Shelf
Shelf 3
Object Name
Saucer
Width (cm)
15.24
Width (ft)
0.5
Width (in)
6
Depth (cm)
3.81
Depth (ft)
0.125
Depth (in)
1.5
Condition
Good
Condition Date
2022-10-20
Condition Notes
Surface of bowl is bumpy with small pieces of gravel present when the piece was fired.
Butterfly series purple transfer print. Central design features a bird, flowers and a butterfly. 3 butterflies with alternating flowers decorate the outer rim.
A purple design with "Butterfly" in the center is on the bottom of the dish. A crown with the maker's name is impressed onto the bottom: "Clews Warranted Staffordshire."
Two older stickers: "SD #49A" and "H 191."
Year Range From
1818
Year Range To
1834
Storage Location
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, PA
Storage Room
DAC
Storage Wall
West Wall
Storage Cabinet
Unit 33
Storage Shelf
Shelf 3
Object Name
Saucer
Condition
Good
Condition Date
2022-10-20
Condition Notes
Some purple smudges and irregularity/missing parts on delicate outline of central design.
Butterfly series purple transfer print. Central design features a bird, flowers and a butterfly. 3 butterflies with alternating flowers decorate the outer rim.
A purple design with "Butterfly" in the center is on the bottom of the dish. A crown with the maker's name is impressed onto the bottom: "Clews Warranted Staffordshire."
Two older stickers: "SD #49A" and "H 192."
Year Range From
1818
Year Range To
1834
Storage Location
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, PA
Storage Room
DAC
Storage Wall
West Wall
Storage Cabinet
Unit 33
Storage Shelf
Shelf 3
Object Name
Saucer
Material
Clay
Width (cm)
15.24
Width (ft)
0.5
Width (in)
6
Depth (cm)
3.81
Depth (ft)
0.125
Depth (in)
1.5
Condition
Good
Condition Date
2022-10-10
Condition Notes
Small irregularities in central surface of bowl. Portion of one butterfly's's wing is missing.
Butterfly series purple transfer print. Central design features a bird, flowers and a butterfly. 3 butterflies with alternating flowers decorate the outer rim.
A crown with the maker's name is impressed onto the bottom: "Clews Warranted Staffordshire."
Two older stickers: "SD #49A" and "H 193."
Year Range From
1818
Year Range To
1834
Storage Location
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, PA
Storage Room
DAC
Storage Wall
West Wall
Storage Cabinet
Unit 33
Storage Shelf
Shelf 3
Object Name
Saucer
Width (cm)
15.24
Width (ft)
0.5
Width (in)
6
Depth (cm)
3.81
Depth (ft)
0.125
Depth (in)
1.5
Condition
Good
Condition Date
2022-10-20
Condition Notes
Some pitting and bumps on surface of center portion of bowl. A few irregularities in transfer print. Chip in lower edge on bottom.
Butterfly series purple transfer print. Central design features a bird, flowers and a butterfly. 3 butterflies with alternating flowers decorate the outer rim.
A purple design with "Butterfly" in the center is on the bottom of the dish. A crown with the maker's name is impressed onto the bottom: "Clews Warranted Staffordshire."
Two older stickers: "SD #49A" and "H 194."
Year Range From
1818
Year Range To
1834
Storage Location
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, PA
Storage Room
DAC
Storage Wall
West Wall
Storage Cabinet
Unit 33
Storage Shelf
Shelf 3
Object Name
Saucer
Width (cm)
15.24
Width (ft)
0.5
Width (in)
6
Depth (cm)
3.81
Depth (ft)
0.125
Depth (in)
1.5
Condition
Good
Condition Date
2022-10-20
Condition Notes
A few particles were fired onto the center of bowl,
3/4 profile bust portrait of "James Sproul of Octoraro . 1781 -1847 ." Subject's face towards viewer. See notes for additional information regarding date of gift and donor.
According to the "Papers Read Before the Lancaster County Historical Society, February 1, 1907, Minutes of the February meeting:
The following donations to the Society were announced by the Librarian: A large frame photograph of James Sproul, once a prominent citizen and iron master on the Octoraro Creek, below Christiana, donated by his grandson, Hon. W. C. Sproul, of Chester Pa.
The presentation of the Sproul portrait was made by Dr. J. W. Houston, who accompanied it by an address of considerable length, in which the career of Dr. Sproul was sketched, showing him to have been a man of mark in the earlier period of the county's history.
William Cameron Sproul (September 16, 1870 – March 21, 1928) was the 27th Governor of Pennsylvania from 1919 to 1923. He also served as a state senator from 1896 until his election as governor in 1919.
Image of Trinity Lutheran Church. 1800's. New brick facade, wrought iron grate/fence surrounding building's sides. Steeple now integrated with building's face.