Watercolor of Eli K. Mylin farm, mounted in large gilt frame.
Painting is done on a rectangular, heavy sheet of sepia-brown paper with textured surface. Executed in greens, brown, red and white. Immediate foreground shows a railroad stretching from left to right, bordered by wooden fencing. Fields in near foreground lead up to a farmstead in midrange consisting of a stone house at far right encircled by a white picket fence, a large white barn at far left, and various outbuildings located between them. Distant fields rise slightly to form rolling hills with trees and fencing at horizon. Sketchy white clouds are arranged across the sky.
The farm is located directly south of Willow Street, Pequea Twp., Lancaster County and belonged to donor's great-grandfather. Her grandmother, Lillie V. Stehman, grew up there before marrying Isaiah D. Stehman and moving to Mount Joy.
The 1864 Atlas shows E.K. Mylin residing in the extreme southeast corner of Pequea Twp. The 1899 Atlas shows two farms in close proximity, both owned by E. K. Mylin.
Painted in 1913, probably from a photo post card (with a May 1906 postmark) that shows this exact scene.
(Written by Wendell Zercher.)
Provenance
Given in memory of Isaiah D. Stehman and Lillie V. Stehman, grandparents of the donor, Mrs. M. Patricia Bowman of Harrisburg, Pa. Donated on July 11, 2001.
Overall good condition. Minor buckling across surface with vertical streaks of dark soil across both painting and backing paper. Bother papers have suffered some fading. Frame has much of gliding intact on interior surfaces although worn and soiled but exterior surfaces of frame have been painted over to hid chips and losses. Reverse side of frame has torn and soiled brown paper backing covering two large wood back boards.
A: Watercolor on wove paper of J. Crump Tannery, Marietta, Pa, depicting a panoramic view of the Klumpp Tannery and residence, viewed from Front St. The white 2-story frame house with one-story addition is in the foreground on the left with a man and woman by the front door. The tannery complex with smokestack is on the right, set further back from the street with the tanning operation underway. A man in a small horse-drawn carriage is in the street in the front and a boy chasing 2 chickens is in the yard between the house and tannery. A brick church is in the background center.
John C. Klumpp's Tannery was built by P. Moyer on Locust Street between 2nd St. (now E. Market) and Prospect Alley in 1815. Klumpp acquired the tannery in 1874 and operated it until his death in 1901. The tannery occupied lots 69-70-71-72, Strawberry Alley ran beside the Klumpp residence on the left. To the rear of the dwelling, behind the fence can be the kitchen garden and outhouse.
Signed bottom left, in ink, "P. Meissner./18/1/76."
2 photographs of tannery:
B: Black and white photo showing roughly the same view as A, although closer to ground level. The house is on the left and the tannery on the right. At least five people are sitting/standing on the porch of the house facing the yard. The buildings appear mostly unchanged from the watercolor. The date "1908" is written in the lower left corner in ink.
C: Black and whit photo of the tannery from the back. Four separate buildings of varying design can be seen in a row, with the smokestack extending up out of frame slightly right of center. A stone bridge over a creek is at extreme right, with creek running around the buildings to the left. The date "1929" is written in the lower left corner in blue ink.
The photographs appear to be photographic copies of the originals. They were attached to the paper backing covering the frame of the watercolor.
A: watercolor has brown staining all over, especially apparent in the sky. Further discoloration along the top edge. The pieces was cleaned (dry and wet), mended, and flattened by the Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts in Philadelphia in 1991.
B,C: Photos. B is browned and faded at the edges and curves inward. Both B and C have tape and backing residue on the reverse. They were dry cleaned, mended and flattened by the CCAJA in 1991. Further details available in file.
