Bookplate for Peter T.(?) Stauffer penned in purple lettering by Thomas H. Wall (active circa 1876-1898) on a detached end page of a book. Wove paper is light brown. The name arches at top of page with "1876" directly underneath. Embellished with filligree and other decorative flourishes.
Bound German New Testament with fraktur bookplate pasted inside front cover. The NT has a reddish-brown leather cover with two small leather and metal clasps attached to back cover.
Bookplate fills entire page of inside front cover, albeit sideways. Infill attributed to Cocalico Twp schoolmaster & fraktur artist/scrivener Samuel Bentz, it reads "Margaret Weidman/ her/ Testament." These words are intertwined with red and green vining tulips growing from a red base across the bottom.
The name "Andrew Weidman" is written on the last page of the NT.
Attributed to Samuel Bentz (2-26-1792 to 3-21-1850, active c. 1810-1848).
Provenance
The donors acquired this NT with bookplate at a farm sale in Cocalico Township, along with G.77.50.8 (Weydman fraktur). Given to LCHS with the understanding that it would become part of the Heritage Center Collection.
Bookplate has several tears around the edges and brown marks around the black and red areas of the design. The lettering has bled through the first two pages of the book.
A condition assessment and proposal for storage was made by the Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts in Philadelphia in 1986.
Numerous scratches and marks on the NT cover; significant crackling on the spine. The metal latches are rusted where they connect to the leather.
Object ID
G.77.50.5
Notes
See G.77.50.8 for Birth Certificate of brother Jacob Weydmann, born 1762.
See also Paul Flack Sale of Oct 2012 by Pook & Pook for Birth Certificate of sister Catharina, born 1768.
See Bentz entry in Papers for Birth Dayes, p. 90.
Place of Origin
Cocalico Twp.
Credit
Gift of Mr. & Mrs. Richard Flanders Smith, Heritage Center Collection
Bookplate done in German for Anna Herr by the Manor Township Artist (active 1782-1804) on a page detached from a "Leider Buch" (song book).
Fraktur is hand-drawn, lettered and colored with red and brown on laid paper. It is in the style of this artist who had a "small, neat fraktur hand," triangular flowers composed of six dots, and birds with spread tails. At top is a large heart surmounted by a crown, flanked by crowned cherubs/angels with head and wings only. Flowering vine below heart has triangular dot flowers with two birds sucking nectar from flowers. Other vines serve as horizontal borders to separate text below. Flanking the name "Anna Herrin" at center are leafless apple trees with serpents ascending. German text under name is "Geschrieben den 19ten Novem:/ Anno 1788." Branching out of a large inverted tulip at bottom center are two vines with triangular dot flowers. Religious text is interspersed within vining borders.
Attribution to Manor Twp. Artist who was most likely a schoolmaster working among Mennonites in northern Lancaster County, according to Fred Weiser. The Earnests list five known pieces by this artist, from 1768-1788.
Considerable loss around edges, esp. top right and bottom 1/3 of left edge. Ragged where detached from book. Darkened overall. Liquid stains over much of surface, esp. along bottom, top and left edge as well as under date. Paper "eaten through" by iron gall ink at various places, e.g. outline of heart and letters of "Herrin."
Object ID
P.04.51.4
Notes
Earnests, Papers for Birth Dayes, p. 534.
Weiser and Heaney, FLP, #277.
Dr. Donald Herr says he owns four fraktur by this artist (May 14, 2015).
