Tall case clock, Chippendale case with eight-day movement. Dial is painted white with rose spandrels, moon wheel, and is signed very faintly, "Peter Spycker/ Williamsburg." John Peter Spyck(h)er's clocks are rare.
Walnut case with poplar backboards is highly carved. Three flame finials rest on reeded plinths atop scroll pediment with dentils and 12-point rosettes. Tympanum is relief-carved with a central flower flanked by vining. Waist and base have vine-carved quarter columns with smooth lamb's tongues. Arched waist door accented by a deeply incised shell carving near top. Base has raised base panel with corner volutes and central shell. Ogee replacement feet.
Made by Peter Spycker (1756?-1830). Case attributed to Peter or John Rank or Daniel Arndt.
Jonestown (formerly Williamsburg), PA (almost certainly)
See Notes
Provenance
1783-1883 White Horse Tavern near Jonestown; 1883-1914 Bross family of Brosstown (near Rt 72 & 22); 1914-1963 Harry Lesher of Jonestown; 1963-1979 Donald L. Mohn, Jonestown; 1979-1981 William DuPont, Wilmington, DE; 1981 to donor. (Info from Donald L. Mohn)
Jonestown's White Horse Tavern was kept by John Rank (Peter Rank's brother) in the early years of the 19th c. (Clock is based on design sketch from Peter Rank's account book.)
Reported by Carter Harris: a #1 is scratched on front plate of movement and front of seatboard.
Inscription Type
Inscription
Object Name
Clock, Tall Case
Material
Wood, Glass, Brass
Height (cm)
256.54
Height (ft)
8.4166666667
Height (in)
101
Width (cm)
61.595
Width (ft)
2.0208333333
Width (in)
24.25
Depth (cm)
29.5275
Depth (ft)
0.96875
Depth (in)
11.625
Condition Notes
Flame finials replaced recently (copied from similar Heinselman clock at York Bank in York); ogee feet replace bracket feet which replaced earlier feet; door escutcheon replaced; severe crack in base with loss of wood; dentil molding on front replaced. Movement overhauled by Carter Harris, 1982.
Object ID
G.81.20
Notes
JJ Snyder research (in file) identifies maker as Peter Spycker, Jr., the clockmaker recorded on Tax Lists for Tulpehocken Twp, Berks Co., in 1789 as "Peter Spycker Junr. - Clock Maker". In June 1803, Spycker purchased property in Jonestown(Williamsburg) & he may have rented before this date. An 1829 deed mentions "Peter Spyker of Swatara Twp. in the Co. of Lebanon...Clock Maker..." Williamsburg (Jonestown), when founded about 1761 by William Jones, was part of Lancaster Co., then Dauphin Co. in 1785 and part of Lebanon Co. in 1816.
Snyder states "all major elements of the design of this case are virtually identical to a design sketch for a clock case in the account book of a Jonestown joiner, Peter Rank (1770-1851). This account book is in the Joseph Downs Manuscript and Microfilm Collection of the Winterthur Museum." Snyder also notes that the handwriting of this sketch's label is not Rank's. It is possible that these sketches may have been done by joiner Daniel Arndt, whose name also appears in the manuscript."
See "Jonestown School" in Cooper & Minardi, Paint, Pattern & People, pp. 89-91.
Snyder notes it is likely that this clock case illustrates the closest relationship to a design sketch known for any American Chippendale furniture.
The white dial precludes a date earlier than the 1780s.
Place of Origin
Jonestown, Lebanon County, Pennsylvania
Related Item Notes
Very similar carving to a Heinselman tall case clock in York Bank & Trust Co., York, PA.
Usage
White Horse Tavern, Jonestown
Credit
Gift of Herbert B. Weaver in memory of father Isaac Hoover Weaver (1864-1920), Heritage Center Collection
8-day musical clockworks by Mennonite Christian Eby (c.1768-1803) of Manheim. Housed in a large, inlaid cherry case attributed to Emanuel Dyer. Case is transitional from Chippendale to Federal, although strongly Federal due to inlay of eagle and floral motifs on tympanum, quarter fan inlays and another floral inlay on waist section, and a patera centered on the base within a cartouche of line inlay.
Notes: Weight, key, and various parts located in box on Unit 52, Bottom Shelf.
Hood has side lights, fluted colonettes at sides, swan's neck scrolls terminating in inlaid paterae, three ball and spire finials (spire missing on center finial). Waist and base have fluted quarter columns. French bracket feet.
White-painted iron dial w/ Roman numerals on chapter ring. Seconds use Arabic numerals. Floral spandrels, lunar dial and inscription "C EBY Manheim under XII. Above lunar dial are ten names of tunes played by the musical works. Dial attributed to Reading area due to a dark moon wheel and the 2 hemispheres for the moon phase are identical (per Gary Sullivan). He also notes that brass-clad weights are very unusual, and usually an English practice.
Provenance
Ex Renner (per Gary Sullivan, clock dealer). Later from estate sale of Pauline Heilman of York, PA by Sotheby's July 17, 1982. The buyer, a private client of Citibank, put clock in storage in Florida, then consigned it Christie's where HCLC purchased Jan. 1992.
John and Carol Pyfer paid $800 for Quentin Johnson to repair the clockworks and get it running in 2004. Clock hands have losses (pieces in a box stored in clock bottom), repaired by Johnson. Case refinished (see early photos in file). Scratch on side to left of pendulum door; nicks & scratches at left side vertical member of opening to pendulum. Marred overall. Split at left side of front section of molding under hood. Pieces of string inlay replaced. Proper left back foot loose; proper left front column loose. See Gary Sullivan condition report (loan to Willard House)
Object ID
P.92.02
Notes
Made by Christian Eby (c.1768-1803), working 1792-1803. Case attributed to Emanuel Deyer.
J.J. Snyder notes, "The clock is significant because it is the only known Lancaster Co. eagle-inlaid clock with a musical movement. Musical movements predating 1840 are quite rare, and fewer than eight Lancaster Co. musical clocks prior to 1840 are known to survive. The inlay is unique in the placement of the eagle in the center of the pediment rather than in an oval medallion above the pendulum door and in the use of floral inlay in addition to the eagle. In summary, the Christian Eby clock is a masterpiece of not only regional but also national importance."
Snyder also states "Unquestionably, this is one of the most elegant and sophisticated pieces of Lancaster County Federal furniture now known." He adds "Of all the known Lancaster County eagle-inlaid clock cases, this one alone has floral inlays. In view of the fact that this case must predate Christian Eby's death in 1803, it stands as the earliest known use of the eagle as a patriotic device in Lancaster County furniture."
Snyder also suggests Manheim cabinetmaker Emanuel Dyer (1760-1836) as the probable casemaker. Working for about a half century starting in the early 1780s, Dyer was the leading Manheim cabinetmaker.
Place of Origin
Manheim
Credit
Gift of members and friends of the Heritage Center, Heritage Center Collection
Birth & baptismal certificate on laid paper. Printed form with central textblock in German within a multiple line border. Infilled and decorated around textblock by Speyer; cross-legged angel at top, pelicans feeding young at sides and flowers at sides and bottom. Watercolors are red, blue, yellow, green and brown.
Infilled for Johannes, son of Valiendein (Valentine) and Eliesabetha (Elisabetha) Bohmer of Brecknock Township in Lancaster Co., born Dec. 13, 1788.
Georg Friederich Speyer (active 1774-1801) used this printed form produced c. 1789 by Barton & Johnson of Reading. See Notes.
General wear with numerous creases and wrinkles; one pronounced vertical centerline crease. Repaired tears, esp at left edge. All edges are ragged and uneven, esp. at right.
Conserved by CCAHA in 1989 (see report in file). Hinged into window mat & back mat. Relaced in its original frame using UF-3 Plexiglas and acid-free cardboard on reverse with a taped mylar dust shield.
Object ID
G.77.50.1
Notes
Printed form by Reading printers Thomas Barton and Benjamin Johnson, circa 1789 (see Klaus Stopp, The Printed Birth & Baptismal Certificates of the Pa. Germans, v. 4, p. 84). Speyer used this printed form for Johannes Bohmer who was born the previous year in1788.
Place of Origin
Lancaster County
Role
Artist
Credit
Gift of Mr. & Mrs. Richard Flanders Smith, Heritage Center Collection
Birth & baptismal certificate, with printed 3-heart form with text in all three hearts. Blank spaces infilled by hand in thin red ink by Speyer. Fraktur done for Peter Scholl, son of Peter Andreas and his wife Elizabeth Margretha, nee Illick. Son Peter was born September 7, 1772, in Heidelberg Township, Lancaster Co. (Now Berks Co., likely in Stouchsburg area of Marion Twp.)
Infill & decoration Berks Co. (formerly Lancaster Co.) by Georg Friederich Speyer (active c. 1774-1801) and printers Barton & Jungman, Reading.
Densely paint-decorated by Speyer with cross-legged angels in the top corners and bottom center, mermen and winged heads of angels in lower corners, parrots along the sides, a crown at top center, and birds holding flowers in their beaks at the top of the main text block. Dominant colors are red, green, yellow, and blue.
Certificate printed on laid paper with an "FS" watermark, indicating papermaker Frederick Schutz(Scheetz) of Lower Merion Twp. in Montgomery Co. (See American Watermarks). Mounted with window mat in a brown frame
Provenance
Fraktur was given to the Lancaster County Historical Society by donors with the understanding that it would become part of the Heritage Center collection when that institution was established.
Significant horizontal crease across the middle, and three vertical creases. Smaller creases and crinkles appear overall. The paper has browned, and there are stains in the lower half.
A treatment proposal was offered by the Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts in 1986, followed by treatment in 1988-89 -- consolidated pigment, dry and wet cleaned, mended and reinforced, filled losses, flattened, and matted. More details available in the object file.
Object ID
G.77.50.12
Notes
Earnests note that "neatness was of little concern to Speyer, but he did seem concerned about filling white space." He normally infilled with words done in a thin red ink which does not stand up well over time. He worked mostly in northern Lancaster Co.and in southern Berks and Dauphin Counties. Speyer used the 3-heart print more frequently from about 1790 on.
On-line Nissen family genealogy (internet, 2010) states Peter Scholl married Eva Elizabeth Rieth on Apr. 28, 1800 in Reeds Church, Stouchsburg, Berks, Co. He died Feb. 25, 1839. His parents were also married in Stouchsburg.
References:
Klaus Stopp, Printed B&BC of the Pa Germans, Vol. IV, pp.. 81 & 89.
Earnests, "Papers for Birth Dayes", pp 722 ff.
Gravell, Miller & Walsh, American Watermarks, 1690-1835, 2002, pp. 79 & 305.
Slide # 27-1-4 in Archives West
Role
Artist
Credit
Gift of Mr. & Mrs. Richard Flanders Smith, Heritage Center Collection
Birth certificate done in German for "Anna Schenkin" (Schenk), born in "Connostoge Taunschip Langster County", November 20, 1783. Hand drawn, colored and lettered on laid paper with iron gall ink. No baptism indicates a Mennonite family.
The text is enclosed within a heart, surrounded by various vining flowers and four birds, two above and two below. The design conforms with artist's normal pattern of having the vines emanate from a hole at the top center of the heart. This artist made fraktur for mostly Lancaster County Mennonite families. He was almost certainly a schoolmaster. There are about 15 of his fraktur that are documented.
"Johannes Schopf/Schopp Artist" (active c. 1774-1800)
Note written on frame's dust cover by Smith states this fraktur was exhibited in two shows: Allentown Folk Art Show (Nov. 1974) and William Penn Memorial Museum, F/A Show (Jan. 1975).
Slide #27-2-4 in Archives West.
Provenance
Purchased by Richard Flanders Smith at a public sale along Route 222, north of Willow Street. Given to the Lancaster County Historical Society with the understanding that it would become part of the Heritage Center collection with the establishment of that institution.
Foxing or brown spotting over much of surface. Some tears along the edges. Moisture or adhesive stain at bottom center.
A condition report and treatment proposal was done by the Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts in Philadelphia in 1986. Matted and framed by conservator Brian Howard of Carlisle in 1996.
Object ID
G.77.50.11
Place of Origin
Conestoga Twp.
Credit
Gift of Mr. & Mrs. Richard Flanders Smith, Heritage Center Collection
Datestone of carved sandstone from mill of Wendell (Vantil) and Anne Bowman. Thick slab of sandstone with tombstone shape. Face is carved in bas-relief. Within a molded edge is a double-headed eagle perched atop a floral/scrolling motif ending in two double-leafed tulips. Below is an incised text in English: "Built by vantil/ & anne boman/ 1797."
According to Our Present Past, Bowman's Mill was on Penn Grant Rd., south side, east of Pequea Creek. It was a three story, three bay by five bay stone mill, with keystone lintels. At the time of the 1985 survey, the mill was abandoned and deteriorating quickly with no roof. After Bowman, the mill was sold to the Brackbill family in 1805 and then to Henry Neff in 1874. The Ellis & Evans account differs in dates and names (p. 1066).
There was a Wendel Bowman (1670-1735) who was among the first party of about ten Swiss Mennonite families who settled in Lancaster Co. in 1710. He immigrated to Germantown in 1707 before coming to Lancaster (Ellis & Evans, p. 685). He had a son Christian, who had a son Christian II (1724-1790), who had a 3rd son WENDELL (1758-1842) who married ANNE and built the mill. Thus, he was great grandson of the immigrant ancestor. Ellis & Evans note that Wendell Bowman operated a tavern in what is now Strasburg Twp. (p. 23) as well as the mill (p. 1066).
Provenance
Since the mill was in a state of disrepair, the owner hired Benuel King, an Amish demolition contractor, to raze the building, apparently sometime within the past year (2000). The datestone subsequently turned up at the Conestoga sale with no explanation as to origin.
Overall good condition but heavily pitted. Multiple losses, esp. around outside corners. Small fissures/scars, especially from "B" of Built extending to "e" of Anne, as well as a smaller one at top of arch. Significant portions of the right claw of eagle are missing. Remnants of mortar still attached to sides.
Object ID
P.01.17.1
Notes
Copyright photos provided by Frank Heatwole Dec. 2004
Charles Bauman (descendant) of Michigan visited July 2010 and purchased photo of datestone.
Ellis & Evans History of Lancaster County
Our Present Past
The unusally ornate design depicts the mix of cultures prevalent in Lancaster County. The double-headed eagle, the emblem of the Holy Roman Emperor, is not what one would expect from a Mennonite whose family had fled these very lands to escape the sufferings and deprivations of war and religious persecution. The design unexpectedly includes tulips to accompany the eagle. Finally, the Bowmans wanted their datestone written in English instead of their native German, likely an attempt to connect with their English-speaking neighbors whom they hoped would become customers. (Wendell Zercher)
Place of Origin
Strasburg Twp.
Usage
Bowman's Mill
Credit
Gift of John J. Snyder, Jr., in honor of the Krote cousins, Heri
