Journal of the Historical Society of the Cocalico Valley ; 35
Notes
"A catalog to accompany an exhibit of privy bags by the Society in Ephrata, Pennsylvania. The exhibit will run from No[v]ember 21, 2009, until May 15, 2010."
Summary
The introduction provides background on the history and use of the bags, which were designed to hold the scrap paper earmarked for privy use. Often highly decorative, privy bags came into being in rural Lancaster Co., Pa., in the early decades of the 1800's and continued to be used during the era of the outhouse.
Includes bibliographical references (p. [188]-190) and index.
Summary
This pioneer work presents the rich and diverse decorative arts produced by the distinctive Mennonite communities in Europe, Pennsylvania, and Canada over a 300-year period. In his scholarly text, Clarke Hess identifies a host of newly recognized Mennonite artisans of traditional textiles and quilts, furniture, clocks, wooden boxes and carvings, metals, pottery, and fraktur. Derived from private collections throughout the United States and Canada, these colorful folk items of Mennonite families are all carefully identified and displayed in hundreds of color images. Designers, folk art collectors, dealers, and historians will covet this beautiful and fascinating book. [from the publisher]
