The Pennsylvania Germans came chiefly from around the Rhine and Bavaria but there were also those from Switzerland, Alsace and Holland. They spread out to settle on the rich limestone top soil in the southeastern part of Pennsylvania spreading north and south from Philadelphia including Berks County joining the earlier German settlers of the Oley, Maxatawny, Pequea and Tulpehocken area who had entered America through New York. Their names included such sects as the Amish, Dunkers, Mennonites, Moravians and Schwenkfelders. Indeed, by the outbreak of the Revolution, approximately one-third of the state's population of 300,00 were Germans. After the Revolution 5,000 Hessian mercenaries who were German soldiers employed by King George would also stay.

The Pennsylvania German Tradition
Along with the tenacity with which they retained the language and culture they brought with them from the old country, the Pennsylvania Germans developed a folk art distinctly their own. The richly diverse material in this gallery is a celebration of the objects produced or owned by the Pennsylvania Germans. They reveal a distinctive form and decoration, and the emphasis placed on genealogy and meaningful design.

The Rebirth of A Folk Art
Rooted in the folk art of European agricultural villages, the arts and crafts of the Pennsylvania Germans developed within a framework of consistent custom, form, and tradition quite in contrast to the "high style" produced in cities like Philadelphia. However, this is not to say that their art was "primitive." True, they were "starting over" in a new land and had a new religious freedom but this served to release their imaginations and promote new approaches to old motifs. The result: a remarkably sophisticated folk art that is very much at home with 20th century art forms.

A frequently encountered question is: "What does it (the design) mean?" In truth, Pennsylvania German designs may look like one thing to us but they could have meant something else to the artists who made them. This is because their designs are symbolic rather than representational. From birth certificates to tombstones the Pennsylvania Folk Art tradition involves the use of symbols and words and these taken together make the point - they tell the story. Words and design must be read together - without words designs are ambiguous; their meaning could reach into our subconscious to stimulate responses uniquely shaped by our personal experiences.

The Objects
The principal focus of the Museum's collection, as it was for the Pennsylvania Germans, is on the home. Traditional furnishings, include such items as the wardrobe, chests, storage box, cast iron stove, tall case clocks and dough trough. Other objects including glassware, frakturs (ornamental birth, baptismal, wedding, and house blessings), bookplates, drawings, paintings, quilts, rugs, needlework samplers and show towels illustrate the great care for and bold decoration of otherwise plain and utilitarian objects in the Pennsylvania German homestead. These were at the core of their life and customs.

Products made to satisfy the daily needs of their communal life are represented by the routine work of craftsmen such as the potter, tinsmith, wood carver, weaver, locksmith and gunsmith. Not to be overlooked are those objects primarily used in their churches and schools such as bibles (Bible Boxes were kept in the home), personal song books, printed hymnals, scholastic awards and "vorschriften" (manuscript examples of handwritten by schoolmasters that children copied to learn the letters and numerals of fraktur writing).

The Collection
Almost from the very beginning of the Museum, Pennsylvania German objects were displayed to reflect the strong artistic traditions of those German speaking immigrants who for the most part settled in Pennsylvania by the middle of the 19th century. The Museum's collection grew to include an unsurpassed group of fraktur, furniture, clocks, paintings on glass, ceramics, and everyday implements. Nurturing the growth and enhancing the interpretation of the collection over the years has been through the generosity of discerning collectors and astute purchases. This collection now ranks among the most important in the region.

Please note, paintings, objects and artists represented on the website may not be on view at all times.

Ronald C. Roth Director & CEO