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LIBKARY 

UNIVERSITY^ 

PENN5YL\^\NIA 


T39.4 


nS3S 


GIFT  OF 
Dr.     (S-HORGE     E     NITZSCHE 


i 


^Phe  Bible  in  Iron 


OR 


The  Pictured  Stoves  and  Stove 

Plates  of  the 

Pennsylvania  Germans 


BY 


HENRY  C.  MERCER 


Published  for  the 

Bucks  County  Historical  Society 
Doylestown,  Pennsylvania 


EA\9KIALL!BRARY^.sPvBUCArS3 


iF  THE 


X^NIVERSITT^*-  PENNSYL^/ANIAJ 


ACCE-SSISN 

^^       PRESeiNTED       BY         , 


PREFACE. 


The  art  of  making  iron  stoves  decorated  with  pictures  and  designs  illustra- 
ting the  teachings  of  the  Bible  was  brought  from  Germany  to  the  Anglo-Ameri- 
can colonies  and  survived  for  half  a  century  on  American  soil. 

Cast  in  low  relief  upon  the  flat  and  often  polished  sides  of  the  old  stoves, 
continually  confronting  the  settler  and  his  family  at  one  of  the  centres  of  house- 
hold comfort  in  winter,  the  singular  patterns,  generally  explained  with  inscrip- 
tions, telling  of  the  Miracles  of  Christ  and  the  Prophets,  the  beauty  of  Holiness, 
and  the  lessons  of  Vice  and  Virtue  must  have  impressed  many  minds.  But  the 
effort  of  the  writer  has  been  rather  to  explain  and  describe  the  casters'  art  which 
then,  as  an  inheritance  from  Germany,  gradually  appeared  and  suddenly  ceased, 
than  to  account  for  the  influence  of  its  teaching  upon  the  lives  of  the  colonists 
and  their  descendants.  Yet.  within  the  last  few  weeks,  a  new  and  unexpected 
significance  has  attached  itself  to  these  iron  pictures,  once  so  full  of  meaning  in 
the  pioneer  household,  so  long  forgotten  and  now  at  last  rescued  from  the  dust 
of  ruins. 

For  now  'October,  1914,)  in  the  midst  of  the  great  European  conflict,  the 
ancestral  land  which  made  them  is  passing  through  an  hour  of  trial.  Germany, 
struggling  against  heavy  odds,  is  cut  off  from  telegraphic  communication  with 
the  western  world,  and  now  when  her  enemies  in  America,  misreading  her 
history,  accuse  her  of  barbarism,  these  eloquent  fragments  of  iron,  made  for  and 
by  the  founders  of  our  country,  offer  certain  evidence  of  a  virtue  long  ago  inter- 
woven with  the  lives  of  Germans,  who  as  ancestors  of  Americans  of  to-day, 
lived  and  died  in  our  midst,  yet  with  the  old  language  on  their  lips,  as  devout 
followers  of  the  teachings  of  Christianity. 

Not  as  barbarians  they  brought  their  heritage  of  religious  Art  to  our  shores: 
and  though  we  fail  to  value  these  remnants  of  their  forgotten  work,  how  shall  we 
forget  that  here  first,  across  the  threshold  of  race  fellowship,  they  gave  to  the 
stranger  their  beautiful  Christmas  Tree,  \vhich  outweighing  in  influence  the 
words  of  many  Bernhardis,  has  spread  its  glittering  branches  over  the  whole 
Anglo  Saxon  world. 

HENRY  C.  MERCER, 

Doylestown,  Pennsylvania. 

October  5th,  1914. 


OI. 

The  Traders. 


Right  plate  of  an  ancient  Pennsylvanian  Jamb  Stove.  Size.  H, 
29,  W.  25.  Bucks  County  Historical  Society.  Found  while 
the  following  pages  were  in  press,  in  October.  1914,  on  the 
premises  of  an  old  house,  near  Boyertown,  Montgomery  County. 
Pennsylvania,    by    Mr.    A.    H.    Rice,    of    Bethlehem,    Pennsylvania. 

The  remarkable  plate,  which  is  higher  than  wide,  and  the 
largest  of  all  the  stove  plates  herewith  illustrated,  is  decorated 
with  a  large  picture,  carved  in  very  flat  relief,  without  canopy 
or   border,    which    fills   the   entire   middle    of   the   pattern. 

We  seem  to  be  looking  at  one  of  the  ancient  wharves  which 
the  German  mould  carver  has  tried  to  represent  from  memory, 
or  a  sketch  made,  not  in  Europe,  but  in  old  New  York,  or 
Colonial  Philadelphia,  perhaps  on  the  Delaware  river,  below 
Frankford,  where  the  whole  irregular  water  front,  littered  with 
casks  and  bales  of  merchandise,  is  built  of  logs  rather  than 
stone.  A  jumble  of  high  wooden  gables,  with  overhanging 
stories,  warehouse  doors  and  roof  shelters  for  pulleys,  looks 
out  upon  the  water.  We  see  a  heavy  pair  of  scales,  a  crane 
swinging  a  bale  of  merchandise  into  a  lighter  and  two  human 
figures    busied    in    loading    a    moored    sailboat.       Another    lighter 


under  sail  approaches  a  high-decked  ship,  which  with  fluttering 
flags  and  reefed  sails  lies  moored  in  deeper  water.  Two  more 
sailboats  and  three  row  boats  appear  on  the  water. 

To  the  distant  left  on  a  hillock  and  across  an  inlet  spanned 
by  a  bridge,  stands  a  barn  and  flanked  by  two  clumps  of  trees, 
a  house,  perhaps  a  tavern,  with  extending  signboard  and  the 
double-wall  chimneys  characteristic   of  old   Philadelphia. 

A  very  long  rhymed  inscription  filling  the  entire  remaining 
space  of  the  plate  in  four  lines  above,  and  four  below  the  pic- 
ture, attacks  the  vanity,  false  religion  and  blindness  of  the 
greedy  world.      It   reads. 

WAS.   NICHT.   ZU.   GOTTES.   EHR. 
AUS.   GLAUBEN.   GEHT.    1ST.   SUNDE. 
MERK.  AUF.   DU.   FALSCHES.   HERTZ. 
VERLIEHRT.    IHR.    KEINE.    STUNDE. 

DIE.    UBERKLUGE.   WELT.   VER. 
STEHET.    DOCH.    KEINE.   WAAREN. 
SIE.    SUCHT.    UND.    FINDET.    KOTH. 
UND.    LAEST.    DIE.   PERLEN.   FAHREN. 


III. 


Translated: 
That   which   not   to   Gods   glory  coiieth   from   creed    is   sin. 
Beware   false   heart,   waste   thou   not  an   hour. 
The  over  clever  world  still  understands  not   traffic. 
It  searches  and  finds  trash,  and  lets  the  pearls  escape. 

When  this  plate  is  compared  with  the  Fa-nily  Quarrel,  Fig. 
38.  several  points  of  similarity  appear.  Because  both  plates 
are  higher  than  wide,  lack  canop  es,  show  inscriptions  both 
above  and  bdow  the  picture,  are  correctly  and  not  phonetically 
spelled,  and  because  both  are  designed  upon  a  similar  plan, 
very  well  lettered  and  with  the  letters,  ncticcably  the  U's  and 
T's  si  nilarly  for.Tied  on  both,  we  n:ay  reasonably  suppose  that 
the  mould  carver,  probably  fresh  fro.-n  Germany,  who  carved 
Figure  38.  carved  this  plate  also,  but  because  the  wocden 
warehouses  and  wharves,  and  particularly  the  tavern  with 
double  chi.Tineys  in  the  style  of  an  American  Colonial  inn.  indi- 
cates a  scene  rather  in  oH  Philadelphia,  or  New  York,  than 
Germany,  v^e  may  infer  that  the  plate,  though  without  date  and 
lacking  its  companion  front,  was  probably  carved  in  Pennsyl- 
vania (for  the  reasons  given  on  page  42),  between  1726  and 
1735. 


Judge,  yea  a  Col  that  hath  indignation  every  day."  or  perhaps 
as  here  more  lit;  rally  translated  by  Luther,  "God  is  a  righteous 
Judge  and  a  God  who  threateneth  every  day,  ' 

Another  interest  ng  feature  of  the  pattern  is  the  puzzling 
and  as  yet  unexplained  name  Wilhel-n.  Bortschcnt,  filling  the 
lower  medallion  which,  as  carved  on  the  Tenth  Com.-nandmenl 
plate.  Figure  35,  also  cast  in  1760,  appears  here  almost  in 
fac-sirrile,  showing  that  the  moulds  f^r  Figure  02,  Figure  139, 
its  companion,  and  Figure  35,  were  carved  by  the  sane  moul  1 
carver  (for  whose  na-ne  the  initials  T.  B,  n-.ay  perhaps  stand), 
possibly  for  Berkshire  Furnace  in  the  sane  year,  1760,  See 
Figures  35.  44   and    139. 


02. 

William  Bortschent  and  X.  B. 

Size  W.  24,  H.  22%.  Bucks  County  Historical  Society.  Found 
while  the  present  pages  were  in  press,  November  13,  1914.  by 
Mr.   A.    H.   Rice,  of  Bethlehem.   Pennsylvania. 

Not  only  the  general  treatment  of  the  tw  stel  columns, 
vaults,  spandreb.  tulip  decorations,  stars  and  wheat  sheaves  of 
the  floral  frame  work  of  this  plate,  and  the  unexplained  initials 
T.  B.  set  under  the  canopy;  but  also  the  B  blical  quotation 
from  Psalms  7:  12  in  Luther's  Bible  (as  identified  by  Dr.  J.  B. 
Stoudt)  GOTT.  1ST.  EIN.  RECHT.  God  judgeth  the  righteous, 
or  in  the  new  version,  God  is  a  righteous  Judge,  begun  on  this 
plate  and  continued  on  the  front  plate.  Figure  139,  dated  1760. 
prove  it  to  have  been  the  companion  left  side  plate  for  the 
latter,  and  cast  in  the  same  year. 

As  explained  under  Figure  139,  because  the  inscription 
thus  begun  on  the  left  plate,  and  continued  but  not  finished 
on  the  front,  must  have  been  coxpleted  on  the  right  side,  not 
yet  found,  we  may  infer  that  three  moulds  instead  of  two  were 
carved  to  cast  this  stove,  and  that  when  all  three  of  its  plates 
are  discovered,  the  whole  stern   warn  ng   of  the   Psalmist: 

GOTT.  1ST.  EIN.  RECHTER.  RICHTER.  UND.  EIN. 
GOTT.   DER.  TAGLICH.   DROHET. 

"God  judgjth  the  righteous,  and  God  is  angry  with  the 
wicked    every   day."      In    the    new    version,    "God    is   a   righteous 


03- 
Xlie  Advice  of  Tobil. 

Front  plate  of  Jamb  Stove.  Size  W.  20,  H.  24"  j,  Bucks  County 
Historical  Society.  Found  near  Vacungie,  Lehigh  County,  Penn- 
sylvania, by  Mr.  A.  H.  R  ce,  of  Bethlehem,  Pennsylvania,  in 
November,    1914,  too  late  for  insertion  in  its   proper  place. 

The  very  rusty  inscription  quoted  fro.m  the  Apochryphal 
Bock  of  Tobit,  4th  chapter,  6th  verse,  in  Luthers  Bible  is  one 
of  the  admonitions  given  by  the  dy  ng  Tobit  to  his  son  Tobias 
and  reads  in  the  transverse  band  or  cartouche,  DEIN.  LEBEN. 
LANG.  HABE.  GOT.  and  (continued  in  the  lower  medallion) 
VOR  AUGEN  UND.  IM.  HERZEN.,  ending  probably  in  the 
words  obliterated  by  rust,  D.  BUCH.  TOBIAS.  4  CAP.  For 
thy  life  long,  hold  God  before  thine  eyes  and  in  thine  heart. 
Book   of   Tobias,    4th   chapter. 

When  th  s  plate  is  compared  with  Figures  90  and  93,  but 
more  particularly  with  Figure  91,  a  marked  similarity  appears 
in  the  decorative  treat.r.ent  of  the  double  arched  canopy  set  upon 
twisted  columns,  the  pendant  locps  decorated  with  stars,  the 
tulip  spandrels,  the  inscribed  plinth  or  cartouch:.  and  the  bent 
tulip  branches  at  the  lower  corners  flanking  the  oval  frame  or 
medallion,  which  here  as  in  Figure  91  contains  the  continued 
inscripton:  so  that  we  may  infer  that  the  designer  who  carved 
the  latter  three  patterns  in  1751  and  1752,  had  carved  this  plate 
also  at  about  the  same  time. 

Only  one  other  plate  in  the  collection  quotes  an  Apochry- 
phal Book  of  the  Old  Testament,  namely  Figure  107  to  110, 
where  the  inscription  there  described  is  from  Sirach  8 :  7  in 
Luther's    Bible. 


IV. 


Left  plate  of  jamb   stove.    Size   H.   27.   W.    22 

to  the  writer's  attention  by  its  owner,  Mr.  W.  E.  Montague,  of 
Norristown.  Penna..  who  found  it  December  4,  1914.  near 
Pottstown.  Pa. 

The  picture  shows  to  the  right  a  fcTiale  figure  with  uplifted 
hands,  seated  upon  and  apparently  bound  by  one  leg  to  an 
anchor,  while  to  the  left  a  blacksmith  hammers  a  sword  upon 
an  anvil  set  upon  a  block  before  which,  on  the  ground,  lie  two 
crossed  swords,  a  sickle,  a  third  sword,  a  halberd,  and  a  plow- 
share. 

The  scene  illustrates  the  passage  in  Micah  4:  3  and  lEaiah 
2:  4:  "And  they  shall  beat  their  swords  into  plowshares  and 
their  spears  into  pruning  hocks  and  Nation  shall  not  lift  up  a 
sword   against    Nation,    neither    shall   they   learn    war    any    mere." 

But  the  German  rhymed  inscription  to  the  right  of  a  circlet 
of  rays,  as  from  the  sun.  diverging  from  the  upper  left  corner 
of  the  plate,  and  wh  ch  fills  the  remainder  of  the  space  above  the 
picture,  does  not  quote  the  Bible,  but  reads: 

ICH.  HOFF.  NOCH.  EI.  DA.  SICH.  WIRD.   EN 

NER.   BESERN.   ZEIT.  DEN.  ALER.  STREIT. 

(Translated)  "I  hope  for  a  better  time  when  all  strife  shall 
cease." 

A  horizontal  band  divides  the  pattern  into  two  panels,  the 
upper  of  which  shows  warp  cracks  from  the  wooden  mould  run- 
ning both  ways  and  in  the  lewder  ofwhich  a  circular  medallion,  as  a 
remarkable  exception  to  all  the  other  pictorial  plates  in  the  col- 
lection,  contains   an    inscription,   not   in    German,    but    in    English, 


04.    Xlie  Hope  of  Peace. 

,.  Kindly  brought  thus  showing  the  two  languages,  German  and  English,  on  one 
plate.  The  English  rhyme  thus  probably  composed  by  a  German 
workman  who  here  quaintly  uses  the  English  verb  HOPE  in  a 
transitive  sense,  reads 

I  HOPE  THAT   BLESS  WHEN   HATRED  WARRS 

SED  TIME  OF  PEACE  AND  STRIFE  SHALL  CEASE. 

Micah  4. 
The  undated  plate  lacks  the  typical  old  German  bolt  notches 
on  its  margin  as  seen  upon  Fig.  01,  and  must  be  of  considerably 
later  date  than  the  latter.  Real,  rather  than  imaginary  war, 
must  have  produced  it  and  therefore,  in  sp^te  of  features  of 
resemblance  in  its  style  and  lettering  to  Fig.  01  and  to  Fig. 
31.  of  1726,  it  was  probably  made  at  least  twenty  years  after 
the  latter,  or  when,  during  the  French  and  Indian  wars,  between 
1744  and  1763,  the  Indians  threatened  the  frontiers  of  Pennsyl- 
vania. 

But  it  is  not  questions  of  date  or  belingual  inscription  or 
similarities  of  lettering  and  composition  that  chiefly  interest  us 
in  this  remarkable  pattern  found  latest  of  all  in  our  collection 
and  here  inserted  out  of  place  at  the  last  moment,  but  rather 
the  almost  startling  coincidence  of  modern  events,  with  th's  holy 
message  of  a  Germ.an  heart,  which  thus  long  ago  testing  the 
truth  of  race  brotherhood  in  a  foreign  land,  turns  in  friendsh'p 
to  the  English  language  of  a  fellow  colonist,  and  which  out  of 
the  dark  days  of  a  past  war  sheds  its  ray  of  Divine  HOPE 
upon  the  now  clouded  pathway  of  German  and  English  peoples 
and   their   awful  conflict   of   the   present. 


The  Bible  in  Iron 


or 


The  Pictured  Stoves  and  Stove  Plates 
of  The  Pennsylvania  Germans 


with 


Notes  on  Colonial  Fire=Backs  in  the  United   States,    the  Ten= 

Plate  Stove,  Franklin's  Fireplace  and  the  Tile  Stoves  of  the 

Moravians  in  Pennsylvania  and  North  Carolina, 

together  with  a  List  of  Colonial  Furnaces 

in  the  United  States  and  Canada. 


Profusely  illustrated  \\  ith  plates  from  about 
220  original  photographs. 


by 


HENRY  C.  MERCER, 

Author  of— "Hill  Caves  of  Yucatan,"  "Antiquity  of  Man  in  Eastern 
North  America,"  "Light  and  Fire  Making."  "Tools  of  the  Nation 
Maker."  "Decorated  Stove  Plates  of  the  Pennsylvania  Germans." 


V^e    !■    ,     P     ,9«v;_,?c,-i  Published  for  the 

Bucks  County  Historical  Society. 

McCinty,  Doylestoun.  1914. 


To  Benjamin   Franklin   Fackenthal,  Jr. 

IN  GRATEFUL  MEMORY  OF  ABUNDANT  AND  KINDLY 
HELP,  THIS  BOOK  IS  DEDICATED  BY  THE  AUTHOR, 
MAY,    1914. 


'^1 


CHAPTER  I. 
INTRODUCTION. 


The  Decorated  Iron  Stoves  of  Europe. 


Small  numbers  set  above  words  in  the  text,  refer  to  notes  at  the  end  of 
the  volume.  Abbrevations  are  used  as  follows:  H.  lieiicht;  >V.  \vidth;  I.. 
lenKtb.  These  dimensions  are  ifiven  in  Inches  when  not  slated  in  centi- 
meters. B.H.S.,  Bucks  County  Historical  Society.  The  abbrevations  for 
authors  and  -works  cited  under  note  i  are  there  explained. 


A  large  number  of  remarkable  castings  in 

iron  have   recently   come   to   light   in   Eastern 

Pennsylvania,   New    Jersey    and     New     York. 

'^hey  are  heavy,  flat  rectangular  plates,  about 

vo  feet  square,  covered  with  patterns  in  very 

■w    relief,    consisting    of    tulips,     flowerpots, 

leaves   of  wheat,   stars,   medallions   and   pic- 

)rial   designs,   showing  human   figures,   often 

■  nclosed   in   architectural    canopies.      Many   of 

lem  are  dated  in  the  later  years  of  the  18th 

entury,  and  nearly  all   show  inscriptions  set 

1  panels  or  cartouches. 

Discovered  among  the  rubbish  of  old 
arms,  as  make-shift  chimney  tops,  stepping- 
stones,  or  gutter  lids,  buried  under  soot  and 
ishes,  as  hearth  pavements  for  still  existing 
lireplaces  where  applebutter  is  cooked,  soap 
boiled,  or  hams  smoked,  or  rescued  at  the  last 
■noment  in  the  scrap-heap  of  the  junk  dealer, 
they  at  once  arrest  the  attention,  as  perhaps 
the  most  interesting  and  instructive  of  any  of 
the  relics  of  colonial  times  which  have  sur- 
vived to  us.  ' 

Some  of  them  were  found  to  have  been 
used  in  old  houses,  probably  from  the  end  of 
the  18th  century,  as  fire-backs,  that  is,  plates 
of  iron  set  in  the  wall  of  an  open  hearth,  back 
of  the  fire,  but  notwithstanding  the  fact  that 
a  number  of  their  present  owners  continue  to 
call  them  fire-backs,  they  were  not  made  to  be 
so  used.  The  plates  were  found  to  fit  together 
in  grooves,  five  or  six  at  a  time,  so  as  to  form 
rectangular  or  box-shaped  stoves,  which  could 


be  reconstructed  from  the  loose  plates  and  the 
purpose  and  construction  of  which  was  en- 
tirely unlike  that  of  a  fire-back. 

American  histories  had  overlooked  them. 
Franklin  in  his  Fireplace  pamphlet  of  1744, 
followed  by  Chamber's  Encyclopedia  of  1788, 
Watson's  Annals  of  Philadelphia,  Vol.  2,  page 
34;  Bishop's  History  of  American  Manufac- 
tures, Vol.  1,  page  182,  and  J.  M.  Swank,  in 
Iron  and  Coal  in  Pennsylvania,  page  19  (see 
authorities  listed  with  note  69),  though  noting 
the  plates  as  parts  of  so-called  "German"  or 
"Jamb  stoves"  and  of  "Holland  stoves,"  had 
not  referred  to  their  decoration. 

Popular  tradition  had  forgotten  them, 
and  when  J.  H.  Martin  in  his  Historical  Sketch 
of  Bethlehem  (Phila.  J.  L.  Pile  1872,  page  135), 
described  the  designs  of  six  of  them  at  the 
Young  Men's  Missionary  Society  in  Bethle- 
hem, and  when  later  in  1897  the  writer  tried  to 
describe  some  of  them  in  "Decorated  Stove 
Plates  of  the  Pennsylvania  Germans,"  there 
seemed  to  be  no  general  information  on  the 
subject."  ' 

Their  inscriptions  were  so  rusted,  ab- 
breviated or  illegible,  that  for  a  while  it  was 
not  learned  that  the  language  of  them  all  was 
German,  that  the  stoves  represented  by  the 
plates,  were  the  first  cast-iron  house-warming 
stoves  ever  used  in  America,  and  that  the  lat- 
ter were  not  invented  here,  but  that  a  whole 
series  of  stoves,  of  the  same  kind  and  make. 


S\%'edish  Five-Plate  or  Jamb  Stove. 


(Satlugn)  or  non-ventilat  *  stove.  Size,  about  36  inches  high 
by    12  wide.     By  kind   p  ion   of   Dr.    S.   Ambrosiani,   of  the 

Northern   Museum  at   St*"  .n. 

Now  standing  in  a  house  at  Bjoeverkeroed,  Sweden.  With- 
out smoke-pipe  or  fuel  door  in  the  room  heated,  fired  from  the 
open     kitchen    fireplace     seen    through     the    open    door    to    the 

had  flourished  in  Europe,  long  before  the 
building  of  American  furnaces,  or  the  making 
of  American  stoves  was  thought  of. 

Scattered  over  Northern  Europe,  where 
the  subject  has  not  yet  been  fully  explained  or 
understood,  in  Germany,  Flanders,  Holland 
and  Scandinavia,  the  castings,  which  have  re- 
cently come  into  the  possession  of  museums, 
show  at  once  that  they  are  the  counterparts 
and  immediate  predecessors  of  the  American 
plates.  Like  the  latter,  they  illustrate  scenes 
from  the  Bible,  and  are  covered  with  inscrip- 
tions, but  at  first  sight,  though  of  generally 
similar  character,  many  of  them  appear  much 
older  than  the  American  plates.  The  patterns 
and  shapes  are  far  more  varied,  with  inscrip- 


right.  Showing  iron  legs  and  loose,  decorated  corner  rims 
bolted  on.  An  abutment  in  the  wall  at  the  rear  of  the  stove 
surrounds  it  above,  below  and  at  the  sides.  With  its  decorated 
panels  cast  in  low  rel-ef  showing  Adam  and  Eve  in  front,  and 
the  Last  Supper  on  the  right,  it  is,  in  construction,  an  almost 
exact  counterpart  of  the  American  five-plate  Jamb  stoves  de- 
scribed  later. 


tions  either  in  Roman,  or  Gothic  letters,  in 
German,  Norse,  Dutch  or  French  and  not 
rarely  Latin.  Some  of  the  plates  illustrate  the 
lives  of  the  Saints,  some  show  rich  armorial 
emblazonments,  gorgeous  arabesques,  panel- 
lings, canopies  and  filigree  unknown  in 
America.  Many  are  dated  and  become  more 
ornate  and  significant  as  we  approach  the  mid- 
dle of  the  16th  century. 

Compared  with  the  foreign  originals  the 
American  plates  are  crude,  but  their  construc- 
tion and  the  religious  spirit  of  their  illustra- 
tions and  inscriptions  is  the  same ;  and  now, 
when  the  craft  of  iron  casting,  notwithstand- 
ing its  great  technical  development,  has  so  de- 
generated artistically  that  the  modern  stove  is 
a  monstrosity,  they  prove  that  the  iron  caster 


Decorated  Loose  Corner  Rims  of 
Ancient  Norjie  Cast-Iron  Stoves. 

with  longitudinal  strips  of  wrought  iron  used  inside  as 
washers.  (Size  not  given.)  By  kind  permission  of  the  North- 
ern  Museum   (Nordiska   Museet).  at  Stockholm. 

1  and  2  (Museum  No.  64694).  front  view  showing  diago- 
nal bolts  for  fastening  top  plates,  and  protruding  ends  of  short 
bolts.  3.  front  view  of  longer  similar  rim  with  bolt  holes.  4 
and  5,  inside  vertical  wrought  iron  strips  or  washers  with 
short  bolts  attached  and  diagonal  top  bolts  in   position. 

was  still  an  artist  a  hundred  and  fifty  years 
ago  in  the  American  Colonies,  and  in  the 
German  Fatherland. 

A  study  of  them  shows  that  their  explana- 
tion, whether  in  America  or  Europe,  forms  one 
single  story.  Their  history  is  that  of  German 
art,  which  was  transplanted  across  seas  and 
survived  for  awhile  in  colonial  America,  and 
we  must  turn  back  to  Europe,  and  examine 
particularly  the  forms  of  stoves  which  were 
first  brought  to  America,  and  introduced  into 
the  colonies,  in  order  to  understand  the  Ameri- 
can stoves  and  stove-plates,  which  are  the 
subject  of  this  paper. 

Only  two  simple  forms  of  the  Euporean 
decorated   stoves   wore   thus   imported   and   it 


\ 


[^ 


^ 


L 


71 


i 


Loose,  Ciuttered  Kin  .•«  for  Fastening 

Corners  of  Kitlr    r  Draft  or 

Janib  t'       'es. 

with  longitudinal  strips  of  wrOL".,  -on,  used  inside  as  washers, 
and  diagonal  bolts  for  clamping  uown  the  top  plate  of  the 
stove,  from  the    Northern    Museum  at   Stockholm. 

No.  6  (Museum  No.  64094)  shows  the  reverse  of  No.  1, 
Fig.  2. 

No.   7  shows  the  side  view  of  No.  2.   Fig.  2. 

No.  8  shows  the  reverse  of  No.  3,  Fig.  2. 

Nos.  9  and  10  show  the  side  and  reverse  of  Nos.  4  and 
5,    F.g.   2. 

will  only  be  necessary  to  describe  these  mi- 
nutely. 

THE       JAMB       STOVE.       FIVE      PLATE 

STOVE,     WALL     STOVE,     OR 

GERMAN    STOVE.'-" 

The  illustration  (Figure  1)  shows  one  of 
the  old,  richly  decorated  stoves  of  cast-iron 
which  now  (1914)  stands,  or  stood,  when 
photographed  in  1905,  in  a  peasant's  house  in 
Bjoeverkeroed,  Brumley  Parish,  Luggede 
County,  Scania,  Sweden. 

Typical  of  the  ancient  European  stoves 
in  their  simplest  form,  and  of  the  American 
iron  stoves  here  described,  it  is  constructed  of 
five    rectangular   plates   of   cast-iron,   three   of 


Left  Plate  of  Cieniian  Noii-Veiitilatiiig- 
Jamb  Stove  of  tlie  i6tli  Century. 

Size.  109  centimeters  h  gh  by  75  5/10  wide.  At  the  Germanic 
Museum,    Nuremberg.      Museum    No.    A  570. 

The  plate  shows  the  broad  margin  for  wall  insertion  to 
the  left  of  the  design,  and  a  narrow  right  margin,  with  two 
notches,  for  the  insertion  of  bolts,  to  fasten  on  loose,  gutter- 
shaped  corner  rims  not  shown.  The  date  1540  appears  in  the 
large   central   panel. 

Above  two  portrait  medallions,  the  six  upper  panels  can- 
opied  with   architectural    frame-work,    represent    in    the   splendid 

which,  the  front  left  and  right  plates  are  richly 
dscorat.d,  and  two  of  which,  the  top  and  bot- 
tom plates,  edged  with  channels  for  the  verti- 
cal insertion  of  the  side  plates  (see  Figures  36 
and  37),  are  plain. 

Standing  upon  two  legs  of  iron,  without 
fuel  door,  draft-hole  or  smoke-pipe,  it  is  built, 
as  is  seen  through  the  open  door  in  the  pic- 
ture, against  the  wall  of  a  room,  which  wall 
forms  the  side  or  jamb  of  an  open  kitchen  fire- 
place, and  through  which  wall,  fuel  from  the 
fire-place  is  inserted  into  the  stove,  and  smoke 
escapes  back  into  the  chimney. 

The  stove,  lacking  a  plate  on  the  wall  or 
rear  side,  is  held  together  by  being  thus  built 


decorative  style  of  the  16th  century  the  parable  of  the  Un- 
merciful Servant.  1.  Pardoned  by  his  niaster.  2.  Throttling 
his  undcrscrvant.  3.  Condemned  by  his  master.  4.  Taken  to 
pr  son.  5.  In  the  Stocks.  6.  Paying  his  master  in  full;  with 
the  inscription:  HER.  HABE.  GEDULT  MIT  M.  BEZALE. 
MIC.  W.ARF.  EN.  I.  GEFENCKNIS.  DER.  HER.  WARD. 
ZORNIG.  U.  UBER  ANT  WORTET.  I.  DE.  PEINIGERN. 
B.   E.   IM.    I. 

Luther's  Bible.  Matt.  18-25.  1.  "Master  have  patience 
with  me."  2.  "Pay  me."  4,  "Put  him  in  prison."  "The 
master  was  angry  and  delivered  him  to  the  tormentors." 


Five-Plate  Pioii-Veiitilatiiig-  'Wall  or 
Jamb  Stove. 

Christ "ania.  Norway.  No.  1137-97.  As  exhibited  at  the  Mu- 
seum the  stove  shows  the  loose  decorated  corner  rims  each 
fastened  with  two  bolts,  to  the  upper  of  which  the  long  diag- 
onal screw  bolts  hold   down  the  top  plate   at  the  corners. 

into,  or  overlapped  for  from  two  to  four  inches, 
by  the  wall  forming  the  fuel  and  smoke  ori- 
fice above-mentioned,  and  is  further  fastened 
together  by  vertical,  loose,  gutter-shaped 
rims,  generally  decorated,  as  shown  in  Figure 
2,  set  vertically  against  the  corners  of  the 
stove,  and  bolted  on  by  short  bolts  held  against 
longitudin:il  washers,  or  perforated  strips  of 
iron,  placed  internally  in  the  corners  of  the 
stove  and  shown  loose  in  the  illustration. 

If  the  stove  were  taken  apart  two  peculiar 
characteristics  would  show  in  the  loose  plates 
owing  to  this  method  of  construction. 

First  the  margins  of  the  sideplates  would 
be  extra  broad  to  the  right  of  the  pattern,  on 


The  right  plate  shows  the  Judgment  of  Solo-non  with  the 
inscription  in  German.  KONICH.  S  ALAMOS.  ERSTE. 
GERICHT.  (King  Solomon's  first  judgncnt).  filling  the  cen- 
tral cartouche,  and  above  a  lower  panel  conta  ning  two  por- 
trait medallions.  The  front  plate  shows  the  Death  of  Ab.*! 
with  the  inscription.  CAIN.  SCHLUG.  SEIN.  BRUDER. 
ABEL.  DODT.  (Cain  killed  his  brother  Abel),  while  a  por- 
trait, of  the  Turkish  Sultan  probably,  and  the  date  1641,  appear 
in  the  lower  panel  The  fact  that  the  inscr  ptions  are  in  Ger 
man  and  not  Norse,  shows  that  this  stove  had  been  made  in 
Germany  and  imported  into  Scandinavia. 


6. 

The  European  Xoti-Ventilatins:  Jamb 
or  'Wall  Stove. 

In  its  simplest  form.  Size  in  centimeters,  high  86.5,  wide  46.25. 
long  86.5.  Forerunner  of  the  American  stoves  described  later. 
Without  smokepipe  or  fuel  door  in  the  room  heated,  made  of 
five  plates,  with  loose  corner  rims,  bolts  and  bolt  holes,  and 
broad  margin  on  the  right  side  plate  for  insertion  in  wall-  Date, 
probably  18th  century.  Not  in  its  original  position,  but  as 
exhibited  at  the  Norse  Museum  at  Christiania.  Norway.  (Mu- 
seum No.  1135-97.)  The  decoration  shows  the  adoration  of 
the   Magi  and  two   Norse  inscriptions  on  the  right  plate. 


the  right  plate,  and  to  the  left  of  it  on  the 
left  plate  (see  Figures  21,  22,  23,  etc),  so  as 
to  permit  wall  insertion,  without  encroaching 
on  the  pattern,  and  second,  there  would  be 
two  notches,  on  the  left  or  narrow  margin  of 
the  right  plate,  and  two  on  the  right  or  narrow 
margin  of  the  left  plate  (see  Figure  4)  coin- 
ciding with  equidistant  notches  (four  in  all) 
on  both  right  and  left  margins  of  the  front 
plate  (Figure  19)  so  as  to  permit  the  passage 
of  the  short  bolts  above-mentioned,  seen  in  the 


Aneieiit  Ciertnati  Ca>>t-Iroii  Five-Hlate 
Wall  or  Jamb  Stove. 

Probably  of  the  17th  century,  with  upper  story  of  tiles  for 
retaining  heat-  In  its  original  pos  tion  at  Halberstadt,  Ger- 
many, size  not  given.  Fro-ii  photo-engraving  in  Jarnkake- 
lugnar    Och   Jarnugnar,    by    S.    Ambrosiani    69. 

The    illustration    shows    the    method    of    wall    insertion,    the 
legs,    possibly    of    earthen-ware,    and    the    earthen    heat-reta'ning 

illustrations  (Figures  2  and  3).  No  doubt 
these  notches  often  escape  notice,  but  who- 
ever has  collected  stove  plates,  must  have  won- 
dered at  the  singular  irregularity  of  the  mar- 
gins as  here  described;  one  of  which  is  always 
so  very  much  broader  than  the  other. 

This  appears  in  the  loose  left  plate  of  a 
similar  ancient  German  stove  dated  1520  (Fig- 
ure 4)  from  the  Germanic  Museum  at  Nurem- 
burg.  Richly  decorated  in  six  canopied  panels, 
underlined  with  inscriptions,  and  illustrating 
the    parable    of    The    Unmerciful    Steward,    of 


8 


superstructure  of  tiles,  which  was  rarely  used  by  the  Moravians 
ir.  America,  but  very  frequent  with  five-plate  stoves  in  Ger- 
many. (See  Figs.  227  and  228.)  The  probably  loose  corner 
rims,  and  their  bolt  heads,  are  plainly  shown.  By  kind  per- 
mission of  Dr.  S.  Ambrosiani.  of  the  Northern  Museum, 
Stockhol.Ti,    Sweden. 


8. 
Six-Plate  Draft  Stove. 

Size.  73  centimeters  high  by  46  long  by  28  wide.  Rijks 
Museum,  Amsterdam,  By  kind  permission  of  Dr,  Van  Riemsdyk, 
The  stove,  probably  of  the  17th  century,  lacking  its  origi- 
nal legs,  shows  the  fuel  door  and  stove  p'pe.  A  bolt  hole 
near  the  top  of  the  left  plate  shows  where  a  diagonal  bolt 
has   extended   upward   through   the   perforated   lip   in   the   rim    of 


the  very  heavy  top  plate  to  fasten  down  the  latter.  This 
diagonal  bolt  repeated  on  the  reverse  of  the  stove,  was  probably 
screwed  upon  the  end  of  a  long,  horizontal  bolt  penetrating 
the  stove  from  side  to  side.  The  corners  are  secured  with  the 
loose,  gutter-shaped  rims  above  described,  each  fastened  with 
two  screw  bolts.  The  design  shows  Cupids  with  wreaths  and 
scroll-work  supporting  a  central  shield  showing  the  Paschal 
lamb. 


Side  or  Front  Plate  of  Draft  Stove. 

Size  H,   1.04.  meters  W.   1.04.     Rijks  Museum,  Amsterdam. 

At  first  sight,  the  plate,  showing  the  creation  of  Eve  and 
Nativity,  with  the  emblems  of  the  Evangelists,  appears  to  be 
a  replica  of  the  beautiful  patterns  carved  by  the  master  Ph'lip 
Soldan,  illustrated  by  Bickel  (Eisenhutten  des  Klosters  Haina 
Nos.  2  and  4).  but  though  the  grouping  and  composition  of  the 
large  panels  is  the  sa.ne,  the  details  vary  in  all  three  plates 
showing  that  Soldan  carved  three  moulds  for  the  same  sub- 
ject. 

Wh;ie  the  two  latter  plates  are  parts  of  Jamb  or  Wall 
stoves,  the  pattern  on  the  orig  nal  mould  for  this  plate  has 
been  made  to  serve  for  a  Draft  stove  by  mutilating  the  design 
with   a    hole    for   the   fuel   door,   in    the   lower   left   corner. 


Matthew  18-26,  it  is  characteristic  of  the  more 
splendid  work  on  iron  stoves  of  the  16th  cen- 
tury. Here  the  right  margin  notched  for  bolts 
is  narrow,  and  the  left  unnotched,  is  broad,  for 
insertion  in  the  wall. 

The  Norse  Folks  Museum  found  the 
stoves,  Figures  5  and  6,  and  set  them  up  tem- 
porarily for  exhibition  in  the  museum  at 
Christiania,  Norway. 

They  are  constructed  exactly  like  Fig- 
ure 1,  save  that  extra  diagonal  bolts  pene- 
trating the  corners  of  the  top  plates,  and 
screwed  upon  the  ends  of  the  corner  bolts 
above  described,  hold  down  the  top  plates,  and 


steady  the  stove.  These  are  lacking  in  Fig- 
ure 1  where  the  stove  must  depend  entirely 
upon  its  insertion  in  the  wall  for  steadiness. 

But  in  Figure  7  showing  an  ancient  stove  in 
situ  at  Halberstadt,  in  Germany,  a  large  heat- 
retaining  superstructure  of  tiles  built  upon 
the  top  plate  of  the  iron  box  holds  the  stove 
together  by  its  weight  alone.  In  this  form  of 
construction,  which  appears  to  have  been  the 
rule  in  ancient  Germany,  while  the  simple  box, 
without  second  story,  was  the  exception,  the 
top  plate  must  have  a  hole  in  it,  to  admit  the 
passage  of  hot  air  and  smoke  from  the  fire 
below  into  the  earthen  upper  structure,  which 


Here  about  the  middle  of  the  16th  century,  besides  the 
inscription  of  the  name  of  the  master  Solian  around  the  por- 
trait medallion,  we  have  in  the  nature  of  an  advertisement,  the 
names  of  the  caster  and  furnace  set  prominently  above  the 
naines  of  St.  Luke  and  St.  Matthew.  The  inscriptions  without 
date   read : 

GEGOSSEN.    VON.    KURT.    SCHARFEN.    ZU.    HO 

JOHANNES.  EVAN.  SAN.  MARCKS.  LUCAS.  SANCTUS. 
MATTHEUS.  And  around  th-  medallion.  PHILLIPO.  SOL- 
DAN.     ZUM.     FRANCKENBURG.     GESCHNEIDEN.     VON. 


by  retaining  heat  after  the  wood  fire  goes  out, 
adds  greatly  to  the  economic  effect  of  the 
stove. 

A  large  and  marvelous  class  of  richly 
decorated  ancient  European  stoves,  ruined, 
rusting,  forgotten,  preserved  in  museums,  or 
represented  by  loose  plates,  is  thus  described. 
However  they  may  have  varied  in  size,  shape 
and  appearance,  they  were  all  identical  in 
principle.  Built  against  the  wall,  and  pro- 
truding like  boxes  into  the  room,  generally 
without  visible  smoke-pipe  and  always  with- 
out visible  draft  and  fuel  doors  they  may  all 
be  called  non-ventilating  stoves,  because  they 
procured  the  air  necessary  for  combustion 
from  outside  the  apartment  heated,  and  hence 
failed  to  ventilate  the  latter. 

THE  DRAFT  STOVE,  WIND  STOVE. 
HOLLAND  STOVE  OR  SIX  PLATE 
STOVE. 
Less  ancient,  less  numerous  and  widely 
distributed,  less  rich  in  decoration  and  less 
remarkable  in  appearance,  another  type  of  old 
European  stove  is  represented  by  Figures  8, 
9,  and  150.  Photographed  not  in  their  original 
position,  but  as  now  on  exhibition  at  the  Rijks 
Museum  at  Amsterdam,  these  stoves  are 
similar  in  general  appearance  to  Figure  1,  but 
very  different  in  principle,  and  made  of  six 
plates  instead  of  five.  Standing  free  of  the  wall, 
with  smoke-pipe  and  draft  or  fuel  door.  Figure 
8  is  clamped  at  all  four  corners,  not  merely  at 
two,  with  the  loose  gutter-shaped  rims  and 
short  bolts  just  described.  Moreover  a  per- 
forated projecting  lip  on  the  top  plate  just 
above  a  hole  in  the  left  side  plate,  shows  that 
a  diagonal  bolt  has  been  used  to  screw  down 
the  top  upon  the  side  plate.  On  Figure  150, 
however,  where  the  gutter-shaped  rims  are 
cast  solid  upon  the  side  plates,  no  such  bolt 
hole  appears,  and  we  must  suppose  that  the 


Translated — Cast    bv    Kurt    Sharf   at    Ho- 


,  John  Evangelist. 
St.  Mark.  Luke.  St.  Matthew,  Carved  by  Philip  Soldan  at 
Frankenburg. 

Another  stove  plate,  the  left  of  a  Jamb  stove,  at  the  Louvre 
Museum,  set  in  a  fire  place  as  if  a  fire-back,  and  illustrated  on 
a  postal  card,  October,  1911,  shows  two  upper  panels  and 
other  Bgures  in  replica  of  Bickel's  illustrat'on  No.  2,  with 
replacements,  om-s.ions  of  colu  nns  and  border  additions, 
proving  the  continued  use  of  this  gorgeous  design  by  the  Ger- 
man stove  makers,  together  with  the  variations  and  shifting  of 
patterns  noted   in  the  text  as  resorted  to  at   the  old  furnaces. 

mere  excessive  weight  of  the  top  plate  with- 
out the  assistance  of  bolts,  held  the  stove  to- 
gether. 

These  are  the  Draft  Stoves  or  Wind 
Stoves  (Vindugn)  of  old  Sweden  and  Nor- 
way, which  in  the  long  and  dark  winters, 
radiated  household  comfort  on  the  north 
rhores  of  the  Baltic,  and  which  in  the  milder 
climate  of  Holland,  almost  superseded  the 
five  plate  non-ventilating  jamb  stoves  above 
described. 

They  differed  not  only  in  principle  but  in 
construction  from  the  latter,  and  if  the  stoves 
were  taken  apart,  peculiarities  in  the  appear- 
ance of  the  loose  plates  of  the  draft  stove 
would  easily  distinguish  them  from  those  of 
the  jamb  stove.  The  front  plate  would  be  un- 
mistakably perforated  for  the  fuel  door,  and 
the  top  plate  for  the  smoke-pipe.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  loose  gutter-shaped  rims,  and 
the  rear  plate,  with  its  four  notches  for  the 
piassage  of  the  corner  bolts,  would  be  indis- 
tinguishable from  the  loose  rims,  and  the 
front  plate  of  a  wall  or  jamb  stove  notched  in 
the  same  way.  But  the  peculiar  extra  broad 
margins,  so  typical  of  the  jamb  stove, 
adapted  for  insertion  in  masonry,  would  not 
appear  on  any  of  the  plates.  Further  varieties 
of  construction  show  in  the  old  draft  stoves. 
Some  have  fuel  doors  cut  in  the  side  rather 
than  the  front  plates.  Some  have,  and  some 
have  not  hearth  extensions.  But  all  are  alike 
in  the  important  principle  of  their  construc- 
tion. All  derive  the  air  for  combustion  from, 
and  therefore  ventilate  the  apartment  heated. 

The  ancient  cast-iron  stoves  of  Europe, 
so  remarkable,  so  instructive,  so  artistic,  so  lit- 
tle known,  as  originals  of  the  American  stoves 
here  described,  were  thus  of  two  typical  kinds, 
the  air-tight  non-ventilating,  and  the  draft, 
wind  or  ventilating  stove.     Both  took  a  great 


10 


^y/i<¥~ 


'  ■    '■'  >  t'      I'S'^ 

lO. 

Wooden  Itlould  for  Iflaking-  a 
Stove  Plate. 

Size,  about  H.  30,  W.  24  inches.  Northern  Museum,  Stockholm, 
Sweden.      No.    67040A. 

The  design,  with  an  upper  panel  representing  a  scene  at 
a  public  banquet,  a  central  transverse  band,  with  the  inscrip- 
tion "DEN.  27  FEBRUARU,  1829,"  and  a  lower  panel,  with 
an  ill-balanced  spray  of  leafage  and  fruit,  and  the  words  OHS. 
BRUK.,  is  carved  in  relief  on  two  boards  about  one  inch  thick, 
bolted  together  on  two  counter-sunk  battens  (one  of  which 
has  been  lost),  shown  on  the  reverse  Figure  11.  A  crack 
between  the  boards,  and  a  warp  crack  to  the  right,  are  crossed 
with  four  iron  staples.  Four  bolt-heads  fastening  one  of  the 
battens,    show   in   the   line   of  the   middle   inscription,   and    several 

variety  of  shapes,''  but  are  only  described 
here  in  their  simplest  form.  The  first,  common 
in  Germany,  well-known  in  Scandinavia,  but 
rare  in  Holland,  as  the  direct  predecessor  of 
the  American  "Five-Plate"  "Jamb,"  "Ger- 
man" or  "Wall"  stove,'"'  the  second,  common 
in  Holland  and  Scandinavia  but  rare  in  Ger- 
many, as  the  ancestor  of  the  American  "Six- 
Plate"  "Holland"  or  "Draft"  stove. 

The  attention  of  European  museums  and 
collectors  has  been  concerned  rather  with  the 
art  than  the  make  of  these  stoves,  but  the  pe- 
culiarities of  their  construction,  as  thus  de- 
scribed, ought  to  be  understood,  in  order  to 
explain  why  notched  or  unnotched  or  broad 
margins,  or  pipeholes,  hearth  extensions,  or 
fuel  doors  often  fixing  the  date,  class  or  origin 


heads  of  nails  show  on  the  marginal  molding,  which  has  been 
nailed  on.  A  thin,  transverse  strip  has  been  fastened  to  the 
bottom  ends  of  the  boards  outside  the  rims,  to  prevent  warp- 
ing.     The  whole   top   of   the   pattern    has   rotted   away. 


I ' ' ^             - '1 

i 

^ 

II. 

'Wooden  Caster's  mould  for  a  Stove 
Plate. 

Reverse    of    Figure    10.      Size   about    H.    30    by   W.    24.     Northern 
Museum,    Stockholm.       No.    67040A. 

Made  of  two  boards,  planed  or  grooved  with  a  drawknife 
across  the  grain.  Two  staples  are  seen,  one  crossing  the  in 
tersection  of  the  boards,  the  other  mending  a  warp  cracit.  A 
narrow  batten  is  nailed  across  the  ends  of  the  boards  at  the 
bottom,  and  a  heavy  transverse  batten  is  dovetailed,  and 
bolted  with  four  washered  bolts,  across  the  boards.  The  top 
of  the  framework  showing  the  dovetail  for  the  lost  upper  batten 
has   rotted  away. 

of  the  stoves,  occur  on  some  plates  and  not  on 
others. 

We  also  ought  to  know  how,  when  and 
where  the  stoves  were  originally  made  and 
used,  and  this  brings  us  first  to  the  technical 
processes  by  which  most  of  them  in  Europe 
and  America  were  designed  and  cast. 

ANCIENT  STOVE  CASTING  AND 
STOVE  MOULDS. 
The  plates  of  both  kinds  of  stoves  vary- 
ing in  size  from  two  to  three  feet  in  diameter, 
are  very  heavy  and  thick,  and  generally  never 
produced  by  the  caster's  process  known  as 
flask  casting,  which  was  not  employed  in  mak- 
ing the  plates  of  either  wall  or  draft  stoves, 
until  the  beginning  of  the  19th  century,  or  the 


11 


last  period  of  their  use,  upon  the  introduction 
of  coal  as  fuel,  and  never,  as  thus  far  known, 
in  America.  If  the  authorities  herein  cited, 
had  not  asserted  the  fact,  the  irregular  thick- 
ness, varying  weight,  and  waived  surfaces  of 
the  backs  of  the  plates  both  in  America  and 
Europe,  would  prove  that  all  the  earlier  plates 
were  cast  in  the  "open  sand,"  that  is  to  say, 
molten  iron,  either  melted  directly  from  the 
ore,  or  remelted  from  ingots,  called  "pig  iron," 
previously  so  melted,  was  poured  into  the 
open  unroofed  cavity,  formed  by  pressing  the 
face  of  a  pattern  (Figues  10,  12  and  14)  into  a 
bed  of  properly  dampened  caster's  sand  (some- 
times mixed  for  strength  with  powdered  char- 
coal or  plumbago),  so  as  to  leave  the  upper 
surface  of  the  impression  exposed  to  the  air, 
and  so  that  the  resultant  cast  stove  plate, 
would  be  thicker  and  heavier,  or  thinner  and 
lighter  as  more  or  less  liquid  iron  was 
poured  in. 

Up  to  the  present  time.  May,  1914,  none  of 
the  ancient  casters'  moulds  for  making  either 
wall  or  draft  stove  plates,  have  been  found 
in  the  United  States. 

Beck,"  Wedding'  ■•  and  Bickell'-  who  de- 
scribe the  ancient  German  moulds  as  always 
carved  in  wood,  give  no  illustrations,  but  Dr. 
Kassel  (Oftenplatten  im  Elsass  Strasburg, 
1901,  with  his  Figures  110,  113,  114,  115,  etc.) 
illustrates  a  number  of  them,  without  showing 
their  reverse  side  or  explaining  their  con- 
struction, as  now  existing  in  the  possession 
of  the  furnace  and  foundry  at  Zinsweiler  in 
Alsace. 

After  a  great  deal  of  inquiry  and  correspond- 
ence the  writer  heard  of  Figures  10-11  from 
the  Nordiska  Museet  at  Stockholm,  and  Fig- 
ures 12-13  and  14-15  from  the  Norse  Folks 
Museum  at  Christiania,  Norway,  kindly  photo- 
graphed by  Doctor  Ambrosiani  and  Mr.  L. 
Lindholm.  Although  unfortunately  the  pat- 
terns belong  to  the  late  decadent  period  of  Eu- 
ropean stove-making,  they  clearly  explain  the 
construction  of  the  moulds  to  the  student  who 
may  have  doubted  whether  they  were  made  of 
wood,  plaster  of  paris,  wax,  lead  upon  wood, 
or  iron,  or  produced  by  loose  stamps,  as  de- 
scribed by  Starkie  Gardner   (in  Archaeologia, 


Vol.  56,  Part  1,  page  133),  in  the  casting  of  the 
oldest  English  firebacks  at  furnaces  in  the 
Kentish  district  known  as  the  Weald.  ' 

In  Figure  10  shown  in  reverse  in  Figure 
11,  we  have  a  rectangular  frame-work  about 
two-and-a-half  feet  square,  made  of  two 
boards,  about  an  inch  thick,  fastened  together 
originally  across  the  back,  by  two  stout  trans- 
verse wooden  battens  (one  of  which  is  lost), 
dove-tailed  into  and  bolted  (with  four  bolts 
riveted  on  washers)  against  the  back  of 
the  boards  upon  the  flat  front  face  of  which 
the  pattern  is  carved  in  very  low  relief  with- 
out undercutting. 

Vertical  warp-cracks  entirely  penetrating 
the  boards,  three  times  mended  with  staples, 
in  Figure  11,  and  traversing  the  patterns  in 
Figures  12  and  14,  conclusively  show  that  the 
designs  have  been  carved  directly  upon  the 
face  of  the  boards  in  the  usual  manner  of  relief 
work,  by  cutting  away  the  background,  and 
that  the  margins  have  not  been  so  carved,  but 
nailed  on  in  the  form  of  loose  strips,  since  the 
warp-cracks  above-mentioned  pass  under  but 
do  not  cut  the  margins.  Further  it  appears 
that  in  Figure  14  the  margin  or  moulding 
under  consideration  is  of  some  composition 
such  as  that  used  in  modern  picture  frames, 
since  a  broad  crack  crosses  it  at  right  angles, 
in  a  manner  impossible  across  the  grain  of  a 
wooden  strip,  and  not  coinciding  with  any 
crack  in  the  board  background  underneath. 

The  comparatively  modern  and  artistic- 
ally decadent  pattern  shown  in  Figure  12,  with 
its  reverse  Figure  13,  presents  the  same  con- 
struction throughout,  namely  a  wooden  pat- 
tern carved  on  two  boards,  bolted  as  before 
against  three  battens  and  trimmed  with  a  loose 
moulding  nailed  on  in  four  pieces.  Both  here, 
as  also  in  Figure  10,  the  bolt-heads  and  mar- 
ginal nail  heads  show  on  the  front  of  the  pat- 
tern. 

The  casting  of  the  plates  in  open  flasks 
is  thus  explained.  But  the  loose  iron  rims 
(Figures  2,  3,  and  151),  convex  in  front,  and 
guttered  in  reverse,  have  also  to  be  accounted 
for.  According  to  Bickell  (Eisenhutten  des 
Klosters  Haina,  page  10),  these  had  to  be  cast 
in  separate  flasks,  that  is  to  say,  boxes  filled 


12 


^^ 


12. 

Carved  >Voodeii  Mould  for  Casting: 
a  Plate. 

Size    H.   0.56.5   centimeters,    W.    0.50.      From    the    National    Mu- 
seum,  at    Christ  ania,    Norway.      Museum    No.    36005. 

Carved  in  relief  on  two  boards  fastened  by  twelve  iron 
bolts  upon  three  heavy  battens  shown  in  reverse  in  Figure  13. 
The  raised  marginal  moulding  is  nailed  on  with  twelve  nails. 
The  central  crack  between  the  boards,  and  a  warped  crack  out 
of  line,  below  the  lion's  fore  leg,  cross  the  raised  parts  of  th? 
pattern,  showing  that  the  latter  are  not  nailed  upon  the  back- 
ground   like    the   rim. 


Reverse    of    Figure    12.       Size    H.    0.56.5    centimeters    W.    0.50. 
From  the    National   Museum,   Christiania,   Norway.      No.   36005. 

Three  heavy  battens  are  belted  across  the  boards  by 
twelve  bolts,  the  heads  of  which  plainly  appear  upon  the  face 
of  the  pattern,    Figure    12. 


MToodeii  Mould  for  Making:  a  Stove 
Plate. 


14. 

Carved  Wooden  Mould   for  Front  Plate 
of  Jamb  Stove. 

or  back  plate  of  draught  stove.  Size  H.  0.63.5  centimeters 
W.  0,35.  National  Museum  at  Christiania,  Norway.  Museum 
No.    358  05. 

The  pattern  dated  1782,  with  the  advertisement  of  the  fur- 
nace. BOLVIGS.  WERK..  and  the  ancient  metallurgical 
symbol  for  iron,  is  carved  on  a  single  board,  with  two  nar- 
row strips  bolted  together  upon  two  heavy  transverse  battens, 
as  the  reverse  Figure  15  shows.  The  vertical  warp  crack 
crosses  the  whole  pattern  except  the  rim,  which  is  therefore 
not  part  of  the  carving,  but  fastened  on  and  made  of  some 
substance  other  than  wood  which  has  permitted  it  to  crack 
across  the  grain.  The  high  rims  at  the  right  and  left  are 
applied  upon  the  back  strips  and  held  in  place  with  bolts. 


13 


with  damp  sand,  fitting  one  upon  another  so 
as  to,  as  it  were,  roof  the  impression  of  the 
pattern  and  permit  the  hot  iron  to  enter  what 
might  be  Hkened  to  a  cavern  of  damp  sand, 
reprcEenting  the  complete  impressions  of  the 
guttered  rim  on  both  sides.  Where  these  rims 
were  cast  solid  upon  the  margins  of  the  side 
or  front  plates  (see  Figures  31,  44  and  150), 
what  might  be  called  partial  flasks,  overhung 
the  margins  of  the  large  impressions,  in  such 
manner  as  to  leave  the  main  surface  open  to 
the  air,  and  produce  a  plate,  which  is  thus 
open  sand  cast  in  the  middle,  and  flasked  on 
the  margins. 

This  is  shown  in  Figure  14  reversed  in 
Figure  15  where  the  pattern  is  carved  on  a 
single  wide  board,  held  by  two  transverse 
bolted  battens  between  two  side  strips,  which 
latter  are  doubled  in  front  by  two  convex 
longitudinal  strips,  nailed  on,  and  intended  to 
produce  deep  chasms  in  the  caster's  sand,  to 
be  roofed  over  longitudinally  (flasked),  with 
sand  coated  rods  (not  shown),  so  laid  across 
the  sand  bed,  as  to  form  the  gutter-shaped 
rims  where,  as  in  Figure  150,  and  in  the 
American  front  plates  (see  Figures  31,  36,  44, 
54,  etc.),  it  was  desired  to  cast  the  latter  solid 
on  the  plates. 

Figure  16  shows  a  loose  figure  cast  in  sil- 
houette in  lead,  perforated  with  nail  holes, 
which,  according  to  Ambrosiani,  has  been 
nailed  upon  a  similar  board  framework,  so  as 
to  form,  either  alone,  or  with  other  figures,  a 
complete  pattern.  And  Kassel  (Plattenofen 
und  Oftenplatten  im  Elsass,  Figure  131),  il- 
lustrates a  whole  pattern  cast,  not  thus  in 
silhouette,  but,  background  and  all,  in  the 
form  of  a  thin  sheet  of  lead  fastened  to  the 
board. 

Either  of  these  lead  methods,  the  latter  of 
which  appear  to  have  been  introduced  early  in 
the  19th  century  in  Alsace,  would  do  away 
with  wood  carving  altogether  and  permit  the 
mould  maker  to  make  his  designs  in  clay  or 
wax,  to  be  thus  reproduced  in  the  usual  man- 
ner by  casting  in  lead.  But  they  belong  not  to 
the  period  of  the  artistic  development  of  the 
stoves,  but  to  that  of  their  decadence  and 
abandonment,  and  until  moulds  shall  be  found 


to  prove  the  case,  there  is  no  ground  for  sup- 
posing that  any  such  patterns  were  used  to 
cast  the  earlier  plates  under  consideration,  or 
that  during  the  period  1480  to  1800,  heavy 
plaster  of  paris  casts,  undesirable  on  account 
of  their  softness  and  brittleness,  were  used,  or 
that  iron  moulds,  objectionable  on  account  of 
their  weight,  cast  from  preliminary  moulds 
of  wood,  wax  or  plaster,  were  employed. 
All  of  the  evidence  thus  far  indicates  that  the 
great  majority  of  the  ancient  moulds  in  Ger- 
many, as  in  America,  were  made  not  by  clay 
or  wax  workers,  but  in  the  usual  way  as  de- 
scribed, by  wood  carvers,  whose  names  appear 
frequently  as  "Formschneider"  upon  the  old 
plates. 

A  great  number  of  the  wooden  moulds 
above  described,  must  have  been  destroyed  in 
the  19th  century,  as  the  old  stoves  fell  into 
disuse,  from  the  fact  that  they  are  so  rare, 
but  according  to  all  the  evidence,  many  of 
them  when  in  use,  warped,  after  the  manner 
of  the  museum  specimens  shown  in  Figures 
10,  12  and  14,  so  as  to  show,  vertical  cracks 
running  with  the  grain  of  the  wood,  or  so  as 
to  spring  away  from  the  battens  and  raise  the 
general  surface  higher  in  one  place  than  an- 
other. Or  the  raised  patterns  or  letters  in  the 
inscriptions  may  have  broken  off.  In  many 
cases,  the  boards  must  have  been  rebolted, 
nailed  or  screwed  upon  the  battens,  or  fresh 
battens  added.  The  bolt  holes,  if  noticed  in 
the  wood,  and  the  warp  cracks,  must  have 
been  filled  with  clay  or  wax  to  the  general 
level,  and  the  impressions  of  unmortised  bolts 
or  nails  or  wood  welts,  obliterated  upon  the 
sand. 

That  the  correction  of  these  defects  and 
the  considerable  mending  of  the  patterns,  as 
they  wore  down  or  warped,  fell  to  the  caster, 
or  to  assistant  carpenters  or  cabinetmakers, 
or  to  the  original  pattern  carver  himself,  the 
old  furnace  records  of  the  Haina  Abbey 
works  quoted  by  Bickell  show. 

On  the  other  hand  a  number  of  American 
and  European  plates,  some  indeed  of  the  finest 
of  the  16th  century  designs  of  Philip  Soldan, 
show  uncorrected  impressions  of  warp  cracks, 
and  of  the  heads  of  unmortised  nails  or  bolts 


14 


15- 

'Wooden  Mould  for  maUing;  ttie  End 

Plate  of  a  Five-  or  Six-Plate 

Stove. 


or  the  loss  of  letters  in  inscriptions.  Some- 
times these  defects  occur  but  once,  but  occa- 
sionally appear  in  a  series  of  replicas,  to  show 
that  the  careless  workman,  who  might  have 
obliterated  them  with  a  touch  or  two  of  the 
moulder's  trowel,  did  not  scruple  to  repeat  his 
error. 

Evidence  of  the  mutilation  of  patterns,  of 
inferior  copying  of  older  patterns,  of  bad  res- 
toration, or  of  the  interchange  of  parts  of  pat- 
terns so  as  to  jumble  designs  and  confuse  au- 
thorship, also  appears,  as  Wedding  and  Kassel 
show,  especially  where  ancient  patterns  were 
held  for  a  century  or  more  at  a  single  foundry. 
And  it  further  appears  that  holes  for  the  doors 
of  draft  stoves,  or  for  the  warming  upper  com- 
partments of  jamb  stoves  were  sometimes  in- 
serted regardless  of  the  design,  as  in  Figure  9 
at  the  Rijks  Museum  at  Amsterdam,  where  a 


Reverse    of    Figure     M.        Size    H.    0.63.5    centimeters    W.    0.35. 
Norse    Folks    Museum.    Christiania,    Norway.      No.    35805. 

One  broad  board,  and  two  narrow  side  strips,  are  bat- 
tened together  with  two  heavy  transverse  battens,  each  held 
with  four  bolts  riveted  upon  washers.  The  vertical  warp 
cracks  crossing  the  carving  in  Figure  M  is  here  seen  clearly 
in   reverse  on  the  back  of  the  central  board. 


i6. 

Part  of  Ancient  Stove    Mould. 

Figure  of  a  horseman  in  silhouette  about  10  inches  long  made 
of  cast  lead,  used  in  the  construction  of  a  mould  for  casting 
a  stove  plate.  The  figure  has  been  nailed  upon  a  board  back- 
ground, through  several  nail  holes  appearing  upon  the  surface. 
Exact  size  not  given.  By  kind  permission  of  the  Northern 
Museum   at   Stockholm,    Sweden. 


magnificent  pattern  by  Philip  Soldan,  made 
probably  for  a  jamb  stove,  has  been  thus  muti- 
lated for  a  later  draft  stove,  and  that  where 
it  was  required  to  cast  a  plate  or  stove  smaller 
or  larger  than  the  mould  on  hand,  the  latter 
was  sometimes  sawed  ofT,  design  and  all,  or 
its  margin  reduced  or  enlarged  to  suit  the 
case. 

ORIGIN    AND    DISTRIBUTION    OF   THE 
ANCIENT  STOVES. 

To  have  gone  into  these  details  as  to  stove 
moulds  and  the  casting  and  construction  of 
the  ancient  stoves  seems  justified  in  view  of 
the  rarity  of  information  on  these  points  both 
in  Europe  and  America.  But  who  knows  any- 
thing as  to  the  date  of  the  invention  of  iron 
stoves  or  the  range  of  their  distribution  in  the 
Old  World,  or  how  and  when  decorated  stove 


15 


plates  have  survived  into  modern  times.  At 
the  risk  of  tiring  the  reader  these  questions 
ought  also  to  be  answered  in  order  to  explain 
the  American  stoves,  which  are  hereafter  de- 
scribed, and  as  an  essential  part  of  our  sub- 
ject, which  begins  in  Europe  and  ends  in 
America. 

In  the  first  place  it  should  be  explained 
that  these  stoves  were  not  an  invention,  but 
rather  a  reconstruction  in  iron,  of  stoves  in 
earthenware,  raw  clay  or  tiles,  previously  in 
use  in  Europe  since  Roman  times.'" 

Dr.  Ludwig  Beck,  in  his  Geschichte  des 
Eisens,  Vol.  2,  page  294,  supposes  that  they 
were  developed  in  the  first  place  by  encasing 
the  fireboxes  of  the  previously  existing 
earthen  stoves  with  cast-iron  plates. 

Dr.  Ambrosiani  supposes  a  similar  evolu- 
tion, in  his  paper  on  Norse  stoves,  Om  Jarn- 
kakelugnar,  page  93,  and  Beck,  page  294, 
cites  Swiss  stoves  of  clay  or  brick  without 
chimneys  fed  with  abundant  wood  through 
holes  outside  the  walls  of  the  house,  and 
hence  smokeless,  as  possible  types  of  original 
earthen  stoves  thus  experimented  upon  with 
iron  plates.  Beck,  Siebenaler,  and  Fischer 
Perron  (in  works  cited  in  the  Appendix)  de- 
scribe what  might  be  called  a  radiating  fire- 
back  used  in  Luxembourg,  called  Taque  de 
Foyer  (and  confused  with  the  common  fire- 
back)  which,  placed  back  of  the  open  fire,  in 
a  fireplace  like  a  partition,  and  with  its  deco- 
rated side  turned  away  from  the  hearth,  radi- 
ated heat  into  an  adjoining  apartment  or  closet 
called  Taqueschaf,  and  which  might  therefore 
be  called  a  stove  made  of  one  plate.  (See  Fig- 
ures 218  to  221.) 

But  whatever  might  have  been  the  nature 
of  the  earliest  step  the  exact  date  of  the  first 
casting  of  stoves  in  iron  is  uncertain.  Beck 
refers  indefinitely  to  French  writers  who  state 
that  iron  stoves  were  cast  in  Alsace  in  1490, 
and  quotes  Lersners  Chronicle  of  Frankfort- 
on-the-Main,  Vol.  2,  page  723,  which  refers  to 
a  person  known  as  the  "Master  of  the  Mosel" 
who  in  the  year  1490,  "'can  make  iron  stoves." 


There  are,  or  in  1903  were,  a  few  undated 
plates  in  the  Clarier  collection  at  Paris,  Rue 
Gambetta  41,  and  at  the  Museum  at  Nancy  re- 
ferred to  by  Dr.  Kassel  in  his  Ofenplatten  in 
Alsace,  page  3,  which  he  infers  to  have  been 
cast  in  the  time  1431-1480  of  King  Rene  of 
Anjou  whose  arms  they  bear.  But  this  does 
not  certainly  follow,  for  they  might  have  been 
cast  after  the  king's  death,  and  as  they  are 
firebacks,  and  not  stove  plates,  would  concern 
rather  the  doubtful  antiquity  of  iron-c 
itself  than  that  of  stoves.  The  same  thing 
may  be  said  of  an  ancient  grave  slab  of  cast 
iron  in  a  little  English  Church  at  Burwash  in 
Sussex  which  Starkie  Gardner  in  Archaeolo- 
gia,  Vol.  56,  Part  1,  page  134,  believes  to  have 
been  made  in  the  14th  century.  While  this 
grave  slab  has  no  date,  a  remarkable  plate 
dated  1488,  cited  by  Beck  as  found  at  the  rec- 
tory at  Ravengiersbach  in  Hesse,  and  unfortu- 
nately melted  down  as  junk  in  1855,  was  again 
a  fireback  and  not  a  stove  plate. 

The  splendid  cast  iron  double  storied 
stove,  elaborately  constructed  of  many  plates, 
shaped  like  the  gable  of  a  church,  and  decor- 
ated with  figures  of  the  Madonna  and  St. 
Christopher,  now  1914,  in  the  Castle  of  Co- 
burg  in  Hesse,  has  no  date.  But  it  neverthe- 
less stands  for  the  oldest  iron  stove  thus  far 
found  in  situ  in  Germany,  and  must  have 
been  cast  and  set  up,  according  to  Beck,  and  a 
builder's  inscription  on  the  Castle  walls,  when 
the  Castle  was  repaired  in  1485. 

If  a  stove  or  stove  plate  could  be  found 
with  a  date  upon  it  earlier  than  the  year  1500, 
the  evidence  would  be  more  satisfactory.  But 
no  such  stove  or  fragment  has  been  discov- 
ered. Nevertheless,  though  it  is  not  until  the 
second  decade  of  the  16th  century,  or  about  the 
time  of  the  beginning  of  the  Reformation, 
that  a  great  number  of  dated  stoves  and  stove 
plates  appear  in  Germany,  -it  may  perhaps  be 
reasonably  inferred  from  the  above  data,  that 
the  invention  of  cast  iron  stoves,  which  no  one 
denies  for  Germany,  occurred  somewhere 
about  the  time  of  the  birth  of  Columbus  or 
Luther,  and  the  invention  of  printing,  and 
vaguely  within  a  century  after  the  discovery 
of  the  casting  of  iron  itself." 


16 

From  the  authorities  mentioned,  we  learn 
that  although  in  Britain,  Southern  France, 
Spain,  and  probably  Italy  and  Greece,  where 
houses  were  warmed  by  open  fires,  these 
stoves  never  existed,  they  were  abundantly 
used  in  Germany,  Scandinavia,  Denmark,  Hol- 
land, Belgium,  Lorraine,  Alsace  and  Northern 
France. 

In  Transylvania,  where  a  German  colony 
has  been  isolated  in  the  mountains  among 
Slavic  peoples  for  several  centuries,  there 
ought  to  be  cast  iron  stoves.  Dr.  Ambrosiani 
writes  us  that  they  are  rare  in  Russia,  and 
the  writer  has  been  unable  to  learn  of  their 
existence  in  Northern  Austria,  Bohemia,  Gala- 
tia,  Hungary,  Finland  and  Poland.  Neither 
are  we  sufficiently  informed  as  to  the  distribu- 
tion of  the  two  types  of  stoves,  namely  venti- 
lating and  non-ventilating,  as  described  above, 
and  whether  the  former  or  the  latter  were  pre- 
ferred, or  first  used,  in  any  given  country. 

A  great  many  of  the  loose  plates  of  draft 
stoves  in  European  Museums,  studied  thus  far 
chiefly  from  an  artistic  point  of  view,  have 
been  mixed  up  with  the  plates  of  wall  or  jamb 
stoves,  or  with  firebacks^*  or  with  the  peculiar 
kind  of  reversible  fireback  anciently  in  use  in 
Luxemburg  and  Belgium  called  Taquede 
Foyer,  above  referred  to,  and  it  remains  to 
be  learned  whether  these  draft  stoves  of  iron 
which,  it  appears,  were  unquestionably  pre- 
ceded by  draft  stoves  made  of  tiles,  were  some- 
where contemporaneous  from  the  first  with 
the  iron  wall  stoves  of  the  15th  and  16th 
centuries  or  whether  they  were  introduced  long 
after  the  appearance  of  the  latter." 

According  to  Ambrosiani""  the  draft 
stoves  appeared  in  Scandinavia  late  in  the 
17th  century  and  considerably  after  the  iron 
wall  stoves.  Figure  8  from  the  Rijks  Mu- 
seum at  Amsterdam  is  dated  1660.  Figure 
150,  1753,  and  Figure  9,  the  plate  with  a  hole 
in  it  for  a  draft  door,  and  hence  necessarily 
part  of  a  draft  stove  yet  with  the  name  of  the 
artist,  Philip  Soldan  (born  about  1500,  died 
about  1560)  inscribed  upon  it,  was  therefore 
possibly  made  in  the  early  16th  century.  Con- 
sequently, without  going  farther  into  the  an- 
tiquity of  these  draft  stoves,  there  can  be  no 


question  that  they  were  not  invented  in  the 
United  States,  but  had  existed  in  Europe  long 
before  their  appearance  in  the  British  Colonies. 

Not  a  little  of  the  information  thus  far 
collected  has  been  obtained  from  the  records 
or  histories  of  the  ancient  ironworks  which 
produced  them.  Wedding  speaks  of  a  furnace 
where  a  great  number  of  beautiful  stoves  were 
cast,  at  Ilsinburg  in  the  Hartz,  in  which  prov- 
ince, according  to  him,  they  began  to  make 
stove  castings  in  the  second  half  of  the  16th 
century  (not  before  1543),  and  produced  their 
best  work  between  1560  and  1590.  Fett  gives 
the  names  of  a  number  of  old  furnaces  in  Nor- 
way, Sweden,  and  Denmark,  where  both  wind 
and  wall  stoves  were  made  in  the  17th,  18th 
and  19th  centuries.  Bickell  notes  ancient  fur- 
naces working  in  the  17th  century  at  Bieden- 
kopf,  Rosenthal,  Knickhagen,  Veckerhagen, 
Butzbach  and  Bieder  in  Hesse,  and  heaps  of 
slag,  abandoned  excavations,  and  the  ruins  of 
foundations  of  ancient  walls  on  the  banks  of 
the  Gilsa  and  Urfa,  wild  mountain  streams 
flowing  into  the  river  Edder,  mark  the  site  of 
the  furnaces  of  Densburg,  or  Rommershausen, 
Dodenhausen,  Fishbach  and  Armsfeld,  be- 
longing to  the  Hessian  Abbey  hospital  of 
Haina,  where  the  magnificent  carvings  of  Sol- 
dan  were  cast  into  stoves  in  the  16th  century, 
and  other  splendid  designs  executed  a  hundred 
years  later,  after  the  armies  of  Wallenstein, 
Tilly  and  Gustavus  Adolphus  had  interrupted 
the  work  for  a  long  time.*- 

Fortunately  for  the  student,  the  old  stoves 
were  not  constructed  so  as  to  present  their 
vertical  decorated  sides  in  one  solid  piece  of 
iron.  If  so,  most  of  them  would  have  disap- 
peared long  ago.  To  entirely  destroy  the  evi- 
dence of  a  given  stove,  not  one  but  several 
flat,  heavy  rectangles  of  iron  have  to  be  lost, 
and  as  the  stoves  were  cast  in  replica,  out  of 
a  multitude  of  duplicates,  a  great  many  of  the 
patterns,  as  single  plates,  survived  the  demoli- 
tion of  the  stoves,  and  are  now  being  pre- 
served by  collectors  and  museums  throughout 
Europe. 


17 


STUDENTS  AND  COLLECTORS  OF 
STOVES. 

Dealers  in  antiquities  have  sold  loose 
stove  plates  for  house  adornment  latterly 
(probably  after  1890)  in  America,  and  earlier 
in  England,  where  they  have  been  used  as 
firebacks,  and  where  a  few  have  been  placed 
in  the  South  Kensington  Museum.  If  they 
had  not  been  so  elaborately  adorned  by  artists 
now  unknown,  with  patterns  worthy  to  be 
compared  with  the  rich  wood  carvings  of  the 
Cathedrals,  illustrating  a  phase  of  household 
decoration  that  flourished  at  the  end  of  the 
Middle  Ages,  and  survived  the  Reformation  in 
a  striking  series  of  illustrations  of  the  Bible, 
this  subject,  as  a  purely  ecomonic  one,  would 
have  no  more  attraction  for  the  student  of  art 
than  a  study  of  the  modern  inartistic  coal, 
coke  and  turf  burning  stoves  of  Europe,  now 
in  use,  and  which  are  hardly  less  monstrous  in 
design  and  decoration  than  their  counterparts 
in  the  United  States.  But  so  remarkable  is 
the  decoration  of  the  old  stoves  in  question 
that  it  is  a  singular  thing  that,  outside  of  a  few 
casual  notes  in  general  histories  and  the  pro- 
ceedings of  scientific  societies,  no  general 
notice  should  have  been  taken  of  them  by 
students  of  art,  until  about  twenty  years  ago. 

Then  Dr.  L.  Bickell,  keeper  of  the  Hessian 
Historical  Society,  roused  interest  in  the  mat- 
ter in  1889  (see  Eisenhutten  des  Klosters 
Haina,  Marburg,  1889),  by  describing  the 
splendid  set  of  stoves  and  plates  collected  at 
Marburg  in  Hesse,  and  by  rescuing  from  obliv- 
ion the  forgotten  name  of  Philip  Soldan,  of 
Frankenburg,  the  master  who  designed  many 
of  them  in  the  early  16th  century.  Dr.  Her- 
man Wedding  who,  previously  in  1881,  had 
called  attention  to  the  subject  in  a  paper  before 
the  Hartz  Verein,  later  in  1893  described  and 
partially  illustrated  another  lot  of  about  three 
hundred  loose  stove  plates,  collected  on  loan 
at  Ilsenburg  in  the  Harz." "  In  1865,  W. 
Luebke  in  his  paper  on  decorated  tile  stoves 


in  Switzerland  mentions  three  iron  stoves."" 
Fisher  Ferron,  in  1890,"'  followed  by  J.  B. 
Siebenaler  in  1899  and  1908'  and  the  Baron  De 
Rivitres  in  1893"  describe  and  illustrate  a  few 
stove  plates,  a  great  number  of  armorial  fire- 
backs,  and  what  might  be  called  radiating 
firebacks,  the  so-called  "taques"  in  lower 
Belgium,  Luxemburg,  and  Lorraine."" 

Dr.  Ludwig  Beck  in  1893,  in  a  later  edi- 
tion of  his  History  of  Iron,  devotes  a  whole 
interesting  chapter  to  the  artistic  description 
of  old  stoves  and  sto/e  plates  in  Germany; 
and  Dr.  Kassel  (Ofenplatten  und  Platten- 
offen  im  Elsass,  Noirel,  Strasburg,  1903) 
describes  technically  and  artistically  more 
completely  than  any  one  else  a  great  number 
of  these  stoves  and  stove  plates  recently  found, 
and  still  in  1903,  in  use  in  peasant  houses  in 
Alsace.  Besides  several  museums  and  private 
collections  containing  stove  plates  in  Germany, 
Holland,  and  France.^'  a  great  number  of 
the  stoves,  originally  of  German  origin,  have 
been  recently  collected  and  studied  in  Nor- 
way, where  Mr.  H.  Fett  describes  and  par- 
tially illustrates  a  large  loan  collection  at  the 
Norse  Museum  at  Christiania.  In  Sweden  at 
the  remarkable  Nordiska  Museet,  founded  by 
Er.  Herselius  at  Stockholm,  there  is  a  col- 
lection containing  plates  and  stoves,  the 
oldest  of  v^hich  were  imported  into  Scandi- 
navia from  Germany  in  the  16th  century,  after 
which  they  continued  to  be  made  at  Norse 
Furnaces  until  about  1820,  and  referring  to 
which  Dr.  Ambrosiani,  to  whom  the  writer 
is  greatly  indebted,  gives  with  illustrations, '■'•' 
a  most  valuable  description  of  the  internal 
construction  of  the  stoves,  which  none  of  the 
other  writers,  except  Kassel,  appear  to  have 
thought  of  doing. 

SURVIVAL  OF  THE  STOVES. 

But  in  Europe,  as  in  America,  the  day  of 
the  ancient  s<oves  is  past.  Their  art  is  dead. 
Discarded  foi  coal-burning  stoves,  apparatus 
for  hot-air  or  steam  heating,  or  supplanted  by 


18 


modernized  forms  of  the  older  tile  stoves,  they 
fell  into  disuse  in  the  19th  century,  towards 
the  end  of  which  a  great  number  of  the  ancient 
iron  plates  were  melted  down  for  recasting, 
before  museums  and  students  had  begun  to 
value  them,  and  when  at  certain  times  since 
1850  the  price  of  old  iron  went  up. 

But  they  were  not  suddenly  abolished 
and  destroyed  as  in  the  United  States.  Ac- 
cording to  Dr.  Ernest  Kohler  (Volkskunst 
and  Volkskunde,  Vol.  Ill,  1909.)  a  number  of 
ancient  wooden  patterns  are  preserved  if  not 
still  used  at  the  furnace  at  Obereichstatt  on 
the  Altmuhl  in  Bavaria,*'  and  though  the 
majority  of  the  old  stove-making  furnaces  of 
the  16th,  17th  and  18th  centuries  with  their 
immense  water  wheels,  blast  bellows  greased 
with  lard  or  tallow,  casters'  benches  and  an- 
cient cisterns,  as  described  by  Bickell,  are  now 
in  ruins  or  modernized  beyond  recognition, 
Kassel  describes  the  ancient  furnaces  of 
Messrs.  Dieterich  &  Co.  at  Zinsweiler  and 
Niederbronn  in  Alsace,  as  still,  in  1903,  making 
modernized  forms  of  jamb  stoves  with  cooking 
improvements,  inserted  ovens,  drying  cham- 
bers, etc.,  and  the  stove  works  of  Mr.  George 
vun  Collin  at  Hanover,  according  to  the 
information  of  the  latter,  produced  in  1910 
jamb  stoves  with  insignificant  scroll  decora- 
tions, in  five  plates  and  sometimes  with  in- 
serted ovens.  No  doubt  other  furnaces  or 
foundries  still  exist  in  Europe,  where  wall 
stoves  or  draught  stoves  of  the  old  rectangular 
type,  more  or  less  modernized  in  their  decora- 
tive patterns,  are  occasionally  cast.  Moreover, 
while  all  the  American  stoves  thus  far  found 
have  been  dismantled,  and  can  only  be  studied 
from  their  loose  plates,  not  a  few  of  the  ancient 
European  stoves  remain  in  their  original  posi- 
tion in  old  houses,"'  like  Figure  1,  and  the 
director  of  the  Museum  at  Stuttgardt  informs 
the  writer  that  few  of  the  ancient  houses  in 
that  vicinity  are  without  their  old  decorated 
stoves. 

Kassel,  in  1903,  notes  a  large  number  of 
complete  stoves  in  situ  at  farm  houses  near 
Hochfelden  in  Alsace,'"  and  besides  the  great 
undated  Coburg  stove  above  noted,  supposed 
to  have  been  built  in    1485,  they  have  at  the 


Bavarian  National  Museum  at  Munich  a 
smaller  one  of  similar  form,  one  meter  and 
ten  broad,  by  one  and  twenty  high,  dated 
1536,  set  on  high  legs  with  numerous  decora- 
tive panels,  and  adorned  with  armorial  shields, 
portrait  medallions,  and  knightly  figures, 
found  in  the  Palsgraves  guest  chamber,  at  the 
castle  of  Grunau  near  Neuburg  on  the 
Danube. ^" 

What  memories,  what  legends  must  have 
clustered  about  these  monumental  structures 
of  black  splendour,  most  magnificent  and  oldest 
as  we  learn,  in  the  castles,  and  the  sight  of 
which  has  grafted  upon  the  German  language 
such  phrases  as  "Tell  it  to  the  stove,"  or  "Beg 
it  from  the  stove,"  as  if  so  remarkable  an 
object  with  its  pictures  and  inscriptions  itself 
spoke,  or  listened  to  dangerous  and  impossible 
things  told  to  it  when  no  one  was  near. 

In  such  stoves  as  these  Wilhelm  Grimm, 
in  his  notes  to  the  celebrated  cycle  of  German 
Household  Talcs,  sees  the  dark  and  fiery  sym- 
bol of  the  Nether  World,  or  the  ancient  Orcus, 
with  its  chimney  of  Vulcan.  By  a  freak  of 
German  fancy,  incomprehensible  to  the  mind 
of  Old  England,  where  stoves  never  existed, 
the  stoves  stand  in  enchanted  forests,  to  be  the 
dwelling-place  or  prison  of  kings'  sons,  or,  as 
in  the  beautiful  tale  of  the  Goose  Girl,  from 
Schwerin,    listen   to   unutterable   secrets.^' 

STOVE  PICTURES. 

The  writers  above  quoted  group  the  plates 
thus  far  studied  in  Europe,  according  to  their 
subjects,  as  follows,  into: 

First.  Figures  of  Saints  and  Catholic  sub- 
jects, with  Gothic  adornments  and  portrait 
medallions  of  knights  and  persons.  These  are 
the  oldest  patterns;  they  appeared  exclusively 
at  the  beginning  and  continued  in  Catholic 
districts. 

Second.     Classical   Subjects. 

Such  as  Coriolanus  and  his  mother,  the 
Rape  of  the  Sabines,  Julius  Caesar,  the  Sybils, 
etc. 

Third.     Coats  of  Arms. 

Very  abundant  from  the  first.  Made  for 
nobles,  towns  and  corporations.     Far  outnum- 


19 


bering  all  other  patterns  upon  the  firebacks 
and  "taques"  in  England,  France  and  Belgium. 
The  arms  of  crafts  emblazoned  with  imple- 
ments, etc.,  appear  in  the  17th  century. 

Fourth.     Allegorical  Subjects. 

Frequently  female  figures,  representing 
Justice  holding  scales.  Faith,  Virtue,  etc., 
appear  in   the   17th  century. 

Fifth.     Patriotic  and  Warlike  Subjects. 

Royal  portraits,  national  arms,  memorials 
of  Bonaparte,  royal  emblems.  Ordered,  in 
France,  Lorraine,  etc.,  to  be  turned  face  to 
the  wall,  or  inside  the  stove,  by  a  decree  of 
the  National  Convention,  October  12,  1793. 

Sixth.     Landscapes. 

Pictorial  designs,  churches  and  modern 
filagree,  appearing  in  the  18th  century,  as 
casting  in  flasks,  instead  of  open  sand,  begins 
towards  the  end  of  the  17th  century.  The 
patterns  become  more  and  more  realistic, 
tasteless  and  meaningless  in  the  19th  century 
and  until  the  present  time. 

Seventh.     Bible  Subjects. 

Beginning  with  the  Reformation  about 
1530,  and  by  far  the  most  important,  inter- 
esting and  widely  spread  of  all  the  designs. 
Brought  to  America  by  German  emigrants  in 
the  18th  century.  Much  finer  in  the  16th  than 
the  17th  century.  Much  retarded  by  the  thirty 
years'  war,  1618  to  1648,  they  become  more 
pictorial  in  the  18th  and  19th  centuries,  and 
sometimes  consist  of  moral  maxims  and  fila- 
gree alone.  From  the  Old  Testament:  Crea- 
tion of  Eve.  Adam  and  Eve.  The  Expulsion 
from  Paradise.  Abraham  and  Isaac.  Pharaoh 
at  the  Red  Sea.  Moses  and  the  snake  in  the 
wilderness.  Lot  and  his  daughters.  Joseph 
and  his  brothers.  Joseph  and  Potaphar"s  wife. 
Joseph  interpreting  the  dream.  Elija's  miracle 
of  the  oil  at  Sarepta.  Elisha"s  miracle  of  the 
oil.  David  and  Uriah.  The  Judgment  of 
Solomon.  David  and  Goliath.  Jonah  prophe- 
sying the  end  of  Nineveh.  The  punishment 
of  Haman.  The  fall  of  Sodom.  Joseph  and 
the  five  kings.  The  Moulten  Calf.  Death  of 
Nahab  and  Abihu.  Death  of  Absalom.  Esther 
and    Mordecai.       Daniel    in    the    Lions'    Den. 


Susanna  in  the  garden.  From  the  Apochrypha: 
Judith  in  the  camp  of  Holofernes.  The  binding 
of  Achur  by  Holofernes.  Judith  with  the  head 
of  Holofernes.  The  siege  of  Bethulia.  From 
the  New  Testament:  John  the  Baptist.  Birth 
of  Christ.  Baptism  of  Christ.  Last  supper  and 
Foot  washing.  Christ  at  Gethsemane.  The 
capture  of  Christ.  Visit  of  the  shepherds. 
The  Flagellation  of  Christ.  Carrying  the  cross. 
Turning  water  to  wine  at  Cana;  most  popu- 
lar of  all  Biblical  patterns  among  the  poorer 
classes  in  Germany,  endlessly  copied  and  re- 
peated. Conversion  of  Paul.  Christ  and  the 
Woman  of  Samaria.  The  miraculous  feast  of 
the  Five  Thousand.  Peter  walking  on  the 
water.  The  Good  Samaritan.  The  Prodigal 
Son.  The  Rich  Man  and  Lazarus.  History  of 
the  rich  and  poor.  Christ  in  the  temple.  The 
Crucifixion.  The  Resurrection.  The  Last 
Judgment.  Illustrations  of  the  quotation,  "He 
who  climbs  in  not  by  the  door  is  a  thief  and  a 
robber." 

ARTISTIC  TREATMENT. 

The  comparatively  few  plates  illustrated 
in  the  books  above  quoted,  from  the  earliest, 
dated  1527,  as  shown  by  Wedding,  to  the  latest, 
dated  1811,  illustrated  by  Kassel,  show  a  great 
variety  in  the  treatment  of  their  designs,  bor- 
ders and  inscriptions. 

As  to  design,  although  a  few  traces  of 
Gothic  decoration  appear  upon  the  earlier 
plates  in  the  16th  century,  it  is  the  style  of 
the  German  Renaissance  that  characterizes 
them  from  the  time  of  the  Reformation,  when 
they  came  into  general  use,  down  to  the  be- 
ginning of  the  19th  century.  From  first  to 
last,  the  tendency  to  produce  a  picture  with 
foreground,  distance  and  realistic  rendering 
of  natural  objects,  appearing  rarely  in  the 
earlier  plates,  but  very  frequently  in  the  later 
ones,  is  noticeable. 

On  the  other  hand,  true  decorative  designs 
where  the  whole  pattern  is  conventionalized 
and  balanced,  and  where  foliage,  natural  ob- 
jects and  inscriptions  are  arranged,  not  with 
regard  to  perspective  or  drawing,  but  rather 
to  balancing  of  units  of  design,  is  very  con- 
spicuous in  the  earlier  plates,  rare  in  the  later 


20 


ones,  and  almost  absent  after  1800  upon  plates 
which  have  not  been  directly  copied  from 
older  models. 

Sometimes  besides  the  main  design, 
conveying  ths  chief  meaning  of  the  plate, 
secondary  patterns,  often  paneled  away  from 
the  main  field,  are  filled  with  scroll  work, 
knightly  figures,  classical  heroes,  portrait 
medallions,  emblems,  or  large  explanatory 
inscriptions  or  dates,  and  sometimes  with  the 
advertisement  of  the  names  of  furnaces. 

A  border  of  some  sort  is  nearly  always 
used,  generally  as  a  plain  moulding  or  rim 
surrounding  the  pattern  and  sometimes  cross- 
ing it  so  as  to  form  the  panels  above  men- 
tioned, though  this  is  sometimes  entirely 
absent.  Besides  this,  Soldan  and  other  masters 
frequently  surround  their  designs  with  elabo- 
rate filagreed  bands  in  the  richest  style  of  the 
Renaissance,  which  in  themselves  would  serve 
to  conventionalize  the  main  pattern  even  if 
the  latter  were  pictorial,  and  these  borderings 
in  the  late  16th  and  17th  centuries  frequently 
take  the  form  of  canopies  overhanging  the 
figures,  often  as  arches  sometimes  pointed  and 
adorned  with  Gothic  fretwork,  but  generally 
of  round  classic  pattern  supported  upon 
twisted  or  fluted  columns. 

And  here  we  pause  with  particular  inter- 
est, for  this  latter  type  of  design  prevailing  in 
Alsace  and  southern  Germany  in  the  17lh  and 
18th  centuries  crossed  the  seas  as  the  imme- 
diate predecessor  of  the  earliest  American 
patterns.  Above  the  main  picture,  which  is 
placed  immediately  under  the  arches,  the  semi- 
circle within  the  vault  is  filled  with  elaborate 
pendant  corbels,  or  curtains  and  tassels,  while 
below  it  the  inscription  either  fills  a  narrow 
cartouche  crossing  the  entire  plate,  as  a  plinth 
below  the  columns,  or  a  large  minor  panel 
framed  within  the  general  border,  which  in 
other  cases  encloses  only  scroll  work  or  the 
date  in  large  letters. 

DATES,   INSCRIPTIONS,   ADVERTISE- 
MENTS AND  ARTISTS. 

What  a  great  help  it  would  have  been  to 
the  student  if  the  old  casters  had  invariably 
dated  the  plates,  but  in  many  cases  they  failed 


to  do  so.  Direct  chronology  is  thrown  out, 
and  we  are  left  to  inferences  from  associated 
names,  facts  and  styles  of  designs. 

Where  dates  appear,  generally  in  Arabic 
numerals  but  sometimes  in  Roman  letters,  in 
the  16th  and  17th  centuries,  they  may  refer 
either  to  the  carving  of  the  pattern  or  to  the 
year  of  the  casting  of  the  plate.  In  the  former 
case,  according  to  Kassel,  the  date  would  re- 
main fixed  on  later  stoves  cast  from  the  same 
pattern.  On  the  other  hand,  the  splendid  Cru- 
cifixion plate  by  Philip  Soldan  appears  in  the 
Marburg  collection,  dated  1548,  and  in  replica 
at  Fritzlar,  dated  1537  (see  Bickell  plates)  and 
a  plate  representing  the  beheading  of  John  the 
Baptist  in  Dr.  Beck's  collection,  dated  1586, 
with  a  replica  in  the  Weisbaden  Museum, 
dated  1597  (see  Geschichte  des  Eisens  2,  302) 
also  illustrate  the  fact  that  different  dates 
appeared  upon  replicas  of  the  same  pattern, 
showing  that  the  date  of  casting  had  been 
changed  to  suit  passing  years. 

The  inscriptions  cast  generally  in  Latin 
but  sometimes  in  Gothic  letters,  as  seen  by  the 
writer,  in  French,  German,  Dutch,  Norse  or 
Latin,  spelled  according  to  the  fashion  of  their 
time,  often  abbreviated  and  unspaced  between 
words,  and  therefore  difficult  to  decipher,  are 
generally  explanatory  of  the  main  pattern. 
Sometimes,  as  above  noted,  they  are  enclosed 
in  a  bordered  band  crossing  the  plate  imme- 
diately under  the  chief  design,  or  they  fill  the 
whole  lower  part  of  the  plate  enclosed  in  a 
minor  panel.  More  rarely  they  are  set  in  the 
background  above  the  design,  or  upon  irregu- 
lar scrolls  or  cartouches. 

Soldan  and  some  of  the  earlier  Hessian 
makers  placed  their  names  or  their  initials 
upon  the  borders  of  minor  portrait  medallions, 
or  upon  the  cornices  of  walls  or  well  curbs, 
or  open  spots  in  the  background,  and  many  of 
the  old  German  plates  are  stamped  with  one 
or  more  single  letters,  or  monograms,  or 
double  letters,  or  names  often  abbreviated, 
sometimes  defying  explanation,  sometimes 
standing  for  the  pattern  carver,  caster,  iron 
master,  or  for  the  name  of  the  furnace.  Some- 
times these  names,  symbols,  or  letters  appear 
in  the  sky  or  outside  the  margin,  or  upon  the 


21 


17 

Xhe  Rich  man 

Plate  of  Wall  or  Jamb  stove,  size  not  given.  At  the  Museum 
of  Hal  or  Porte  de  Hal..  1908.  near  Brussels.  Taken  from  an 
illustration  in  Taques  et  Plaques  de  Foyer,  by  J.  M.  Sibenaler. 
Arlon,  1908.  P.  159.  The  margins  of  the  plate  and  its  lower 
panel  have  been  cut  off  in  the  photograph.  Sbenaler  says 
that  a  replica  exists  at  Sart,  eighteen  miles  southeast  of  Liege. 
Belg  um.  in  possession  (1908)  of  M.  Houyon-Requet,  vi^ho  had 
excavated    it   from    an   old   house   wall. 

As  a  masterpiece  of  design,  the  plate,  without  date  and 
unmarked  with  the  name  of  the  artist,  probably  represents  the 
highest  point  reached  by  the  stove  mould  carvers  of  Germany. 
Maintaining  all  the  flatness  and  conventional  balance  of  a 
piece  of  fine  brocade,  it  expresses  in  a  manner  foreign  to  a 
picture,  what  might  be  called  a  filagree,  composed,  not  of 
geometrical  forms,  as  in  the  panels  of  the  Alhambra.  or  of 
birds  and  animals  interwoven  in  foliage,  as  in  the  borders  of 
the    Italian    Rena  ssance.    but   of   men. 

The  modern  believer  in  "Art  for  art's  sake,"  while  ad- 
miring the  treatment,  cannot  overlook  the  meaning  which  the 
ancient  des'gner,  laboring  for  Christianity,  has  expressed  with 
intense   sincerity,   like  a   sermon,   and   explained   with   inscriptions. 

Brutal  and  gorgeous,  in  the  dress  of  a  prince  of  the  I6th 
century,   the   Rich   Man  with  his  noble  spouse  is   seated  at  table 


broad  empty  space  sometimes  left  between  the 
pattern  and  the  edge  of  the  plate,  showing 
them  to  have  been  pressed  in  the  sand  after 
the  border  was  stamped,  or  that  several 
smaller  loose  designs  were  pressed  into  the 
sand  to  make  one  pattern.  Sometimes  in  the 
16th  and  17th  centuries,  advertisements  of  the 
names  of  furnaces  fill  the  entire  lower  panel. 


and  Lazarus* 

in  a  splendid  saloon.  Behind  him  as  if  playing  at  the  top 
of  their  bent,  stand  the  musicians  of  an  orchestra.  The  trum- 
peters puff  their  cheeks  as  they  lean  backwards,  the  flutist 
blows,  the  drummer  rattles.  A  smirking  jester  stands  behind 
the  plumes  of  his  master's  hat.  To  the  right  and  left  two 
seated  guests  enjoy  the  fine  fare.  A  servant  carries  the 
dishes  and  the  Rich  Man  holds  a  goblet  in  his  hand.  He  will 
taste  Rhenish  wine  in  a  cup  of  Venetian  glass.  But  it  is  no 
revel  or  orgie.  The  proud  lady  seated  respectably  at  table  is 
his  w  fe.  The  high  living  is  not  to  be  critic  sed.  according 
to  law  and  order,  either   in  the    16th   or  20th  century. 

But  just  below,  and  beneath  what  appears  to  be  a  stair- 
case behind  a  balcony,  as  a  note  of  awful  discord,  a  ragged 
figure,  terrible  in  disease  and  misery,  lies  upon  the  earth 
grasping  a  crutch.  Deserted  by  all.  save  the  dogs  that  lick 
his  sores,  he  holds  out  a  bowl  for  food.  As  his  mantle  flutters 
in  the  cold  wind,  a  cruel  servant  drives  him  off  with  a  whip. 
DER.  ARMER.  BEGERT.  VON.  DEM.  RICH  EN.  ZO. 
SPISEN.     "The  poor  man  asks  to  cat  at  the  rich  man's  table." 

Then  the  scene  changes ;  lights,  music,  feast  are  gone. 
Close  in  space,  but  beyond  a  staircase  whose  steps  are  years, 
wc   see   the    Rich    Man   in   a   pavilion  with   fretted   ceiling   which 

and  a  close  study  of  the  plates,  stoves  and  old 
furnace  records  which,  in  Hesse,  Bickell  has 
recovered  for  the  years  1553  to  1556,  1573, 
1576,  1591  and  from  1606  to  modern  times, 
has  enabled  the  writers  above  quoted  to  res- 
cue from  oblivion  the  names  of  a  number  of 
pattern  carvers,  casters  and  iron  masters.*' 
But  we  look  in  vain  in  encyclopedias  and 


22 


seems  to  float  in  the  air.  He  lies  dying  in  a  bed,  upon  which 
a  fiendish  beast  climbs  to  seize  his  soul  as  in  woman's  form 
It  flutters  from  his  mouth.  DER.  RICH.  STIRB.,  "The  rich 
man   dies." 

As  pleasure  ends,  so  ends  misery.  Still  in  the  enchanted 
network  of  the  designer,  though  but  a  few  inches  away,  we  sec 
the  poor  sufferer,  Lazarus,  nearing  rest  at  last,  as  angels  hold 
his  head   and   carry  away  his   soul  to   Heaven. 

Then,  across  the  bounds  of  time  and  space,  but  enclosed 
with  n  the  spell  of  the  design,  we  see,  first,  the  poor  man 
cherished  in  the  lap  of  the  King  of  Heaven.  LASERU.  WRT. 
(WIRD)  G.  (GETROSTET).  "Lazarus  is  comforted."  And 
next  into  hell  itself  across  the  Great  Gulf  where  writhing  in 
devil-headed  flames,  the  rich  man  touches  his  parched  tongue. 
DER.  RICH.  GERICHTET.  "The  rich  man  is  judged."  Or 
perhaps  as  Sibenaler  deciphers  it,  DER.  RICH.  ABER. 
NICHT.      "The  rich  man  is  not    (comforted)." 

Two  other  remarkable  stove  fragments,  one  a  right  plate 
in  the  Historical  Society  Museum  at  Marburg,  dated  1550,  by 
Philip  Soldan.  of  Frankenburg  in  Hesse,  illustrated  by  Bickell 
(Eiscnhutten  des  Klosters  Haina,  No.  7),  the  other  a  left  plate 
undated  and  of  unknown  authorship,  illustrated  by  Lasius, 
(Stahl  und  Eisen,  March,  1912,  opposite  page  520,  Figure  16). 
present  the  same  subject,  in  more  or  less  the  same  manner,  as 
if  an  ancient  original  designer's  pattern  had  dwelt  in  the  mem- 
ory of  the  artist.  Both  plates  show  the  orchestra  and  feast, 
the  beggar  and  the  dog,  the  two  death  scenes,  diabolic  and 
angelic,  the  spirits  issuing  from  the  mouth,  and  the  vistas  of 
Heaven  and  Hell  in  the  same  six  panels  similarly  placed.  But 
Soldan's  plate  with  a  heavy  filigree  above  the  pattern,  intro- 
duces a  violinist,  an  ape,  a  cup  bearer  and  female  servant  at 
the  feast,  varies  the  composition  of  all  the  scenes  and  omits 
all  but  the  last  inscription.  DER.  RICHER.  DES.  ARMEN. 
VERGAS.  BIS.  ER.  IN.  DER.  HELLE.  SAS.  LUCE.  AM. 
16.  ("The  rich  man  forgot  the  poor  man  until  he  sat  in  hell." 
Luke,  in  the  16th  chapter.)  The  Lasius  plate,  comparatively 
rude  and  clumsy,  though  far  more  closely  following  all  the 
details  of  composition  of  the  pattern  here  shown,  omits  one 
of  the  dogs,  one  of  the  trumpeters,  and  the  flute  and  drum,  in- 
troduces a  third  guest  at  the  table,  changes  the  inscription,  and 
entirely  recomposes  the  drawing  of  the  servant  with  the  whip. 

Nothing  could  show  more  clearly  than  a  study  of  these 
patterns  that  the  makng  of  a  design  and  the  production  of 
a  picture  from  the  painter's  point  of  view,  are.  as  they  always 
have  been,  two  distinct  arts;  and  when  several  writers  have 
tried  to  discover  or  prove  that  the  old  stove-mould  carvers 
were    copyists    of    pictures,    engraved    or    painted,    or    drawings 

dictionaries  of  artists  for  the  name  of  Philip 
Soldan.  of  Frankenberg,  who,  in  the  early  16th 
century,  at  the  beginning  of  the  Reformation, 
while  Luther  was  living  (about  1537-1555), 
designed  the  magnificent  patterns  above  noted 
for  the  furnaces  belonging  to  the  Abbey  of 
Haina  in  Hesse,  and  there  must  have  been  a 
great  number  of  masters  as  yet  unknown  to 
account  for  the  multitude  of  designs  of  high 
artistic  importance,  yet  to  be  studied  in  various 
parts  of  Europe,  such,  for  instance,  as  the  re- 
markable pattern  of  Lazarus  and  the  rich  man 
in  the  Museum  at  Porte  de  Hal  in  Belgium. 
(See   Figure    17.) 


made  by  contemporary  pictorial  artists,  they  confuse  decora- 
tive with  pictorial  art,  and  credit  the  designer  where  they 
should    condemn    him. 

Where,  as  Kassel  shows,  several  stove  plates  appear  to 
have  been  copied  from  pictures  in  old  Bibles  and  song  books 
examined  by  him,  and,  as  J.  Lasius  illustrates  (Stahl  und 
Eisen,  March  28,  1912,  page  522).  a  castiron  sepulchral  plate, 
about  the  s  ze  of  a  stove  plate,  dated  1519.  by  Loy  Hering, 
from  the  Carmelite  Church  at  Boppard,  on  the  Rhine,  was 
copied  from  Durer's  woodcut  of  the  Trinity  of  1511,  which  the 
designer  has  tried  to  balance  by  filling  in  with  extra  figures, 
the  examples  illustrated  show  at  once  their  inferiority  as  de- 
s'gns. 

Why  should  the  mould  carvers  of  the  16th  century  have 
copied,  as  Beck  says  (Gesch  ete  des  Eisens,  2-306),  pictures 
by  Albert  Durer,  Aldegrever,  Solis  and  Amman,  whose  pic- 
torial sketches  would  have  confused  and  mislead  them  (as 
painters  of  to-day  mislead  the  designer)  by  tempting  them  to 
express   atmosphere,   distance   and    perspective   in   castiron? 

The  fact  that  in  an  oil  painting  or  engraving  the  fore- 
ground may  consist  of  but  one-third  of  the  pictorial  surface 
is  no  help  to  the  designer,  who  must  abandon  perspective  and 
distance.  Here  the  foreground  which  comprises  four-fifths 
or  five-sixths  of  the  surface  of  the  pattern,  tells  everything. 
The  figures  are  out  of  proportion.  The  drawing  is  conven- 
tionalized or  cramped,  so  as  to  bring  human  and  architectural 
forms  into  decorative  balance.  Distance,  atmosphere  and  per- 
spective are  abolished.  The  pavilions,  staircases,  columns  and 
arches  though  floating  in  the  air  without  support  no  less  convey 
their  meaning.  The  figures  live,  and  move  in  splendid  halls 
and  sumptuous  pavlions,  vivid  for  the  moment  yet  unreal  as  the 
panorama  of  a  dream.  Heaven  and  hell,  death  and  life  are 
brought  together  yet  set  apart  in  vanishing  and  elusive  panels, 
not  as  a  painter  paints.  Neither  in  the  16th  or  19th  century 
did  pictorial  artists  make  such  things.  If  Durer  had  produced 
such  patterns  he  would  have  departed  from  the  conditions  of 
his  pictorial  art,  and  nothing  in  his  decorative  panels  known 
as  the  Triumphal  Arch  and  Car  of  Maximillian  can  be  com- 
pared to  this  masterpiece,  which  might  rather  be  likened  to 
mediaeval  panels  of  stained  glass  or  carvings  in  the  Cave 
temples  of  India  or  certain  examples  of  Chinese  fretwork, 
where  human  groups  clamber  through  pavilions  interwoven  in 
decorative  forests.  Art,  remaining  the  servant  of  religion, 
maintaining  its  meaning  as  of  the  highest  importance,  ex- 
plaining it  with  inscriptions,  deals  skilfully  with  the  aesthetic 
effect  of  balanced  masses  of  decoration,  and  without  the  help 
of  atmosphere,  perspective  or  distance  condenses  a  significant 
theme    of    Scripture    into    the    smallest    compass. 

If  this  splendid  pattern,  or  the  magnificent 
designs  of  Soldan,  illustrated  by  Bickell,  had 
been  executed  on  any  other  material  than 
black  iron,  they  might  have  challenged  more 
attention.  Nevertheless,  Germany  might  well 
be  proud  of  Soldan  and  of  the  antiquary  who 
saved  his  name  from  oblivion,  while  no  need 
remains  for  Beck  or  Heger  (guide  book  of 
the  Bavarian  National  Museum  for  1908,  p. 
183)  to  speak  of  patterns  for  stoves  borrowed 
from  Durer,  Aldegrever  and  other  pictorial 
artists  whose  work  in  producing  pictures 
rather  than  designs,  would  probably  not  have 
vied  with  the  achievements  of  Soldan,  or  the 
unknown  carver  of  the  Lazarus  plate. 


23 


CHAPTER  II. 

The  Decorated  Iron  Stoves  of  Colonial 

America. 


JAMB    STOVES    IMPORTED    FROM 
EUROPE. 

The  first  cast-iron  five-plate  or  jamb 
stoves  used  in  the  United  States  were  un- 
doubtedly imported  from  Europe  and  con- 
structed like  the  German  (Norse)  stove  shown 
in  Figure  1,  which  is  again  illustrated  here. 
(Figure    18.) 

This  is  well  proved  by  the  evidence  gath- 
ered concerning  two  of  the  plates  in  the 
following  collection,  one  of  which,  Figure  19, 
represents  Christ  in  conversation  with  the 
woman  of  Samaria,  as  described  in  John,  4th 
chapter,   7-42  verses. 

First  brought  to  the  writer's  attention  by 
an  undated  illustration  cut  from  the  columns 
of  the  Metal  Worker  Magazine,  this  beautiful 
plate  long  eluded  discovery  and  study.  A 
description  accompanying  it  was  lost  in  the 
unindexed  files  of  the  magazine.  A  recast  of 
the  original  plate  by  a  former  editor  had  been 
mislaid  or  stolen  at  the  o.'fice,  and  the  author's 
search  was  abandoned  when  an  advertisement 
discovered  the  plate  in  the  possession  of  Mr. 
John  S.  Eels,  at  Walton,  N.  Y.,  and  traced  it 
to  the  workshop  of  a  hatmaker,  who,  about 
1830,  had  used  it  as  the  top  of  a  warming  box 
in  the  manufacture  of  hats. 

But  the  details  of  this  search,  lasting 
several  years,  and  often  abandoned  and  inter- 
rupted, were  not  so  interesting  as  the  later 
chance  discovery,  that  a  whole  series  of  old 
stove  plates  in  Hesse,  illustrated  by  Dr. 
Herman  Wedding,  in  his  paper  on  Iron  Stoves, 
in  the  Harzverein  proceedings  for  July,   1892, 


x8. 
Swedish  Kive-PIate  or  Jamb  Stove. 

standing    on    its   original    position.     See    Fig.    1. 


with  the  seated  figure  of  Christ,  the  well  with 
its  tile  roof  and  pulley,  the  woman  with  her 
tankard  dressed  in  the  costume  of  the  16th 
century,  the  mediaeval  city  with  towers  bat- 
tlements and  gateways  in  the  background,  the 
word  "Christ"  on  the  seat  and  "Jacob's  Brun" 
on  the  well  curb,  with  the  longer  inscription 
below,  closely  though  not  exactly  resemble 
the  pattern  in  question  now  in  possession  of 
Mr.  Eels.*" 

At  last  Mr.  George  Von  Collin  informed 
the  writer  that  an  exact  replica  of  the  Walton 
plate,  with  its  monogram  AF  and  its  initials 
A  and  B,  exists  in  his  private  collection  at 
Hanover. 

This  settled  the  matter.  The  date  of  the 
Hanover  replica  alone,  1663,  differs  from  that, 
1659,   of   the   American  plate.     But   that   only 


24 


19- 

Xlie  Woman  of  Samaria 

Front    plate    of   Jamb    stove.      Size,    about    W.    22    by    H.    27.      In 
possession  of  Mr.  John  S.   Eels,  of  Walton.   New  York. 

First  described  and  illustrated  by  a  wood  cut  in  an  un 
identified  old  number  of  the  Metal-worker  Magazine,  of  14 
Park  Place.  New  York,  and  long  lest,  but  found  at  last  in 
the  un-indexed  files  of  the  journal,  whose  editor  had  made  a 
r€-cast  (by  Rathbone  Sard  &  Co.,  stove  manufacturers,  of 
Albany.     N.     Y.)     of     the     plate,     also    lost.       The     original     was 


finally  traced,  through  the  kindness  of  the  later  editor,  Mr. 
F.  K.  Chsw,  by  advertisement,  to  its  present  owner,  whose 
father.  Henry  Eels,  had  obta  ned  it  about  1850-1860,  from  a 
hat  maker  (William  Graves,  at  Walton.  New  York),  who  had 
bought  it  from  another  hat  maker  of  Walton.  Zerah  Baldwin, 
who  had  used  it  set  upon  bricks,  face  downward,  over  a  fire  to 
heat   hat   irons. 

Thereafter,  a  series  of  illustrations  in  "Eiserner  Ofen- 
platten."  by  Dr.  Herman  Wedding,  showing  several  plates  at 
the  Marburg  Museum  ;n  Germany,  closely  resembl  ng.  though 
not  dupl  eating  the  Walton  plate,  and  another  generally  similar 
pattern,  dated  1613,  recently  bought  in  Germanv,  and  now  at 
the  Metropolitan  Museum  in  New  York,  showed  that  the 
Walton  plate  with  its  four  characteristic  marginal  notches, 
had  undoubtedly  formed  the  front  of  a  five-plate  or  "Jamb" 
stove,  imported  into  colonial  America  from  Germany,  before 
the  establishTient  of  furnaces  in  New  York,  New  Jersev  or 
Pennsylvan  a.  and  that  its  design  had  followed  an  ancient 
German  pattern  closely  similar  in  composition,  copied  with 
free  variations  in  dress  and  details,  at  several  old  furnaces  in 
the    Hartz. 

Finally,  in  June.  1911,  the  writer  received  a  letter  from 
Mr.  0.  Von  Collin,  of  Hanover,  to  whom  a  photograph  had 
been  sent,  stating  that  a  replica,  "With  the  monogram  A.  F., 
the  letter  B,  and  the  letter  A,"  but  dated  four  years  later, 
namely   in    1663,   existed    in   the   collection   of   the   latter. 

To  the  left  of  a  well  worked  by  a  pulley,  beneath  a  tiled 
roof,  stands  the  Woman  of  Samaria,  in  a  costume  of  the  16th 
century,  a  tankard  in  her  rght  hand,  while  her  left  holds  the 
bucket  handle,  still  fastened  to  its  chain  and  resting  upon  the 
well-curb.  Christ,  seated  to  the  right  upon  a  stone  bench, 
marked  with  the  word  "Christ,"  and  leaning  forward  in  con- 
versation, points  with  hs  left  forefinger,  wh  le  his  right  hand 
clasps  his  chest.  Above  him  stand  three  disciples,  while 
behind  him,  a  group  of  figures  issuing  from  the  arched  gate- 
way of  a  mediaeval  c  ty.  wth  steeples,  tiled  roofs,  gardens  and 
battlements,  fills  the  background.  Over  the  disciples'  heads, 
the  monogram  AF  appears  upon  the  pattern,  and  the  letter  B 
is  cast  upon  the  sky  in  the  upper  left  corner.  The  words 
JACOBS.  BRUN..  "Jacob's  Well."  appear  on  the  base  of 
the  well-curb,  while  the  words  VOM.  FROLIN.  VON.  SA- 
MARIA. JOH.  4.,  "Of  the  girl  of  Samaria.  John  4,"  omitting 
the  word  "Historia"  which  appears  on  some  of  the  European 
plates,    extends   across   the   base    of  the   foreground. 

Below,  in  a  much  rusted  separate  panel,  two  flying  angels 
hold  between  them  the  letter  A,  forming  perhaps  part  of  an- 
other monogram,  the  whole  pattern  being  flanked  by  the 
figures  of  the  date  1659,  read  horizontally  from  the  four  cor- 
ners. 


shows   that   the    German   founders,   as   is   well 
known,   redated  their  old  patterns. 

If  cast,  according  to  its  date,  in  1659,  and 
therefore  before  the  construction  of  any  fur- 
nace in  New  York  or  Pennsylvania,  the 
Walton  plate  could  not  have  been  made  here 
either  directly  from  an  older  stove  or  from 
the  wooden  pattern  brought  over.  Because 
of  this,  and  because  the  same  wooden  pattern 
was  used  four  years  later  in  Germany,  and 
because,  on  the  other  hand,  it  would  be  un- 
reasonable to  suppose  that  an  early  American 
furnace  recasting  such  a  pattern  from  the  iron 
original  half  a  century  later,  would  not  have 
changed  the  date,  we  must  suppose  that  one 
of  the  old  furnaces  in  Hesse  had  cast  the  -Wal- 


ton plate,  four  years  before  the  Hanover 
replica,  and  that  the  former  had  been  ex- 
ported to  America  to  be  used  in  a  stove  by 
colonists,  several  years  before  any  of  the 
American  furnaces  which  would  have  cast  such 
a  stove  had  existed. 

The  details  of  the  history  of  Figure  20. 
representing  the  miracle  of  the  widow's  oil 
blessed  by  Elisha,  which  first  appeared  as  a 
doorstep  at  a  farmhouse  near  Fegleysville, 
Montgomery  County,  Pennsylvania,  and  then 
twice  in  replica,  in  the  old  Senate  House  and 
at  22  Fair  Street,  Kingston,  New  York,  are 
hardly  less  interesting  than  those  of  the 
Walton  plate,  Figure  19,  with  its  replica  at 
Hanover.      The  style   of   the   pattern   is   much 


25 


20. 

Miracle  of  t lie  Widow's*  Oil. 

l-eft  plate.  Size.  H.  20  by  W.  28-J4.  In  possession  of  Mr.  Val- 
entine B.  Lee.  of  Oak  Lane,  Philadelphia;  found  by  him  about 
1900.  as  a  stepping  stone  at  the  porch  steps  of  a  farm  house 
near    Fegleysville,    Montgomery   County,   Pa. 

The  widow,  blessed  by  Elisha's  miracle,  appears  twice  in 
the  pattern.  First,  in  the  left  vaulted  canopy  with  a  bucket 
upon  her  head,  while  her  three  children  facing  the  right  and 
left  carry  buckets,  or  wooden  tygs.  in  their  hands.  The  left 
child  stands  before  the  door  of  a  tiled  house  or  pavilion  with 
two  windows,  while  the  other  to  the  right,  dressed  in  a  flow- 
ing  mantle,   walks  on  the   top   of  two   vases. 

In  the  right  canopy,  or  second  picture,  the  widow  again 
appears,  pouring  oil  from  one  urn  into  another,  while  two  of 
her  sons,  one  holding  a  jar  on  his  head,  another  in  his  hands, 
fill  the  remainder  of  the  canopy.  Below,  in  a  medallion  en- 
closed by  scrolls,  is  the  inscription,  which,  judging  fro.-n  the 
oval  welt  surrounding  it,  has  been  inserted  in  the  mould  out 
of  level.  Or  ^ta  :  pei  w.th  a  loose  board  upon  the  sand,  IM.  2. 
BUCH.  DER.  KONIG.  AM.  JDG.  4  CAP.  "In  second  book 
of   Kings,  JDG.   4th  chapter." 

Three  examples  of  the  pattern,  representmg  parts  of  two 
stoves  have  thus  far  been  heard  of  in   America.     (1.)     The  above. 


later  than  that  of  the  Walton  Hanover  design, 
but  the  crowded,  busy  scene,  under  round 
vaulted  canopies,  the  widow  carrying  a  bucket 
on  her  head,  appearing  perhaps  twice,  as  pour- 
ing oil  from  the  miraculous  jar,  the  sons  and 
neighbors  carrying  jugs  and  buckets,  the  store- 
house with  tiled  roof  to  the  left,  with  the 
inscription  below,  illustrate  in  a  confused  and 
fanciful,  yet  rich  and  beautiful  manner,  a 
theme  repeated  with  endless  variation,  accord- 
ing to  Kassel,  by  the  German  stove  makers. 

The  plate,  unlike  Figure  19,  is  not  dated, 
but  as  its  duplicate.  Figure  21,  is  also  a  left 
plate,  according  to  the  method  of  construction 
explained  in  Chapter  I.  the  latter  proves  con- 
clusively, though  no  front  plate  has  yet 
appeared,  that  two  complete  stoves  of  this 
pattern    existed    in    America. 


21. 
lYIiraele  of  tlie  \Vi(l<»Av's  Oil. 

(2.)  F  gure  21,  a  left  replica,  at  the  old  State  House  Museum 
at  Kingston-on-the  Hudson.  (3.)  A  right  replica,  in  possession 
of  M.ss  Westbrook.  at  22   Fair  St..   Kingston. 

/  nother  replica  is  figured  by  Kassel  in  h  s  "Plattenofen  im 
Elsass. "  F  gure  88.  as  in  the  possession,  in  1908,  of  Farmer 
Mat  this,  at  Dun2enheim.  in  Alsace.  The  latter  shows  conclu- 
sively that  the  American  plates  were  imported  from  Germany, 
or  cast  in  America  directly  from  German  originals  or  fro.n  a 
mould  so  imported.  In  the  Dunaenheim  plite.  the  monogram 
JDG,  which  iCassel  supposes  to  stand  for  JD  the  castir's 
init.als.  and  G-GEISLAUTERN  furnace  in  the  Palatinate,  are 
erased,  throwing  the  inscription  still  surrounded  by  the  welt 
noted  above,  out  of  center,  and  showing  that  the  American 
plates   came   over  seas  in   their  original   unmutilated   form. 

The  words,  "Im  2  B.DES.KONIG.AM. 
JDG.,  4  CAP."  (in  second  book  of  Kings,  in 
JDG.,  4th  chapter)  filling  the  lower  medallion, 
are  surrounded  by  an  oval  welt,  proving  that 
the  inscription  has  been  separately  stamped 
upon  the  casting  sand,  or  that  the  original 
wooden  pattern  has  been  sawed  out  and  refitted 
with  an  extra  legend. 

But  more  interesting  than  these  details  is 
the  fact  shown  by  an  illustration  in  Dr. 
Kassel's  Ofenplaten  und  Plattofen  im  Elsass, 
Strasburg,  1903,  Figure  88,  that  the  plates  from 
Kingston  and  Fegleysville  are  replicas  of  a 
plate  now  in  the  possession  of  Farmer  Matthis 
at  Dunzenheim  in  Alsace. 

Strange  to  say,  in  Matthis"  plate  the 
monogram  JDG,  which  Dr.  Kassel  says  may 
stand  for  the  name  of  the  pattern  maker,  or 


26 


22. 

Oil  Itliracle  of  Braunfels. 

Size.    W.     28    by     H.     26.      Dr.     Joseph     P.     Tunis.     St.     Mart  ns, 
Philadelphia. 

This  beautiful  plate  with  two  bolt  notches  in  German 
fashion  on  the  narrow  left  margin,  was  found  in  1909  upon  the 
information  of  Mr.  Wm.  T.  Bullitt,  set  as  a  fireback  in  the 
hall  fireplace  at  the  house.  No.  1322  Locust  street,  Philadel- 
phia,   built   about    1875    by    Dr.    Caspar   Wister. 

A  replica  of  Figure  53.  the  David  and  Goliath  plate,  had 
been  set  in  an  upper  chamber  of  the  same  house,  and  it  ap- 
peared, after  numerous  inquiries  among  the  relatives  and 
friends  of  the  late  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Wister,  that  the  former  had 
probably  found  the  plate  in  an  old  house  belonging  to  the 
Wister  family  in  Germantown  and  removed  it,  about  1870.  to 
its    position    as   found    by    the    writer. 

With  its  seven  figures  closely  crowded,  holding  buckets, 
pots  and  jars,  under  vaulted  pendants  with  tube-like  key- 
stones, with  its  ovate  fretted  borderings.  its  pile  of  barrels, 
row  of  vases  and  storehouse  to  the  left,  it  closely  resembles, 
without  dupl'cating.  Dr.  Kacssl's  illustration.  No.  85.  in  Ofen- 
platten   im   Elsass. 

The   ancient    rhyme    reads: 
DAS.    OEHL.    GAR.    REICHLICH.    SICH.    VERMEHRT. 
DER.   SOHN.    VOM.    TODT.   ZUM.    LEBEN.    FUEHRT. 
IM.    TOD.    SICH.    GOTTES.    GUHT.    BEWEISSET. 
MIT.   WENIG.    BROTS.   VIEL.    MENSCHEN.   SPEISSET. 
"The    oil    full    richly    increases.       The    son    from    death    to    life 
turns.       In     death     God's     kindness     proves     itself.        With     littl« 
bread   many  men  eat,"   or  very  freely  translated: 
The    widow's    oil    did    richly    grow. 
God's   mercy   in   the   tomb    did    show. 
A    boy    to    life    rose    from    the    dead. 
A   hundred   men   on   few   loaves  fed. 
It    varies    from    the    version    given    by    Kassel    in    the    word 
FUEHRT   and    the    spelling   of   BEWEISSET   and   SPEISSET, 
while    the    inscription    on    the    central    cartouche,    advertising    the 
name    of    the    caster,    furnace    and    date,    was    recently    deciphered 
by    Dr.    Kassel    from    a    photograph,    sent    to    him    by    the    writer 
for  comparison,  as  follows: 

WILHELM.    MORITZ.    G.    Z.    S.    BRAUNFELS.    1707., 
WILHELM     MORITZ,     GIESSER,     ZU     SOLMS,     BRAUN- 
FELS. 


(district  of  Wetzlar.  province  of  Westphalia,  formerly  a 
furnace  near  Frankfort  on-t he- Main,  in  the  eld  county  of 
Solms).  This  settles  the  origin  of  the  plate  in  Germany,  but 
not   the   date   of   its    importation. 

^fter  modern  American  architects  had  revived  American 
colonial  architecture  in  the  United  States  about  1885,  and  re- 
introduced the  Icng  disused  open  wood  fireplace,  a  gradually 
increasing  number  of  European  stove-plates,  such  as  the 
series  recently  purchased  at  the  Metropolitan  Museum,  New 
Ycrk,  have  been  i  t ported  by  dealers  and  bric-a-brac  lovers 
for  hous^  adornment  or  use  as  firebacks.  But  all  the  evidence 
shows  that  this  plate  can  not  be  thus  accounted  for,  and  that 
it  ca  ne  to  America,  not  as  a  piece  of  bric-a-brac  in  the  late 
19th  century,  but  as  part  of  an  original  stove  brought  to  Phila- 
delphia in  the  early  18th  century,  and  probably  used  in  Grr- 
n- an  town,  before  any  furnaces  had  been  built  in  Pennsylvania, 
New   Jersey   or   New   York. 

The  German  plate  above  noted  in  Ofenplatten  im  Elsass,  is 
dated  1661,  anl  clea-lv  cast  with  the  naTie  H  PHILIPS. 
SORG.  HUTTENMEISTER.  ZU.  WEILMUNSTER.  :  and 
KasssI  says  that  a  very  large  series  of  German  plates  copied 
or  plag  arized  from  each  oth^r.  and  cast  in  the  17th  and  18th 
centuries  at  various  old  German  furnaces,  represent  the  same 
subject. 

The  design  may  be  regarded  as  a  decorative  theme  with 
endless  variat  ons,  to  trace  which  back  to  its  original,  requiring 
a  comparison  of  the  plates  now  in  the  German  Museums,  would 
be  very  interesting.  Bickell  suggests  (Eisenhutten  des  Klosters 
Haina.  page  19).  that  Jost  Schilling,  an  ancient  pattern  carver 
of  Waldeck,  who  according  to  an  item  in  the  archives  at  Mar- 
burg, was  ordered  to  carve  several  Oil  Miracle  stoves  about 
1591,  probably  orig'nated  the  fashion,  afterwards  so  universal, 
of  setting  the  stove  des'gns  under  vaulted  Renaissance  can- 
opies supported  on  pillars.  But  here  we  have  to  account  for 
the  fashion  not  only  of  the  canopies,  but  for  that  no  less 
marked  of  the  grouping  and  the  rhyme;  and  whether  Schilling 
composed  the  rhyme  or  originated  the  group  ng,  Bickell  do^s 
not  say.  But  he  does  state  that  the  style  of  the  Renaissance 
vault';  ( represent  ng  the  downfall  of  the  older  Gothic  wood 
carving),  with  legends  placed  in  the  lower  panel,  was  carried 
to  excess  at  Weilmunster  after  1580.  Kassel  (p3ge  54)  is  in- 
clined to  derive  all  the  oil  plates  in  question,  rhyme  included, 
from  Weilmunster;  and  if  he  is  right  in  suppos'ng  that  his 
Figure  85  of  1661  is  one  of  the  Urplatten,  or  original  patterns 
for  the  whole  series,  then  we  are  justified  in  tracing  not  only 
our  Figure,  but  all  the  other  Oil  Miracle  plates  here  shown,  to 
the  old  Nassau  Furnace,  and  possibly  to  the  authorship  of  either 
Peter  Sorg,  or  H.  Philip  Sorg,  his  son  or  descendant,  who 
were  casters  or  ironmasters  at  Weilmunster  in  the  16th  and 
17th   centuries. 

Beck,  who  says  (Geschichte  des  Eisens,  page  314),  that 
the  first  Peter  Sorg  was  a  well-known  iron  caster  of  the  16th 
century  who  cast  many  stoves  marked  with  his  name,  once 
popular  in  Nassau  and  the  M-iddle  Rhine,  illustrates  a  plate. 
Figure  82.  showing  the  beheading  of  John  the  Baptist,  with  the 
inscription:  N.  PETER.  SORGE.  HUTTENMEISTER.  ZU. 
CHRAFT.  SOLMS.  UND.  GERTRUD.  SCHERESS  V.  CAS- 
SEL.  S.  H.  F.  (Seine  Hausfrau.  Anno  1586).  Another  plate, 
also  illustrated  by  Beck,  set  in  a  tile  stove  with  the  same 
pattern,  dated  1597,  but  minus  the  advertisement,  is  in  the 
Wiesbaden    Museum. 

Beck  further  says  that  H.  Philip  Sorg  was  a  son  of  Peter 
Sorg,  and  that  the  Bavarian  National  Museum  has  a  plate, 
probably  a  replica  of  Kassel's  Figure  85,  with  the  same  rhyme, 
and  inscribed  H.  PHILIPPS.  SORG.  HUTTENMEISTER. 
ZU.  WEILMUNSTER.,  and  (Volume  2.  page  1084).  that 
Philip   Sorg   was  at  Weilmunster   in    1657   and   died   in    1691. 


the  caster,  or  with  its  final  G  for  Geislautern,  wooden  pattern  or  erasing  it  in  the  sand 
a  foundry  in  the  Rhenish  Palatinate,  has  been  (probably  by  a  rival  foundry  in  recasting), 
erased,  either  by  cutting  the  monogram  off  the      so    as    to    throw    the    inscription    out    of    the 


27 


^3- 

Xlie  Miracle  of  the  Oil 

Right   plate.      Size.   W.    29"  4    by    H.   26'^.      At   the    Berks    County 
Historical   Society. 

Found  by  Mr.  B.  F.  Owen  at  the  house  of  Mr.  Garrion 
Guldin,  near  Monterey,  Berks  County.  Pa.,  in  1909.  standing  in 
a  barn  yard  lean'ng  aga'nst  a  chicken  house,  its  existence 
being  unknown  to  the  family.  Three  canopies  with  twisted 
columns,  supporting  decorated  arches  underhung  with  scrolls, 
festoons  and  curtains,  divide  the  scene  of  Elisha's  miracle  with 
the  Wi-iow's  O  1,  2nd  Kings.  4th  chapter,  into  three  parts. 
To  the  left,  the  widow,  with  uplifted  hands,  approaches  the 
Prophet :  in  the  middle  the  widow  pours  oil  from  the  miracu- 
lous jug  into  one  of  three  large  vases,  while  another  female 
carries  a  large  jar.  To  the  right,  a  man  pours  oil,  while  a 
wc.-nan  carries  a  vase  upon  her  head.  The  old  rhymed  in- 
scription so  frequent  m  Germany  as  cast  upon  Figures  20 
to    28   is   replaced    by   the   inscription 

GOTTES.    SEGEN.    MACHT.    REICH. 
"God's    bless  ng    maketh    rich" — in    the    central    cartouche,    while 
the   legend 

II.    REGUM.    IV.   CA. 

GOTT.    ERNHERT.    DIE. 

WITWEN.    UND.   VER. 

MEHRT.    IHR.    DEL. 
"2    Kirgs    4    Chapter,    God    nourishes    the    widow    and    increase! 
her    oil,"    fills    the    medallion    below.       Kassel,    who    fin    Ofenplat 
ten    im    Elsass.    Strasburg,    1903)    describes    and    illustrates    seven 


varying  patterns  of  the  Oil  Miracle,  as  expressing  (or  the 
household  the  all-powerful  help  of  Christ  an ity,  and  the  divine 
reward  of  piety,  in  earthly  food,  health  and  riches,  says  that 
this  thcT.e,  indefin  tcly  varied  in  treafnent,  has  appeared  more 
fiequently  in  Germany  upon  the  ancient  stoves,  than  any  other 
Biblcal  subject  except  that  of  the  w  ne  miracle  at   Cana. 

The  notches  on  the  narrow  left  margin,  for  reasons  ex- 
plained in  the  text,  show  that  the  plate  was  probably  im- 
ported fron  Germany  about  1700,  or  before  the  establishment 
of    American    stove  making    furnaces. 


24. 

Tlie  Oil  Itlirafle. 

Fragment    of    r  ght    plate.      Size.    H.     IZVj    by    W.    28.       Bucks 
County   Historical   Society. 

The  much  rusted  fragment  showing  the  bolt  notch  in  the 
left  margin,  is  another  version  of  the  Oil  Miracle  series  of 
patterns,  described  dy  Kassel.  above  cited,  without  illustra- 
tion {Ofenplatten.  page  56);  and  no  doubt  forms  part  of  a 
stove  imported  from  Ger.-nany  in  the  early  I8th  century.  It 
was  found  walled  in  the  cellar  window  of  a  house  belonging 
to   Mr.    Enos   B.   Loux,  of  HiUtown.   Bucks  County,   Pa.,   in   1910. 

The  general  treatment  of  the  plate  and  the  inscription  re- 
sembles that  of  the  other  miracle  plate.  Figure  23.  Unfortu- 
nately, the  break  prevents  us  from  tracing  more  than  the 
base  of  two  columns,  several  oil  jars  and  the  legs  of  the 
figures,  just  above  the  central  cartouche  filled  with  the  in- 
scription, here  quoted  more  exactly  than  in  Figure  23.  from 
Proverbs  10-22,  m  Luthers  Bible:  DER.  SEGEN.  DES.  HER- 
REN.  MACHET.  REICH.,  'The  blessing  of  the  Lord  maketh 
rich." 

Below  in  a  medallion  framed  with  leafage,  the  inscription 
repeating  that  from  Figure  23,  but  differently  spaced  and  let- 
tered,   reads: 

2.    REGUM     AM.    IV.    CAP. 

GOTT.    ERNEHRT.    DIE.   WITWE. 

UND.   VERMEHRT.    IHR.    OEL. 
"2nd    Kings,    in    Fourth    chapter:      God    nurtures    the    widow    and 
increases  her  oil." 


center  of  the  medallion,  thus  proving  that  the 
erasure  was  a  secondary  act,  and  that  the 
plate  came  to  America  in  its  older  original 
form,   monogram   included,  from  Germany. 

As  none  of  these  three  American  oil 
miracle  plates,  nor  the  German  replica,  are 
dated,  it  is  impossible  to  decide  whether  the 
importation  occurred  before  or  after  the  estab- 
lishment of  American  furnaces  (1720  to  1750) 
in  Pennsylvania  and  New  York,  but  it  is  safe 
to  assume  that  the  wooden  pattern,  which  has 
undoubtedly  been  twice  altered,  as  thus  shown. 


remained  in  Germany,  and  that  the  plates  here 
illustrated  are  either  German  originals,  cast 
according  to  Dr,  Kassel  at  Geislautern  and  so 
imported,  or  are  direct  recasts  from  imported 
German  originals  used  in  lieu  of  wooden  pat- 
terns at  one  of  the  American  furnaces. 

The  evidence  of  these  oil  miracle  plates 
in  replica  in  both  continents  is  conclusive,  but 
besides  them  eight  more  similar  plates  and 
fragments  of  plates,  Figures  22,  23,  24,  25, 
26,  27,  28  and  29,  differing  in  construction 
from    all    the    American    plates    hereafter    de- 


28 


«5- 
The  Oil  miracle. 

Pragmelit   of   left   plate.     Size    not    learned.     Berks    County    His- 
torical  Society, 

The    fragment   Bhows    a    part    of    the    usual    scene    represented 
upon   Figures  20  to  28,  with  a  part  of  the  ancient  rhyme 

DAS.    OHL.    GAR.    RE. 

DER.   SOHN.    VOM, 

IM,  T, 
It    differs    slightly    from    all    the    others    above    noted,    and    from 
all     those     illustrated     by     Kassel     in     Ofenplatten     im     Elsass, 


scribed,  have  come  to  lig.it  during  the  writing 
of  the  following  pages,  which  are  hardly  less 
certainly  of  original  German  importation  and 
make. 

The  similarity  in  composition,  not  only  to 
each  other,  but  to  the  oil  plates  illustrated  in 
Kassel,  is  unmistakable,  and  though  none  are 
exact  replicas  of  Kassel's  cuts,  there  can  be 
little  doubt  that  replicas  exist  in  Germany  and 
can  be  found.  Moreover,  two  of  them  are 
dated  (1677  or— 71  and  1713)  before  the  estab- 
lishment of  Pennsylvanian  furnaces;  and  the 
construction  of  the  plates,  all  but  one  of  which 
are  side  plates,  and  all  notched  in  the  old 
German  manner,  is  German  rather  than  Ameri- 
can, as  explained  in  Chapter  I,  and  differs  from 


Norel,  Strasburg.  1905,  Nos.  83-88,  though  most  closely  re- 
sembling his  No.  85,  cast  by  Philip  Sorg,  Huttenmeister,  at 
Weil.-nunster,  in  Nassau,  in  1661.  where,  according  to  Kassel,  the 
remarkable  rhyme  and  pattern  copied  for  two  hundred  years 
by  many  German  furnaces  with  endless  variations,  probably 
or  ginated. 

Here  again  the  old  sermon  in  iron  referring  to  four  of  the 
miracles  in  Chapter  4  of  Second  Kings:  yet,  with  its  picture 
illustrating  but  one  of  them,  which  for  centuries  had  encouraged 
the  German  peasant  and  with  him  crossed  the  Atlantic  Ocean 
into  colonial  America,  appears  broken,  rusted  and  forgotten  in 
the  ruins  of  an  old  house  formerly  belonging  to  Egleman,  the 
astronomer,  near  Reading,  Pa,,  where  Mr.  B.  F.  Owen  found  it 
in    1910. 


26. 
miracle  of  Xlie  Oil. 

Right    plate.      Size,    H.    25^4    by    W.    28.    Senate    House,    Kings- 
ton-on-t  he- Hudson. 

Under  three  canopies,  supported  on  twisted  columns, 
adorned  with  decorative  bands  marked  with  sockets,  and  backed 
with    fringed    curtains    and    tassels,    three    scenes    appear    to    be 

that  of  all  the  later  American  cast  plates  here- 
with shown. 

Though  alike  in  general  treatment,  they 
vary  in  details.  Sometimes  the  scene  appears 
to  be  divided  into  two  panels  and  there  is  a 
great  diversity  in  the  details  of  the  elaborated 
canopies  which  overhang  it.  Sometimes  the 
oil  cellar  or  storehouse  with  tiled  roof,  gen- 
erally appearing  at  the  left  of  the  pattern,  is 
absent.  Sometimes  one,  sometimes  two  or 
more  persons  appear  in  the  act  of  pouring  oil, 
and  sometimes  the  widow  herself  seems  to  be 
duplicated,  while  in  one  plate  the  prophet  him- 
self, generally  absent,  stands  in  the  center  of 
the  pattern,  staf?  in  hand.  The  inscription 
varies.  Sometimes  we  have  GOTTES.  SEGEN. 


29 


represented.  In  the  middle,  one  of  the  sons  pours  oil  from  the 
rr.irac  ulcus  jar  into  a  wooden,  hooped  vessel,  while  anothrr 
person  stands  behind  a  cask  lying  on  its  side,  and  a  third 
figure  balances  a   jar   on   its   head. 

In  the  left  canopy,  the  widow  with  clasped  hands,  be- 
seeches the  prophet,  who  stands,  staff  in  hand,  behind  a  cask, 
and  above  the  woman's  head  a  curious  welt,  as  of  the  warping 
of  the  end  of  a  board  in  the  mculi,  marks  the  background. 
In  the  right  canopy,  the  prophet  appears  to  be  lifting  up  the 
dead  son. 

All  the  other  rhymed  inscriptions  for  this  subject  in  our 
collection,  with  variations  in  spelling,  repeat  the  rhymes  found 
in  Germany  as  noted  in  Kassel.  page  54.  and  Beck,  page  314, 
But  this  inscription  differs  from  them  all.  and  from  the  others 
here  illustrated,  in  the  italicised  wording  of  the  first  and  third 
lines. 

DAS.    OHL.    IM.    KRCG.    SICH.    REICHLICH.    MEHRT. 

DER.    SOHN.    VOM.    TOD.    ZUM.    LEBEN.    KEHRT. 

JSDRM.    SICH.    GOTTES.    GUT.    BEWEIST. 

MIT.   WENIG.    BROD.   VIEL.    MENSCHEN.   SPEIST. 

2.    REGVM.    AM.    4.    CAPITEL.    AN.    1713. 
"The    oil    in    the    jar    richly    increases — 
The   sen    fro.-n    death   turns   to   life. 
In    which    God's    bounty    proves    itself. 


MACHT.  REICH.,  OR  DER.  SEGEN.  DES. 
HERREN.  MACHET.  REICH.,  from  Prov- 
erbs, 10-22  (The  blessing  of  the  Lord,  it  maketh 
rich),  or  GOTT.  ERNAHRT.  DIE.  WITWE. 
UND.  VERMEHRT.  IHR.  OEL.  (God  nour- 
ishes the  widow  and  increases  her  oil). 

But  most  impressive  is  an  ancient  rhyme, 
embodying  three  of  the  miracles  in  Second 
Kings,  chapter  4,  which,  like  the  fire,  which 
once  burned  in  the  old  stove,  seems  to  glow 
with  a  benign   warmth : 

DAS.  OEL.  GAR.  REICHLICH.  SICH.  VER- 
MEHRT. 

DER.  SOHN.  VOM.  TODT.  ZUM.  LEBEN. 
KEHRT. 

IM.  TODT.  SICH.  GOTTES.  GUT.  BE- 
WEIST. 

MIT.  WENIG.  BROTS.  VIL.  MENSCHEN. 
SPEIST. 

The  widow's  oil  did  richly  grow. 
God's  mercy  in  the  tomb  did  show. 
A  boy  to  life  rose  from  the  dead. 
A  hundred  men  on  few  loaves  fed. 

It  is  interesting  to  follow  these  varied 
renderings  of  the  same  subject  back  to  Ger- 
many, where  a  perplexing  confusion  of  the 
similar  miracles  of  Elijah  and  Elisha  in  1st 
Kings,  17,  and  2nd  Kings,  4,  seems  to  have 
followed  the   pattern  from  the   first. 


With   little    bread    many    men    eat. 

2  Kings  in  4  chapter.  Anno  1713." 
Kassel  traces  the  rhyme,  as  before  noted,  to  the  old 
Nassau  furnace  at  Weilmunstcr  and  the  probable  authorship 
of  Phil  p  Sorg  in  1561.  Whether  this  derivation  Is  correct  or 
not,  the  rhyme  docs  not  appear  on  any  of  Soldan's  patterns 
illustrated  by  Bickell.  nor  upon  the  ancient  Harz  plates  of  a 
hundred  years  earlier  illustrated  in  Wedding's  book,  although 
B;ckelt  finds  proof  in  the  archives  of  Marburg  that  jost 
Schilling,  of  Waldeck.  carved  an  oil  miracle  stove,  undescribed 
as  to  pattern  or  rhyme,  in  1591.  Kassel  points  out  the  curious 
fact  that  though  the  inscription  describes  three  ep  sodes,  namely 
the  pcLring  of  ol,  2  Kings  4-5.  the  rais  ng  from  the  dead. 
2  Kings  4-35.  and  the  miraculous  feast.  2  Kings  4  44.  the 
pictures  on  the  plates  as  seen  by  him  only  illustrate  one,  the 
oil-pouring.  Here  however,  as  in  some  of  the  German  pat- 
terns, we  have  illustrated  the  widow  supplicating  the  prophet, 
not  referred  to  in  the  rhyme,  and  perhaps,  as  a  unique  feature, 
the   raising  fro.Ti   the  dead. 

Again  the  notches  on  the  left  margin,  indicating  the  Ger- 
man method  of  clamping,  as  explained  in  the  text,  as  well  as 
the  date  1713.  show  that  the  plate  was  cast  in  Germany,  and 
imported  to  America,  before  the  establishment  of  stove-making 
furnaces    in    Pennsylvania.    New   Jersey    and    New    York 

Wedding,  in  Eisenhutten  des  Klosters 
Haina,  page  19,  quotes  an  order  from  a 
Countess  of  Waldeck  who,  in  ordering  one  of 
these  miracle  stoves  during  a  famine  in  1591, 
calls  the  narrative  of  2nd  Kings,  4,  "The 
Miracle  of  Sarepta."  Centuries  later  a  writer 
in  1907  confuses  the  original  widow  of  Elisha 
in  2nd  Kings,  4,  v/ith  the  Shunamite  prophetess 
of  Elijah  in  1st  Kings,  17,  besides  ascribing  the 
whole  representation  to  an  advertisement  for 
Colza  oil. 

As  Kassel  shows,  this  mixture  of  two 
miracles  so  nearly  alike,  the  misplacement  of 
the  word  Sarepta,  and  of  the  names  Elijah  and 
Elisha,  together  with  erroneous  citations,  and 
inscriptions  which  fail  to  describe  the  scene 
depicted,  frequently  occur  in  the  presentation 
of  the  subject. 

Better  perhaps  than  to  hunt  these  anach- 
ronisms, or  puzzle  over  inconsistencies,  like 
the  Hanau  peasant,  who,  according  to  Kassel, 
often  stands  before  his  stove,  Bible  in  hand, 
nodding  his  head  in  hopeless  perplexity,  let 
us  repeat  the  memory  haunting  rhyme,  whose 
sonorous  words  have  so  long  and  so  often 
unfolded   their   quickening  message. 

Shall  we  wonder  that  the  German  emi- 
grant brought  it  with  him  for  heart's  ease,  in 
his  conflict  with  the  unknown  dangers  of  the 
New  World?  Rather  ponder  on  the  changes 
which  have  removed  the  miracle  stove  from 
the    household   and    buried   it   in    ruins.      The 


30 


27- 

Miracle  of  ttie  Oil* 

Right  plate.  S  ze,  H.  263^  by  W.  26^4.  Mr.  Joseph  H.  Doran. 
120  South  Nineteenth  street,  Ph  ladelphia.  Bought  by  him 
about  1880  at  Noble's  Curiosity  Shop,  at  Fifteenth  and  Chest- 
nut streets,  Philadelphia,  and  traced  to  the  sale  of  the  col- 
lection of  a  traveling  showman,  in  an  old  house  near  Trevose. 
Bucks  County.  Pa.,  from  whom  Mr.  Noble  had  obtained  it 
about   1890. 

Besdes  the  evidence  of  the  two  notches  on  the  left  rim, 
the  superior  workmanship  of  this  elaborate  plate  and  the 
form  and  spelling  of  its  inscription,  would  prove  that  it  was 
made  in  Germany  or  recast  from  a  German  original.  Among 
the  six  figures  in  the  picture,  two  of  them,  the  widow  in  the 
middle  canopy,  and  another  person  to  the  left,  pour  oil  from 
one  jar  to  another.  Another  figure  carries  a  jar  on  his  head, 
but  otherwise,  excepting  these  four  jars,  all  the  oil  vessels 
in  the  picture  are  basket-shaped  buckets,  carried  in  the  hands 
of  the  figures,  or  wooden  casks,  thirty-two  of  which  are 
stacked  in  heaps  upon  the  floor. 

The  ridges  mark  where  cracks  in  the  wooden  mould  pass 
vertically  down  the  right  and  middle  canopy,  and  the  heads 
of  nails,  used  to  fasten  the  carved  boards  to  their  battens, 
appear  at  various  places  in  the  inscription,  in  the  middle  and 
left    canopies,   and    in    the   arches   above. 

As  upon  several  of  the  German  plates  illustrated  by  Dr. 
Kassel,  and  slightly  varied  from  those  upon  Figures  22  and  26, 
the    inscription    is    easily    deciphered    below. 

DAS.    OHL.    GAR.    REICHLICH.   SICH.    VERMEHRT. 

DER.    SOHN.    VOM.    TODT.    ZUM.    LEBEN.    KEHRT. 

IM.    TODT.    SICH.    GOTTES.    GUT.    BEWEIST. 

MIT.   WENIG.    BROTS.   VIL.    MENSCHEN.    SPEIST. 

16.2.    REGUM.    AM.    4.    CAPITTEL.    71.. 

Freely  translated  as   follows: 

"The    widow's    oil    did    richly    grow, 
God's  mercy   in   the   tomb   did   show, 
A   boy  to  life  rose  from   the   dead, 
A  hundred   men  on   few  loaves   fed." 

2nd    Kings,    in    4th    Chapter,    1671. 

dangerous  forest  has  disappeared.  The  log 
house  is  gone.  The  tools  and  implements  of 
the  pioneer,  cast  aside  ninety  years  ago,  are 
things  of  the  past.     The  ancient  fireplace  and 


28. 
miracle  of  the  Oil. 

Right  plate  of  Jamb  Stove.  Size,  W.  24^4,  H.  25^2.  Bucks 
County    Historical    Society. 

The  Plate  is  particularly  interesting  as  part  of  a  nearly 
complete  Jamb  stove,  four  pieces  of  which,  namely,  two  sides, 
tht  front  and  a  top  or  bottom  plate,  were  found  in  February, 
1914,  by  Mr.  Horace  H.  Piatt,  of  No.  5548  Ridge  Avenue.  Rox- 
borough.    Philadelphia,   in   an   old   house   at    Manayunk. 

More  rude  and  simple  than  the  other  oil  Miracle  patterns 
here  shown,  the  des  gn  set  in  the  usual  frame  work,  forming 
two  canopies  on  twisted  columns,  with  cornice  and  tasseled 
curtains,  shows  two  scenes.  In  the  left,  the  widow,  standing 
behind  a  cask,  pours  oil  fro.Ti  one  tankard  into  another,  while 
her  son  carries  a  jar  on  h's  head  and  a  bucket  in  his  hand.  To 
the  right,  the  woman,  kneeling  on  a  stool,  beseeches  the  prophet 
Elisha,  who  stands  before  her  with  uplifted  right  hand.  The 
plinth  under  the  foothold  of  the  figures  is  adorned  with  two 
large  baskets  with  round  bottoms,  which  may  refer  to  the  bread 
miracle  referred  to  in  2  Kings,  4,  44,  while  the  old  Weilmunster 
rhyme  seen  upon  bo  many  of  these  plates  again  appears,  but 
here  lacks  the  last  two  lines  and   reads: 

DAS.  OEL.   IM.   GRUG.   SICH.   RE. 

ICHLIG.   MERT.  DER.  SON.  VOM.  T. 

OT.  ZUM.   LEBEN.   KERT.   W 

AM.  2.   KONIGE.  AM.  4.   CAP. 

The  oil  in  the  jar  greatly  increases.  The  son  turns  from 
death  to  life.      W in  2nd    Kings  in  4   Chapter. 

L  kc  every  other  oil  plate  here  illustrated,  this  specimen 
shows  the  two  notches  on  the  narrow  margin,  adapted  for  the 
ancient  German  method  of  belting  with  loose  gutter  shaped 
rims.  But  Mr.  Piatt  did  not  find  these  rims  among  the  ruins 
of  the  stove,  while  the  single  top  or  bottom  plate  recovered 
lacks  the  projecting  lip,  characteristic  of  the  American  stoves 
here  shown  { see  figures  36  and  37 )  perforated  for  the  outside 
bolt,  and  proving  therefore  that  no  such  bolt  was  used.  As 
compared    with    the    German    plates,    the    two    baskets    and    the 

its  stove  adjunct  have  been  demolished.  As 
the  trolley  rushes  by  the  country  road,  or  the 
talking  machine  sounds  its  incongruous  song, 
the  modern  farmer,  rich  and  prosperous,  digs 


31 


tulip  bearing  vine  stems,  appearing  as  vertical  "borders,  ate 
pccul  ar.  The  figures  are  comparatively  rude.  But  notwith- 
standing the  illiterate  spelling  of  the  inscription,  the  cutting 
of  words  regardless  of  syllables,  the  upsetting  of  the  Z's  and  the 
misplacing  cf  G's  for  K's  and  CHs.  the  workmanship  of  the 
plate  seems  German  rather  than  Amer  can.  The  rude  Cana 
patterns  (figures  49  and  50).  as  compared  with  the  front  plate 
of  this  stove,  might  he  called  Pcnnsylvanian  in  style,  but  here 
wc  see  again  the  old  German  style  of  the  old  theme,  unmis- 
takably if  freely  copied,  and  we  may  reasonably  suppose  that 
the  whole  stove  was  imported  from  Germany  into  Pennsylvania 
before    172D. 


If 


^r. 


29- 

Xhe  miracle  of  Cana. 

Front  plate  of  Jamb  Stove.  Si2e.  W.  17'/2.  H.  25V'a.  Bucks 
County  Historical  Society.  Found  in  1914,  with  figure  28  in 
the  hearth  of  an  old  house  at  Manayunk.  Philidelphia.  by  Mr. 
Horace    H.   Piatt. 

The  treatment  with  tw'sted  columns  supporting  double 
vaults,  the  fring-d  curta'ns.  tassels,  vine  stem  with  tulips  and 
tulip  spandrels,  is  unmistakably  that  of  figure  28.  Only  one 
guest,  the  bride,  crowned,  as  in  the  German  specimens  from 
Zinswe  ler.  illustrated  by  Kassel,  is  seated  at  the  table,  which 
is  of  the  cross-legged  German  pattern,  and  on  which  one  dish 
and  two  smaller  objects,  not  quite  obliterated  by  rust,  appear. 
Tc  the  right  and  left  stand  figures  holding  tankards,  while 
Christ,  with  uplifted  right  hand,  appears  to  the  extreme  right. 

The  broad  plinth  below  the  picture  is  decorated  with  four 
tankards  and  the  inscription,  citing  the  Cana  narrative  in  the 
Bible,  set  in  a  banded  stripe  below,  reads :  lOHAN.  AM.  2 
CAPIT.  John  in  second  chapter.  The  much  rusted  and  abbre- 
viated sentence  in  the  small  oval  medallion  beneath,  set  between 


sprays  of  tul  ps.  may  prrhaps  be  deciphered  as:  GR.  M. 
WASEK.  ZU.  WEIN.  Gristus  macht  wasscr  »u  wein.  Chrtatuft 
makes  water  into  wine. 

As  the  right  and  left  plates  of  th  s  stove  arc  replicas,  we 
have  here  two  d'stinct  B-itliol  scenes,  the  O.I  Miracle  upon  th: 
sides,  and  the  Cana  Miracle  upon  the  front,  represented  on  ofie 
stove,  which.  !or  the  reasons  given  under  figure  28.  we  miy 
suppcse  was  i  nporled  irom  Ger.nany  early  in  the  e  ghteen»h 
century. 


30- 
Sain$4on  and  tlie  Lion. 

Left  plate.  Size  not  learned.  In  the  "Cloister'  at  Ephrata.  Pa. 
1910. 

With  bared  ar.-ns  and  dressed  in  a  short-skirted  Roman 
toga,  the  long  end  of  which  whirls  in  the  wind  above  his  head. 
Samson,  with  left  knee  upon  the  animal's  back,  and  right  leg 
laced  in  a  buskin,  t^ars  open  the  jaws  of  the  young  lion.  A 
scrolled  canopy  in  rococo  style  resting  upon  corbels  rather  than 
columns,  and  adorned  with  a  small  pendant,  overhangs  the 
f gures,  while  below,  and  separated  by  a  dotted  1  ne,  the  in 
scription.  interrupted  by  a  rust  hole,  and  placed  within  a  richly 
scrolled  border,  cites  the  Bible,  Ju-Jges  14.  I VDICVM.XIIII. 
not  in  German,  like  all  the  American-made  plates  in  the  collec- 
tion, but  in  Latin  as  in  Fig.  23.  Besides  this,  the  dimensions 
of  the  casting,  which,  as  a  side  plate  to  a  five  plate  stove, 
narrower  than  its  he'ght.  reverses  the  shape  of  nearly  all  the 
other  American  plates,  and  the  two  notches  in  the  right  rim 
for  the  admssion  of  bolts  in  the  Ger.-nan  fashion  previously 
described,  sufr.ciently  show  that  the  plate,  without  ccnsiderinij 
the  superior  modelling  of  the  figures,  which  is  evidently  done 
in  the  style  of  the  17th  century,  before  the  establishment  of 
furnaces  in  Pennsylvania,  was  either  made  in  Germany,  or  cast 
in    America   from   a    German   original  or  mould. 

Mr.  B.  F.  Owen  found  and  photographed  the  plate  in  1910 
in  the  so-called  "Cloister'"  at  Ephrata.  Pa.,  built  by  the  sect 
of  Seventh   Day  Tunkers,  or   Baptists,  about  the  year   1740. 


32 


Front. 


31- 

The  "Wheel  of  Fortujie. 

Size.   H.   27xW.    18'/,.      B.  H.  S.      No.    16824. 


the  iron  picture  from  his  cellar  wall  or  ex- 
humes it  from  a  gutter  to  be  sold  to  ihe  junk 
dealer. 

Is  its  message  gone  forever,  where 
churches  proclaim  weekly  that  man's  eternal 
struggle  with  the  ills  of  life  is  waged  fiercely 
as  of  old?  Is  the  wonder  cure  lost  where  the 
disease  remains?  Well  that  the  potent  rhyme 
stamped  on  these  rescued  plates  must  survive 
for  many  years  to  come  or  that  we  repeat  it 
here  and  scatter  it  abroad." 

The  dates  1677  on  Figure  27.  1707  on 
Figure  22  and  1713  on  Figure  26  furnish  no 
absolute  proof  as  to  when  the  stoves  were 
imported  into  America  or  used  there,  since 
old  stoves,  as  well  as  new  ones,  might  have 
been  brought  over  and  sold  to  the  colonists. 
But  we  may  reasonably  infer  that  some  new 
stoves,  dated  and  made  within  a  year  or  two 
of  their  importation,  came  over,  and  that  these 
plates  like  Figure  19  and  the  beautifully  mod- 
eled Samson  plate.  Figure  30,  found  at  the 
"cloister"  at  Ephrata,  also  notched  in  the  same 
way,  represent  stoves  which  were  probably 
first  used  by  Dutch  settlers  in  New  York,  if  not 
by  Swedish  and  Dutch  settlers  on  the  lower 
Delaware    before    the    English    settlement    of 


A  female  figure,  dancing  upon  a  wheel,  waves  a  long  scarf 
in  her  left  hand.  In  her  right  she  holds  a  tasselsd  cap,  of  the 
shape  celebrated  fifty  years  later,  in  the  French  Revolution, 
as  the  Liberty  cap.  Four  points  project  from  the  end  of  the 
wheel,  ending  in  what  appear  to  be  tongues  of  flame.  The  pic- 
ture "s  not  separated  by  a  band  or  lower  panel  fro.-n  the  inscrip- 
tion : 

DU.    FALSCHES.    GLUCK. 

DU.    GBST.    UND.    NMST.    AUCH. 

DENE.    GABEN.    WAS.    WILL. 

EIN.    GLAUBENS.    KND.    MIT. 

DIR.    ZU.    SCHAFFEN.    HABEN. 

"Thou  false  luck,  thou  givest  and  takest  again  thy  gifts.     What 
shall  a  child  of  faith  have  to  do  with  thee?" 

But  the  remarkable  feature  of  the  pattern  is  the  date.  Anno 
1726.  This,  marking  it  as  the  earliest  supposedly  American 
plate  yet  found,  is  very  clear,  and  shows  that  the  plate,  which 
is  the  front-plate  of  a  Jamb  stove,  constructed  like  all  other 
American  plates  with  the  guttered  rims  cast  solid  upon  its 
margins,  if  not  imported  from  Germany,  must  have  been  cast 
in    Pennsylvania,    for    the    following    reasons: 

Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  Jamb  stoves,  decorated  in  this 
manner,  were  used  in  the  early  18th  century  in  the  New  York 
Colony  by  German  and  Dutch  settlers,  and  notwithstanding  the 
fact  that  plate  stoves,  though  probably  of  the  s>x-plate  draught- 
stove  type,  and  never  decorated  in  German,  were  (according  to 
Kalm,  quoted  by  Swank.  Iron  in  all  Ages,  pages  349-350)  cast 
about    1749   at   the   Trois    Rivieres    Furnace    in    Canada    (founded 


Pennsylvania,  or  by  German  colonists  for  a 
time  after,  namely,  between  the  years  1659  and 
1720,  or  until  the  colonists  built  their  own 
furnaces  and  made  their  own  stoves. 

This  brings  us  to  an  important  point  in 
the  investigation,  namely,  the  abandonment  of 
European  stoves  and  first  manufacture  of 
stoves  in  colonial  America,  and  when  we  ask 
how  when  and  where  it  occurred,  for  want 
of  other  evidence  we  must  fall  back  on  a  few 
meagre  data  in  old  furnace  records  and  the 
plates  themselves,  one  of  which.  Figure  31, 
supplies   important   evidence, 

FIRST  AMERICAN   MANUFACTURE   OF 
JAMB  STOVES. 

This  plate,  first  found  in  1903  in  use  as 
a  pavement  under  a  water  spout  near  Johns- 
ville.  in  lower  Bucks  County.  Pennsylvania, 
and  again  as  a  broken  fragment  three  years 
later  in  demolishing  an  old  house  on  Mount 
Penn,  near  Reading,  Pennsylvania,  thus  ap- 
pearing twice  as  a  front  plate  and  representing 
two  five-plate  or  jamb  stoves,  rather  than  one, 
is  adorned  with  the  allegorical  figure  of  Fortune 
dancing  upon  a  flaming  wheel,  with  flaunting 
scarf  and  liberty  cap  and  with  a  rhymed  Ger- 
man legend  as  described  above,  condemning 
those  who  trust  their  welfare  to  her  favor. 


33 


1737.  abandoned  1883).  this  plate  could  not  have  been  cast  in 
New  York.  Canada,  Rholc  Island.  New  Jersey,  Virginia  or 
North  Carolina  in  1726,  since  no  furnaces  then  existed  in  the 
colonies   named. 

Nor  can  we  reasonably  suppcse  that  it  could  have  b;en 
made  in  Maryland,  where  no  evidence  has  yet  appeared  that 
such  stoves  were  ever  cast  or  used  in  early  Colonial  timrs. 
notwithstanding  the  fact  that  the  Mount  Royal  Furnace,  founded 
1723  to  30;  The  Gwynns  FalU.  1723  to  30.  and  the  Principle. 
1724.   were   probably   in   blast   in    1726. 

The  ancient  Massachusetts  Furnaces  of  Hammersm'th,  at 
Lynn  and  at  Braintree.  established  in  164S  and  1646,  were 
abandoned  in  1688  and  1653.  respectively,  and  though  the  New 
Haven.  Connecticut,  Furnace,  1658,  and  though  Kings  Furnace, 
at  Taunton.  Massachusetts  (1724),  might  have  been  in  blast  in 
1726,  there  is  no  evidence  that  any  of  them,  at  that  t!me,  ever 
cast  plate  stoves  of  any  kind,  much  less  stoves  decorated  and 
inscribed  in  a  language  generally  unknown  in  the  New  England 
Colonies. 

For  these  reasons  we  may  infer  that  this  plate,  if  made  in 
America,  was  cast  in  Penns>Uan-a  at  one  of  three  or  four 
furnaces  then  only  existing  in  the  Colony.  Not  probably  at  the 
short-l'ved  Keith's  Furnace,  1725  to  8,  in  Delaware  (then  Penn- 
sylvania), out  of  the  zone  of  German  settlement  and  house-warm- 
irg  stoves,  or  at  Christ'ne.  alias  Redding  Furnace,  then  possibly 
in  its  first  year,  or  at  Kurtz's  Furnace,  1726  (if  such  a  furnace 
ever  existed),  but  probably  at  Colebrookdale,  founded  in  1720, 
where  the  Furnace  Ledgers,  now  in  the  possession  of  the  Hon. 
S.  W.  Pennypacker.  though  the  earliest  are  lost,  show  the  cast- 
ing  of  stoves  after    1728. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  fact  that  the  rims  are  here  cast  solid, 
does  not  prove  the  American  or  gin  of  the  plate,  since  although 
all  the  American  plates  in  the  collection  are  so  constructed, 
and  all  the  German  plates  here  shown  are  cast  for  loose  rims. 
nevertheless,  according  to  Ambrosiani  (Jarnkakelugnar.  page 
106),  and  as  Johannsen  illustrates  (Stahl  und  Eisen,  29  Feb., 
1912,  page  337,  Figure  18).  solid  r.ms  were  introduced  into 
Germany  in  the  late  17th  century.  Moreover,  the  word  "Anno" 
prefixed  to  the  date,  and  appearing  on  no  other  plate  of  certa  n 
American  make,  seems  German  rather  than  American,  while  the 
modelling  of  the  well-spsUed  and  well-carved  inscript  on.  with 
occasional  rounded  U's,  resembles  the  work  on  the  German 
orginals.  Figures  22.  23  and  27.  and  the  plates  illustrated  in 
the    German   books. 

Not  unreasonably,  therefore,  we  may  infer  that  the  mould 
at  least  was  not  made  in  America,  and  that  the  plate,  which 
having  appeared  in  repl'ca  represents  two  stoves  rather  than 
one,  was  either  imported  itself  from  Germany,  or  cast  at  Cole- 
brookdale, directly  from  an  imported  original  or  mould,  when 
at  the  earliest  days  of  the  Furnace  it  might  have  been  found 
easier  to  recast  a  new  stove  from  an  old  one.  or  import  the 
mould  itself  from  Germany,  than  carve  the  latter  in  the  first 
place. 

The  plate  was  presented  to  the  Bucks  County  Historical 
Society   in    1903    by    Mrs.    S.dney    Montayne.    of   Johnsville,    Bucks 


County.  Pa.,  and  found  by  her  under  the  drip  of  a  roof  water- 
spout at  a  modern  house  at  Johnsville,  without  clue  to  itt 
earlier   history. 

A  replica.  Figure  32.  less  rusted,  but  with  both  rims  broken 
oft.  was  found  in  July,  1910.  by  Mr.  B.  F.  Owen  at  the  farm  of 
Thomas  Steigerwalt.  in  Alsace  Township,  Berks  County.  Pa.. 
and  is  now  at  the  Berks  County  Historical  Society. 


32- 

Xlic  Wheel  of  Fortune. 

Front   plate.      Size,    H.    27    x   W.    IPj.      Berks    County    Historical 
Society. 

This  fragment  of  a  replica  of  Figure  29,  proving  the  ex- 
istence of  two  stoves  of  its  kind,  was  obtained  by  Mr.  B.  F. 
Owen  in  July.  1910,  from  Mr.  Thomas  Steigerwalt.  on  Mount 
Penn.  in  Alsace  Township,  near  Reading.  Berks  County.  Pa. 
Some  workmen  (as  described  in  the  Reading  Weekly  Eagle  for 
Saturday.  January  4th,  1896)  had,  in  removing  an  old  log-house 
on  Mr.  Steigerwalt's  property,  found  the  plate  in  1896,  together 
with  some  smaller  fragments,  possibly  of  its  side  plates,  sold  by 
his  sons  to  junk  dealers.  The  date  and  inscription  show  more 
clearly  than  on  Figure  28,  and,  for  the  reasons  therewith  given. 
we  may  perhaps  ascribe  the  plate  to  Colebrookdale  Furnace, 
built   by   Thomas    Ruttcr   and    others   in    1720 


Because  it  is  not  notched   on  the  margin  stoves    cast    in    America,    notwithstanding   the 

Hke  Figures  19  to  29  and  because,  like  all  the  ^^^^  ^^^^  Johannsen  illustrates  a  German  plate 

.          .          .          ^              ,           .            .  u     u  o^  this  kind  dated   1704    (Stahl  und   Eisen,  29 

other  American  front  plates  herewith  shown,  ,    a      t        •      • 

Feb.,   1912,  Figure   18)   and  AmbrosianT*  says 

it  has  been  cast   with   the  gutter-shaped   rims  ^^^^  ^-^^  ^^^  f^^^^  pl^^^^  ^^^  j^^^^  ^^^^^  ^^^^ 

solid  on  its  margins,  it  is  not  unreasonable  to  ;„    Europe    before    1726,    and    therefore    might 

suppose    that    it    represents    one    of    the    first  have  been  imported  into  America. 


34 

If  this  "Fortune  Plate"  of  1726  was  made 
in  America,  we  must  believe  that  it  was  not 
cast  in  a  stove  factory  of  the  modern  type 
called  "foundry,"  since,  with  a  few  possible 
exceptions  in  New  England  and  Virginia,  no 
foundries  then  existed,  and  all  castings  were 
made  at  blast  furnaces  direct  from  the  ore.''' 
Moreover,  if  made  in  America  we  need  not 
suppose  that  it  was  cast  at  any  of  the  old 
furnaces  (or  foundries)  then  in  blast  in  Massa- 
chusetts, or  Rhode  Island,  or  Connecticut, 
where,  it  appears,  they  had  no  such  stoves  and 
no  German  colonists  to  buy  them,  nor  at  the 
then  existing  iron  works  in  Maryland,  or  in 
Virginia  where  fireplaces  rather  than  stoves 
were  in  use,  nor  in  New  York  or  New  Jersey 
or  Canada,  where  no  furnaces  existed  in  1726, 
unless  at  Tinton  Falls  or  Shrewsbury,  Mon- 
mouth County,  New  Jersey  (1682-4,  of  doubt- 
ful age.  Swank,  147),  but  rather  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, where  it  might  have  been  cast  either 
at  Colebrookdale,  near  Pottstown  (founded 
1720),  or  possibly  at  Redding,  alias  Christine, 
Furnace,  in  northern  Chester  County  (founded 
1720  to  1728),  but  nowhere  else,  since  no  other 
Pennsylvanian  furnace  then  existed. '- 

No  certain  records  of  Redding  furnace 
have  been  found,  but  a  lot  of  old  furnace 
ledgers  of  Coventry  Forge,  associated  with 
Redding-Christine  Furnace  and  other  furnaces, 
now  in  the  possession  of  the  Hon.  S.  W.  Pen- 
nypacker  at  Schwenksville,  Montgomery  Co., 
Pennsylvania,  rescued  a  few  years  ago  from  the 
cartload  of  a  junk  dealer  at  Pottstown,  and 
noting  the  sale  of  numerous  five-plate  or  jamb 
stoves  early  in  the  18th  century,  unfortunately 
fail  to  include  the  earliest  furnace  ledgers,  and 
therefore  to  reach  back  to  the  date  in  ques- 
tion.'' But  as  they  begin  entries  of  sales  of 
five-plate  stoves  in  1728  at  Coventry  Forge  for 
Redding  Furnace,  and  in  1729  at  Colebrook- 
dale, nine  years  after  the  latter  furnace  was 
founded,  they  reasonably  fix  the  time  of  the 
casting  of  the  first  American  five-plate  stoves 
at  about  the  date  of  our  plate  (Figure  31)  in 
question. 

Because  these  ledgers,  noting  the  casting 
and  sale  of  the  stoves  in  question,  at  the  earli- 
est Pennsylvanian  furnaces  between   1728  and 


1770,  make  no  mention  anywhere  of  the  loose 
gutter-shaped  rims  which  must  have  been  con- 
tinuously made  and  sold  with  the  stoves,  or 
separately  for  them,  if  they  had  existed,  we 
may  be  certain  that  when  the  colonists  began 
to  make  five-plate  stoves  generally  resembling 
the  old  German  originals  above  described,  they 
either  never  used  the  loose  rims,  short  bolts 
and  notched  margins  shown  in  Figures  2  and 
3,  or  almost  immediately  abandoned  them  for 
the  solid  cast  gutter-shaped  rims  shown  in 
Figure  31  and  introduced  a  method  of  fasten- 
ing on  the  top  plate,  as  hereafter  shown,  ap  ia- 
rently  unknown  in  Europe,  but  invariably 
repeated  on  all  the  American  stoves  yet  found. 

The  furnace  records  above  referred  to, 
nowhere  use  the  name  "jamb  stove"  or  "five- 
plate  stove,"  but  show  that  from  the  first 
entry  at  Coventry  Forge  in  1728  the  five-plate 
stoves  were  continually  called  simply  "stoves," 
in  three  sizes,  "large,"  "middling"  and  "small," 
but  rarely  "Dutch"  stoves,  and  very  rarely 
"carved"  stoves,  and  that  they  were  made 
until  about  1760  to  1768,  when  they  were 
rapidly  superseded  by  the  "six-plate"  (rarely 
called  "English  stoves")  described  later,  and 
first  mentioned  in  the  ledgers  in  1753.''' 

The  ledgers  further  show  that  the  five- 
plate  or  jamb  stoves  weighed  about  448 
pounds  (large),  373  pounds  (medium),  320 
pounds  (small) '',  and  cost  about  five,  four  and 
three  pounds  sterling,  respectively;  that  loose 
plates  sometimes  referred  to  as  "top  plates," 
"bottom  plates,"  "right  plates"  and  "left 
plates"  were  often  sold,  sometimes  by  the 
ton,  and  that  once  a  lot  of  stoves  were  sold 
with  "holes  in  the  top  plates,"  as  if  for  the 
construction  of  an  upper  story  in  the  German 
fashion  of  wrought  iron  or  brick.'" 

But  beginning  with  the  first  entry  of  a 
stove  plate  sold  at  Coventry  Forge  on  July 
25th,  1728,  to  the  record  of  sale  of  a  "Dutch 
stove"  made  at  Pottsgrove  on  October  17th, 
1768,  the  meagre  notes  in  the  Potts  manu- 
scripts which  might  have  described  everything, 
tell  us  almost  nothing.  Always  in  the  English 
language,  they  make  no  reference  to  the  in- 
variable German  inscriptions  upon  the  stoves. 
Two  "Dutch  stove  moulds"  which,  judging 
from  the  price,  have  been  decorated  with  carv- 


35 


ing,  are  bought  for  six  pounds  ten  at  War- 
wick in  1745,  and  five  shillings  are  paid  at 
Popodickon  for  mending  "stove  moulds"  in 
1745,  and  five  pounds  to  Henry  Snyder,  "the 
stove  mould  maker"  at  Warwick  in  1755,  but 
no  hint  is  given  as  to  the  material  or  construc- 
tion of  these  moulds  or  patterns,  and  beyond 
this  no  reference  made  to  payments  made  to 
mould  makers  for  their  remarkable  work,  nor 
is  the  slightest  idea  given  of  the  varied  interest 
or  significance  of  the  plates  themselves,  which 
thus  appear  to  be  a  peculiar  and  unnoticed 
G' rman  ("Dutch")  product  of  furnaces  gen- 
erally owned  and  managed  by  English  iron 
masters.'- 

Though  the  earliest  records  are  lost,  it 
does  not  appear  that  one  furnace  devoted  more 
attention  to  stove  making  than  the  others,  nor 
that  stove  casting  began  on  a  large  scale  or  of 
a  sudden.  All  the  early  entries  in  the  Potts 
manuscripts  (Coventry  Forge,  acting  as  an 
agent  for  Christine,  called  later  Redding 
Furnace,  1728-9),  note  only  the  sale  of  single 
plates  until  1738,  when  at  last  a  complete  stove 
was  first  sold.  A  load  of  complete  stoves  was 
noted  as  sold  at  Pine  Forge  for  Colebrookdale 
Furnace  in   1731. 

From  this  we  might  infer  that  the  making 
of  stoves  was  suggested,  as  it  were,  or  forced 
upon  the  English  iron  masters''  by  German 
colonists,  who  having  brought  iron  stoves 
with  them  from  Germany,  came  to  the 
American  furnaces  to  replace  their  broken 
stove  plates  with  recasts.^" 

COLONIAL  FURNACES. 
The  history  of  other  furnaces,  not  in 
eluded  in  these  records,  such  as  Durham, 
Bucks  County,  Pennsylvania,  1727;  Cornwall, 
Lebanon  County,  Pennsylvania,  1742;  Eliza- 
beth, Lancaster  County,  Pennsylvania,  1750; 
Keith's,  or  Abington,  in  Delaware,  then  Penn- 
sylvania, 1725-28;  Martic,  Lancaster  County, 
Pennsylvania,  1751  ;  Warwick,  Chester  County. 
Pennsylvania,  1738,  and  others  listed  in  the 
Appendix,  which  existed  at  the  time  or  within 
twenty  years  after,  and  may  have  made 
stoves,  might  explain  much  as  to  the  manu- 
facture of  the  first  five-plate  stoves  in  Penn- 
sylvania,   but    their    records    have    not    been 


found,  and  very  little  light  has  been  thrown 
upon  the  subject  by  colonial  or  later  writers.'" 
Scattered  statements  in  The  Potts  Me- 
morial, by  Mrs.  Potts  James;  Iron  Manu- 
facture in  the  United  States,  by  J.  B.  Pearse, 
and  in  Iron  In  All  Ages,  by  J.  M.  Sv/ank, 
ignore  the  making  of  stoves,  and  give  but  a 
meager  account  even  of  the  construction  and 
equipment  of  any  of  the  furnaces  which  until 
the  introduction  of  coal  about  1840  (Pearse) 
continued  an  extravagant  devastation  of 
forests  vhich  h-d  been  limited  by  law  in 
England.  Burning  only  charcoal  at  the  rate 
of  two  and  a  half  cords  of  wood,  or  one  hun- 
dred bushels  of  charcoal,  per  ton  of  melted 
iron,  ■  the  two  miles  square  of  primeval  wood, 
vhich,  according  to  Mrs.  Potts- James,  any 
furnace  was  supposed  to  require  in  the  first 
place,  must  have  soon  disappeared.  Cleared 
first  for  a  large  area  around  the  furnaces  by 
the  long  tiuted  European  axes  of  the  pioneers, 
the  wood  was  stacked  up  in  piles,  fired  into 
charcoal  under  earth-stopped  fires,  of  Beech 
(best),  black  oak  (most  abundant),  ash  and 
white  oak,  continually  smoking  in  the  neigh- 
borhood, and  sold  or  hauled  to  the  furnaces, 
according  to  Pearse,  in  loads  of  160  bushels 
each. 

These  writers  say  that  Colebrookdale,  like 
Redding,  Durham,  Keiths,  Mount  Pleasant, 
Martic,  Cornwall,  Elizabeth,  and  other  old 
Pennsylvanian  furnaces,  consisted  of  a  stone 
furnace  stack,  thinned  at  the  top,  about  thirty 
feet  high,  snd  about  twenty-five  feet  square  at 
the  base,  enclosing  an  egg-shaped  fire  cham- 
ber with  seven  foot  wall  often  lined  with 
fire  resisting  slate,  and  about  ten  feet  in  the 
"bosh"  or  largest  diameter,''  and  that  the 
blast  was  produced  invariably  by  a  huge 
overshot  water  wheel,  about  twenty-five  feet 
in  diameter,  revolving  so  as  to  expand  and 
contract  one  or  two  immense,  wooden, 
leather  hinged  bellows,  about  twenty-five  feet 
long  by  five  feet  wide,  of  the  cominon  fire 
place  pattern,  or  sometimes  in  the  form  of 
two  closely  fitting  wooden  boxes  ("blowing 
tubs"'')  compressing  into  each  other,  and 
whose  one  or  two  nozzles  (tuyers)  were  di- 
rected through  the  stack  wall  into  the  fire 
chamber,   so  as   to  produce   the  required  cold 


36 


blast  that  would  liquefy  iron  ore.  Above  this, 
on  the  top  of  the  stack  proper,  but  still  sur- 
mounted by  a  thin  smoke  chimney,  and 
reached  by  a  bridge  from  a  neighboring  bank 
or  a  high  platform,  was  the  charging  door, 
where  the  ore  (mined  in  superficial  or  under- 
ground veins,  or  gathered  in  loose  lumps  in 
swamps,  or  fished  out  of  ponds  as  the  cele- 
brated "bog  ore"''')  was  thrown.  The  charges 
of  eighteen  bushels  of  ore,  alternating  with 
twenty-four  bushels  of  charcoal,  with  the 
limestone  or  oyster  shell  flux,  were  cast  in 
from  baskets,  while  at  the  base  of  the  stack, 
the  tap  hole  plugged  with  clay  near  the 
ground  level,  emitted  the  molten  iron,  about 
a  ton  at  a  time,  every  nine  or  ten  hours,  day 
and  night  for  the  sixteen  or  eighteen  weeks 
that  the  blast  continued. 

The  glittering  metal  ran  out  upon  a  flat 
sand  bed,  near  the  furnace,  generally  into  a 
series  of  gutters,  so  as  to  harden  into  the  so- 
called  "pigs"  or  "geese,"  and  these  trough- 
shaped  bars  of  rough  cast  iron  from  4  to  6 
feet  long  and  6  inches  wide,  shipped  to  neigh- 
boring forges  to  be  re-heated  and  hammered 
into  "bar"  iron,  as  the  raw  material  for  all 
wrought  iron  manufacture,  constituted  the 
principal  product  of  the  furnace. 

When  on  the  other  hand,  pots,  or  the  so- 
called  "country  castings"  or  stove  plates  were 
wanted,  the  metal  was  ladeled,  thus  at  the  first 
melting,  either  into  the  roofed  or  enclosed  im- 
pressions of  sand  moulds,  enclosed  in  frames, 
called  "flasks,"  or  in  case  of  the  stove  plates, 
into  the  open  impressions  of  the  flat,  rectan- 
gular moulds  stamped  on  the  sand. 

Scorched  and  blackened  casting  sand, 
therefore,  formed  the  floor  of  a  lofty  shed, 
built  of  logs,  which  surrounded  the  furnace, 
while  outside,  near  by,  stood  the  grist  mill, 
blacksmith  shop,  sawmill,  and  carpenter  shop, 
probably  inside  of  which  was  the  mould  room, 
with  its  pot  patterns,  casters"  tools,  scorched 
sand  flasks,  and  wooden  stove  moulds.  Not 
far  away  stood  the  log  stable,  hay  bins,  char- 
coal house  and  masters'  mansions  with  dwell- 
ings for  indentured  English,  Irish  and  Ger- 
man workmen,  negro  slaves  and  a  few  Indian 
laborers. 


STOVE    MOULDS    AND    STOVE    CAST- 
ING. 

It  seems  remarkable  that  of  the  hundreds 
of  moulds  for  casting  the  stove  plates  ex- 
isting about  a  century  ago,  none  should  have 
been  heard  of  as  recently  found  in  the  United 
States.  Notwithstanding  the  demolition, 
abandonment  or  modernizing  of  all  furnaces, 
we  micht  suppose  that  some  of  thsse  interrst- 
ing  wooden  panels,  easily  transportable, 
would  rather  have  been  carried  off  as  curios- 
ities by  farmers,  than  in  every  case  destroyed 
or  lost,  or  that  where  the  mould  carvers 
worked  independently  at  home  and  sold  their 
products  to  various  furnaces,  some  of  the 
moulds  would  have  remained  in  the  houses 
of  the  workmen,  or  might  have  survived  in 
some  of  'he  houses  of  their  descendants,  but 
no  such  discovery  has  been  made.  The  Ger- 
man traveler.  Dr.  Shoep,  in  1783,  says  that 
stove  moulds  were  made  of  mahogany  "be- 
cause it  warps  least."  (Sw.  187.)  A  letter 
from  Mr.  B.  F.  Owen  to  the  writer  in  1913, 
says  that  at  Reading,  Mr.  W.  D.  Smith,  of 
Joanna  Furnace,  remembered  that  the  designs 
for  stoves  were  cast  on  thin  sheets  of  lead, 
nailed  or  glued  upon  frames  of  mahojany, 
and  that  he  had  torn  off  the  lead  of  disused 
moulds,  as  a  boy,  to  cast  bullets.  This  coin- 
cides with  the  information  given  as  to  the 
German  stoves,  but  the  account  refers  not  to 
the  old  "jamb  stoves"  but  to  the  later  "Ten 
Plate"  stoves  cast  after  the  Revolution  and  in 
the  19th  century.  Accrelius,  who  notices  the 
casting  of  Six  Plate  stoves  at  Troys  Rivers  in 
Canada,  in  1747,  does  not  describe  the  moulds. 
(Quoted  by  Swank,  Iron  and  Coal,  1878,  page 
19.)-^ 

Bishop,  in  his  History  of  American  Manu- 
factures, page  555,  speaks  of  the  five  plate 
stoves  as  jamb  stoves  made  by  Stiegel  and 
Christopher  Sauer,  of  Germantown,  but  says 
nothing  of  the  process  of  casting.  The  Potts 
manuscripts  above  referred  to  only  thrice  re- 
cord sums  of  money  paid  to  mould  makers, 
and  the  special  writers  here  variously 
quoted,  Potts-James,  Pearse,  Swank,  Fegley, 
Montgomery,  Watson,  etc.,  ignore  the  ques- 
tion  of    stove    making,   and   scarcely   mention 


37 


the  existence  o^  the  stoves,  much  less  the 
moulds  used  to  cast  them.  We  must  there- 
fore fall  back  upon  the  inference  that  the  old 
German  iron  "jamb"  stoves  were  made  In 
America,  and  cast  in  America,  as  they  had 
been  manufactured  in  Germany,  that  is  to 
say  that  the  moulds  were  carved  in  low  re- 
lief by  cutting  out  the  background  on  a  frame- 
work of  two  or  three  boards,  backed  with 
trans-,  erse  battens,  that  these  moulds  were 
stamped  directly  upon  the  open  sand,  and  the 
cast  made  without  flasks. 

Colebrookdale,  Redding,  Keiths  and  Dur- 
ham, established  in  the  Pennsylvanian  for- 
est sometime  before  the  Indians  had  finally 
yielded  up  their  soil,  have  long  fallen  to  ruin. 
Heaps  of  slag,  overgrown  with  brambles,  de- 
serted shafts,  or  superficial  diggings  alone 
mark  their  sites.  The  moulds  and  patterns, 
tools  and  appliances  are  lost.  The  descend- 
ants of  the  carvers  and  designers,  if  they  sur- 
vive, have  no  tradition  of  the  work  of  their 
ancestors.  No  unmodified  survival  of  the  old 
casters'  work  exists  at  any  of  the  modern  stove 
foundries."*  One  of  the  old  five  plate  or 
jamb  stoves,  found  standing  in  a  walled  up 
corner  of  an  ancient  house  in  Philadelphia  a 
few  years  ago,  as  described  to  the  author  at  a 
lecture,  was  immediately  pulled  to  pieces  and 
melted,  another,  the  stove  illustrated  in  Fig- 
ures 33,  34,  36  and  37,  probably  the  last  re- 
maining in  Pennsylvania  in  its  original  posi- 
tion, was  demolished  in  1907.  The  Pennsyl- 
vanian farmer  who  has  saved  the  loose  plates 
to  use  them  for  chimney  tops,  door  steps  and 
hearth  pavements,  has  lost  all  recollection  of 
their  origin  and  meaning,  and  from  a  fruitless 
Series  of  inquiries  at  old  farm  houses,  and 
searches  in  forgotten  records,  we  turn  back  to 
the  evidence  of  the  plates  themselves. 

AMERICAN    FIVE    PLATE    OR    JAMB 
STOVE   DESCRIBED. 

The  five  plate  stove  shown  in  Figure  33 
as  the  most  nearly  complete  example  of  its 
class  thus  far  found,  stood  until  1907  in  its 
original  position   in  an  old   house  near  Read- 


33- 

Xhe  Xentli  Coiiiiiiaiidnieiit. 

Complete  five-plate  stove.  The  top.  bottom,  sides  and  front 
plates  mounted  for  exhibition  at  the  Berks  County  Historical 
Society.  Size,  front.  W.  21  by  H.  23'4  inches:  sides.  W.  2$'/, 
by  H.  23'4:   top,  27^4  by  21   inches. 

This  stove,  whose  front  and  side  plates  with  their  inscrip 
tions  are  described  under  Figs.  34-37.  had  stood  in  its  original 
position  for  about  one  hundred  and  forty  years,  until  1907,  in 
a  house  formerly  belonging  to  Samuel  Schweitzer,  in  Brecknock 
Township.  Berks  County.  Pa-,  when,  during  alterations  to  the 
building,  it  was  demolished  and  removed.  Mr.  Elner  E,  Bil- 
lingsfelt.  of  Adamstown,  Lancaster  County,  hav  r.g  found  the 
plates  in  a  pile  in  the  spring  house,  obtained  them  and  pre- 
sented them  to  the   Berks  County   Historical  Society. 

The  orginal  bolts  and  legs  are  massing,  and  the  bolt'ng 
here  shown,  intended  to  hold  the  stove  together  in  the  museum, 
has   nothing   to  do  with   its   original   construction. 

ing.  Pa.,  when  it  was  demolished  and  its  bolts, 
and  legs,  if  it  had  any,  lost,  before  Mr.  B.  F. 
Owen  found  it,  and  presented  it  to  the  Berks 
County  Historical  Society. 

As  it  is  dated  1756,  or  thirty  years  after 
the  first  record  of  stove  making  in  the  Fur- 
nace Ledgers  above  noted,  it  is  of  late  make, 
and  its  peculiar  decoration  to  be  described 
hereafter,  is  of  a  late  type.  But  its  construc- 
tion exactly  represents  that  of  all  the  five 
plate  non-ventilating  or  jamb  stoves  of  Amer- 
ican make  hereafter  described  and  thus  far 
known  to  the   writer. 

Protruding  into  the  room  like  a  box  about 
two  feet  square,  without  fuel  door  and  smoke 


M 


34-a. 


34- 
Tlie  Xentli  Commaiidnieiit. 

Front  plate.      Size.   H,  23^4    by  W.   21,      Berks   County   Historical 
Society, 

Single  canopy  with  pendant  vault,  aureole,  flower-pots,  tulps, 
stars,  and  the  date  1760.  Here,  as  shown  more  completely  in 
Figure  33,  we  have  a  complete  five-plate  stove,  the  only  one  yet 
found,  brought  to  light  in  1909  in  one  of  the  enthusiastic 
searches  of  Mr.  B,  F.  Owen,  of  Reading,  through  the  instru- 
mentality cf  Mr.  E.  E.  Billing_felt.  of  Ada.Tistown,  Lancaster 
County,  Pa.,  who  had  rescued  it  after  the  unfortunate  altera- 
tions in  1907,  of  an  old  house  formerly  owned  by  Samuel 
Schweitzer,    in    Brecknock   Township,    Berks    County. 

This  stove  was  in  situ  in  1907,  and  if  the  modernizers  had 
let  it  alone,  would  have  remained  so  to  still  fully  illustrate  the 
size  of  the  wall  hole  and  flue,  position  in  the  fireplace,  method 
of  propping  up,  etc..  as  the  only  instance  of  a  five-plate  stove 
occupy  rg  its  original  position,  thus  far  found  in  the  United 
States.  The  motto  begun  on  the  left  plate,  Figure  35,  herewith 
shown,  from  Exodus  20  17,  LAS.  DICH.  NICHT.  GELYSS- 
TEN  (thou  Shalt  not  covet)  here  ends  with  DEINES.  NEST. 
STEN.  GUT.,  "thy  neighbor's  goods,"  the  word  GUT,  for 
goods,  instead  of  HA  USES  (house)  as  in  the  original,  supply- 
ing the  fuller  meaning  of  the  co.Timandment.  The  sheep's 
heads,  from  which  tulips  sprout,  on  the  side  plate.  Figure  35, 
have  been   here   transformed  into   circles. 

The  cracked  replica,  Figure  34A,  in  the  Bucks  County 
Historical  Society,  forms  part  of  another  similar  stove,  minus 
the  right  plate,  found  with  a  left  plate  and  a  top  and  bottom 
plate,  together  with  other  plates  of  other  stoves,  in  the  kitchen 
hearth  and  scattered  about  the  mill,  chicken  house  and  tobacco- 
shed,  at  John  Illig's  old  house,  built  in  1732,  at  MiUbach, 
Lebanon    County,    Pa.,   by    Mr.    B.    F.    Owen,   in   August,    1909. 


ny- 


35- 
Xlie  Xenth  Coiiiiiiaiidtueiit* 

Left  plate  of  JaTib  Stove.  Size.  W.  25i/4  by  H.  2Zy^.  BuJ 
County  Historical  Society.  From  Mr.  B.  F.  Owen.  Found  I 
him  in  an  old  house  belonging  to  the  Illig  family  at  Millbaj 
Lebanon    County.    Pa.,   about    1909. 

This    is    the    companion    side    plate    to    Fig,    34,    though 
ornamental    deta  Is   of   the   aureole    and    floral    caponies    vary  cl 
siderably.      There    is    no    difficulty   in    deciphering    the    inscriptf 
upon    the    central    cartouche    beginning    the    tenth    Commandrrj  _    . 
from    Exodus    20-17    in    Luther's    Bible,    LAS.    DICH.    NiCIj       ' 
GELYSSTEND..  Thou  shalt  not  covet— completed  on  the  oj  DCrefo 
plate,    but    the    puzzling    sentence    on    the    lower    medallion   g|  ||g 
the  plate  a  provoking  and  peculiar  interest.  jfj. 


39 


So  obscure  are  many  oF  these  abbreviated,  ill  spaced, 
rusty  and  disjointed  inscr  ptions  to  modern,  and  even  practiced 
«yes.  that  we  may  well  ask  whether  the  old  mould  carvers 
wanted  them  read,  or  whether  the  unlettered  settlers  could  read 
them.  But  who  that  has  studied  them  can  deny  the  pleasure 
of  their  decipherment,  or  forget  those  solitary  moments,  when, 
half  hypnotized  by  long  concentrated  gaze  on  the  iron  flashing 
in  reflected  light,  the  meaning,  suldenly  escaping  from  ti  tic's 
oblivion,  startles  us  like  the  voice  from  dreamland  that  wakes 
a   sleeper. 

Here  it  is  not  the  Biblical  sentence,  but  the  brief  adver- 
tisement that  defies  explanation.  We  need  not  rub  with  kero- 
sene. poVsh  w  th  beeswax,  or  twist  the  viewpoint  in  various 
lights.  The  letters  are  all  clear.  But  no  concentrated  gaze, 
whether  by  the  midnight  O'l  or  in  the  fresh  glow  of  morning, 
has  availed  to  surely  solve  the  secret  of  these  two  or  three 
■words  which  are  not  at  all  obscured   by  rust. 

By  analogy  w  th  the  other  inscriptions,  the  key  to  the 
sentence,    beginning    with    the    word    Wilhelm,    and    no    doubt    re- 


ferring to  an  ironmaster  lies  in  the  last  syllable,  where  the  right 
le^  of  the  final  N.  is  unquestionably  crossed  for  a  T.  makin]{ 
the  word  spell  BORTSCHENT.  But  since  the  latter  cannot, 
by  any  phonetic  juggling,  be  considered  to  represent  the  nane 
of  any  known  ironmaster,  at  any  of  the  furnaces  that  could  have 
cast  the  plate  at  its  date  in  1760,  we  must  give  it  up. 

To  regard  the  left  leg  ol  the  N  as  an  I  mfght  seem  to  solve 
the  difficulty  by  transforming  the  final  syllable  into  the  German 
word  SCHEINT.  meaning  either  (1)  appears,  or  (2)  shines,  and 
leaving  the  first  syllable  BORT  to  stand  for  BIRD,  there- 
fore explaining  the  sentence  in  full,  as  William  Bird  Appears, 
or   Willam   Bird   Shines. 

But  the  first  solution  involves  more  difficulty,  since  we 
cannot  suppose  that  William  Bird  "appeared"  in  1760  if  he 
founded  Berkshire  Furnace,  not  then.  but.  according  to  Fig.  45. 
in  1756.  And  the  second  hardly  less,  snce.  though  we  may 
infer  that  stoves  were  polished  so  as  to  shine  with  lampblack 
and  beeswax  here  as  in  Germany,  Willam  Bird  would  only 
occas  onally,   thus   by   metaphor,   shine   on  a   stove. 


36. 


Outside    view   of   the    plates    of   the    Bortschent    stove    shown    in 
_    ■'igure  33.   Berks   County   Historical  Society. 


1.  Left  plate. 

2.  Front  plate. 

3.  Right   plate. 
4   and   5    are  interchangeable  as  the   top  and   bottom   plates 


The  Five  Plates  of  a  Jamb  Stove. 

Both  show  the  waved  surface  peculiar  to  open  sand-casting,  pro- 
duced by  the  hardening  of  the  molten  iron  in  the  open  air  and 
free  of  contact  with  the  mould.  The  perforated  lips  for  the  in- 
sertion of  the  vertical  bolts,  fastening  the  stove  together  from 
top  to  bottom,  appear  at  the  outer  marg  n   of  these  latter  plates. 


ipe,  fed  through  the  wall  from  outside,  and 
lerefore  failing  to  ventilate  the  room  heated, 
he  stove  is  a  representation  of  the  first  of 
American  made  iron  stoves  so  singular  to  mod- 


ern eyes,  so  long  forgotten,  so  meagerly  de- 
scribed by  Franklin  and  others,  thus  at  last 
imperfectly  set  together  from  its  five  loose 
plates.'' ■ 


40 


37- 

Tlie  Five  Plates  of  a  Jamb  Stove. 


Reverse  of  Figure  36,  showing  the  inside  of  the  plates  of 
the  William  Bortschent  stove.  Figure  33.  Berks  County  Histori- 
cal Society. 

6.  Left   plate,   reverse   of    1. 

7.  Front,   reverse   of  2. 

8.  Right,   reverse  of  3. 

The  gutter-shaped  rims  shown  in  front 
and  reverse  (Figures  36  and  37,  Nos.  2  and  7), 
are  cast  solid  on  the  vertical  margins  of  the 
front  plate,  and  a  vertical  bolt,  unknown  in 
the  European  stoves,  not  shown  in  the  pic- 
ture, originally  passing  through  perforated 
lips  in  the  top  and  bottom  plates  (Figures  36 
and  37,  Nos.  4,  5,  9  and  10),  held  the  stove 
tightly  together. 

Only  three  of  its  five  plates,  the  front, 
with  grooved  margins  to  the  right  and  left  of 
the  pattern  (Figure  36,  No.  2),  the  right,  with 
broad  margin  to  the  right  (Figure  36,  No.  3), 
and  the  left,  with  broad  margin  to  the  left  of 
its  pattern  (Figure  36,  No.  1),  are  decorated. 
The    top    and    bottom    plates,    bordered    with 


9  and  10.  interchangeable  as  top  and  bottom,  reverse  of  4 
and  5.  Both  the  latter  show  the  continuous  channels  for  the 
vertical  insertion  of  6.  7  and  8.  also  the  impressions  of  the  heads 
of  the  bolts  used  in  constructing  the  wooden  mould,  and  un- 
erased from  the  sand  in  casting,  also  the  perforated  lips  for 
bolting  the  stove  together.  The  waved  surface  peculiar  to  open 
sand-casting   is  seen  upon  6.   7   and  8. 

three  rimmed  channels  on  front  and  sides 
(Figure  37,  Nos.  9  and  10),  for  the  insertion  of 
the  three  side  plates,  and  each  with  a  perfor- 
ated marginal  lip  (Figures  36  and  37,  Nos.  4 
and  5,  9  and  10),  for  th;  long  exterior  bolt, 
not  here  shown,  are  duplicates  and  inter- 
changeable. 

The  whole  series  of  five  loose  plates  thus 
illustrated,  on  the  outside  (Figure  36),  and  on 
the  inside  (Figure  37),  enables  us  to  recog- 
nize at  sight,  the  loose  decorated  plates  here- 
after shown,  as  either  front,  right  or  left 
plates.  They  illustrate  the  fact  that  with  a  few 
exceptions  (as  noted  under  Figures  108  and 
139)  the  chief  pattern  on  the  right  plate,  was 
duplicated  on  the  left  while  another  pattern 
appeared  on  the  front,  thus  presenting  two  de- 


41 


signs  cast  from  two  moulds,  rather  than  three 
fcr  each  stove,  and  sho'ving  that  where  the 
same  design  appears  on  two  or  more  plates  of 
a  kind,  right  or  left,  two  or  more  stoves  of  that 
pattern  must  have  existed." 

It  follows  from  this,  that  since  in  all 
stoves  of  a  given  size,  the  top  plates  duplicate 
the  bottoms,  and  that  as  a  general  rule  with 
few  exceptions  the  rights  (by  alternating  the 
broad  margins),  the  lefts,  several  of  the  stoves 
here  represented  by  front  and  side  plates,  and 
adjustable  with  any  equal  sized  top  or  bot- 
tom plate  can  be  restored  by  recasting. 

Unfortunately,  however,  these  instances 
are  few,  since  when  replicas  have  been  found 
for  a  given  stove,  often  proving  the  existence 
of  many  of  its  kind,  they  hive  rarely  shown 
both  its  patterns,  generally  appearing  as  all 
sides,  without  fronts,  or  more  rarely,  as  all 
fronts  without  sides. 

EARLIEST    AMERICAN    STOVE    PAT- 
TERNS. 

No  front  plate  has  yet  been  found  for 
the  singular  pattern  shown  in  Figure  38, 
which  appeared  first,  broken  in  half,  at  the 
forge  of  a  blacksmith  in  Hilltown,  Pennsyl- 
vania, next  in  the  cellar  of  the  Historical 
Society  of  Pennsylvania,  again  in  a  house  in 
Philadelphia,  and  lastly  at  a  dealer's  in  Potts- 
town,  thus  four  times  in  replica,  but  always 
not  only  as  a  side  plate,  but  as  a  left  side  plate 
thus  proving  the  existence  of  four  stoves  of  its 
kind. 

The  pattern  without  perspective  or  back- 
ground, and  with  its  figures  in  the  dress  of 
the  middle  18th  century,  shows  a  husband  and 
wife  fighting  desperately,  and  infuriated  by 
winged  flying  demons,  who  blow  bellows  into 
their  ears.  The  man  beats  her  with  the 
tongs,  as  the  woman  with  uplifted  pot  hook, 
pulls  his  hair.  Pigs  fight  to  the  right  and  a 
dog  and  cat  are  set  in  decorative  balance  to 
the  left,  while  the  distressed  children,  as  if 
standing  in  the  air,  a  long  coated  boy  with 
clasped  hands,  and  a  girl  with  uplifted  arms, 
protest  in  vain. 


38- 

Xhe  Faniilv  Quarrel. 

Size.   H.   29  by  W.   24  inches.      Left  plate.      Bucks  County   His- 
torical Society. 

A  left  fragment  of  this  remarkable  plate,  found  by  the 
writer  at  New  Galena.  Bucks  County.  Pa.,  at  the  blacksmith's 
forge  of  William  B.  Funk,  who,  having  found  the  complete  plate 
in  the  hearth  of  an  old  inn  at  Hilltown  nearby,  had  broken  it  in 
half  to  fit  the  forge  pavement,  was  illustrated  and  described  in 
Decorated  Stove  Plates.  Figure  10.  After  being  found  again  as 
a  complete  left  plate  in    1897,  in  the  cellar  of  the   Pennsylvania 

Below  the  striving  figures,  so  singular 
yet  so  familiar,  whose  lesson  must  have 
forced  itself  on  many  a  man  and  woman  who 
saw  the  pattern  when  the  old  stove  warmed 
the  house,  runs  the  inscription,  from  Matthew 
5-9,  SELIG.  SIND.  DIE.  FRIDFERTIGE. 
"Blessed  are  the  peacemakers,"  while  below 
like  a  sermon  in  rhyme,  with  its  everlasting 
cure  for  the  evil  of  the  picture,  is  placed  the 
legend: 

DURCH.  STILLE.  DURCH.  GEDULD. 
DURCH.  LIBEN.  LIDEN.  HOFFEN. 
UND.  NIGHT.  DURCH.  ZANCKEN. 
1ST.     DER.    FEIND.    AUFS.     HAUPT. 
GETROFFEN. 

By  silence,  by  patience. 

By  loving,  suffering,  hoping. 

And  not  by  quarrelling 

Is  the  devil  struck  on  the  head. 


42 


Historical  Society,  it  again  appeared  as  a  left  repl'ca  (here  illus- 
trated) in  the  hands  of  a  gentleman  in  Philadelphia,  who  sold  it 
to  the  writer  in  1905.  Another  left  replica,  found  near  Potts- 
town,  Pa,,  and  sold  by  Boone,  the  antique  furniture  dealer,  to 
the  writer  in  1908,  is  now  at  the  Bucks  County  Historical  So- 
ciety, 

Husband  and  wife,  both  inspired  by  bellows-blowing  demons, 
attack  each  other,  he  ar.med  with  tongs  and  she  with  an  up- 
raised pot-hook,  while  with  one  hand  she  pulls  his  hair.  The 
distressed  children,  a  boy  and  a  girl,  stand  near  two  fighting  pigs 
to  the  right,  and  a  fighting  dog  and  cat  to  the  left.  The  full 
legend  from  the  Ser.-non  on  the  Mount  runs  above  the  picture. 
SELIG.  SIND.  DE.  FREIDFERTI GE.  "Blessed  are  the  peace 
rr.akers,"  Matthew  5-9,  in  Luther's  Bible,  while  below  in  four 
rhymed  lines,  it  continues; 


Oh  do  not   rage   and  quarrel; 

But  be  patient  and  be  still. 
To  suffer,  love  and  hope, 

Is  to  thwart  the  devil's  will. 

The  plate  has  no  date,  but  the  style  of 
the  inscription,  with  its  carefully  carved  rec- 
tangular flattened  letters,  its  U's  with  round- 
ed bases,  its  treatment  of  the  word  UND 
and  omission  of  vowels  in  the  words  LIBEN. 
LIDEN.  NCHT.,  etc.,  so  closely  resembles 
that  of  the  Fortune  plate  (Figure  31)  as  to 
suggest  the  same  hand.  Besides  this  a  re- 
markable series  of  welts,  plainly  seen  sur- 
rounding the  figures,  show  that  the  mould 
carver  has  in  this  case  sawed  his  figures  out  of 
an  older  wooden  mould.  If  he  did  this  in 
America,  we  may  wonder  why  he  should  have 
so  mutilated  a  mould  then  freshly  made  or 
imported.  If  in  Germany  we  may  imagine  the 
loose  pieces  brought  over  seas  as  stock  in  trade 
in  an  easily  carried  bundle,  to  be  finally  in- 
serted in  a  new  board  face,  imperfectly  orificed 
to  fit  them. 

But  whether  imported  in  pieces  or  not, 
whether  made  in  America  or  Germany,  we 
may  suppose  that  the  mould  was  used  to  cast 
the  plate  in  question  probably  between  1726 
and  1735,  and  that  the  specimen  like  Figure 
31,  represents  one  of  the  first  stoves  made  in 
Pennsylvania  by  imported  German  workmen. 

For  a  period  of  fifteen  years  after  the 
date  of  the  Fortune  Plate  Figure  31,  no  dated 
plate  appears,  though  we  know  from  the 
Potts  Ledgers  above  referred  to,  that  numer- 
ous five  plate  stoves  were  cast  at  Colebrook- 
dale.  Mount  Pleasant,  and  Redding  or  Chris- 


DtJRCH.    STILLE.    DURCH.    GEDULT. 
DURCH.    LIBEN.    LIDN.    HOFFEN.    UND. 
NICHT.   DURCH.  ZANCKEN.  WRD.   DER. 
FEIND.    AUFS.    HAUPT.    GETROFEN. 
"By   stillness,    by   patience,   by   loving,    suffering,    hoping,   and   not 
by  quarreling,  is  the  Devil  struck  on  the  head." 
"Oh.   do  not   rage  and  quarrel. 
But  be   patient  and   be   still. 
To  su.Ter.  love  and  hope. 
Is  to  thwart  the  Devil's  wiU." 
As    explained    in    the    text,    the    plate    made    probaly    in    the 
early    18th    century    and    at    one   of   the    first    furnaces   established 
in    Pennsylvania,    has   been   cast   from   a  wooden    pattern,    possibly 
carved    in    Germany,    and    imperfectly    fitted    together    in    several 
loose  pieces  set  at  various  angles. 

tine  in  the  interval,  and  may  infer  that  others 
were  produced  at  Durham  above  mentioned, 
on  the  Delaware  River  at  the  mouth  of  Dur- 
ham Creek  in  northern  Bucks  County,  if  not 
at  Keiths  furnace  and  Abington  in  Delaware 
or  the  doubtful  Kurtz's  in  Pennsylvania,  which 
were  in  blast  in  1728,  But  the  early  Ledgers 
of  Durham  are  lost,  and  the  evidence  of  the 
plates  themselves,  generally  undated  and  un- 
marked, throws  no  certain  light  on  the  ques- 
tion until  two  interesting  patterns  appear, 
both  dated  1741  and  both  probably  cast  at 
Durham. 

Buried  in  the  mud  as  a  stepping  stone 
at  the  old  property  known  as  Painswick  Hall, 
near  New  Britain,  Pennsylvania,  as  described 
and  illustrated  in  Decorated  Stove  Plates 
(Figure  5),  found  again  in  replica  in  one  of  the 
cellars  of  Durham  Furnace,  again  at  a  dealer's 
in  Pottstown,  Pennsylvania,  and  finally  in  the 
ruins  of  a  springhouse  at  Camp  Hill,  Pennsyl- 
vania, one  of  these  patterns  shown  in  Fig- 
ures 40  and  41  represents  Adam  and  Eve  in 
the  Garden.  By  anachronism  the  woman 
clothed  at  the  waist  like  the  man,  yet  before 
the  fall,  receives  the  fatal  apple  from  the 
mouth  of  a  serpent,  coiled  upon  one  of  the 
over  hanging  trees  well  fruited  with  apples. 
Some  of  the  branches  of  the  orchard  seem  to 
be  pruned,  and  near  a  leafless  tree  and 
branchless  trunk  to  the  left,  appear  four  ani- 
mals, a  horse,  an  ox,  and  probably  two  sheep. 
Below  the  neatly  carved  pattern  and  sur- 
mounting the  lower  panel  with  its  richly 
scrolled  medallion  dated  1741,  runs  the  in- 
scription   peculiarly    produced    in    both    large 


«-««Mi^MEMS«hN«J«^«4#^  ^ 


C^v     ^1\'    \;,.^,. 
4d4l7vl)t.TI;V   I 


4^;)'^' 


S^ 


■A 


Adam  and  £ve. 

Right    plate.      Size.    H.    26   by   W.    26.      Bucks    County   Historical 
Society. 

Eve  receives  the  apple  from  the  mouth  of  a  serpent  coiled 
upon  the  trunk  of  a  fruited  apple  tree,  while  Adam,  holding 
another  apple  in  his  hand,  stands  farther  to  the  right,  under 
another  tree.  A  smaller  tree  intervenes  between  the  nearly 
naked  figures,  who,  contrary  to  the  Biblical  narrative,  wear 
waist-cloths  before  the  Fall.  To  the  left,  a  broken  and  branch- 
less tree-trunk  rises  between  a  horse  and  cow,  standing  b^low 
two  other  animals  and  a  leafless  tree.  Another  tree  fills  the 
left   space. 

The  inscription  DIE.  SCHLANG.  ADAM.  UND.  EFA. 
BETRU.  "The  snake  betrayed  Adam  and  Eve",  fills  the  central 
cartouche,  while  the  date  1741,  with  its  scroll  work  and  medal- 
1  on  patterned  like  that  upon  the  Cain  and  Abel  plate.  Figure 
42,  fills  the  lower  panel. 

The  pattern.  Figure  40,  shows  a  protruding  welt,  as  of  a 
warp-crack  filled  in,  retouched  and  swollen  out  of  level,  verti- 
cally crossing  the  upper  panel,  which  does  not  appear  on  Figure 
41,  a  much  rusted  replica,  now  at  the  Bucks  County  Historical 
Society,  found  as  a  pavement  relic  at  Mr.  Martin's  farm,  at 
New  Britain.  Pa.,  in  1897,  and  described  in  Decorated  Stove 
Plates   under    Figure   5. 

Because  Figure  40  (the  first  to  appear)  was  found  before 
1898  by  Mr.  B.  F.  Fackenthal,  Jr.,  among  the  furnace  heir- 
looms at  Durham  Furnace,  it  seems  probable  that  the  plate 
was  cast  at  Durham.  If  so,  the  Cain  and  Abel  plate.  Figure  42. 
of  equal  size,  with  the  same  peculiar  narrowness  of  the  broad 
margin,  with  identical  date,  date  medallion  and  scroll  work,  and 
particularly  with  the  same  mingling  of  small  letters  and  capitals 
in  the  inscription,  must  have  been  designed  by  the  same  mould 
maker,  who  has  not  elsewhere  shown  his  hand  in  the  whole 
series  of  plates  here  described,  and  who  probably  carved  both 
moulds  for    the   same    (Durham)    Furnace. 


43 

An  inscribed  ilatc-stone  in  possession  of  Mr,  B,  F.  Facken- 
thal. of  Riegclsville.  Pa.,  proves  that  the  old  charcoal  furnace 
of  Durham,  on  Durham  Creek.  Northern  Bucks  County,  Pa,. 
founded  by  James  Logan,  Anthony  Morris,  William  Allen, 
James  Hamilton.  Joseph  Turner,  and  a  company  of  ten  others, 
was  built  in  1727.  After  a  life  of  sixty-four  years,  it  finally 
went  out  of  blast  in  1791.  was  pulled  down  in  1819,  and  after- 
wards rebuilt  a  mile  away  from  the  original  site. 

The  now  deserted  and  decaying  modern  works,  situated  by 
the  river,  close  to  the  mouth  of  Durham  Creek,  and  near  the 
remarkable  Durham  Cave,  long  since  blasted  down  for  lime 
stone  flux,  bears  no  resemblance  to  the  backwoods  furnace,  here 
set  up  in  the  primeval  forest,  before  the  land  was  finally  (1737) 
bought  from  the  Indians,  and  which  must  have  been,  according 
to  James  Logan  (Swank,  170).  one  of  the  four  Pennsylvanian 
furnaces    in   blast    in    1728. 

The  ancient  stone  stack,  thirty-five  to  forty  feet  square  and 
thirty  feet  high,  with  its  wheel  race  and  water  bellows,  has  long 
disappeared,  and  nothing  but  a  heap  of  cinders  remains  to  mark 
the  site  of  the  original  furnace,  which  supplied  three  forges  on 
Durham  Creek  and  others  nearby  (account  of  Durham  Township 
by  H.  C.  Bell  and  B,  F.  Fackenthal,  Jr..  Swank.  169),  sent  its 
pig  iron  down  the  Delaware  in  the  celebrated  Durham  boats, 
cast  numerous  stoves  about  1741  (Swank.  169).  shot  and  shells 
for  Washington's  ar.my  in  the  Revolution,  and  employed,  as 
did  the  other  furnaces,  negro  slaves  in  1780,  during  the  days 
of   incons  stent    "freedom." 


41. 

Its  early  ledgers  and  records  are  all  lost,  and  the  sale  of 
four  stove  moulds  from  Durham  to  the  Hibernia  Iron  Works 
in  New  Jersey  in  1778  (Fackenthal  MSS.)  refers  no  doubt  to 
ten-plate  stove  moulds.  Accordmg  to  Swank,  Anthony  Morris 
and  Will  am  Logan  owned  the  furnace  in  1759,  General  Daniel 
Morgan  before  1743,  George  Taylor,  the  Signer,  before  1774, 
and  Richard  Backhouse  still  later,  in  the  days  after  1770,  of 
ten-plate  stoves.  It  was  demolished  in  1819  to  built  a  grist- 
mill. Two  anthracite  coal  furnaces  were  built  in  1848  to  51, 
and  these  were  pulled  down  in  1874  to  build  the  present  furnace, 
which  was  abandoned  by  Cooper  and   Hewitt  in   1895. 


44 


42. 

Cain  and  Abel. 

Left  plate.  Size.  H.  26  by  W.  26.  Bucks  County  Historical 
Society.      No.    1199. 

The  figures  stand  in  low  relief  under  a  canopy  supported 
by  two  Roman  columns  with  double  vault,  under  curtain  loops 
and    pendant     flower.      Floral     scrolls    flank    the    pattern    to    the 

and  small  letters,  DIE.  SCHLANG.  ADAM. 
UND.  EFA.  BETRUG.  "The  snake  betrayed 
Adam  and  Eve." 

The  other  pattern,  Figure  42,  represents 
the  fratricide,  Cain,  who  with  uplifted  club 
rushes  upon  his  brother,  as  if  in  a  spacious 
vaulted  hall  supported  on  fiuted  columns,  the 
details  of  which  are  more  carefully  worked 
out  than  in  any  of  the  other  American  plates. 
Decorative  curtains  are  looped  across  the 
vaults  overhead,  and  to  the  right  and  left 
foliate  scrolls  fill  up  the  pattern.  The  missing 
central  column  is  replaced  by  a  corbel,  and  a 
pendant  leaf. 

More  curious  than  the  heavy  welts,  as  of 
warp  cracks  in  the  wooden  moulds,  or  the  out- 
lines of  inserted  wooden  strips  retouched  in 
Figure  40,  erased  in  Figure  41,  and  again  ap- 
pearing prominently  in  Figure  42  which  ver- 
tically cross  both  plates,  is  the  striking  simi- 
larity of  both  patterns.  Notwithstanding  the 
absence  of  the  decorative  framework  above 
noted  in  Figures  40  and  41  where  the  trees, 
animals  and  figures  of  Eden  appear  as  in  an 


right  and  left.  Furious  Cain,  uplifting  in  both  bared  ar.Tis  a 
heavy  club,  advances  upon  his  unar.-ned  brother,  who.  standing 
beside  one  of  the  trees  of  Eden,  makes  a  pretesting   gesture. 

The  costume,  the  apparent  bareness  of  the  legs,  the  roll 
of  the  long  stocking  below  the  knee,  though  probably  intended 
to  reproduce  the  garments  of  anc  ent  Ro.ne,  suggeits  the  pecul- 
iar dress  of  the  Scottish  Highlanders.  The  date,  1741,  with 
its  medallion  and  scroll  work.  f.Ulng  the  lower  panel,  is  a  close 
copy,  though  not  a  recast,  of  the  lower  panel  of  the  Adam  and 
Eve   plate,    Figure  40. 

The  inscription,  like  that  of  Figure  40.  composed  of  a  mix- 
ture of  capital  and  small  letters: 

CAIN.    SEINEN.    BRUTER.    AWEL.    TOT.    SCHLUG. 
"Cam  killed  his  brother  Abel,"  fills  the  central  cartouche. 

Discovered  by  Mr.  Alexander  Ralph  at  Camp  Hill,  Mont- 
go.-nery  County,  Pa.,  in  pulling  down  a  tenant  house. 

Two  left  replicas  are  in  the  collection  of  Col.  H.  D.  Paxson, 
at    Holicong,    Pa. 

This  plate  and  Figure  40,  for  the  reasons  given  under  the 
latter,  were  probably  both  cast  at  Durham  Furnace  in  Northern 
Bucks  County.  Pa.,  and  that  the  design  was  produced  by 
stamping  in  caster's  sand,  a  mould  like  the  Swedish  mould. 
Figure  10.  orginally  carved  on  a  framework  of  boards,  is  here 
plainly   shown. 

A  heavy  welt,  as  of  a  board  in  the  wooden  pattern,  warped 
above  the  level,  and  two  ridges  edging  a  depression  as  of  an- 
other board  warped  below  the  level,  where  the  caster  has  not 
taken  the  trouble  to  erase  them  in  the  sand,  leave  their  mark 
upon  the  iron. They  cross  not  only  the  background,  but  uplift 
and  lower  the  carving  itself,  in  the  cartouche,  the  inscription 
across  the  word  TOT,  the  date  medallion,  scroll-work,  lower 
tree-trunk,  right  curtain-loop,  and  floral  pendant. 


open  picture,  the  same  date,  1741,  appears  in 
an  identical  filigree  in  both  plates.  Besides 
this,  the  size  of  the  plates,  the  peculiar  nar- 
rowness of  their  broader  margins,  and  the 
striking  mixture  of  large  and  small  letters  in 
the  inscription,  is  the  same  in  both  instances. 

This  seems  conclusive.  If  Figure  40 
found  as  an  heirloom  at  Durham  Furnace  was 
cast  there,  we  must  suppose  that  Figure  42 
was  cast  there  also  and  designed  by  the  same 
hand. 

ART    AND    MEANING    OF    THE    STOVE 
PICTURES. 

After  1745,  doubts  as  to  the  origin  of  the 
American  plates  disappear.  Besides  Cole- 
brookdale,  and  the  furnaces  above  noted, 
Cornwall,  1742,  in  Lebanon  County;  Eliza- 
beth, 1750,  and  Martic,  1751,  in  Lancaster 
County;  Hereford,  1753,  Oley,  1758,  and 
Hopewell,  1759,  in  Berks  County,  were  in  blast 
in  Pennsylvania  or  founded  in  time  to  make 
five  plate  stoves,  and  a  number  of  plates  ap- 
pear that  were  undoubtedly  cast  at  some  of 
them. 


45 


43- 
Tlie  IVIolteii  Calf. 

Front  plate.  Size,  H.  2658  by  W.  19' 2-  In  the  State  Library  at 
Har.-isburg.  Pa.  Bought  by  Mr.  L.  F.  Kelker  along  with  Figure 
74,  in  1907.  at  Kutztown.  Pa.,  where  the  owner  had  preserved 
it   with   black   paint   and   gilt  as  a   parlor   ornament. 

Out  of  all  proportion  to  the  pattern,  and   under  a  tree  with 
lopped    branches    on    the   left,    stands   the    miniature    molten    calf 
on    a    boat-shap=d   stand,    while    two    much-rusted,    robed    human 
figures.    Aaron    or    Joshua,    pointing    to    the    image,    and    Moses, 
uplifting  the  tables  of  the  law  to  break  them,  fill  the  foreground. 
The    inscription,    from    Exodus    32-5,    in    Luther's    Bible: 
IM.    2.    B.    MOSE.    C.    32.    V.    8. 
SIE.   HABEN.   IHN.   EIN.   GEGOS. 
SEN.    KALB.    GEMACHT. 
"In    2    book    Moses,    chapt-r    32.    verse    8.    they    had   made    him    a 
molten    calf."    and    peculiar    in   having   the    cited    text   on    the    top 
instead    of    the    bottom    line,    fills    the    lower   panel    without    inter- 
vening   bands. 

As  m  the  case  of  the  plow.  Figure  52 ;  Dance  of  Death, 
Figure  75;  Absalom,  Figure  77;  Adam  and  Eve.  Figure  40. 
and  Wheel  of  Fortune,  Figure  31,  the  familiar  canopies,  inher- 
ited from  Gothic  times,  and  characteristic  of  so  many  of  the 
plate?,  have  been  abandoned,  while,  as  in  the  patterns  above- 
mentioned,  scrolls,  trees  or  balanced  inscriptions  fill  the  back- 
ground. Here  the  des'gner,  much  in  the  style  of  the  Prussian 
Grenadiers,  Figure  67,  and  The  Flight  into  Egypt,  Figure  79. 
upholsters  the  sky  in  the  rudest  manner  as  with  a  quilted  cur- 
tain,  throwing   in   the  date.    1742.   on   the   left. 

The  general  treatment  of  the  robed  figures,  the  form  of  the 
M's  and  S"s  in  the  inscr  ption,  the  tree  with  lopped  branches, 
and  the  waving  foot-hold,  suggest  the  workmanship  of  the 
Flight  into  Egypt,  Figure  79.  A  replica  is  now  in  the  collec- 
tion of  Colonel  H.  D.  Paxson.  of  Holicong,  Pa.  Another  in 
that  of  the  Hon.  S.  W.  Pennypacker,  at  Schwenksville.  Pa.. 
January,    1914. 


44- 

Xtie  Iflaii  «»ii   IIorsot)aek. 

Front  plate  of  Jamb  Stove.     S  ze.  W.  21  by  H.  23;a.     Mr.  S.  P. 
Patterson,  at    Robesonia    Furnace,    Berks   County,   Pa. 

The  very  curious,  puzzling  and  much-rusted  plate  found 
with  a  replica  of  the  Tenth  Co.xmandment  plate.  Figure  33,  and 
several  others  since  lost,  among  the  rubbish  at  Robesonia 
Furnace,  probably  rescued  from  the  ruins  of  the  older  Berk 
shire  Furnace  nearby,  and  brought  to  Robesonia  with  scrap 
iron  for  remelting :  shows,  under  a  vaulted  canopy  filled  in  with 
a  large  rococo  scroll,  a  man  with  a  broad-brimmed  hat.  and 
probably  holding  a  staff  or  sword  on  horseback.  Below  are 
cast  the  initials  W.  B.,  and  in  a  small  medallion  the  date   17S6. 

If  pattern  carvers  ever  ventured  to  cast  their  initials  on 
stove  plates,  no  evilence  has  yet  proved  it.  In-tials  thus  far 
identified  have  stood  for  the  names  of  furnaces  or  iron  masters, 
three  of  whom.  William  Bird,  of  Berkshire  Furnace ;  WilKaro 
Benet,  of  Martick.  and  William  Branson,  of  Redding,  might  be 
suggested  to  account  for  the  W.  B.  on  this  plate,  but  if  wc 
choose  any  of  the  three,  it  would  not  at  first  glance  be  the  first 
or  second,  since  Berkshire  or  Roxborough  Furnace  on  Spr.'ng 
Creek,  lower  Heidelberg  Township.  Berks  County,  Pcnna..  was 
not  fiiunded  by  William  Bird,  and  William  Benet  did  not  (ac- 
ci^rding  to  Mr.  B.  F.  Owen)  become  shareholder  at  Martic  on 
Pequea  Creek,  near  the  present  ColemansviUe.  Lancaster  County, 
Penna.,   unt  1    1760.    four   years  after   the   plate   was   cast. 

But  William  Branson,  founder  and  original  share  owner  of 
Christine  or  Redding  Furnace,  on  French  Creek,  in  Northern 
Chester  County,  who  was  probably  iron  master  there  in  asso- 
ciation with  his  son-in-law,  Sa  nuel  Flower,  ;n  1756.  might  have 
cast  his  initials  on  the  plate  in  that  year,  at  Redding  Furnace, 
although  Flower's  name  and  initials.  S.  F..  appear  on  the 
Redding  plate.  Figure  79,  in  1 754,  and  on  Figures  82  and  83 
in    1756. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  finding  of  the  plate,  together  with 
Figure  33.  marked  with  the  name  of  Willam  Bort  (Bird),  at 
Robesonia    Furnace,    at    or    near    the    site    of    Berkshire    Furnace. 


But   though   several   of   the   patterns,    like  and    though    a    few    like    the    David    and    Go- 

the  uncouth  Molten  Calf  dated  1742,  the  Temp-  liath    and    the    two    Samson    plates    or    Elijah 

tation    of    Joseph,    1749,    or    the    emblematic  and    the    Ravens    (of    Kingston,     Figure     59), 

Pump,    1748,   and   the   Plow,    1747,   are   dated,  through   similarity   of   detail,   can   be   grouped 


46 

and  possibly  as  an  heirloom  of  the  latter,  thus  far  associates  it 
not  only  with  Berkshire,   but  with  William  Bird. 

The  New  Pine  Forge  Ledgers  at  the  Pennsylvania  His- 
torical Society,  quoted  by  Mrs.  Longacre  (Forges  and  Furnaces 
in  Pennsylvania.  Colonial  Dames,  Philadelphia,  1914,  page  152) 
show  that  Swank  and  Montgomery  are  wrong  in  asserting  that 
Berkshire  was  founded  in  1760,  and  that  it  was  in  existence  in 
1756.  This  solves  the  d.fficulty,  unless  impressed  by  the  broad- 
brimmed  hat  of  the  rider,  we  go  so  far  as  to  suppose,  with  Dr. 
J  B.  Stoudt,  that  W.  B.  might  stand  for  a  German  wood- 
carvtrs  phonetic  rendering  of  the  initials  W.  P.  for  William 
Penn. 

Swank  says,  page  175,  that  William  Brd,  founder  of  Birds- 
boro.  Union  Township,  Berks  County,  Penna.,  and  father  of 
Mark  Bird,  was  an  Englishman,  who  was  living  in  Amity  Town 
sh  p,  Berks  County,  in  1728,  and  that  he  or  his  son,  Mark  Bird, 
built  Hopewell  Furnace  in  1759  or  65.  Montgomery  says,  page 
39,  that  he  built  Hay  Creek  Forge  in  1756,  owned  3.000  acres, 
founded  Birdsboro  in  1750,  and  built  a  house  standing  at 
Birdsboro  in  1750.  He  bu  It  Roxborough  or  Berkshire  Furnace 
about  1755  in  Heidelberg  Township,  Berks  County,  Penna.; 
died  in  1761,  aged  55,  and  is  buried  at  Douglasville,  Berks 
County  (Forges  and  Furnaces  in  Pennsylvania,  Colonial  Dames, 
page  76). 


45- 

Tlie  mail  oil   Horseback.* 

Right   plate   of  Jamb   Stove.    Size,    W.    2OI2    by    H.    23'2.     Mr.    H. 
K.    Deisher.    Kutztown,    Pa.,    November   21st.    1913. 

This  plate,  though  lacking  the  initials  W.  B..  must  be  sup- 
posed to  be  the  right  companion  to  the  front   plate.   Figure  44. 

But  the  pattern  is  not  a  replica  of  the  latter,  though  it 
appears  so.  The  position  and  carving  of  the  head,  hat.  neck, 
whip  and  bridle  of  the  horseman,  the  tilted  oval  foothold,  and 
the  centering  of  the  scrolled  bracket  over  the  date  medallion, 
vary  in  the  two  plates,  showing  not  that  loose  stamps  were 
used,  as  might  at  first  sight  appear,  but  that  two  solid  carved 
wooden  moulds  were  employed,  where  we  might  suppose  that 
one  would  have  sufficed.  One  of  these  which  must  have  been 
furnished  with  heavy  marginal  grooves  for  the  side  rims  served 
for    the    front,    and    one    for    the    two    side    plates.        Moreover, 


though  the  figure  5  has  been  rusted  away  on  Figure  44,  we 
may  reasonably  guess  that  the  same  date,  1756,  has  been  re- 
peated on  all  three  plates,  though  the  initials  W.  B.,  explained 
under    Figure   44,   appear   only   on   the   first. 

A  replica  also  in  Mr.  Deisher's  possession  was  found,  but 
without  the  front  plate,  in  the  same  house.  Strange  to  say, 
instead  of  a  left,  the  latter  is  also  a  right,  and  if  we  suppose 
it  to  have  been  used  as  part  of  the  same  stove — a  misfit,  bought 
by  mistake  at  the  furnace  and  never  replaced,  we  must  imag  ne 
that  the  owner  set  it  on  the  left  side  of  his  stove,  upside  down 
or   inside  out. 


46. 

Xeniptatioii  of  Josepli. 

Size.    H.    25   by   W.    26;4.      B.    H.    S.       No.    788.      Described   in 
Decorated    Stove    Plates,    Figure    3. 

Potiphar's  wife,  springing  from  a  canopied  and  curtained 
bed,  seizes  with  both  hands  the  cloak  of  the  escaping  Joseph, 
who  holds  the  garment  in  his  left  hand,  and  uplifts  his  right  in 
protest.  A  round  column,  behind  which  a  tasseled  curtain  hangs 
from  the  upper  corner  of  the  design,  fills  up  the  pattern  to  the 
right.  Under  the  picture,  which  lacks  arches  and  canopies,  the 
whole  lower  panel  is  filled  with  the  rudely  carved  inscription 
which  cites  the  wrong  chapter  in  the  Bible. 

DAS.  WEIB.  DES.  SUCHT. 

JOSEPH.    ZV.    ENTZVNDE. 

IM.    I.    B.   MOSE.    13C.    1749. 
"The  woman  who  seeks  to  corrupt  Joseph.     In   1st  Book   Moses, 
13   chapter"    (which  should  read  39th   chapter).    1749. 

Two  large  knobs,  one  back  of  the  woman's  head,  the  other 
between  the  tassel  and  column  marking  the  impressions  of  bolts 
or  nails,  used  to  keep  the  wooden  mould  from  warping,  appear 
on  Figure  46,  found  by  the  writer  in  Emanuel  Peterson's  junk- 
heap,  at  Doylestown,  in  1889,  and  previously  used  as  a  door- 
step by  Mr.  Henry  P.  Sands,  of  Doylestown.  A  replica  was 
found  by  the  writer  in  1889  at  Bethlehem,  in  use  as  a  chimney 
top,  in  the  possession  of  Mr.  Robert  Rau.  The  much-rusted  and 
broken  replica  (1),  Figure  47,  was  exhibited  during  Founder's 
Week,  in  Philadelphia,  by  Mrs.  Hallam,  a  furniture  dealer  in 
Bristol,  Pa.  Then  Mr.  B.  F.  Owen,  of  Reading,  found  (2)  a 
right  replica,  B.  H.  S.,  used  as  a  fireback  in  the  house  of 
William  Adam,  now  the  property  of  the  Mount  Penn  Water 
Company,   near   Reading,   also    (3)   a  left  replica,   B.    H.   S.,  and 


47 


(4)  a  right  replica.  B.  H.  S..  as  a  hearth  pavement  in  an  old 
house,  once  a  Moravian  School,  near  Reading.  The  lower  haU 
of  (5)  a  left  replica  was  at  the  Historical  Society  of  Pcnnsyl 
vania.  in  1912.  A  right  and  left  replica  (6)  and  (7)  were  in 
possession  of  the  Hon.  S.  W.  Pennvpacker,  at  Schwenksville. 
Pa.,  in  1913:  a  left  replica   (8)    (broken)  was  at  Mrs.  Cookerow's 


47- 

antique  store,  in  Pottstown,  August  30th,  1910,  and  another 
left  replica  (9)  was.  in  1912,  in  possession  of  Mr.  J.  H,  Lynn, 
at  Langhorne.  Bucks  County,  Pa.,  from  the  Keira  house,  near 
Oley.    Berks   County.    Pa. 

Thus  ten  examples  of  this  interesting  plate  had  come  to 
light  in  fifteen  years  of  search,  six  of  which  have  served 
severally  as  a  doorstep,  a  chimney-cover,  a  fire-back,  a  hearth 
pavement,  and  two  dealers'  relics,  yet  the  front  plate  has  never 
been  found,  and  none  of  the  castings  have  shown  a  change  of 
the  date,  1749.  Both  N's  in  the  inscription  are  upside  down, 
the  Z's  have  the  German  cross  bar  on  the  diagonal  outline,  and 
the  false   Scriptural  citation  is  never  corrected. 


Set  in  the  mud  tor  a  gutter  crossing  when  found  at  the  farm 
of  Mr.  G.  Martin,  of  New  Britain,  Pa.,  the  interesting  plate  was 
rescued  at  the  last  moment,  as  a  part  of  one  of  the  origmal 
stoves  used  for  warming  the  tannery  of  the  Shewell  family  at 
•■Painswick  Hall."  Time  and  rust  have  not  effaced  the  outlines 
of  human  figures,  of  the  well  and  of  water  vessels,  decoratively 
framed  between  two  columns,  and  an  acanthus  leaf  depending 
from  a  superincumbent  arch  now  rusted  away.  To  the  left  a 
figure  works  with  both  arms  at  the  well  pulley,  behind  whom, 
on  a  block,  rests  a  larg:  tankard.  Between  this  and  two  similar 
vessels  set  upon  the  ground  to  the  right,  as  containing  the 
water  changed  to  wine  by  miracle,  stands  the  figure  of  Christ 
working  the  wonder,  while  below  and  across  the  entire  plate 
runs  the  motto,  JESUS  MACHT  AUS  WASSER  WEIN 
(■'Jesus  makes  wine  from  water").  From  beneath  this,  in  a 
scrolled  oval,  blurred  by  rust,  are  the  words.  lOHAN  AM  2 
C.^P.  (John  in  the  second  chapter.)  The  style  of  scrolls,  col- 
umns and  pendant  acanthus  seem  to  connect  the  undated  plate 
with    Figures   42   and    53. 

Dr.  Hern-an  WeJding.  in  Eiserne  Ofcnplatten.  Harzverein 
Festschrift.  1893,  plate  5,  illustrates  two  stove  plates  showing 
this  subject,  and  Kassel  says,  in  Ofcnplatten  im  Elsass.  page  62. 
that  no  other  theme  so  frequently  appears  upon  stove  plates  in 
Alsace:  that  he  himself  has  seen  forty-one  examples  of  wine- 
miracle  plates,  and  that  a  book  might  be  written  on  Cana  stoves 
alone.  They  were  popular  in  Germany  because  children  and 
Bible  students  easily  understood  the  picture,  and  because  the 
thought  of  wedding  feasts  was  pleasant  to  the   German  farmers. 


48. 


The  Miracle  of  Caiia. 

Front  plate.     Size.   H.   24   by  W.   21.     B.   H.   S.      No.    1195. 


49. 

A  variety  of  rhymed  mottoes  added  to  their  interest,  for 
example,  as  Kassel  shows,  in  illustrating  the  wooden  mould  for 
hs  Fig.    110: 

DAS.    ERSTE.   ZEICHEN.   CHRISTUS.  THAT    ALS.    ER. 
WASSER.  IN.  DEN.  WEIN.  GEWANDELT.  HAT. 
and  upon  his  Fig.   113.  dated   1810: 

DAS.      BRUNNEN.      WASSER.      WIRD.      IN.      GUTEN 
WEIN.  VERKEHRT. 

DER.      EDLE      REBENSAFT.      IM.     WASSER.      KRUG. 
SICH.    MEHRT. 

But  no  such  popularity  seems  to  have  followed  the  subject 
to  America,  where  wine  had  ceased  to  be  a  common  beverage, 
where  marriage  feasts  were  less  gay  among  the  pious  settlers, 
and  where  only  this  one  example  of  the  subject,  and  the  pat 
terns  on  the  front  plates.  Figures  28  and  SO,  have  come  to  the 
writer's   notice    in    fifteen   years*    search. 

An  example  of  the  subject  at  Rothenburg-on-the-Tauber, 
seen    by  the   writer   in    1902,   in   the   possession   of   a   priest,   who 


48 


had  collected  it  for  Mr.  F.  MoUer.  Lutherstrasse  33,  of  Berlin, 
was  inscribed  with  the  words  in  the  arches  over  the  double 
canopy.  CHRISTUS.  FROMME.  EHE.  LEVT.  TROST.  UF. 
WEILMUNSTERER.  EISENHUTTEN.  1697.  JOHANN  AM. 
2.  CAP.  Christ,  the  Trust  of  pious  married  people,  Weilmunster 
Furnace,    1697.   John   in   2    Chapter. 

Kassel's  Figure  107,  dated  1713,  showing  a  general  similar- 
ity, has  a  very  similar  figure  on  the  left  close  to  the  well  curb, 
holding  with  both  hands  the  pulley  rope  of  a  well. 

The  American  replica.  Figure  49.  now  stands  in  the  office 
fireplace,  at  Washington's  headquarters  at  Valley  Forge,  and 
was  photographed   by  the  writer  on   June   30th.    1910. 

Replica,   July.    1913 — Mr.    B.    F.    Owen,    Reading,    Pa. 


'j:s>r>5^iw:*l/r>i>fB^S5vii;M*:' : 


v^ 


??; 


so- 

Cana  Plate  of  1742. 

Front  plate.  Size,  H.  27  by  W.  22',.  Col.  H.  D.  Paxson,  Holi- 
cong.  Pa. 

Four  uncouth  figures,  the  br-degrooTi  clasping  his  bride, 
and  the  master  and  mistress,  are  seated  at  the  wedding  table, 
well  laden  with  food  and  dishes,  and  apparently  raised  on  a 
circular  patform  or  dais.  To  the  left,  where  a  standing  figure 
po  nts  to  three  wine  jars  set  upon  the  floor,  Christ  enters  to 
perform   the   miracle. 

together  as  products  of  one  hand,  none  of  these 
pictorial  patterns  advertise  the  name  of  their 
furnace,  and  most  of  them  are  unmarked  with 
the  name  or  initials  of  casters  or  ironmasters. 

Where  the  chief  object  of  the  stove  maker 
appears  to  have  been  to  express  religious  ideas 
by  means  of  pictures  and  human  figures,  it 
seems  strange  to  find  Figure  64  decorated  with 
meaningless  rococo  medallions,  scrolls,  fili- 
gree and  a  cherub's  head  with  the  date  1745, 
and  Figure  61,  dated  1749,  adorned  with  a 
clumsy  flower  pot  and  meaningless  scrolls. 
But  both  these  patterns  are  front  plates  and 
lack  the  explanation  of  their  side  plates,  which 


The  inscription  in  the  central  cartouche  reads:  UND.  ES. 
WAR.  EIN.  HOCHZEIT.  ZU.  CANA.  "And  there  was  a  mar- 
riage at  Cana" — and  in  the  medallion  below,  JOHANN.  A.  2. 
1742.      "John   in   2.    1742." 

Though,  according  to  Kassel,  no  subject  except  that  of  the 
Oil  Miracle  of  Elisha,  has  been  so  popular  in  Germany  as  that 
of  the  Cana  wedding,  only  this  rude  version  of  it,  the  hardly 
Itss  uncouth.  Figure  49  and  Figure  28,  all  on  front  plates,  and 
therefore  representing  three  dissimilar  stoves,  have  appeared 
here.  The  composition  of  this  pattern  is  unlike  that  of  Figure 
49,  but  several  details  in  the  fra"nework  indicate  that  it  and 
F  gures  35,  59  and  81  were  carved  by  the  same  hand,  and  while 
all  the  other  Oil  Mracle  plates  thus  far  found  appear  to  have 
been  imported  from  Germany,  this  plate  has  undoubtedly  been 
carved  and  cast  in   Pennsylvania- 


51- 

\V.   B.  of  1748. 

Right  plate.  Size,  H.  24  by  W.  24.  In  possession,  1913,  of 
Mrs.  A.  J.  Steinman,  at  Lancaster.  Pa.  Replica  at  the  Berks 
County    Historical    Society. 

This  singular  plate,  found  in  the  iron-heap  at  Mr.  Steinman's 
Foundry  at  Lancaster  by  the  writer  in  1910.  and  again  in 
replica  as  a  rght  plate  by  Mr.  B.  F.  Owen,  at  Adamstown, 
Lancaster  County,  Pa.,  may  be  classed  as  an  intermediate  pat- 
tern between  the  floral  and  the   B.blical  pictured  designs. 


may  have  been  more  significant.""  On  the 
other  hand,  one  armorial  plate  (Figure  65), 
the  only  heraldic  plate  in  the  collection,  with 
a  circular  shield,  a  crow^n  crest  and  four  quar- 
terings,  one  of  which  appears  to  be  the  arms 
of  Navarre,  is  a  side  plate  without  its  front. 

Two  patterns,  the  Pump  and  Plow,  are 
emblematic.  Several  others  without  religious 
significance,  such  as  The  Man  on  Horseback, 
The  Marriage,  The  Wedding  Dance,  The 
Prussian  Grenadier,  The  Swarm  of  Bees,  and 
the  grotesque  figure  riding  a  goat,  instruct, 
puzzle  or  amuse  the  observer. 


49 


Above  the  lower  medallion  dated  1 748.  with  wheat  sheaf 
and  tulip,  and  flanked  with  curved  palmlike  branches  rather  than 
tulips,  the  motto:  GOTES.  BRYNLEIN.  HAT.  WASER.  DIE. 
FVLE..  frcm  Luther's  ver.  ion  of  Psalms  65:  10.  "God's  wjll 
has  water   in   plenty,"   fills  the  central  cartouche. 

The  palm-like  waving  twigs  and  mips  suggest  the  similar 
ornaments  en  the  John  Pott  plates.  F.gurcs  89  and  90.  while 
thr  erg'.it-petaled  flower  in  its  circlet,  and  ths  pump,  recall  a 
similar   circlet   and   plow   on   the    Plow   Plate.    Figure   52. 

A  double  canopy,  supported  on  fluted  columns  with  cross- 
hung  curta  n  loops,  enclos  ng  wheat  sheaves,  forms  an  upper 
pantl  cons  sting  of  scrcll-shaped  trees,  an  eight  petaled  star- 
shaped  flcwcr  in  a  circlet,  a  pump  of  ch3ract:r!stic  American 
pattern,  lozenges,  tulips  and  the  initials  W.  B.  ( possibly  Wil- 
liam Branson,  ironmaster)  and  K.  T.  F. — possibly  standing  for 
Christecn  or  Christien  Furnace,  the  predecessor  of  Redding 
Furnace,  and  so  denoted  from  a  phonetic  representation  of  the 
English  word  Christeen  by  a   German  workman. 

That  the  so-called  Redding  Furnace,  named,  according  to 
Gilbert  Cope,  after  Reading  in  England,  near  Branson's  birth- 
place, owned  and  bu  It  by  William  Branson  and  Samuel  Nutt's 
heirs,  owners  of  Coventry  Forge,  and  erected,  in  the  first  place, 
to  supply  the  latter  with  p  g  iron,  was  often  called  Redding 
(in  a  road  petition  in  1736,  Pennsylvania  Colonial  Records,  Vol 
4.  pages  152.  247.  269.  270,  by  Acrelius.  in  1758,  m  an  agree- 
ment of  partnership  in  1736,  cited  by  James,  and  on  Skull's  Map 
in  1756),  there  can  be  no  doubt,  while  that  an  earlier  furnace 
whatever  its  name,  existed  at  or  near  the  same  spot,  was 
suspected  by  Swank  and  Mrs.  James  from  the  inventory  of 
Samuel  Nutt's  will  referring  to  an  "old  furnace"  and  a  "ne-* 
furnace"  in  1737.  St  11  more  certainly  the  Potts'  manuscript 
(Coventry  Forge)  ledgers,  established  the  fact,  in  noting  the 
sale  of  stoves,  necessarily  made  at  a  furnace,  not  a  forge, 
between  1728  and  1738,  but  at  last  proved  it  positively  (on  in- 
For  — ation  received  by  the  writer  in  October,  1913,  from  Gov- 
ernor S.  W.  Penny  packer)  by  referring  to  a  bell,  a  broom, 
can-'les  and  wooi  for  "the  Furnace"  in  1728,  and  twice  to 
Christien   or    Christeen    Furnace,    by   name,   in   April,    1729. 

Until  the  ne'ghboring  rival  Warwick  Furnace  was  built  in 
1 728.  Christine  and  its  successor  Redd  ng.  were  the  only  fur- 
naces in  the  French  Creek  iron  region.  Both  were  owned  by 
William  Branson,  no  doubt,  the  W.  B.  of  the  stove  plate,  and 
both  were  associated  from  the  first  with  Coventry  Forge. 
Whether  this  older  Christien  Furnace  was  bu  It  by  Branson 
about  1720,  when  he  built  Coventry  Forge,  or  earlier,  thus 
rivaling  in  age  or  antedating  Colebrookdale  itself,  and  whether 
it  for  a  t'me  survived  the  building  of  Redding  are  as  yet  un- 
answered questions.  Swank  and  Mrs.  Jarres.  ignorant  of  its 
nam.e.  suppose  that  the  older  Furnace  was  abandoned  in  1737 
when   Redding  was  built,  but  show  no  evidence  of  the  fact. 

Our  explanation  supposes,  either  that  the  later  furnace  of 
1737  officially  called  Redding,  might  unofficially  have  been 
called  Christine  in  1748,  when  the  stove  plate  was  cast  and 
when    William    Branson    was    still    ironmaster,    or    that    the    olier 


But  the  majority,  like  all  the  plates  thus 
far  described,  are  pictorial,  and  illustrate 
scenes  in  the  Bible  history,  or  convey  moral 
lessons  by  means  of  pictures,  generally  placed 
in  decorative  canopies,  and  explained  by 
legends. 

The  latter,  invariably  set  beneath  the  pic- 
ture, are  often  much  abbreviated  and  difficult 
to  decipher,  as  where  we  have  on  Figure  60, 
MAN.  HAT.  DICH.  IN.  EINER.  WAGE. 
GFWOGEN.  UND.  ZU.  LEICHT.  GEFUN- 
DEN.    abbreviated   into    MAN.    HAT.    DICH. 


furnace    might    have    survived    until    1748    and    might    have    been 
still   called    Christien    at   that   time. 

The  old  Ans.lo-American  iron  master,  William  Branion 
(according  to  Futhey,  and  Cope's  Hi.tory  of  Chester  County). 
son  of  Nathaniel  Branson,  of  Soning,  Berkshire,  England,  came 
to  Pennsylvania  in  the  Golden  Lion  Ship,  in  1708,  lived  in 
Philadelph  a  ar  shop-keeper  and  merchant.  1709  to  1726,  bought 
land  on  French  Creek.  Chester  County,  in  1733,  and  probably 
together  with  Samuel  Nutl,  built  Christine  Furnace  about 
1720-26.  He  reconstructed  it  or  built  a  new  one  in  1736.  and  was 
in  possession  of  Redd  ng  in  1742  (Swank.  173)  between  1750 
and  1756  (as  Acrelius  says,  quoted  by  Swank.  174).  He  built  two 
so-called  "Windsor  Forges"  on  Conestoga  Creek,  near  Church- 
town,  Lancaster  County,  also  supplied  by  Redding  Furnace 
(Swank,  Iron  and  Coal,  page  21);  sold  the  latter  in  I7<3  to 
Lynford  Lardner,  Samuel  Flower  and  Richard  Hockley,  was 
three  times  married,  and  died  in  1760  (Swank,  Iron  in  All 
Ages.  174).  He  left  no  sons,  and  four  daughters,  to  three  of 
whom,  with  their  husbands,  Lardner,  Flower  and  Hockley, 
above-named,  his  sons-in-liw.  he  gave  quarter  shares  of  Redding 
(History  of  Chester  County.  pa§c  346).  Samuel  Flower  had 
married  Branson's  daughter  Rebecca  in  1744.  and  as  the  initials 
S.  F.  and  the  name  Samuel  Flower  appear  on  several  dated 
stove-plates  here  illustrated.  Flower  seems  to  have  managed 
Redding  furnace  for  his  father-in-law  in  1756.  and  after  the 
latter's  death  in   1760. 


52- 
Xlie  Plow. 

Left  plate.  Size.  W.  ZSJi  x  H.  26^/4  inches.  At  the  Museum  of 
;he   Young    Men's   Missionary   Society  at   Bethlehem.    Pa. 

IN.  EINER.  WAGE.  G.  W.  U.  Z.  L.  F. 
Some  are  direct  quotations,  some  para- 
phrases, as  in  the  Raven  plats,  and  one  upon 
the  Joseph  plate,  is  a  misquotation.  In  many, 
the  spelling  varies  or  is  phonetic  or  the  letter- 
ing is  careless  or  illiterate,  as  in  the  David  and 
Jonathan  plate.  Figure  74,  vi^here  the  N"s  are 
all  upside  down ;  and  sometimes  gaps  in  words, 
owing  to  letters  broken  from  the  moulds,  as  in 
the  Dance  of  Death  plate.  Figures  75-76,  re- 
main uncorrected. 


50 


A  cactus-like  tree,  with  fluted  stems,  two  medallions,  three 
flowering  stalks,  the  initials  TM  set  under  a  lozenge,  a  basket- 
shaped  design,  with  a  plow,  and  the  date  1747,  together  with  a 
hanging,  quilted  curtain  in  the  upper  right-hand  corner,  com- 
plete the  features  of  this  most  irregular  and  childlike  of  any  of 
the   stove   patterns   yet   seen. 

The  legend    filling    the   entire   lower   panel   reads: 

JESUS.    ABER.    SPRACH.    ZV.    IHM.   WER. 

SEINE.    HAND.    AN.    DEN.    PFLUG.    LEGD.    UND. 

SEHT.   ZURUCK.    DER.    1ST.    NICHT.    GE. 

SCHICKT.    ZUM.    REICH.    GOTES.    LC.    A.    9. 

"And  Jesus  said  unto  him :  No  man  having  put  his  hand 
to  the  plow,  and  looking  back,  is  fit  for  the  kingdom  of  God. 
Luke  in   9th." 

If  we  ascribe  the  initials  TM  to  Thomas  Maybury.  we  may 
suppose  that  the  plate  was  carved  for  and  cast  at  Hereford 
Furnace,  on  the  North  Branch  of  Perkiomen  Creek,  in  Here- 
ford Township.  Berks  County,  Pa.,  where,  according  to  a  map 
of  the  township  of  the  mid-1 8th  century,  and  Old  Charcoal 
Furnaces  in  Eastern  Berks  County,  by  Winslow  Fegley.  Thomas 
Maybury  was  ironmaster  in  1753.  The  "ten-plate  stove." 
Figure  180,  marked  Hereford  Furnace,  and  dated  twenty  years 
later  in   1767.  also  shows  Maybury's  name. 


53- 

David  and  Cioliatti, 

Left  plate.  Size  H.  21  x  W.  24.  Bucks  County  Historical 
Society.     No.    791. 

The  double  arched  canopy,  without  columns,  with  under- 
hung looped  curtains  and  large  tassel-like  pendant  flower,  is 
flanked  with  vertical  scrolled  bands.  Within  it,  David,  armed 
with  a  single  barbed  spear,  twirls  his  sling  at  the  giant  Goliath. 
Below,  the  inscription,   in  three  banded  lines,  reads: 

DEN.    GROSEN.    GOLIATH.    HAT. 

DAVID.    UBER.   WENDEN. 

DAS.    1.    BUCH.    SAM.    17.    CAP. 

In  the  American  plates  the  carving  of  the 
figures,  the  details  of  the  backgrounds,  or 
canopies,  and  the  lettering  of  the  inscriptions, 
show  that  the  technical  skill  of  the  designer, 
as  displayed  in  the  earlier  imported  patterns, 
has  departed.  The  designs  become  rude  and 
primitive,  as  if  the  German  workman,  secluded 


"The  great  Goliath  hath  David  overthrown.  First  book 
Samuel,    17th    chapter." 

Two  broad  welts,  one  of  which  crosses  the  inscription,  as 
of  boards  set  diagonally  in  the  wooden  mould,  and  warped  out 
of  level,  show  plainly  in  the  design.  Found  by  Mr.  H.  M. 
Ingersoll  at  the  destruction  of  an  old  house  at  Springhouse, 
Montgomery    County.    Pa.,    in    1897. 

Several  years  passed  before  a  replica  was  found,  used  as  a 
fireback  in  a  modern  fireplace,  at  1322  Locust  Street,  Philadel- 
phia, in  a  house  built  by  the  late  Dr.  Caspar  Wister.  The  latter 
had  presumably  brought  it  there,  together  with  the  beautiful 
Oil  Miracle  plate.  Figure  22.  also  used  as  a  fireback  in  the  hall 
fireplace  of  the  same  house. 

Replica  (1)  with  rims  sawed  off,  Mr.  Robert  Hays.  Roxboro, 
Montgomery  County,  Pa.,  Aug.  30.  1910.  (2)  Left  replica,  Col, 
H.  D.  Paxson.  Holicong.  Pa.,  Aug  .  1910.  (3)  Replica  ditto, 
September  12,  1911.  (4)  Right  replica,  Mr,  J.  H.  Lynn,  Lang 
home,  Bucks  County,  Pa.,  1912.  From  an  old  tavern  near  North 
Wales,  Montgomery  County,  Pa.  (5)  Left  replica,  Mr.  Fred 
erick  Eld  ridge.  40  Harvey  Street,  Germantown,  Pa.  Informa 
tion  Mr.  Mantle  Fielding,  May  8.  1913;  taken  by  Mr.  Eldridge 
1880,  from  ruins  of  one  of  the  oldest  houses  in  Germantown 
then   destroyed. 


54- 

Samson  and  tlie  Lion. 

Front  plate.     Size.  W.    17  "a   x   H,   21.      Bucks   County   Historical 
Society. 

Under  a  double  canopy  roofed  with  loops  and  central 
pendant.  Samson  tears  open  the  jaws  of  the  young  lion.  A  long 
tail  twirls  in  heraldic  fashion  over  the  animal's  back,  and  on 
either   side    of    the    figure    large   leaf-scrolls    fill    the    background. 

in    the    American    forest,    had    become    more 
earnest,   childlike  and  direct  than  before. 

Where  Absalom  hangs  by  the  hair  in  a  tree 
as  the  spearmen  rush  upon  him,  or  where  the 
infant  Isaac  kneels  in  prayer,  while  an  angel 
arrests  his  father's  sword,  or  where  a  dog 
barks  in  the  house  of  Jonathan  at  the  stranger 


The  inscr-ption  in  four  lines,  separated  by  bands,  and  filling 
the   lower   panel,    is   rusted    beyond   decipherment: 

ALS.   SCH.  ZU.  THIMNATH.   WOL. 

EIN.    LOW.   AN.    SIMSON. 

CHEN.    DAS.    B.    DER.    RICHTER.    14. 

"As    at    Timnath    a    lion    upon     Samson" The     Book    of 

Judges.   14. 

That  this  is  the  long  lost  front  plate  belonging  to  the  Sam- 
son plate.  Figure  55.  and  which  had  been  heard  of  by  the  writer 
in  the  possess'on  of  Dr.  R.  Lewis  Davis,  at  Hatboro.  and  by 
him  unwittingly  sold  to  a  junk-dealer  and  lost,  as  described 
under  Figure  55.  there  can  be  little  doubt,  both  because  of  the 
identity  of  the  leaf  scrolls,  used  to  balance  the  pattern  in  both 
instances,  the  character  of  the  pendant  curtains  under  the 
arches,  and  finally  the  form  of  the  letters  in  the  rhymed  inscrip- 
tion, which  rhyme  begins  in  both  instances  w!th  the  word  ALS. 
The  plate  was  found  on  the  premises  of  Mr.  Seth  T.  Walton. 
one  mile  east  of  Willow  Grove.  Montgomery  County,  Pa., 
where  it  had  doubtless  formed  a  part  of  an  old  stove  used  in  a 
stone  addit  on  or  shop  pertaining  to  the  original  house.  A  large 
fireplace  had  been  perforated  at  the  back  with  a  hole  about 
eight  inches  square,  to  the  right  of  the  fire,  probably  for  the 
insertion  of  the  stove.  The  plate  when  found  was  used  as  a 
stepping-stone  in  the  "back  yard." 


55- 

Samson  and  nelilah. 

Right   Plate.     Sue.    H.    24;,    x    W.    2434-     Bucks   County    Histori- 
cal   Society. 

Two  Corbels  and  a  smooth  central  column,  support  the 
double  canopy  with  underhanging  horizontal  curtains.  Beneath 
the  right  arch.  Samson  carries  the  left  wing  of  a  vault  doot 
cross-marked  with  two  heavy  strap  hnges  (The  Gate  of  Gaza), 
w-hile.  under  the  left  vault,  a  much  rusted  figure  (again  Samson) 
reclines  on  the  lap  of  a  woman,  seated  on  a  chair,  the  back  of 
which  ends  in  a  knob.  A  male  figure  approaches  from  the  left, 
with  extended  arms,  probably  holding  scissors,  or  a  razor,  as  if 
about  to  cut  the  strong  man's  hair.  Heavy  foliate  scrolls  fill 
the  background  to  the  right  and  left,  and  the  lower  panel, 
divided  into  three  horizontal  bands.  :s  filled  with  the  inscription: 

ALS.    ENDLICH.    DELIA.   WUST.    SIMSONS.    KRAFT. 

ZU.  ZWINGEN.  LIES.  SIR.  AUF.  IHREM.  SCHOS. 
IHN. 

DM.    DESELBE.    BRINGEN.    DAS.    B.    RICHTER.    16. 

"When  at  last  Delilah  learned  how  to  overcome  Samson's 
strength,  she  brought  him  to  it  on  her  lap."  The  Book  if 
Judges.    16. 


SI 

For  several  years  a  much-rusted  specimen  of  this  plate,  now 
at  the  Bucks  County  Historical  Society,  found  by  Mr.  Webster 
Grim  at  the  house  of  Jacob  Sassaman.  in  Nockamixon  Town- 
ship. Bucks  County.  Pa.,  in  November.  1901.  remained  unique 
and  undeciphered.  Then  four  replicas  suddenly  appeared,  (1) 
Right,  Figure  55  here  illustrated,  set  in  the  cemented  pave- 
ment of  R.  W.  Pathemore's  garden  at  the  corner  of  Sixth  and 
Kelker  Streets,  Harrisburg,  now  in  the  Museum  of  the  Bucks 
County  Historical  Society,  (2)  found  in  the  foundry  scrap- 
heap,  in  the  possession  of  Mr.  A.  J.  Steinman,  at  Lancaster: 
(3  and  4)  a  right  and  left  replica,  as  a  shield  for  a  drip-spout 
and  a  cistern  cover,  in  the  possession  of  Dr.  R.  Lewis  Davis,  at 
Hatboro.  Pa.,  one  of  which  (the  right)  is  now  in  the  Museum 
of  the  Bucks  County  Historical  Society;  (5)  Right.  Col.  H.  D. 
Paxson.    Holicong.    Pa. 

All  these  plates  were  rusted  beyond  decipherment  upon  the 
area    of    the    inscription,    except    the    Lancaster    specimen,    which 


56. 


made  certain  the  words  UM.  DESELBE.  and  D.  RICHTER. 
on  the  last  l!ne.  Their  appearance  made  it  possible,  after  many 
guesses,  pol'shings  and  rubbings  by  sun  and  gaslight,  to  de- 
cipher the  full  text  on   November   5.    1908. 

The  first  plate  found  was  described  by  the  writer  in  the 
Proceedings  of  the  Numismatic  and  Antiquarian  Society  of 
Philadelph  a    for    1899-I90I.    page    171. 

After  the  writing  of  the  above  paragraph,  two  more  replicas 
have  appeared.  (6)  A  left  in  possession  of  Mr.  William  H.  God- 
shall,  of  Chestnut  Hill,  Pa.,  and  found  by  him  in  demolishing 
an  old  house  in  German  town  in  1913.  and  (7),  Figure  56,  a 
right,  the  best  preserved  of  all.  plainly  showing  two  vertical 
marks  of  cracks  impressed  from  a  warped  mould,  verifying  the 
above  decipherment  of  the  inscription  and  remarkable  from  the 
fact  that  the  single  letter  D  has  been  cast  in  the  background 
of    the    left    canopy,    just    above    the    head    of   the   seated    woman. 

Thus  far  it  has  only  been  upon  floral  patterns  cast  after 
1750  that  single  letters  have  thus  appeared  set  in  the  back- 
ground and  then  not  as  afterthoughts,  but  as  parts  of  the  orig- 
inal carving.  Here  we  have  a  letter  (or  the  first  time  thus 
produced  upon  a  picture  plate  unquestionably  cast  not  from  a 
letter  carved  upon  the  mould  itself,  but  from  a  loose  stamp 
pressed  into  the  casting  sand,  and  we  may  well  wonder  why, 
when  and  where  the  casting  was  made  and  what  may  be  the 
meaning  of  this  tilted,  unbalanced  and  exaggerated  letter  D, 
out  of  proportion  to  the  rest  of  the  inscription  and  which  has 
not   yet   appeared   on  any  other  Samson   plate. 


52 


If  for  the  reasons  given  under  Figure  81,  this  pattern  and 
the  Cana,  David  and  Golath.  Elijah,  and  Pharisee  plates.  Figures 
50.  53,  59  and  81,  were  designed  by  the  same  person,  th's 
mould  must  have  been  carved  about  1740  and  the  D  inserted 
between  then  and  1760,  and  because  D  as  an  initial  letter 
would  not  stand  for  the  name  of  any  iron  master  known  to  us 
of  that  time,  and  because  Durham  is  the  only  furnace  name 
then  represented  by  D;  we  may  not  unreasonably  guess  that 
the  strange  misfitting  init-al  may  have  been  stamped  in  the 
casting  sand   at   the   latter   furnace. 


57- 
Elijah  and  the  Ravens  of  B.  S.  D.  W. 

Right   plate.     Size,    H.   23%    x    W.   Z6' 4.       B,    H.    S.    No.    1688. 

At  the  foot  of  two  leafless  trees.  El  jah  ly.ng  upon  his  back, 
Iticking  his  legs  in  the  air.  is  fed  by  two  fluttering  ravens, 
wh  le  another  bird  perched  upon  the  branches  of  a  second 
leafless  tree  to  the  rght,  seems  about  to  fly  to  the  rescue.  A 
third  bird  sits  upon  a  smaller  tree  to  the  left.  Four  hearts,  in 
relief  outline,  are  set  above  two  lozenges  in  the  upper  back- 
ground, balancing  the  pattern,  wh  le  above  a  medallion,  flanked 
with  two  stemmed  tulips  and  conuming  the  inscription  17. 
BSDW.  6.  O.,  runs  the  text  fill  ng  the  transverse  band,  ICH. 
HABE.  DEN.  RABEN.  BEFOHLEN.  DICH.  ZU.  VERS.  1. 
B.    D.    K.    17.    C. 

The  inscription  is  an  abbreviation  of  Luther's  version  of 
1  Kings  17  4,  where  in  a  description  of  the  deadly  drought  of 
years,  and  the  famine  in  Israel  prophesied  by  Elijah,  the 
prophet's  life  is  saved  by  one  of  the  most  celebrated  miracles 
in  the  Bible,  "And  I  have  commanded  the  ravens  to  feed  thee 
there." 

In  the  German  the  word  VERS,  stands  for  VERSORGEn, 
and  the  following  letters  continued  upon  the  lower  line,  broken 
by  the  upper  rim  of  the  medallion,  stand  for  1.  Erste.  B.  Buch. 
D.  der,  K.  Konige.  17.  C.  Capitel.  The  final  C  for  "capitel." 
is  balanced  by  a  decorative  scallop  on  the  left,  preceding  the  1, 
while  the  BSDW.  with  n  the  date  1760,  in  the  lower  medallion, 
stand,  according  to  Mr.  B.  F.  Owen,  for  the  initials  of  Benedict 
Schwoope  and  Dieterich  Welcker,  who  were  ironmasters  at  the 
old    Shearwell    Furnace    at    Oley.    Berks    County,    Pa.,    in    1760. 

The  left  replica  of  this  plate.  Figure  58,  at  the  Pennsyl- 
vania    Museum     at     Fairmount     Park,      Philadelph  a,     here     also 


58. 


illustrated,  shows  two  welts  marking  cracks  or  warps  in  the 
board  pattern,  crossing  the  background  vertically,  one  of  which 
intersects  the  heart  outlne,  the  date  medallion  and  the  letter 
S,  without  scormg  the  leg  of  Elijah.  Both  welts  are  wanting 
upon    Figure   57. 


59. 

Elijali  and  the  Ravens  of  Kiiig:stoii. 

Front  plate.  Size,  H.  24  x  W.  173/4.  Mrs.  James  Van  Buren, 
97  Green  Street,  Kingston,  New  York,  In  use  1913  as  a  fireback 
in  the  parlor  fireplace. 


David,  or  Joseph  leads  the  ass  towards  Egypt  the  rock  carvings  of  ancient  Asia  or  the  wall 

with  a  long  bridle,  art  seems  to  have  forgotten  pictures  of  Egypt  in  such  patterns  as  that  of 

its  history  and  gone  back  to  the  infantile  steps  the   Critic   pulling   a   splinter    (the   mote)    out 

of  its  beginning  and  we  seem  to  be  looking  at  of  his   eye    (Figure   80),   the   warning   of   Bel- 


Many  an  exciting  page  in  a  book  of  this  sort  has  to  be 
suppressed.  The  plate,  first  seen  by  the  writer  in  1907.  was 
photographed  bv  Mr.  Wm.  H.  Long,  of  166  Pine  Street.  Kings 
ton.  in  December.  1911,  and  the  detiils  of  the  effort  to  get  the 
picture,  with  the  long  correspondence,  often  interrupted,  last'ng 
through  several  years,  the  exasperating  obstructions,  misunder- 
standings, blunders,  shifting  of  scene  and  persons,  disappoint- 
ments and  coincidences  belong  to  that  class  of  adventures 
which   have   to   be   oTiitted    for   fear   of   offending   somebody. 

No  replica  cf  th  s  interesting  plate,  which  was  undoubtedly 
cast  m  Pennsylvania,  appeared  until  Mr.  William  H.  Godshall 
found  one  in  1913  in  pulling  down  an  old  house  in  German- 
town.    Pa. 

Elijah,  kneeling,  reaches  with  his  right  hand  to  receive  his 
food  from  two  ravens,  hold  ng  round  and  square  morsels,  in- 
tended to  represent  bread  and  meat,  in  their  beaks.  The  frame- 
work and  treatment  of  the  figure,  closely  resembling  that  of  the 
SaTison.  Phar  see  and  Publican.  David  and  Goliath  and  Cana 
plates.  Figures  55.  81.  53  and  50.  betrays  a  co.Timon  origin. 
The    inscr  ption   reads: 

DAS.    1.    B.    DER.    KONIG.    AM.    16. 

NACH.    DEM.    ELIA.    SICH.    DORT. 

AM.    BACH.    CRITH.   VERBORGEN. 

LIES.    GOTT.    MIT.    FLEISCH.    UND.    BROT. 

DURCH.    RABEN.    IHN.    VERSORGEN. 

The    First   Book   of    Kings,   in    16. 

"After  that  El-jah  hid  himself  there  on  the  Brook  Crith. 
God  had  him  nourished  by  ravens  with  meat  and   bread." 


6o. 

Xhe  Scales. 


shazzar  shown  by  an  angel  carrying  scales, 
or  Elijah  fed  by  ravens.  But  as  in  the  work 
of  savages,  though  the  all-important  meaning 
is  first  sought  for,  the  decorative  spirit  still 
prevails  in  the  balance  of  canopies  and  inscrip- 
tions and  the  framework  of  medallions.  And 
though  the  rude  pictures  may  halt  in  their 
execution,  they  never  fail  in  their  thought. 

The  Moors  emblazoned  the  name  of  God 
in    the    gorgeous    filagree    of    the    Alhambra. 


53 

Front  plate.    Size,   H.  24  x  W.   20.     Pennsylvania   Museum.    Fair- 
mount    Park.     Mus.    No.   '08 — 693. 

Under  a  vaulted  canopy,  two  flying  angels,  one  of  who-n 
holds  a  pair  of  scales  in  his  left  hand.  coT.pose  the  exlre-nely 
simple  pattern,  the  canopy  cf  which  consisting  of  two  striped 
columns  with  square  capitals  supporting  a  double  vault  cast  in 
a  smglc  band,  finds  no  counterpart  among  the  more  elaborately 
vaulted  and  decorated  columns  of  the  series.  There  appears  to 
be  no  plate  in  the  whole  collection  with  which  we  may  class 
this  pri.-nitive  pattern,  unless  it  be  Figure  57.  In  this  latter 
case,  however,  the  similarity  of  treatment  in  the  legs  of  the 
figures,  and  in  the  formation  of  the  letters  of  the  inscription, 
with  one  N  out  of  three  upside  down  in  Figure  60,  and  two  out 
of  three  in  Figure  57,  and  with  the  exceptional  straight  cross- 
arm  in  the  A  in  both  cases,  is  so  strong  that  we  might  rea 
sonably  suppose  that  the  same  mould  carver  made  this  pattern 
for  Welcker  and  Schwoope  at  Shearwell   Furnace  about   1760. 

The  inscription  is  evidently  Luther's  translation  of  Daniel 
5-27,  etr.bodying  the  warning  of  the  handwriting  upon  the  wall, 
(during  one  of  the  most  dranatic  episodes  described  in  the 
Old  TcstaTT.ent).  when  Belshazzar's  doomed  banquet  ends  and 
Babylon  falls  at  the  om  nous  writing  on  the  wall  translated 
by   the  prophet. 

The  English  version,  "Thou  art  weighed  in  the  balances, 
and  art  found  wanting"  reads  in  the  German  "Man  hat  Dich 
in  einer  Wage  gjwogen  und  zu  leicht  gefunJen,"  or  as  abbrevi- 
ated upon  the  plate,  MAN.  HAT.  DICH.  N.  INER.  WAGE. 
G.  W.  V.  Z.  L.  F.  D.  v.  C,  the  single  letters  after  the  word 
WAGE  standing  as  follows:  G.  W.  for  gewogen,  V.  for  und, 
Z.  for  zu.  L.  for  leicht,  F.  with,  the  middle  arm  broken,  for 
funden,   D.  for   Danealis,   V.   for  funfte,   C.   for  capitel. 

We  see  manifest  marks  of  the  overflowing  of  hot  metal  in 
the  loss  of  the  I  in  Dich,  in  the  single  N.  in  the  blurred  word 
Einer,  and  in  the  tailless  Z  and  armless  F.  Furthermore,  the 
horizontal  sand  welt,  below  the  lower  line,  shows  that  the  in- 
scription, fastened  upon  a  separate  board,  may  have  been 
pressed  into  the  casting  sand,  as  a  separate  piece,  after  th« 
general  laying  out  of  the  pattern,  while  the  vertical  welt,  mark- 
ing a  warp  in  the  board  background,  pertains  only  to  the  upper 
pattern,   and  does  not   undermark   the   inscription   below. 

There  are  differences  between  this  plate  and  Figure  57, 
however,  which  ought  to  be  considered,  namely,  that  the  Latin 
numeral  V  on  this  plate  is  replaced  by  the  Arabic  figure  on  57 
and  nearly  all  the  other  plates,  and  that  the  W,  with  crossed 
ar.Tis  on  57.  is  here  without  them. 

Thus  far.  without  the  elucidation  of  its  side  plates  not  yet 
found,  the  plate  bought  at  Mrs.  Cookerow's  furniture  store  at 
Pottstown.  and  exhibited  by  her  at  Founder's  Week  Exhibition 
in    Philadelphia,    remains   unique   in    the   collection. 

Replica  in  possession  of  Gideon  Hoch,  Oley,  Berks  County, 
Pa..  June  30,    1912. 


The  Gothic  Cathedral,  the  tiles  and  stained 
glass  of  the  Middle  Ages  speak  in  the  same 
language.  Here,  too,  the  art  is  religious  and 
holds  to  the  same  highest  theme  of  decorative 
expression.  As  in  the  old  farmhouse  of  Ger- 
many, so  in  the  log  cabin  of  the  pioneer,  or 
his  later  dwelling  built  of  surface  stones  often 
laid  in  clay,  these  Bible  pictures,  produced  by 
the  pious  child  of  the  Reformation  through  the 
study  of  Luther's  Bible,  tell  in  a  simple  and 


54 


6i. 

Front  Plate  of  1749. 

Size,  W.   183-^   X   H.   243,^.     B.   H.  S. 

A  basket-shaped  flov/er  pot  is  filled  with  realistic  flowers 
and  flanked  with  heavy  scrolls,  above  the  date  1749.  within  a 
scrolled  medallion  in  the  lower  panel. 

Lacking  the  religious  inscriptions,  with  its  meaningless 
filigree  and  inartistic  jumble  of  realism  and  decorative  clu.-nsi- 
ness.  suggesting  the  stove  patterns  of  1880.  the  plate  is  never- 
theless remarkable  as  a  sort  of  anachronis.Ti,  apparently  modern, 
yet  belonging  to  the  earlier  and  more  interesting  period  of  the 
history  of  American  stoves,  when  Biblical  scenes  and  religious 
inscriptions  generally  prevailed,  and  the  conventionalized  and 
emblematic  floral  patterns,  described  in  the  text,  so  common  on 

direct  manner  of  the  guidance  of  Providence, 
the  preservation  of  the  just,  the  beauty  of 
brotherly  love,  the  punishment  of  the  wicked, 
and  the  miracles  of  Christ  and  the  Prophets. 

Dr.  Kassel  searched  in  vain  for  evidence 
that  tlie  German  stove  plate  designs  were 
copied  from  woodcuts  in  German  Bibles,  and 
no  such  proof  has  yet  appeared  here. 

When  more  German  plates  are  collected 
for  comparison,  reminiscences  or  repetitions 
of  ancient  rhymes,  or  methods  of  treatment 
adopted  a  century  or  two  earlier,  by  the  old 
German  mould  carvers,  may  appear  in  the 
American  patterns,  as  now  we  see  the  figure 
at  the  pulley-well  of  the  German  Samaria 
Plate  (Figure  19),  appearing  again  in  the 
American  Cana  pattern  (Figure  49),  and  find 
the  Dance  of  Death  rhyme,  of  Pennsylvania, 
rudely  quoted  from  the  Basel  inscription  nearly 


the  latter  stoves,  had  not  yet  appeared.  It  may  be  compared 
with  Figure  64.  dated  1745.  also  a  front  plate,  and  which,  like 
this  specimen.  lacks  the  evidence  of  its  co.mpanion  side  plates. 
But  the  latter,  though  also  meaningless,  is  at  least  convention- 
alized  with  skill. 

(1)  Figure  61  was  bought  by  the  writer  from  W.  H. 
Boone,  the  antique  dealer  at  Pottstown.  in  1910.  (2)  Figure 
62  shows  a  replica  in  the  possession  of  Mr.  P.  W.  Wright,  of 
Philadelpha.  Another  replica  (3)  is  at  the  Pennsylvania 
Museum  at  Fairmount  Park.  Philadelphia.  (Information.  Mr. 
E.   A.    Barber.    Director.   July  25.    1913.) 


62. 


four  hundred  years  old.     Otherwise  the  Ameri- 
can desig^ns  appear  to  be  original. 

Besides  the  stove  plates  on  exhibition  at  the 
Young  Men's  Missionary  Society  at  Bethle- 
hem, Pennsylvania,  collections  of  stove  plates, 
sometimes  including  firebacks,  and  represented 
through  the  kind  permission  of  their  owners  by 
the  illustrations  here  shown,  have  been  made 
since  1897,  by  the  Bucks  County  Historical 
Society;  by  Col.  H.  D.  Paxson,  at  Holicong, 
Bucks  County,  Pennsylvania ;  by  the  Historical 
Society  of  Pennsylvania,  the  Pennsylvania 
Museum  at  Fairmount  Park,  Philadelphia ;  b> 
Mr.  B.  F.  Owen  for  the  Berks  County  His- 
torical Society  at  Reading;  by  the  Honorable 
S.  W.  Pennypacker  at  Schwenksville,  Penn- 
sylvania; by  the  National  Museum  at  Wash- 
ington; by  Mr.  H.  K.  Deisher  at  Kutztown, 
Pennsylvania,  and  by  the  Metropolitan 
Museum  at  New  York. 


55 


63- 

Front  of  Jamb  Stove. 

Size  W.  19!/i  X  H.  22!s.  Morav;an  H:storical  Society.  Nazareth, 
Pa.  Here  we  have  a  plate  decorated  in  double  panels  and 
showing  the  date  1749.  which  belongs  to  a  peculiar  class  of 
designs  as  yet  appear  ng  on  front  and  never  on  side  plates. 
Dated  at  a  time  when  the  fine  emble  r.atical  floral  patterns  had 
not  yet  appeared,  when  advertisement  was  as  yet  unknown  and 
biblical  pictures  generally  prevailed,  they  are  nevertheless  decor- 
ated not  with  the  Bible  pictures  and  religious  inscriptions,  or 
symbolic  tulips,  but  with  a  floral  filigree  and  scroll-work  no 
less  meaningless  and  decadent  than  that  which  appears  later 
on  the  ten  plate  stoves,  and  which  seems  out  of  place  in  the 
chronology    of   the   patterns    here    illustrated. 

Are  these  uninteresting  designs  to  be  regarded  as  make- 
shift fronts,  companions  for  pictorial  side  plates  whose  fronts 
are  not  yet  accounted  for,  or  as  companions  to  meaningless 
sir^es  which  yet  remain  to  be  found?  (See  note  117  and  figure 
88-a.) 


But  as  remarked  before,  the  series  of  plates 
thus  far  discovered  is  very  incomplete,  nearly 
all  of  them  appearing  as  side  plates  without 
their  fronts,  or  front  plates  without  their  sides, 
thus  lacking  the  explanation  of  their  com- 
panion patterns,  and  frequently  showing 
interrupted  inscriptions,"^  or  imperfectly  ex- 
plained designs.  Until  now,  among  all  the 
pictorial  patterns  found,  only  three  have 
appeared  showing  both  pictures  for  a  given 
stove. 

The  Samson  plate  (Figures  55,  56),  with 
its  double  canopy  representing  two  scenes,  and 
its  inscription,  for  a  long  time  undecipher- 
able, was  first  found  in  a  log  cabin  near  the 


64. 
Xhe  ^'iiiKed  Head. 

Front  plate.  Size,  H.  26' j  x  W.  aOfj.  Berks  County  Histori- 
cal Society. 

A  winged  human  head  set  between  the  figures  of  the  date 
1745.  rests  on  a  curved  bracket  overtopping  a  filigree  of  scrolls, 
medallions  and  leafage,  which  f.lls  the  whole  plate  without 
panelling.  Found  in  1909  by  Mr.  B.  F.  Owen  associated  with 
the  top  and  both  side  plates  of  the  Joseph  stove,  Figure  46, 
standing  in  the  kitchen  fireplace  of  an  old  house,  once  a 
Moravan  school  and  meeting  house,  now  owned  by  Mr.  Moyer, 
in    Olcy    Township.    Berks    County,    Pa.       Though    it    may    have 

"Haycock  Mountain,"  in  Bucks  County,  Penn- 
sylvania, and  described  by  the  writer  in  the 
Volume  for  1899  to  1901,  of  "The  Proceedings 
of  the  Numismatic  and  Antiquarian  Society 
of  Philadelphia."  Next  it  appeared  set  in  the 
cement  pavement  of  a  garden  in  Harrisburg, 
then  in  a  junk  heap  in  Lancaster,  and  twice 
as  a  cistern  cover  at  Hatboro,  Pennsylvania, 
but  never  with  a  fellow  until  Figure  54,  found 
with  it  as  a  chimney  top  at  Willow  Grove, 
Pennsylvania,  came  to  light,  after  an  interval 
of  nine  years,  as  its  long  missing  front  plate. 

The  Wedding  plate  (Figure  69),  first 
seen  by  the  writer  at  the  Moravian  Museum 
of    the    Young    Men's    Missionary    Society    in 


56 


been  used  in  this  instance  as  a  makeshift  front  in  the  Joseph 
stove  it  can  not  have  been  originally  cast  as  such,  since,  though 
no  front  plate  for  the  latter  has  yet  been  found,  all  the  side 
plates   thus   far   known   are   dated    1749. 

Several  other  plates  of  jamb  stoves  were  found  in  a  hall 
fireplace  in  the  same  building,  where  the  hall  passed  through 
the  center  of  the  house,  with  fireplaces  (one  of  which  was  per- 
forated as  for  a  five-plate  stove)  opening  on  either  side,  and 
the  chimneys  from  which  arched  together  on  the  upper  floor  and 
passed  through  the  roof  as  a  single  flue.  The  two  fireplaces 
in  question  were  both  backed  by  rooms,  one  of  which,  as  the 
fireplace   orifice   indicated,   was   heated   by  a   Jamb   stove. 


are  quartered  with  a  horse,  a  rose,  a  net,  (resembling  the  Arms 
cf  Navarre)  and  a  flower,  A  vertical  warp-crack  from  the 
wooden  mould  crosses  the  design  from  top  to  bottom. 


65. 

Side  Plate  of  Five-  or  Six-Plate  Stove. 

Size,   H.  25 '2   x  W.   24.     Bucks   County  Historical  Society 

Unfortunately  the  rims  on  this  plate  have  been  so  broken, 
worn  or  rusted  that  it  cannot  be  decided  with  certainty  whether 
the   pattern  has  belonged  to  a   five-  or  six-plate  stove. 

Coats-of-arms  are  so  common  upon  stove  plates  cast  in 
Geimany  in  the  17th  and  18th  centuries  that  they  form  a  class 
by  themselves,  but  this  and  the  Arms  of  Philadelphia.  Figure 
39,  are  the  only  armorial  stove  plates  thus  far  found  or  heard 
of  by  the  writer,  in  Pennsylvania.  The  arms,  enclosed  in  a 
circle  flanked  with  scrolls,  surmounted  with  a  crown  and  rest- 
ing   under   a    vaulted    canopy    supported    on    two    plain    columns. 

Bethlehem,  Pennsylvania,  and  afterward  found 
by  Mr.  B.  F.  Owen  near  Reading,  Pennsyl- 
vania, long  remained  without  a  fellow,  until 
Mr.  Owen  discovered  (Figure  70)  the  Wed- 
ding Dance  as  its  long  lost  front  plate,  in 
1910,  in  another  old  house  in  Berks  County. 

The  latest  of  the  dated  figure  patterns, 
representing  Elijah  fed  by  ravens  (Figures 
57-58)  and  marked  1760,  appears  by  inference 
from  its  appended  initials  B.  S.  D.  W.  to  have 
been  cast  at  Searwell  Furnace,  at  Oley,  Berks 
County,  Pennsylvania,  where,  according  to 
Mr.  B.  F.  Owen,  of  Reading,  Benedict  Swope 


66. 

Seal  of  Pliiladelpliia. 

Front  plate  of  Jamb  Stove.  S.ze.  W.  19  x  H.  22.  Mr.  W.  H. 
Godshall.  Chestnut  Hill.  Philadelphia.  1914.  Found  by  him 
in  1913  bedded  in  the  walls  of  an  old  house  denolished  by  him 
in    Chestnut    Hill   along   with   the   date   stone   marked    1734. 

One  of  the  orig'nal  seals  of  Philadelphia  dated  1701, 
quartered  with  the  clasped  hands,  scales,  ship  and  wheat  sheaf, 
appears  here  on  a  shield  of  identical  shape  with  that  upon  the 
seal.  The  Englsh  motto.  SEAL  OF  PHILADELPHIA  1701 
is  lacking,  but  instead  is  cast  the  rhymed  inscription  half 
effaced  by  rust  ALS.  PHILADELPHIA.  ANFANGS.  NAHM 
UM  SE.  DIS.  WAPPEN.  UBERKAM.  Trans- 
lation:    "When    Philadelphia    at    first    took    these    arms 

received." 

Both  shield  and  inscription  appear  raised  above  the  back- 
ground as  if  inserted  separately  into  the  wooden  mould  above 
the  general  level,  if  not  stamped  upon  the  casting  sand  with 
loose    stamps. 

and  Dietrich  Welcker  were  iron  masters  at 
that  time.  If  so,  we  must  suppose  that 
Figure  60,  representing  angels  holding  the 
fatal  balance  for  Belshazzar,  expressing  un- 
mistakable similarity  in  design,  was  carved  by 
the  same  hand  about  the  same  time,  but  there 
is  no  reason  for  supposing  that  because  we 
have  proved  one  plate  to  have  been  made  at 
a  given  furnace,  several  others,  showing  the 
same  peculiarities  of  style,  were  also  made 
there,  since  the  same  mould  carvers  may  have 
worked,  and,  as  the  evidence  shows,  did  work, 
for   different  furnaces   in   the  same  year. 


57 


67- 


The  Pnissiati  4;reiiadiers* 


In  an   Old    House,   at   Dyers- 


Left  plate.     S  ze.  W.  25   x  H.  23. 
town,   Bucks   County,   Pa.,   1914. 

Several  side  plates,  replicas  of  this  remarkable  pattern,  at 
the  Kingstcn  Museum,  one  of  which  is  shown  in  Figure  68, 
together  with  one  in  possession  of  Mrs.  Van  Courtlandt.  at 
Croton,  N.  Y..  were  found  in  the  area  of  Dutch  settlement,  in 
old  houses  at  K:ngston-on-the-Hudson.  where,  singularly,  no 
stove  plates  with  inscriptions  in  the  Dutch  language,  have  yet 
been  found,  and  all  the  evidence  shows  that  the  old  house- 
holds were  furnished  with  German  stoves,  either  imported  from 
Ger.Tiany   before    1720.   or   after  that   time,   made   in    Pennsylvania. 


68. 

The  Pennsylvania  Historical  Society  has  three  repl'cas 
( two  left  and  one  right)  of  this  singular  plate,  all  of  which 
have  apparently  been  used  as  firebacks,  and  are  perforated  with 
four  holes  at  the  corners  as  for  clamping  them  against  the  back 
walls  of  fireplaces.  From  these  plates,  seen  in  1897.  the  descrip- 
tion, without  illustration,  in  "Decorated  Stove  Plates."  page  22. 
was   written.    After  a    fruitless  effort   to    get   these   plates   photo- 


graphed in  tim;  for  a  pamphUt  then  writing,  nothing  further 
v.£s  seen  of  the  pattern,  until  the  Kingston  replicas  appeared, 
after  which  in  1908  Mr.  Grant  Myers  found  a  right  and  left 
rcpl  ca  (the  orig  nal  of  Figure  67J  standing  as  firebacks  in 
two  parlor  fireplaces  in  an  old  house  at  Dyer<town.  Bucks 
Cour.ly.  Pa.  All  efforts  to  find  the  front  plate,  co.npleting  the 
inscription,  or  further  explaining  the  picture,  have  fa  led.  A 
looped  curta  n  flls  the  upper  right  corner,  and  two  warp-cracks 
run  vertically  along  the  lire  of  the  original  board,  across  the  pat- 
tern to  the  left,  crossing  the  gunstock,  background  and  lower 
panel  border.  The  two  tall  men  in  po  nted  caps  and  queues,  with 
swords,  and  hold  ng  grounded  guns,  no  doubt  represent  the 
gigantic  Grenadiers  of  Frederick  William  II,  King  of  Prussia, 
so  celebrated  about  1740,  while  the  short  bearded  men.  with 
broad  brimmed  hats,  and  long  hair,  may  represent,  as  German 
Mcnncnites.  Schwcnckfclicrs.  or  Amish  settlers  of  Pennsylvania 
m  the  18th  century,  the  friends  of  peace.  The  broken  inscrip- 
tion  reads: 

DEN.   CRANETIR.   GESTELT.   ER. 

HEBT.   WOL.    AUS.    DEM.    SATEL.    GAR. 

MANCHEN.    BRAFEN.    HELT. 

"To  the  grenadier  is  placed.  He  knocks  out  of  the  saddle 
full    many  a   fine   hero." 


69. 

The  \VefIdiiij;>:. 

Right   plate.      Size    H.    26   x   W.    29   inches.      Young   Men's   Mis 

sionary    Society.    Bethlehem.    Pa- 

Under  fluted  columns  and  curtained  arches,  the  minister, 
Bible  in  hand,  from  an  elevated  pulpit,  marries  the  bride, 
carrying  a  nosegay,  to  the  left,  and  the  bridegroom  on  the 
right,  as  both  figures  seem  to  emerge  from  open  doors.  Below. 
and  filling  the  entire  lower  panel,  runs  the  legend,  one  of  the 
few   non-scriptural  ones  in  the  collection : 

WER.   DAR.   IBER.   NUR.  WIL.   LACHEN. 

DER.    MAG.    ES.    BESER.    MACHEN. 

TATELN.  KINEN.  JA.  SER.  VIL.  ABER.  BESER. 

MACHEN.  1ST.   DAS.   RECHE.  SPIL. 

"Let  him  who  will  only  laugh  at  this  make  it  better." 
"Many  can  find  fault,  but  the  real  game  is  to  do  better." 
Whoever  carved  this  undated  pattern  and  its  companion  front 
plate.  Figure  70.  seems  to  have  left  no  trace  of  his  singular  stylt 
and  workmanship  on  any  of  the  other  patterns  here  illustrated, 
unless  we  find  it  in  the  lettering  of  the  inscription  on  the  Plow. 
Figure  52.  Furthermore,  the  inscription,  one  of  the  few  non- 
scriptural  ones  in  the  collection,  is  peculiar  in  not  explaining 
the  pattern,  but  rather  defending  it  from  critics. 


58 


For  a  long  time,  the  plate  first  seen  in  1897  by  the  writer 
at  the  museum  of  the  Young  Men's  Missionary  Society,  and 
noticed  by  John  Hill  Martin  in  his  Historical  Sketch  of  Beth- 
lehe  Ti,  remained  unique,  until  Mr.  B.  F.  Owen,  of  Reading, 
found  a  replca.  left  plate,  now  at  the  Berks  County  Historical 
Society,  in  the  bedroo-n  fireplace  of  an  old  house  formerly  be- 
longing to  the  Muhlenberg  family,  at  the  mouth  of  Angelica 
Creek,  Cumru  Township.  Berks  County.  Pa.,  in  1909,  soon 
after  which  the  remarkable  dated  front  plate,  figure  70,  was 
found  by  Mr.  Owen  in  possession  of  Mr.  Paul  K.  Stoudt,  where 
it   had    been    used   as   a    fireback   in   one   of   the   parlours. 

3.  Replica  Mr.  B.  F.  Owen.  Found  at  oli  Moravian  Meet- 
ing House  near  Oley,  Berks  County,  Pa.  4.  RepLca.  ditto. 
Fro.-n  Dietrick  House  near  Oley.  5.  Replca  Col.  H.  D.  Pax- 
son.    Holicong.    Bucks    County.    Pa.,    May   27.    1913. 


70. 

Xlie  Wedding:  Dance. 

Front    plate.      Size,    H.    26^4    x    W.    22ii.       Berks    County    His- 
torical Society. 

A  man  in  broad-rimmed  hat  to  the  right,  and  a  wo.Tian  in 
the  middle,  clasp  hands  as  they  begn  dancing  to  the  music 
of  a  fiddler;  also  with  hat  on,  and  apparently  keeping  time  with 
his  right  foot,  who  stands  playing,  to  the  left  of  a  small  table, 
set  with  a  cup  and  tankard.  Three  semicircular  curved  lines 
suggesting  canopies  border  the  background  overhead,  and  the 
date,  1746.  without  further  inscription,  and  surrounded  with 
leaf-scrolls,    fills   the    medallion    below. 

Though  not  found  asioc  ated  with  Figure  69,  there  can  be 
little  doubt  that  this  plate,  which  Mr.  Paul  K.  Stoudt.  of 
Spring  Township,  Berks  County,  Pa  ,  exhibited  at  the  Berks 
County  Fair  in  1909,  and  later  deposited  at  the  Berks  County 
Historical  Society,  and  which  is  of  the  required  s  ze  and  sim- 
ilar in  subject  and  treat  nent,  is,  as  Mr.  B.  F.  Owen  supposed, 
its   companion   front   plate. 

The  non-religious  subject  muit  have  pleased  rather  the 
Lutherans  or  Moravians  than  the  more  strict  Mennonites, 
Dunkards,  Schwenkfelders  or  Amish,  who  had  abolished  secular 
singing,  forgotten  the  folk-songs  of  old  Germany,  and  probably 
gave  little   countenance  to   fiddling  and  dancmg. 


71- 
The  Swarm  of  Bees* 

Left  plate.  Size.  H.  24  x  W.  27''4.  Bucks  County  Historical 
Society. 

This  curious  plate,  in  two  fragments  with  a  corner  missing. 
was  rescued  from  destruction  by  the  writer  at  the  last  mo.nent 
as  it  lay  among  the  car  loads  of  scrap-iron  assorted  for 
transport   at   Williams'    junk   yard    in    Harrisburg   in    1910. 

The  plate  shows  neither  date  nor  inscription,  and  the  lower 
panel,  usually  occupied  by  a  medallicn,  is  here  filled  in  with  a 
thin,  meaningless  scroll.  But  its  remarkable  feature  is  its 
pattern,  which  classes  it  with  the  unusual  category  of  designs 
devoted    to    amusement    or    caricature,    rather    than    religion. 

A  swarm  of  bees  hangs  upon  the  lower  right  foliage  of  the 
tree,  under  which,  to  the  left,  a  man  appears  to  be  clapping  his 
hands,  while  three  heavily  skirted  wo.xen,  on  the  right,  one  of 
whom  stands  up  en  a  hillock,  thereby  helping  to  fill  the  back- 
ground, are  ring  ng  bells.  A  curta  n-like  mass  of  quilted  loops, 
resembling  those  upon  Figures  43  and  67,  fills  the  upper 
corner.  There  is  no  sign  of  the  once  familiar  dome-shaped  bee- 
hive in  the  picture,  and  the  turban-like  headdresses  of  the 
women  give  no  suggestion  of  the  common  sunbonnet  of  a  later 
d?-. 


; 

■  r 

* 

^ 

72- 

Xhe  Four  Hor*ieiiien. 

Left  plate   of  Jamb  Stove.      Size,   W.    24   x   H.   221-4.      Mr.    H. 
Deisher,    Kutztown.    Berks   County.   Pa.     November   21,    1913. 


59 


Three  arg:ls  fly  ng  in  mid  air  direct  or  inspire  two  pairs  of 
horsemen  in  the  dress  of  about  1750.  as  they  ride  toward  each 
other  across  a  waved  foothold,  converging  into  a  central  hollow. 

The  plate  bears  no  date  or  inscription,  but  is  divided  as 
usual  into  two  panels,  in  the  lower  of  which,  the  large  blank 
date  medallion,  shows  cross  cuts  upon  its  included  surface,  as 
of  the  ix.press'ons  of  a  wooden  mould  roughed  for  the  inser- 
tion cf  the  inscript  on.  carved  or  otherwise  made  in  a  loose 
piece,  and  here  intended  to  be  set  on  with  glue,  mastic,  or 
plaster   of   paris. 

Left  replica  in  Bucks  County  Historical  Society.  Found 
by  Mr.  Patrck  Trainor  lying  picture  down  as  a  stepping  stone 
in   a   farmyard   at   Ottsville.    Bucks   County,    Pa.,   in   June.    1914. 


No  evert  en  September  14,  1753.  either  in  Pennsylvania, 
whrre  James  Hamilton  (174854)  was  Governor,  or  in  Germany 
or  England,  where  Frederick  the  Great  and  George  the  Third 
reigned,  appears  to  explain  this  joke  or  satire  (the  only  carici- 
ture  in  th;  whole  collection),  upon  so.-ne  p:rson.  so  publicly 
well  known  as  to  strike  the  popular  fancy  and  increase  the  sale 
of  a  stove  at  that  time.  Though  it  may  be  suggested  that 
according  to  Watson  (AnnaU  2.  page  256)  a  temporary  jealous 
hostilty,  against  Governor  Ha  r.ilton.  had  arisen  between  the 
new  Gern^an  settlers,  then  pol  tical  friends  of  the  Quakers,  and 
readers  of  Christopher  Sauers's  Germantown  Newspaper,  in  (ear 
cf    overtaxation    and    a    Militia    conscription. 


73- 
Tlie  >Iaii  and  Goat* 

Front  plate.  Size.  H.  24  x  W.  20.  In  possession  of  Messrs. 
Nieman  and  Saul,  of  the  Keystone  Foundry,  State  Street.  Ham- 
burg,  Pa. 

The  picture  is  divided  into  two  vaulted  panels,  separated 
by  a  vertical  band,  and  adorned  above  with  very  curious  scroll- 
work. In  the  left  panel  a  man  dressed  in  a  long  coat  slashed 
behind  with  a  button,  carrying  a  sword  in  one  hand,  flourishing 
what  resembles  a  pair  of  scissors  in  the  other,  and  wearing  a 
large  three-cornered  hat  of  the  style  of  about  1750,  rides  a 
goat;  while  in  the  right  panel,  another  grotesque  figure,  holding 
a  sword  in  both  hands,  in  similar  costume,  save  for  a  plumed 
headdress,  fills  the  space.  Above,  in  the  background,  is  the 
date  1753,  while  below,  in  the  lower  panel,  spaced  in  four 
bands,  increasing  our  curiosity,  without  explaining  the  meaning 
of  the   picture,   is  the  rhymed   inscription : 

SEHET.  ZU.  IHR.  LIBEN. 
LEUT.  WIE.  DER.  HERR. 
AUFF.   DIESEM.    PFRTE. 

REIT.  D.  14.  SEPTMBR.  "See  here  good  people  how  the 
gentleman    (Herr)   rides  on  this  horse  on  the   14  September." 


iWb'\i\/iiHoWu\\/\Vi 


74- 

David  and  Joiiatliaii. 

Right  plate    Size.    H.  26! ,  x  W.  27!  a-    In  the    Museum  of  the  State 
L.brary   at    Harrisburg,    Pa. 

Bought  by  Mr.  L.  F.  Kelker,  together  with  Figure  43.  in 
1907,   at   Kutztown.   Pa. 

Under  the  drawn  and  heavily  tasseled  curtain  of  a  canopy, 
supported  on  fluted  columns,  with  pendant  vault  and  chandelier, 
occurs  the  dramatic  and  eventful  meeting  between  David  and 
the  son  of  hs  worst  enemy,  as  related  in  I  Samuel  20.  3.  The 
barking  dog  marks  the  intruding  figure,  with  cloak  and  sword, 
as  that  of  David,  who  with  raised  right  hand,  and  two  open 
fingers,  asserts  his  danger  on  the  Lord's  life,  while  Jonathan, 
in  long  robe,  to  the  left,  with  uplifted  right  hand,  protests 
against  his  father's  malice.  It  is  the  right  hands  of  the  figures 
that  are   raised,  and  the  left  that  are  grasped  in   friendship. 

Below,  filling  the  entire  lower  panel,  runs  the  clumsily 
carved   inscription,   all  the    N's  of  which  are   upside  down. 

DAVID.    UND.   JONATHAN. 
WARLICH.   SO.   WAR.    DER.    HER. 
LEBT.   UND.  SO.   D.   I.   B.  SAMU.   20.  3. 

"David  and  Jonathan,  but  truly  as  the  Lord  liveth.  and  as 
the  1  book  Samuel  20-3,"  from  Luther's  translation  of  the  Bible, 
ending: 

"Und  so  wahr  deine  Seele  lebet  es  ist  nur  ein  Schritt 
zwischen  Mir  und  dem  Tode."  "and  truly  as  thy  soul  liveth. 
there  is  but  a  step  between  me  and  death." 


60 


75- 

Dance  of  Deatli* 

Right  plate.  Size,  H.  22  x  W.  23.  Bucks  County  Historical 
Society,    No.   879. 

A  skeleton  with  uplifted  left  arm  holding  a  leg-bone  as  a 
club,  an j  seizing  his  victim  with  his  right  hand,  interrupts  a 
d  spute  between  a  richly  dressed  person  brandishing  with  both 
hands  a  sword,  the  curved  scabbard  of  which  hangs  at  his 
waist,  and  a  gesticulating  figure  to  the  right  dressed  in  a 
flowing  cloak,  and  apparently  wearing  a  helnet.  The  back- 
ground above  and  to  the  left  is  filled  up  with  very  clumsy  leaf- 
scrolls,  and  the  costume,  particularly  the  slashed  breeches  of 
the   victim,  appears  to   represent   the   dress   of  the    16th   century. 

The  plate  was  described  in  "Decorated  Stove  Plates"  as  a 
survival  in  Amer;ca  of  one  of  the  episodes  of  the  mediaeval 
allegory  known  as  "The  Dance  of  Death,"  which  as  painted, 
written  or  printed,  appeared  in  Europe  in  many  versions  after 
the  14th  century,  and  illustrates  in  about  forty  pictures  and 
rhymes  the  triumph  of  death  over  mankind.  But  the  origin 
of  this  particular  inscr  ption  and  identity  of  the  episode  was 
not  until  recently  accounted  for,  as  the  sixteenth  of  the  cele- 
brated series  of  mural  pictures  with  descriptive  rhymes,  known 
as  the  Basel  Todtentanz,  two  versions  of  which  existed,  one 
painted  by  an  unknown  artist  between  1439  and  1480  in  a 
Dominican  cemetery  at  Basel,  and  the  other,  about  1312,  on  the 
cloister  walls  of  a  nunnery  known  as  Klingenthal,  at  Little 
Basel,   a  suburb   of  Basel. 

These  versions,  according  to  Massmann  (Die  Baseler  Tod- 
tentanz, Stuttgart,  1847),  together  with  six  older  versions 
known  as  the  Munich  and  Heidelberg  texts,  as  if  expressing 
a  single  theme  with  variations,  illustrate  the  series  of  about 
forty  death  scenes,  in  the  same  general  sequence,  and  with 
variations  of  the  same  rhymed  verses,  in  which  Death  as  a 
skeleton  challenges,  and  the  victim  answers.  And  it  is  these 
ancient  rhymes  in  German  and  the  simplicity  of  the  pictures, 
in  each  of  which  only  two  figures,  Death  and  his  victim, 
appear,  that  distinguish  these  earlier  Death  Dances  from  the 
celebrated  wood-cuts  of  Hans  Holbein,  executed  a  hundred 
years  later  in  1530,  and  in  which,  though  the  sequence  of 
episodes  is  about  the  same,  many  figures  and  accessories  are 
introduced  into  the  drama,  and  Latin  quotations  from  the  Bible 
take   the   place   of  the    German   rhymes. 

The  great  Basel  fresco,  after  having  been  repainted  and 
restored  several  times,  almost  beyond  recognition,  was  de- 
stroyed by  a  barbarous  mob  in  1806.  and  the  lesser  Basel 
pictures  went  to  ruin  before  1800.  But  both  paintings  had 
fortunately  been  copied  before  their  total  restoration  and 
destrucion.  the   first,   by  John   Hugh   Klauber,   of  Basel,   in   1568, 


and  also  by  Matthew  Merian  the  elder,  in  a  series  of  engravings 
(Der  Todtentanz.  by  Matthew  Mertan.  Frankfort,  1649).  and 
the  second  or  lesser  Basel  series,  by  Emmanuel  Ruchel,  in 
1766. 

Here  we  have  undoubtedly  the  episode  of  Death  and  the 
Nobleman,  the  sixteenth  in  the  great  Basel  series,  and  though 
the  rude  picture  on  the  stoveplate  bears  no  resemblance  to 
either  the  great  or  little  Basel  originals,  as  thus  preserved,  the 
rhymed    inscription  : 

HIR.   FEIT.   MIT.    MIR.   DER.   BITTER.  TOT. 

ER.   BRINGT.    MICH.   IN.   TOTS.    NO. 

"Here    fights    with    me    the    bitter    death 
And    brings   me   in   death's   stress," 
is     unquestionably    a    rude    variation    of    the    last    two    lines    in 
"The    Nobleman's   Answer   to    Death."    which   according    to    Mass- 
mann   reads   in   the   older,   or   1  ttle    Basel   text: 

NUN.    FICHTET.    MYT.    MIR.    DER.    DOTHT. 

UND.    BRINGT.    MICH.    IN.    GROSE.    NOT., 
and   in   the   great   Basel   text: 

NUN.    FICHT.    MIT.    MIR.   DER.    GRIMME.   TODT. 

UND.   BRINGT.    MICH.    GAR.    IN.    GROSSE.    NOHT. 

The  phrases  "DER  BITTER.  TOD."  and  "TODTS. 
NOTH."  occur  in  the  answer  of  the  Count  and  the  Chorister 
respectively,  in  the  great  Basel  text.  TODT.  rhymes  with 
NOTH.  in  one  of  the  Munich  texts,  and  there  is  nothing  un- 
usual in  the  variation  between  the  American  rhyme  and  the 
German  original  except  the  English  word  FEIT.  for  FICHT., 
where  we  may  perhaps  suppose  that  the  German  pattern  carver 
who  may  have  been  born  in  America  before  1745,  the  approx- 
imate date  of  the  plate,  had  already  begun  to  mix  his  mother 
tongue   with    English. 


76. 

No  compan'on  front  plate,  possibly  extending  the  inscrip- 
tion, has  been  found,  but  several  replicas  of  the  side  plate  have 
appeared.     (See  note  117.) 

(1)  Rght.  in  the  possession  of  Mr.  Theodore  Bliss,  of 
Flemington,    N.    J.,    in    1911. 

(2)  Left,  in  the  possession  of  Col.  H.  D.  Paxson,  Holi- 
cong.  Pa.,  in  1912. 

(3)  Right,   at  the   Bucks  County   Historical  Society. 

(4)  In  the  collection  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania, 
obtained   by   Mr.   Stewart   Culin  in    1897. 

(5  and  6)  Left  and  right,  at  the  Bucks  County  Historical 
Society,  the  latter  two,  presented  by  Mr.  Jacob  Clemens,  of 
Doylestown,  are  parts  of  a  complete  stove,  lacking  only  the 
front  plate,  shown  in  Figure  76,  and  were  found,  together  with 
the  top  and  bottom  plates,  scattered  about  the  premises  of  Mr. 
Clemens,    having    been    previously    used    as    a    pavement    for    a 


large,  open  kitchen  fireplace.  There  the  original  hole  for  the 
construction  of  the  stove,  itself  ventilated  by  a  s.Tiallcr  air 
hole,  extending  upward  through  the  chimney  wall  from  the 
cellar,  and  enter  ng  the  chimney  above,  still  exists.  The  stove 
had  doubtless  been  built  so  as  to  project  into  and  warm  an  old 
log  house,  formerly  constructed,  according  to  Mr.  Clemens. 
against  the  back  wall  of  the  fireplace,  although  Mr.  Clemens, 
whose  ancestors  bu  It  the  house  in  the  18th  century,  had  no 
knowUdge  or  tradition  of  the  stove  in  use.  or  of  the  meaning 
of   the    hole   in   the   wall. 

(7)  Left  replica.  Bucks  County  Historical  Society,  pre- 
sented by  Mr.  John  P.  Ott.  of  1525  South  Eighth  street.  Phila- 
delph  a.  in  August.  1913.  and  found  in  1900  on  the  farm  of 
James    McCahan   at    Southampton.    Bucks    County,    Pa. 

( 8 )  Replica,  ditto.  Bought  by  writer  at  junk  yard.  605 
South    Front    street,    Philadelphia.    February,    1913. 


BE. 


AUF.    BAUM.    BLIEB.    ABSOLOM.    DER.    BESE. 


61 

BUB. 


77- 
XHe  Deatli  of  Alisaloni. 

Right  plate.  Size,  H.  26'/2  x  W.  28.  At  the  Berks  County 
Historical  Society.  Found  in  1909  by  Mr.  B.  F.  Owen,  laid 
inscription  downward,  together  with  its  ccnpanion  left  plate 
and  a  top  plate,  as  a  pavement,  in  the  kitchen  hearth  at  Mr. 
John  Illig's  old  house,  built  in  1752  at  Millbach,  Lebanon 
County.  Pa.  A  series  of  eight  other  plates,  with  the  front  of 
I.ARB.  the  front  of  WILLIAM  BORTSCHENT.  and  the  left 
Sttcgel  pl3te.  Figure  124.  with  several  broken  fragnents,  were 
found   *n   the   old   rr.ill.    chicken    house   and   tobacco   shed. 

From  the  left  branches  of  a  large  tree,  growing  in  ths 
middle  of  the  pattern.  Absalom,  hanging  by  his  long  hair, 
wh  ch  he  vainly  tries  to  pull  loose  with  uplifted  hands,  kicks 
desperately  in  the  air.  His  horse,  saddled  and  bridled  (mule 
in  2  Samuel.  18),  gallops  away  to  the  left.  A  horseman  in 
the  middle.  Joab.  thrusts  a  spear  into  the  hanging  man.  while 
another,  one  of  the  ten  armor  bearers,  charges  with  a  spear. 
A  leafless  tree,  with  lopped  branches,  stands  to  the  left,  while 
from  the  right  margin  of  the  picture  apparently  extend  the 
shafts  of  three,  possibly  four,  spears  or  lances  adorned  with 
pennants,  either  in  general  indicat  ng  the  approach  of  the 
arxor  bearers,  or  the  idea  of  the  three  spears  (verse  14)  thrust 
by  Joab  himself  and  referred  to  in  the  explanation  which  fol- 
lows. The  foliage  is  treated  in  quilted  tufts  like  the  sky 
filling  of  Figures  43  and  68.  and  below  in  three  marg  ned  bands, 
leaving  ^pace  for  a  fourth  unfilled  line  at  the  botto.-n,  runs  the 
much  rusted  rhymed  inscription,  deciphered  with  great  difficulty: 


HANGEN.   UND.   MUS.   DREI.  SPIES.  ALDA.   IN. 

SEINE.   BRUST.  EMPFANGEN.  DAS.  2.   B.  SAM.    18.   C. 

"The  bad  boy  Absalom  stays  hanging  in  a  tree  and  must 
there  receive  three  spears  in  his  breast.  The  2  Book  of  Samuel. 
18th  Chapter." 

The  left  replica  above  noted  is  in  the  Museum  of  the  Bucks 
County    Historical   Society. 

On  the  domolition  of  Jamb  stoves,  about  1770  to  "80,  the 
locsc  plates  useful  for  gutter  bridgrs,  chimney  tops,  drip  stones, 
hearth  pavements,  etc..  were  not  universally  cast  aside  as  useless 
rubbish,  but  frequently  remained  upon  the  original  premises, 
escap  ng  removal  in  subsequent  sales.  Between  1800  and  1850 
they  were  frequently  bought  by  farmers  for  similar  uses  on 
other  properties.  Hence  the  mixture  of  tops,  sides  and  ends 
of  various  stoves  at  certain   farms  as  above  noted. 


78. 
Atiraliain  and  I<>aac. 

Front  plate.  Size.  H.  23  "4  x  W.  :0.  Senate  House,  Kingston. 
New   York, 

An  angel  stays  the  uplifted  sword  of  Abraham  about  to 
slay  the  kneeing  Isiac.  The  extraordinary  rudeness  of  the 
fgures  of  Father,  Son  and  Angel,  the  bonfire  burning  and 
smoking  on  the  right,  the  st  ffly  crease-i  and  rope-belted  tunic, 
coarsely  carved  bushes  and  leafless  tree  w  th  lapped  branches, 
the  size  and  lettering  of  the  inscription  and  absence  of  canopy, 
almost  certainly  connect  the  style  and  workmanship  of  the 
plate  with  that  of  Figure  43.  the  Molten  Calf,  and  Figure  79.  the 
Flight  into  Egypt.  The  guttered  rirs.  cast  sold  upon  the 
;rarg  ns.  in  the  American  fash  on.  are.  unlike  any  others  in  the 
collection,  decorated  with  an  incised  diaper  pattern  and  the 
inscription    filing   the   entire   lower   panel    reads; 

ABRAHM.  UND. 

ISAC.   1.  B.   MOS.  22.   C. 

"Abraham  and  Isaac.   1   Book  Moses.  22  Chapter." 

A  replica,  lacking  the  hatchings  on  the  grooved  rims, 
bought  at  the  Ke:m  property,  near  Oley.  Pa.,  in  1913.  is  in  the 
possession   (1914)   of  Mr.   H.   K.   Deisher  at   Kutztown.   Pa. 


62 


'^i,«tjS'>;H-.'«4  f  M««i*:*W.i 


^dM^ 


~;r-^Sfe^ 


79- 

Flight  into  Kgypt. 

Left  plate.  Size.  H.  24"4  x  W.  24^4.  Museum  of  Berks  County 
Historical  Society.  Found  by  Mr.  B.  F.  Owen  aga  nst  the  wall 
of  an  outbuilding  in  the  yard  of  Solomon  De  Turk,  in  Smithy 
Township.    Berks   County.    Pa.,   in   the   summer   of    1909. 

Under  the  loops  of  an  overhung  curtain,  and  between  two 
leafless  trees  w.th  lopped  branches,  Joseph,  with  long  rob-, 
staff  and  aureole,  leads  over  a  h.llock,  the  ass.  astride  of  which, 
ridng   man  fashion,    is    seated    Mary   holding   the    infant. 

The  inscription,  clumsily  carved,  and  irregularly  spaced  in 
two   rhymed   lines,   reads: 

DAN.   WI.    lOSEPH.    IM.   TRAUM. 
BEFEHL.   VON.   GOT.    BEKAMM. 

Then   as   Joseph   in   a   dream    received    co.Timand   from    God. 

The  treatment  of  the  figures,  extreme  rudeness  of  the  pat- 
tern, the  lopped  trees,  looped  curtain  and  waving  foreground, 
associate  the   plate  with  the   Molten    Calf.    Figure   43. 

The  des  gn  appears  to  have  been  carved  upon  two  very 
wide  boards,  the  warped  junction  of  which,  not  erased  from 
the  sand  mould,  passes  vertically  downward  through  the  picture. 
The  treatment  of  the  foliage  of  the  central  tree  unmistakably 
indicates  the  rude  work  of  a  wood  carver's  chisel,  and  here  the 
above-mentioned  warp  crack  passing  through  the  foreground, 
does  not  appear  on  the  tree  root  or  foliage,  showing  that  the 
crack  had  been  filled  up  and  corrected  on  part  of  the  design 
at  least,  rather  than  that  the  carving  had  been  glued  upon  the 
board  background  in  the  form  of  thin  wooden  figures  cut  out  in 
silhouette. 

Compare  the  warp  cracks  in  the  1745  front  plate,  Figure  64, 
the  Pharisee  and  Publican.  Figure  82,  the  Balance,  Figure  60, 
Elijah,  and  the  Ravens.   Figure  58,  and  Cain  and  Abel.   Figure  42. 

Replica,  right,  in  collection  of  Col.  H.  D.  Paxson,  at  Holi- 
cong,  Pa. 


8o. 
Love  Betteretli. 

Right    plate.     Size.    H.    23I2    x    W.    2^^  i.      Bucks    County    His- 
torical  Society. 

The  celebrated  injunction  of  Luke  6-42  is  here  illustrated 
by  two  robed  figures  facing  each  other,  one  of  whom  follows 
the  Divine  command  to  "cast  out  first  the  beam  out  of  thine 
own  eye"  before  correcting  thy  brother,  by  po  nting  to  a  large 
wedge-shaped  splinter  projecting  from  his  face.  The  style  of 
the  extremely  simple  undated  pattern,  with  its  peculiar  vaulted 
canopy  set  upon  fluted  columns  far  within  the  margin,  and  with 
the  inscription  DIE.  LIEBE.  BESSERT..  "Love  bettereth." 
with  its  marg  ned  background  set  in  slight  relief  as  if  stamped 
upon  t^ie  sand  with  a  loose  mould,  has  no  counterpart  in  the 
whole   series. 

The  plate,  upon  the  background  of  which  the  impressions 
of  at  least  four  bolt-heads  have  been  stamped  upon  the  sand, 
was  presented  to  the  Bucks  County  Historical  Society  by  Mr. 
J.  W.  Lundy.  of  Newtown.  Pa.,  who  found  it  in  1910  among 
the  rubbish  of  the  now  disused  Mearns  Mill,  near  Hartsville, 
Bucks  County.   Pa. 


81. 

Pharisee  and  Publican. 

Right    plate.     Size,    H.    24i,j    x    W.    25?^8.      Bucks    County    His- 


63 


tortcal  Society.      Bought  by  the  writer  at   Boone's  antique   store 
at   Pottstown.   in    1908. 

The  Pharisee  with  supercilious  gesture  kneels  praying  before 
an  altar,  upon  which  stand  two  canr^lis.  while  the  Publican  with 
clasped  hands,  and  above  whose  head  the  word  ZOELNER. 
Publican — is  cast  upon  the  backgrounH.  stan''s  near  a  vaulted 
door  to  the  right.  Above  the  picture  two  vaulted  canopies  with- 
out colur.ns  are  supported  on  Corbels  with  underhung  waving 
curtains,  while  bsh.nd  the  altar  the  background  is  fill;d  'n 
with  two  columns  and  a  scroll.  The  wholt  lower  panel  is  ap- 
propriated to  the  inscript  on.  ill  balinced.  rudely  spaced,  and 
set   in  four  channels,   divided   by  lines. 

ES.   RUMHT.   SICH.   IM.    GEBET.    DER.   STOLZER. 

PH-^RISAER.    DES.    NIDERN.    ZOELNERS.    HERZ. 

GEFELT.    DOCH.    GOTT.    FHL.    MEHR. 

LUCA.   AM.    18.    CAP.    1742. 

"The    proud     Pharisee    glorifies    hin:self    in    prayer,    but    the 
heart  of  the  humble   Publican  pleases  God  much  better." 
Luke    in    18    Chapter.    1742. 

Though  the  front  plate  of  this  interest  ng  pattern  has  never 
yet    been    found,    several    replicas   have   appeared. 

1.  Side  plate :  Seen  by  Dr.  Sieling.  of  Manheim,  about 
1880.  near  Le'canon.  Pa.,  as  described  to  the  writer,  but  after- 
wards lost. 

2.  Right:  Fig.  82.  Estate  of  the  late  Mr.  C.  J.  Wister, 
of  Germartown.  This  was  dcscr  bed  by  the  writer  in  Deco- 
rated Stove  Plates,  as  seen  in  1837.  placed  in  the  wall  of  Mr. 
Wister's    library. 

3.  Left :  Governor  S.  W.  Penny  packer,  at  Sch  .venksville. 
Pa..   1910. 

4.  Left  fragn-.ent.  Bucks  County  Historical  Society. 
Bought  by  the  writer  at  Huber's  junk  yard.  Lancaster,  Pa..  1910. 

5.  Right  in  two  pieces:  B.  H.  S.  Fro.Ti  Mrs.  C.  Miliar. 
Macung  e,    Lehigh   County,    Pa. 

6.  Mr.  George  Long,  southwest  corner  Lemon  and  Con- 
cord  streets.   Lancaster.   Pa.,    1908. 

7.  Two  fragments :  Mr.  C.  J.  Wister's  estate,  German- 
town.    Pa.      (Information    Mr.    Albert    C.    Myers.    1910.) 

8.  Left:  Found  and  photographed  by  Mr.  A.  K,  Hostetter 
near    Lancaster.   Pa..    February    12,    1912. 

9.  Right:     Mr.  J.    H.    Lynn,   Langhorne,    Bucks   County.    Pa. 

10.  Left:     Ditto. 


curtains  and  the  introduction  of  leaf  scrolls  in  the  background, 
with  that  of  the  DaviJ  and  Goliath  plate.  Figure  53.  the  EI  jah 
and  Ravens.  Figure  59.  the  Samson.  Figure  55.  and  the  Cana 
plate   of    1742,    Figure   50. 

But  th=  discovery  that  alt  these  plates  were  made  by  the 
same  hand  or  cast  at  a  certa  n  furnace  would  not  greatly  help 
the  invest  gation,  since  the  evidence  elsewhere  shows  that  pit- 
tirns   by    the   same   carver   had    been   soli    to   different    furnaces. 

What  we  wi-h  to  know  here,  as  in  all  other  cases,  is  not 
the  nane  of  the  furnace,  or  the  iron  naster.  but  something  of 
the  history  of  the  mould  makers  who  invented  or  carved  the 
dcsgns.  v. hose  na-r.cs,  nowhere  it  see.ms  appearing  upon  the 
plates,    have    been    forgotten    by    history. 


82. 

There  is  a  noticeable  similarity  in  the  decorative  frame- 
work of  th's  pattern,  namely,  in  the  acanthus  adornments  be- 
tween the  vaults,  the  substitution  of  corbels  for  columns,  the 
bandirg    of    lines    in    the    inscription,    the    underhung    horizontal 


83. 

Adam  and  Kve  of  1745. 

Front  plate.     Size  H.  24  x  W.  20.     In  possession.   1910.  of  Mrs. 
Gouverneur.   at   an   old   house   at   Kingston-on-the-Hud-on. 

Under  the  tree  of  knowledge  of  good  and  evil,  well  fruited 
with  apples,  and  from  the  branches  of  which  hangs  a  snake 
Iiold  ng  an  apple  in  its  mouth,  stand  Adam  and  Eve,  no  longer 
naked  but  prematurely,  according  to  the  narrative,  clothed  in 
waist-bands  cf  leaves.  Eve.  to  the  right,  seizes  the  apple  from 
the  serpent  with  her  right  hand,  while  Adam,  standing  by  a 
short,  leafless  tree,  with  lopped  branches,  eats  another  apple. 
Just  beh'nd  Adam,  a  dog  sitting  upon  his  haunches  in  famil  ar 
attitude  with  uplifted  right  paw,  seems  to  beg  for  the  forbidden 
fruit,  while  four  animals,  in  two  of  which  we  recognize  a  horse 
and  cow,  fill  the  background  behind  Eve.  and  rise  into  the  sky 
without  regard  to  perspective.  The  large  medallion  below, 
flanked  with  leaf  scrolls,  encloses  the  words  ADAM.  UND. 
EFA.   and   the   date,    1745. 

The  treatment  of  the  pattern  differs  entirely  from  that  of 
the  Adam  and  Eve  plate  of  Durham,  dated  in  1741,  but  the 
curtain-1'ke  qu  Itings  filing  its  upper  corners  connect  it  with 
the  Molten  Calf.  Figure  43.  the  Absalom,  F  gure  77,  the  Prus- 
sian Grenadiers.  Figure  67.  and  several  others,  where  the  regu 
lar    conventional    vaulted    canopy    has    been    abandoned. 

As  in  the  case  of  the  smaller  figures  in  the  "Fa.mily  Quar- 
rel," Figure  38,  the  animal  figures  to  the  right,  here  show 
welts  in  the  background,  between  the  fore  and  hind  legs,  indi- 
cating that  these  figures  had  been  inserted  in  the  wooden 
mould  out  of  level.  If  they  had  been  impressed  upon  the  sand 
as  loose  stamps,  the  posit  ons  of  the  impressions  would  have 
varied  with  that  cf  the  same  animals  on  the  replica.   Figure  84, 


64 


here  shown,  but  no  such  variance  appears  e  ther  here  or  on 
any  other  plates,  where,  as  on  Figure  38.  similar  welts  around 
isolated  forms  are  repeated  in  replicas  at  exactly  the  same 
place. 


But  we  know  from  Gardiner.  Archaeologia.  Volume  56.  Part 
I,  and  from  Kassell.  "Ofenplatten  im  Elsass,"  that  loose  stamps 
were  sometimes  used  in  producing  patterns  for  the  English  fire- 
brcP-s  and  German  stoveplates.  And  Figures  56.  66,  80  and  95 
pojsibly  show  evi'^ence   of  their  occasional  use   here. 

The  much  rusted  replica,  F.gure  84.  at  the  Bucks  County 
Historical  Society.  No.  792.  described  in  "Decorated  Stove 
Plates,"  was  found  in  1897  by  Mr.  Matthias  Hall  in  use  as  a 
door  step,  in  possession  of  Mr.  Burroughs  Heston,  of  Solebury, 
Bucks  County,  Pa.,  who  in  making  a  fence,  had  dug  it  out  of 
the    ru-ned    hearth    of  an    old    fireplace. 


Sa  nt  George  on  horseback,  in  a  nondescript  flowing  cos- 
tume, rides  against  the  open-.nouthed  dragon,  as  he  pierces  him 
with  a  long  lance  held  in  his  right  hand.  The  date  1746  fills 
the  sky  to  the  l:ft.  and  upon  a  hill  on  the  background  to  the 
right  rise  the  trees  cf  a  forest,  where,  upon  a  leafless  branch, 
a    b  rd    is    perched. 

The  picture  without  decorative  framework  or  canopy,  fills 
the  whole  upper  panel,  but  the  inscr  ption  below,  originally  in 
three  lines,  seems  to  have  been  mutilated  by  some  person  who, 
by  boring  a  series  of  holes  through  the  iron,  has  contrived  to 
break  oH  the  entire  botto.Ti  of  the  margin,  and  w  th  it  the  third 
line  of  the  legend,  unfortunately  leaving  us  with  two  lines  only 
and    the   words    DER.    STARCKE.    RITER. 

lORG.  DEN.  TODTEN. 

The   sturdy    knight    George,    the    Slain . 

The  rude  workmanship  of  this  plate  is  so  generally  similar 
in  style  to  that  of  the  Moulten  Calf,  Figure  43,  where  the 
letters  are  cut,  the  panels  arranged,  and  the  date  set  in  the  sky 
in  a  s  milar  way,  that  we  may  reasonably  infer  that  one  hand 
carved  both  patterns,  either  for  Colebrookdale.  Durham,  Redding, 
Warwick.  Mount  Pleasant,  Cornwall  or  Popodickon,  the  only 
Pennsylvanian    furnaces   probably    in    blast    in    1746. 


Saint  Georg^e  and   tlie  Dragfoii. 

Front   plate   of  Jamb   Stove.    Size.   W.    21",    x    H.   23.     Mr.    H.    K. 
Deisher,   Kutztown,   Pa.,    November   21,    1913. 


86. 
The  Sliearwell  Plate 

Right    plate.      Size,   about    H.    23    x   W.    24.      Mr.    H.    K.    Deisher. 
Kutztown.    Pa. 

A  singular  feature  of  this  plate  is  that  the  bird  in  the  tree 
top  of  the  left  canopy  seems  to  be  without  s'gnificance,  that  the 
flowering  plant  in  a  pot  under  the  right  canopy  is  not  conven- 
tionalzed  and  that  its  flowers  are  not  tulips ;  furthermore,  the 
religious  motto  is  lacking.  Instead,  the  advertisement  SHEAR- 
WELL.  FURNACE.  IN.  OLY.  appears  in  the  central  car- 
touche, and  the  name  DIETER.  WELKER.  in  the  medallion 
below. 

It  has  been  known  that  there  was  an  old  furnace,  known 
as  Oley  Furnace,  near  the  town  of  Oley,  Berks  County,  Pa.. 
owned  by  Christian  Sower  and  Jacob  Weiner,  and  built,  accord- 
ing to  a  date  stone  from  the  furnace  stack,  now  (1913)  at  the 
Berks  County  Historical  Society,  in  1772.  after  the  abandonment 
of  decorated  stoves.  But  that  an  earlier  furnace  called  Shear- 
well,  built  between  1744  and  1760,  and  still  in  blast  in  1782, 
stood  near  the  former  upon  the  same  property,  was  not  known 
until  Mr.  B,  F.  Owen  proved  the  fact,  not  only  by  title-deeds, 
but  by  discovering  a  replica  of  this  interesting  old  plate.   Figure 


65 


88,  in  1910  in  the  outkitchcn  fireplace  of  an  old  house  at  Olcy, 
known  as  the  Udree  Mansion,  formerly  the  property  of  Col. 
Dan  el  Udree,  iron.xaster  after  1778  at  probably  both  Oley  fur- 
naces, the  title-deeds  of  which  show  that  the  oiler  Shearwell 
stood  close  upon  the  site  of  the  latter,  and  further,  that  Bene- 
dict Swoope  was  part  owner  with  the  above  Dietrich  (Dieter) 
Welkcr  in  17C0,  at  Shearwell,  thus  explaining  the  B.  S.  D.  W. 
1760  on  the  El  jah  and  Ravens  plate.  Figure  57.  found  in  a 
neighboring  saw  m:ll.  which  therefore,  together  with  the  Balance 
plate,  F  gure  60,  for  reasons  above  given,  ought  to  be  ascribed 
to    the    same   mould    carver,    and    probably    to   Shearwell    Furnace. 


87. 

Right   plate.      Berks   County   Historical  Society. 


88. 


Left    Ditto. 


88-a. 
The  Owl. 

From    plate.      Size.   W.   22.    H.    20.     Mr.    H.    K.    Deisher.    Kut2- 
town.     Pa.,    September.     1914. 

Under  the  outstretched  win^s  of  the  figure  of  an  Owl 
rudely  conventionalized  in  the  fashion  of  carvings  on  old  Ameri- 
can gravestones  of  the  eighteenth  century,  appears  the  dat; 
1747.  Below  it  a  curious  balancing  of  stiff  floral  stalks,  leaves 
and  scrolling  surrounds  a  medallion  containing  a  central  lozenge 
with   divergent   flutings  and   tulips. 

As  if  of  workmanship  by  the  same  hand,  several  features 
of  the  very  curious  and  rude  composition,  namely  two  wheat 
sheaves  Hanking  the  owl's  head,  the  trefoil  leaves  below  the 
n-.edallion,  the  two  leaf  stalks  with  curved  stems,  the  notchings 
on  the  medallion  the  decorative  scallops  and  the  divergent 
fluting  on  the  latter  and  the  medallion,  unmistakably  connect 
the  design  with  the  typical  floral  pattern  presently  to  be  de- 
scribed as  appearing  later  upon  the  stove  plates. 

The  plate,  though  differing  altogether  in  its  decorative 
details,  may  nevertheless  be  classed  with  Figure  63,  dated  1749. 
which  has  already  been  described  as  a  front  plate  of  similar 
meaningless  character. 

While  these  pages  were  in  press  and  too  late  for  insertion 
in  their  proper  place,  we  learn  that  a  replica  of  Figure  63  has 
been  recently  found  by  Mr.  A.  H.  Rice,  of  35  South  New 
street.  Bethlehem,  Pa.,  in  an  old  house  in  New  Jersey  in  close 
association  with  a  top  and  bottom  plate  and  two  side  plates 
of  the  Dance  of  Death  Pattern.  Figure  76. 

The  probably  complete  jamb  stove  as  thus  found  is  described 
and  illustrated  in  Note  117  where  its  uninteresting  front  plate  is  a 
great  disappointment  to  the  collector  as  it  fails  to  further  explain 
the  Dance  of  Death  picture  or  inscription.  But  it  exactly  fits  the 
side  plates,  and  its  association  with  the  latter,  as  long  preserved 
with  them  in  an  old  partition  wall  was  such  as  to  warrant  the  in- 
ference that  figure  6.1  was  originally  used  as  a  front  plate  for  the 
Dance  of  Death  stove. 

If  so,  not  only  Figure  63.  but  the  entire  class  of  these 
coir.par?tively  merninsless  plates  here  illustrated,  namely  Fig- 
ures 61,  (2.  63,  64  and  88-a,  all  of  which  are  front  plates,  may 
probably  be  regarded  as  makeshift  fronts  to  pictorial  stoves, 
inten  'e^  to  take  the  plice  of  pictorial  front  plates,  which  eithei 
never  existed,  or  which  having  been  burned  out  or  broken, 
could   not  be  replaced  on  demand  at  the  furnace. 


66 


88-b. 
Xlie  Salutation. 

Left  plate  of  Jamb  Stove.  Size,  W.  231.  by  H.  22' 2-  Mr.  A. 
D.  Mixsell.  Twelfth  Street  an  1  Prospect  Avenue,  Bethlehem, 
Pennsylvania.  September  21.  1914.  Found  on  the  farm  of  Mr. 
Voorhees.  at  Lebanon.  Hunterdon  County.  New  Jersey,  together 
with  its  companion  right  plate,  a  replica,  and  near  its  front 
plate.   Figure  88-C.  on  an  adjoining  farm,  in  August,   1914. 

Surrounded  by  a  border  in  the  style  called  Rococco,  or 
Louis  XV.  fashionable  in  Europe  and  America  in  1760,  a  gentle- 
man and  lady  fashionably  dressed  stand  upon  a  waved  earthen 
foothoH.  from  which  between  them  grows -a  heavy  leaved  flower. 
The  lady,  with  puffed  skirt  and  high  corset,  holds  up  an  open 
fan  in  her  right  hand,  while  the  gentleman,  slightly  bowing  and 
holding  low  his  cocked   hat,   grasps  her  left   hand   in  his  right. 

The  picture  suggesting  the  beginning  of  a  dance,  or  more 
probably  a  formal  fashionable  salutation,  fills  the  upper  panel 
of  the  pattern,  below  which  the  inscription  THE  SAUTAN  in 
very   large,    well-carved   letters,    occupies    the    entire    lower    panel. 

The  style  of  the  non-religious  pattern  with  the  details  of 
the  figures,  the  elaboration  of  the  Rococco  filigree,  and  shape, 
size  and  style  of  the  lettering  resembles  rather  that  of  the 
Anglo-American  fire-backs  hereafter  shown,  than  the  workman- 
ship of  the  Pennsylvania  German  stove  plates,  but  its  inscrip- 
tion which  the  front  plate  dated  1760  does  not  explain,  at  first 
sight  seems  still  more  remarkable.  It  might  seem  to  stand  for 
the  obsolete  name  of  a  dance,  social  greeting  or  dancing  master's 
phrase  fashionable  in  1760,  but  for  two  small  rusty  ridges  ap- 
pearing between  the  A  and  U.  which  may  represent  a  smaller 
carved  letter  L  there  inserted  and  now  nearly  rusted  away.  II 
so.  the  whole  inscription  would  stand  for  a  wood  carver's  abbre- 
viation of  the  words  THE  SALUTATION,  with  three  letters 
of  the  last  syllable  of  the  latter  word,  namely  TIO  omitted  at 
the  point  marked  by  a  period  before  the  final  L,  thus  neces- 
sarily   cutting    down    the   word    to    fit   the   space. 

But  in  any  case  the  first  word  THE  classes  the  inscription 
as    in   the    English    rather   than    German    language,    and   as    such 


standing    for    the    only    English    inscription    thus    far    found    cast 
upon   a   Jamb   Stove. 

As  this  plite  and  its  companion  front.  Figure  88-C.  were 
found  not  in  Pennsylvania,  but  in  New  Jersey,  near  Lebanon, 
in  Hunterdon  County,  and  within  about  twenty-two  miles  of  old 
Oxford  Furnace,  in  the  neighboring  Warren  County  (founded 
about  1742.  abandoned  1882)  noted  for  the  production  of 
elaborately  carved  fire-backs  (see  Figure  213  and  Note  7)  we 
may  therefore  reasonably  suppose  that  the  plate  was  carved 
not  by  a  Pennsylvania  German  but  by  one  of  the  Anglo-Ameri- 
can mould  carvers  employed  at  Oxford,  and  that  the  plate  was 
cast   there   in    1760. 

Right  replica  on  a  farm  adjoining  the  site  of  the  discovery 
of    Figure    88-B.    September    22.    1914. 


88-C. 
The  Salutation* 

Front    plate.     Size,    W.    18'4    by    H.    22' 2-      Mr.    A.    D.    Mixsell. 
Bethlehem.    Pennsylvania,    September    21.    1914. 

The  plate,  designed  in  two  panels,  is  decorated  with  mean- 
ingless scroll  work  in  the  style  fashionable  in  Europe  and 
America  in  1760.  known  as  Louis  XV.  or  Rococco.  The  upper 
panel  shows  an  empty  scroll  shield  surrounded  by  elaborate 
scroll  bordering,  and  the  lower  panel  separated  by  a  raised 
band   shows   a   medallion    containing   the   date    1760. 

Because  the  plate  was  found  on  a  farm  adjoining  the  site  of 
the  discovery  of  Figure  88-B.  near  Lebanon.  Hunterdon  County, 
New  Jersey,  in  the  summer  of  1914.  by  Mr.  A.  H.  Rice,  and 
because  the  grooves  of  the  plate  exactly  fit  Figure  88-B.  and 
because  of  the  similarity  in  the  style  of  the  filigree  in  both 
plates,  we  may  infer  this  to  be  the  companion  front  plate  of 
the  Salutation  pattern,  and  for  the  reasons  given  under  the 
latter,  may  suppose  that  it  was  cast  at  Oxford  Furnace  in  1760. 


67 


89* 


Cross  and  Xulip  of  1751* 

R  ght  plate.     Size.  H.  24  x  W.  25f4-     B.   H.  S.  No.   1242. 

A  glance  at  this  interesting  pUte  found  by  the  writsr  in 
the  hearth  rubbish  of  an  outhouse  fireplace,  with  several  other 
frag.r.ents,  at  the  far.n  of  Thomas  Sassaman  near  Ottsville, 
Bucks  County.  Pa.,  in  1897.  dist'ng-jishes  :t,  with  one  exception, 
from  all  the  other  floral  patterns  !n  the  collection.  The  aureole 
is  missing,  the  heart  tulips,  in  the  lower  corners,  are  replaced 
with  tulips  with  bent  stalks.  The  space  over  the  central  colu.nn 
is  adorned  with  a  cherubim.  But  the  remarkable  feature  of 
the  pattern  is  the  form  of  the  tulips  under  the  canopy,  which 
spring   not   from   leaved   stems,   but   fro.Ti   crosses. 

Above  the  date  1751.  adorned  with  tulips  in  the  lower  medal- 
lion, the  motto  DAS.  LEBEN.  JESU.  WAR.  EIN.  LIGHT.— 
"The  Life  of  Jesus  was  a  light,"  fills  the  cartouche,  while  the 
name  lAHN.  POT.,  ironmaster  and  part  owner  at  Warwick 
Furnace  in  1745,  decorated  with  sprouting  tulips,  under  the 
left  canopy,  enables  us  to  ascribe  the  plate,  as  also  Figure  90, 
of  identical  date,  but  with  a  different  inscription  to  cither 
Warwick    or    Popadickon    Furnace. 

According  to  Mrs.  Potts  James  (Potts  Memorial,  pages  91, 
121.  etc.),  there  were  two  persons  of  the  name  of  John  Potts 
living  in  1751.  (1)  John  Potts,  son  of  John  Potts,  born  1738. 
died  after  1784.  a  loyalist  during  the  American  Revolution. 
Judge  in  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  at  Philadelphia,  partner 
with  Samuel  Nutt  at  Mount  joy  Forge  in  1764.  who  lived  at  a 
house  called  Stowe  near  Pott st own,  afterwards  confiscated,  and 
rema  ned  some  time  in  Nova  Scotia.  There  he  tried  to  intro- 
duce iron  stoves  of  five  different  kinds,  importing  nine  into 
Halifax  in  1783,  after  which  he  returned  to  the  United  States 
and    died    soon   after    in    the    West. 

But  the  John  Potts.  lAHN  POT.  whose  name  occurs  on 
the  stove-plate,  is  undoubtedly  the  father  of  the  former,  namely: 
(2)  John  Potts,  son  of  Thomas  Potts,  born  at  German  town  in 
1710,    died    at     Pottstown    in     1768.      He    married     Ruth    Savage, 


THE  FLORAL  PATTERN. 

This  brings  us  to  a  remarkable  fact  in 
the  history  of  the  stoves,  namely,  that,  be- 
ginning about  1753,  their  adornment  with 
pictures  was  generally  abandoned,  and  a  very 
peculiar  conventionalized  floral  pattern  pre- 
viously unknown  took  its  place. 


heircEs  of  the  Rutter  an:;  Nutl  ironTasters  at  Coventry,  in  1731. 
He  did  not  foun:l  Pottsville.  which  was  founded  by  another 
fanily  named  Putt  or  Pott,  but  founded  Pottstown  in  1752. 
He  was  Justice  of  the  Peace  for  Philadelphia  County  in  1761, 
and  by  inheritance,  inter  narr  age  and  hij  own  enterprise,  be- 
ca-ne  concerned  directly  in  the  manaKement  of  Warwick  and 
Popadickon   (alias  Pottsgrove)    Furnaces  about   1751. 

Figure  90,  with  its  co  i  panion  front  plate,  found  by  Mr. 
B.  F.  Owen  near  Reading,  so  clcs;ly  resembles  th  s  plite  in 
style,  including  the  flowering  crosses,  that  we  may  tuppjse 
that  the  satie  mould  carver  made  both  moulds  for  Warwick 
or  Popadickon,  in   1751. 

Two  replicas,  right  and  left,  om  tting  the  broad  margins, 
and  possibly  recasts,  are  at  the  Pennsylvania  Historical  Society. 
Philadelph  a.  where  they  had  been  peviously  used  in  the  old 
build  r.g  as  firebacks.  Two  right  replicas.  Bucks  County  His- 
torical   Society. 

Left  replica.  Col.  H.  D.  Paxson.  Holicong.  Pa.  Left  replica 
at   State    Library    Museum.    Harrisburg.    Pa. 


90. 

Judg-e  Not  Plate  of  1751. 


26' 


W.    29' J 


Berks    County    His- 


Right    plate.      Size.    H. 
torical  Society. 

This  very  interesting  plate,  found  in  1910  by  Mr.  Becker 
at  an  old  house  in  Berks  County.  Pa.,  together  with  its  com. 
panion  front  plate.  Figure  91.  rese.Tibles  F  gure  89  in  a  striking 
manner,  and.  though  much  less  artistically  balanced  and  grace* 
fully  carved,  may  well  have  come  from  the  hand  of  the  same 
pattern  carver.  Both  plates  show  the  name.  lAHN.  POT.  in 
the  left  canopy.  Both  show  a  cherubim  between  the  arches  of 
the  canopy  and  both  are  dated  in  1751.  but  the  inscriptions 
d  ffer  and  these  and  the  ether  apparent  points  of  similarity,  such 
as  the  flower  pots  with  the  tulips,  and  the  corner  tulips  or 
twisted  palm  branches.  Rank  ng  the  date  medallion  below,  arc 
nowhere    duplicated    exactly. 

This  sudden  innovation  in  design,  which 
may  be  described  as  a  theme  of  decoration 
endlessly  repeated  with  slight  variation  but 
never  duplicated,  consists  of  an  upper  panel, 
showing  the  chief  floral  design,  a  central  panel 
or  cartouche  with  the  inscription,  and  a  lower 
panel  with  a  medallion  generally  containing 
the  date.     The  upper  panel,  still  framed  with 


68 


Further,  the  two  plates  thus  resembling  each  other,  have 
a  general  similarity  to  the  set  floral  pattern  frequently  described 
as  common  upon  the  later  stove  plates,  and  no  example  of  which 
has  yet  been  found  earlier  than  1756.  But  the  aureole  is  here 
missing,  and  we  would  not  be  warranted  in  regarding  these 
plates  as  originals  for  the  former  paterns  until  more  dated  plates 
are  found. 

Ne  ther  can  we  be  certain  that  the  plates  were  cast  at 
Warwick  Furnace,  where  heaps  of  slag  and  ruined  walls  now, 
1914.  on  the  south  branch  of  French  Creek  in  Warwick  Town 
ship,  Chester  County,  Pa.,  about  e'ght  miles  from  Pottstown, 
n-ark  the  site  of  the  ancient  works.  They  were  founded  by 
Anna  Nutt  and  her  sons  in  1736.  but  when,  in  1751,  these  plates 
were  cast,  lAHN.  POT.,  or  John  Potts  was  part  owner  and 
manager,  not  only  at  Warwick,  according  to  the  Potts  MSS,, 
but  also   at   Popadickon   or   Pottsgrove    Furnace. 

The  inscription  from  Matthew  7:1,  in  Luther's  Bible, 
RICHTET.  NICHT.  AUF.  DAS.  IHR.  NICHT.  GERICHTET. 
Vi'ERT.,  "Judge  not  that  ye  be  not  judged,"  upon  the  central 
cartouche,  appears  four  years  later  upon  the  beautiful  stove  of 
S.  F.,  Figures  98  and  99,  where  it  begins  on  the  side  plates  and 
ends  on  the  front.  Here  it  is  complete  on  the  right  plate,  and 
the  front  plate.  Figure  91,  here  shown,  complements  it  with  an 
explanatory    rhyme. 


double  canopies  with  fluted  columns,  tulips  in  pots  and  tulips 
springing  from  crosses  above  loops,  generally  match  the  pat- 
tern. Figure  90.  The  initials  I.  P.,  for  John  Potts,  appear. ng 
in  the  upper  background,  indicate  that  the  plate  may  have  been 
cast  at  Warwick  Furnace,  and  the  whole  rhymed  inscr  ption 
fill  ng  the  cartouche,  and  completed  in  the  lower  medallion, 
reads:  AUS.  DEM.  MUNDE.  JESUS.  QYLLET.  WAS.  DEN. 
DURST.  DES.  LEBEN.  STILLET..  "Out  of  the  mouth  of 
Jesus   springeth  that   which   stills   the   thirst   of  life." 

Tulips  springing  from  crosses  appear  upon  three  plates  in 
the  collection  herewith  illustrated,  namely,  upon  this  plate  and 
Figures  89  and  90,  and  are  possibly  derived  from  Catholic 
symbolism.  Figure  89  was  described  in  "Decorated  Stove 
Plates,"  page  6,  in  writing  which  in  1897  the  writer  supposed 
that  it  would  be  an  easy  matter  to  trace  this  beautiful  pattern 
made  by  Germans  in  America,  back  to  Germany.  But  nothing 
has  seemed  so  surprising  as  the  assurances  received  in  1910 
from  the  Rijks  Museum  at  Amsterdam,  the  Northern  Museum 
at  Stockholm,  the  Lorraine  Museum  at  Nancy,  and  from  Dr. 
Beck,  Dr.  Kassel  and  Mr.  G.  Von  Collin,  that  not  only  these 
tulips  springing  from  crosses,  but  in  general  the  set  designs 
with  tulips  under  canopies,  character'stic  of  so  many  of  the 
Amercian  jamb  stoves  after  1756,  and  of  the  six-plate  stoves 
after  1760,  are  unknown  and  unheard  of  as  castings  upon  stoves 
in    Germany. 


91. 

Judge  Not  of  1751. 

Front.       Size.     H.    27^     x    W.    22'2.       Berks    County    Historical 
Society. 

Found    by    Mr.    B.    F.    Owen    in    1910    with    Figure    90.    for 
which    it    is    undoubtedly    the    companion    front    plate,    in    an    old 
house    in    Berks    County,    Pa.      The    rusting    of   the    inscription    in         Front    plate    of    Jamb    Stove.     Size,    H.    24';    x    W.    2D'4.       Berks 
the    lower    medallion    has    made    it    difficult    to    decipher,    but    the        County    Historical    Society. 


92. 

A.  G.  Plate  of  1752. 


the  familiar  vaulted  canopies  of  the  pictorial 
plate  no  longer  encloses  a  pictorial  subject, 
but  a  set  pattern,  either  half  of  which  serves 
for  the  front  plate  and  which  appears  in  full 
on  the  side  plate.  This  consists  of  a  flower  pot 
growing  a  tulip  plant  balanced  with  lozenges 


six-point  stars  and  frequently  what  appear  to 
be  sheaves  of  wheat  in  the  right  canopy,  and 
almost  invariably  in  the  left  canopy  a  fluted 
circlet  which  may  represent  an  aureole  with 
divergent  rays  enclosing  a  heart  from  which 
spring   several    tulips   and   resting    upon   what 


69 


A  tulip  in  a  flower  pot  stands  under  each  of  the  canopies, 
here  supported  on  fluted  columns,  under  the  left  vault  of  which, 
lacking  the  famil  ar  aureole,  the  initials  A  G  plainly  appear. 
The  heart  tulips  are  replaced  by  stem  Tied  tul  ps  on  either  side 
of  the  medallion  below,  which  shows  the  date  1752.  But  the 
motto   on   the   central   cartouche    is   rusted    beyond    decipherment. 

For  seme  time  no  replica  or  corresponding  side  plate  ap- 
peared to  explain  this  much-rusted  specimen,  cons  sting  of 
fragments  bolted  together,  which  was  found  in  1909  by  Mr 
B.  F.  Owen  at  Millbach.  Lebanon  County,  Pa.  But  when,  in 
1913.  in  an  old  vault  at  Fifth  and  Penn  streets.  Reading,  Pa., 
Mr.  Owen  found  Figure  93.  also  dated  1752.  plainly  marked 
AMOS  GERET,  and  which,  judging  from  si  nilarity  in  the  treat 
ment  of  the  tul'ps.  canopies  and  figures  in  the  date,  is  undoubt- 
edly the   companion  side   plate,   the   A   0  was   explained. 

We  are  therefore  justified  in  guessing  that  the  plate  was 
cast  at  Cornwall  Furnace,  and  that  GERET  was  one  of  the 
coTipany  Gurrt  { Garret )  and  Co..  mentioned  by  Acrelius  as 
lessees   of   the   works   in    1756    (Swark.    Iron    and    Coal,    pa^e   26). 


93- 

Amos  Oeret  of  1752. 

R  ght  pUte  of  Jan-.b  Stove.  Size.  H.  24  x  W.  26.  Berks  County 
Historical   Society. 

Found  in  1913  by  Mr.  B.  F.  Owen  in  an  old  vault  at  the 
corner    of    Fifth    and    Penn    streets.    Reading.    Pa. 

This  is  undoubtedly  the  companion  side-plate  to  the  A.  G. 
plate  of    1752,    Figure   92.   as   is  proved   by  the   similarity  of  date 

appears  to  be  a  stand  formed  of  the  heads  and 
forelegs  of  sheep. 

The  central  panel  or  cartouche  is  a  narrow 
band  or  stripe,  enclosing  ihe  inscription  in  a 
single  line  of  well-modeled  Latin  letters. 
Though  nearly  always  a  verse  from  the  Bible, 
or  religious  motto,  this  inscription  sometimes 
advertises  the  name  of  a  furnace  or  the  full 
name  or  initials  of  one  or  more  iron  masters. 
Sometimes  the  inscription,  incomplete  upon 
the  side  plates,  but  nearly  always  (see  Figure 
139)    repeated  upon   them,  is  continued   upon 


and  s'ze.  the  treatTient  of  the  canopies,  the  down-sprouting 
trefoil  on  the  upper  tulips  and  the  name  Amos  Gcret  on  this 
plate  explaining   the   in  tials   A.   G.   on   the  ether. 

Co.T.pared  with  all  the  other  floral  patterns  here  shown,  the 
varied  treatment  of  the  branching  tul  ps.  without  flower  pots, 
under  the  farr.il  ar  vaulted  canopies  in  the  upper  panel,  is  pecul- 
iar. The  aureole  is  missing  altogether,  but  the  lower  tulips 
on  bent  stems  flanking  the  date  medallion,  rese.Tble  those  on 
the  John  Pott  plate  of  1751  and  the  Stiegel  plate  of  1758,  F.« 
urcs  89  and    1 19. 

According  to  Acrelius,  quoted  by  Pearse,  218,  Gurret  ft 
Co.  (Garret  &  Co.).  were  lessees  of  Cornwall  Furnace  in 
Lebanon  County  from  the  Grubbs  in  1759,  and  if  thr  Amos 
G:ret  and  A.  G.  may  be  referred  to  the  head  of  that  fir.m.  this 
plate  and  Figure  92  must  have  been  cast  at  Cornwall  Furnace. 
Th;  inscription  begun  or  ended  with  the  illegible  words  on 
Figure  92  repeats  that  upon  Figure  89.  na-nelv.  DAS.  LEBEN. 
JESU.    WAR.    EIN.    LIGHT.      "The   life   of   Jesus  was  a   light." 


94- 
Samuel  Flower  of  1754. 

Front   plate   of   five-plate   stove.   Size.    W.    19^4   x    H.    24.     Bucks 

the  front  plate,  or  more  rarely  and  occasionally 
in  rhyme,  extends  into  the  lower  panel.  This 
latter  encloses  an  oblong  medallion,  some- 
times framing  the  date,  sometimes  the  adver- 
tisement or  continued  inscription  above  men-  j 
tioned,  and  generally  flanked  with  tulips  I 
springing  from  hearts. 

The  whole  pattern,  far  more  carefully 
carved  than  the  old  pictorial  designs,  is  filled 
in  with  lozenges,  wheat  Eh:aves.  six-point 
stars,  hearts  and  tulips  large  and  small,  and 
letters     or     figures     adorned     with     sprouting 


70 


County  Historical  Society.  Given  to  the  Society  in  October, 
1910,  by  Lewis  Sigafoos,  of  Tinicum  To'vnsh  p,  Bucks  County. 
Pa. 

Under  two  vaulted  canopies  supported  on  the  usual  twisted 
columns,  with  pendant  loops,  stand  two  flower  pots  containing 
tulips,  while  the  words  SMWEL.  FLAUR  (Samuel  Flower), 
spaced  with  little  tulps.  fill  the  central  cartouche.  The  date 
1754,  divided   by  a  potted  tulip,   occupies  the  medallion  below. 

Flower  here  discards  the  usual  religious  inscription  upon 
the  central  cartouche  for  an  advertisement  of  his  own  name, 
as  he  did  later  in  1764  on  h  s  six-plate  stove.  Figure  156,  and 
as  Huber  and  Stiegel.  see  Figures  95  and  119  to  128.  did  at 
Elizabeth    Furnace. 

The  other  noticeable  features  of  this  plate  are  the  heart 
tulips  set  upside  down,  flanking  the  date  medallion,  and  the 
eight-pointed  stars  in  the  upper  canopies,  which,  judgng  from 
the  circular  welts  surrounding  them,  do  not  appear  to  have 
been  carved  in  the  regular  manner  on  a  wooden  mould,  but 
must  either  have  been  inserted  into  the  latter  out  of  level,  or 
stamped   loose   upon   the   sand. 

Who  carved  the  mould  for  this  plate  may  never  be  known, 
but  that  the  cast  was  made  at  Branson  and  Nutts  ancient  fur- 
nace, of  Redding,  in  northern  Chester  County,  Pa.,  there  can  be 
little  doubt.  Samuel  Flower  married  in  1744  Rebecca  Branson, 
daughter  of  Redding's  original  owner.  William  Branson,  re- 
ceived then  from  Branson  a  fourth  share  of  the  furnace,  and 
probably  managed  it  in  1754  and  during  the  later  life  of  his 
father-in-law,    who   died   in    1 760. 


95- 
Jacob  Huber  of  1755* 

Right  plate.  Size,  about  H.  24  x  W.  26.  In  the  cloister  at 
Ephrata.    1909. 

Double    canopy,    twisted    columns,    tulips,    flower    pots,    stars, 
lozenges  and  aureole   on   the  left,   with  sheep   legs  as   usual.      The 

tulips.  Though  suggested  by  the  designs  on 
Figures  89,  90  and  91  (of  1751),  92  and  93 
(of  1752)  and  94  (of  1754),  it  first  clearly 
appears  on  the  plate  shown  in  Figure  95» 
dated  1755,  before  which  time  no  certain  evi- 
dence of  its  existence  has  yet  come  to  Hght. 

What  the  design,  repeated  on  so  many 
of  the  illustrations  herewith  shown  signifies, 
who  invented  it.  what  furnace  first  produced 
it,  and  why  so  many  of  them,  as  the  illustra- 


date  medallion  is  flanked  by  the  usual  heart  tulips,  and  contains 
the  date  1755.  Two  features  of  the  des  gn  are  remarkable : 
First,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Treasure  plate,  F.gure  113,  probably 
carved  by  the  sa".e  hand,  the  letter  V.  possibly  standing  for 
the  name  of  the  unknown  mould  carver,  fills  the  heart  in  the 
aureole :  and  second,  the  religious  or  admon  tory  inscription  is 
here  supplemented  by  the  advertisement  of  Hans  Jacob  Huber, 
ironmaster  at  Elizabeth  Furnace,  where  the  plate  was  undoubt- 
edly cast  (see  Figure  127).  viz.:  JACOB.  HUBER.  1ST.  DER. 
ERSTE.  "Jacob  Huber  is  the  first,"  which  fills  the  central 
cartouche. 

H  the  mould  carver,  working  for  an  employer  who  prob- 
ably cared  more  for  the  profitable  sale  of  the  stoves  than  the 
decoration,  had  continued  the  inscription  all  around  the  stove 
so  as  to  begin  it  on  one  side  plate  and  end  it  on  another,  he 
would  have  had  to  carve  three  moulds  for  a  jamb  stove  instead 
of  two.  But  whether  he  did  so  in  this  instance  or  not  cannot 
be  known,  since  no  front  plate  has  yet  been  found,  and  we 
cannot  tell  whether  Mr.  Doster's  replica,  referred  to  below, 
with  its  rims  sawed  off.  is  a  right  or  left.  But  it  is  more  probable 
that  the  final  words  of  the  inscription  have  been  crowded  upon 
the  front  plate,  since  the  evidence  thus  far  found  where  the 
side  plates,  whether  right  or  left,  are  nearly  always  replicas, 
inscription  and  all,  shows  that  he  only  carved  two,  the  larger 
for   the   side    and   the   s-T^aller   for  the   front   plate. 

According  to  J.  M.  Swank,  Iron  and  Coal  in  Pennsyl- 
vania. 1878,  page  19,  Hans  (or  John)  Jacob  Huber  (called 
John  by  the  author ).  who  founded  Elizabeth  Furnace  in  Lan- 
caster County  in  1750  and  sold  it  to  his  father-in-law,  the  so- 
called  Baron  Henry  William  Stiegel,  in  1757,  had  the  rhyme 
"(John)  Jacob  Huber.  ist.  Der.  Erste.  Deutsche.  Mann.  der. 
das.  Eisen.  werk.  voUfuren.  kann."  inscribed  upon  the  wall  of 
the  furnace.  Therefore  wc  may  infer  that  one  of  the  missing 
plates  of  this  stove,  not  yet  found,  may  complete  this  or  a 
similar   trade   rhyme. 

Many  of  the  old  German  stove-plates  o\  the  1 7in  cent  _ry. 
as  figured  by  Kassel,  Bickell  and  Wedding,  show  advertise- 
ments of  furnaces,  or  names  or  initials  of  founders,  ironmasters 
or  pattern  carvers,  intermixed  with  the  religious  pictures  and 
inscriptions,  but  here  the  pious  inscription  has  been  entirely 
discarded  for  the  name  of  the  ironmaster.  The  same  substitu- 
tion of  advertisement  for  religious  inscription  upon  the  central 
cartouche  appears  on  the  plates.  Figures  119  to  1^8,  of  Stiegel, 
who,  in  no  case  yet  found,  has  retained  any  religious  motto 
or  rhyme  whatever  upon  his  stoves.  But  we  cannot,  on  our 
evidence,  yet  say  that  either  Huber  or  Stiegel  thus  began  to 
spoil  the  religious  stoves,  since  John  Potts,  of  Warwick,  of  the 
undated  plate.  Figure  114,  and  Samuel  Flower,  of  Redding  Fur- 
nace, in   1754   (see  Figure  94),  have  done  the  same  thing. 

Mr.  J.  H.  Doster.  at  Lititz,  has  a  replica  of  this  plate 
built  in  the  wall  of  his  dining  room  with  a  replica  of  the  Stiegel 
plate.  Figure  121,  but  no  front  plate  has  yet  appeared  to  com- 
plete the  inscription.  H  Huber  means  to  boast  that  he  was 
the  first  German  ironmaster  in  America,  he  may  be  right,  for, 
although  all  the  five-plate  stoves  were  inscribed  in  German, 
and  doubtless  carved  by  German  mould  makers,  the  early  iron- 
masters  seem   to   have   been    English. 


tions  show,  rivaled  each  other  in  producing 
without  directly  recasting  it,  and  why  they 
abandoned  the  more  interesting  picture  de- 
signs to  make  this,  and  almost  nothing  else, 
between  the  years  1756  and  1760,  or  during 
the  last  few  years  of  the  existence  of  the  five- 
plate  stove,  are  still  unanswered  questions. 

Its  most  interesting  feature  is  the  fluted 
circlet,  with  its  heart  tulips  and  sheep  legs 
above  referred  to,  which,  with  two  exceptions 


71 


On  the  other  hand,  a  similar  rhyme  not  yet  found  on  a 
stoveplate,  but  ascribed  by  Swank  and  others  to  Stiegel.  also 
ironmaster  at  Elizabeth  in  1757  to  1778.  "Baron  Sticgel  ist  der 
Mann  der  die  Oefen  machen  kann,"  "Baron  Stiegel  is  the  man 
who  can  make  stoves."  appears  less  justified  by  fact,  since  the 
six-  and  ten-plate  stoves  made  by  Stiegel  do  not  appear  to  be 
super !cr  to  those  built  at  other  furnaces,  while  the  five  plate 
stoves  had  been  cast  in  the  usual  way  long  before  Stiegel's  time. 


96. 

S.  F.  of  J756. 

Left    plate.      Size.    W.    22    x    H.    21.       Bucks    County    Historical 
Society,    No.    237. 

Typical  floral  pattern,  double  canopy,  twisted  columns, 
flower  pot,  and  aureole  with  sheep  legs,  lozenges  and  wheat 
sheaves. 

The  unknown  patternmaker  who  carved  this  design  for 
Samuel  Flower,  of  Redd  ng  Furnace,  in  1756,  probably  also 
carved  the  floral  pattern.  Figure  111,  for  Thomas  Potts  in  1758, 
since,  as  he  no  doubt  intended  to  quote  Romans  12:21.  in 
Luther's  Bible:  "Las  dich  nicht  das  bese  uberwinden.'"  "Be 
not  overcome  of  evil,"  he  has.  in  both  cases,  misplaced  the 
word  "nicht"  so  that  his  inscription  here  reads:  "LAS.  DICH. 
DAS.    BESE.    NICHT." 

Two  front  plates  have  been  found,  but  unfortunately  the 
word  "ueberwinden,"  which  should  finish  the  inscription,  has 
Deen  rusted   beyond  recognition  on   both. 

The  plate  is  illustrated  in  "Decorated  Stove  Plates."  page 
14.  and  since  finding  it  in  1897,  in  the  damp  cellar  of  a  house 
>n  the  summit  of  the  high  cliffs  overlook  ng  the  Delaware  River 
n  NockaT.ixon  Township,  Bucks  County,  Pa.,  a  top  and  bottom, 
-ight  and  front,  equally  illegible  (set  up  with  this  plate,  see 
Figure  97),  from  an  old  house  in  E  :;ylestown,  Bucks  County, 
Pa.,   have  come   to  light. 

The    finding    of    the    nearly    complete    six-plate    stove.    Figure 
56,   dated    1764.   and    inscribed: 

SAMUEL.    FLOWER.    RETING.    FURNACE. 
4nd    the    six-plate    stoveplate    dated    1764,    Figure    160.    inscribed : 

M.  SAMUEL.  FLOR.  REDIG.  FURNACE.. 
.T3ke  it  probable  that  the  initials  S.  F.  on  this  plate  and  on  the 
ront  plate.  Figure  99.  refer  to  Samuel  Flower,  one  of  the  iron- 
lasters  at  Redding  Furnace  in  1756  and  later.  According  to 
^wank  (Iron  in  All  Ages,  page  173),  Samuel  Flower  became 
associated  with  Redding  Furnace  in  1742,  when  he  as  a 
member  of  an  English  company,  together  with  Lynford  Lardncr 
and  Richard  Hockley,  leased  its  companion  forge,  Windsor  (on 
Conestoga  Creek,  Lancaster  County,  Pa.),  from  William  Bran- 
don, for  th  rty  years.  In  1744  Flower  married  Branson's  daugh- 
ter, Rebecca,  and  together  with  Lardner  and  Hockley,  who  had 
n  arried  two  other  daughters  of  Branson,  received   from  the   old 


ironmaster  a  quarter  share  of  Redding  Furnace.  Although,  ac- 
cording to  Acrelius,  Branson  held  Redding  in  1756,  Flower,  no 
doubt,  managed  it  for  him  in  that  year,  as  the  stove-plate 
shows,  and  must  have  had  charge  for  some  time  previously,  is 
is  proved  by  the  front  plate  inscribed  with  his  name  and  dated 
1754,  Figure  94.  while  that  he  certainly  managed  the  furnac; 
after  Branson's  death  in  1760,  the  later  inscribed  plates,  Figures 
156  and  160.  prove. 


97- 

Replicas  are   known   as   follows: 

1.  Right:    Col.   H.   D.   Paxson.  August,   1910. 

2.  Right;   Yard  pavement  at   Isaac   Bennet's.   1910.  at  Johna- 
ville,    Bucks   Countv.    Pa. 

3.  Right ;     Bucks    County     Historical    Society,     from    Snod- 
grass  house,  Doylcstown.  above  noted. 

4.  Left:    Mrs.    Walter    Cope,    Germantown.    Pa.,    December, 

1910,  bought  by  her  of  Mrs.   Cookerow.  at   Pottstown.   Pa. 

5.  Mr.   B.   F.   Fackcnthal,  Jr..   Reigelsville.   Pa..  September, 

1911.  obtained     from     Mr.     Friesland.    a    photographer,    in     New 
Jersey. 

6.  Left;    Bucks    County    Historical    Society. 


i'(7(^ 


.L 


98. 

Judge  >Jot  of  1756' 

Left   Plate.     Size.   H.   24   by  W.   2Sy,.     Bucks   County   Historical 
Society,  No.  709. 


72 


The  pleased  eye  wanders  from  the  hearts,  tulips,  stars, 
medallions,  arches  and  columns  of  the  usual  floral  pattern  to 
the  words.  RICHTET.  NICHT.  AUF.  DAS.  IHR.,  "Judge  not 
that  ye."  running  its  sequence  NICHT.  GERICHTET.  WERT,. 
"Be  not  judged,"  from  Matthew  7-1,  in  Luther's  Bible,  upon 
Figure   99. 

Because  of  the  peculiar  trefoil  sprouting  horizontally  from 
the  four  corners  of  the  date  medallion,  on  this  plate,  and  also 
on  Figure  99,  and  which  are  only  thus  once  duplcated  in  the 
whole  collection,  an^  notwithstaniing  numerous  other  differ- 
ences in  the  detail  of  sheeps'  heads,  flower  pots  and  lozenges. 
we   must   regard    F  gure  99  as  its  co.r.panion   front   plate. 

Figure  98  was  found  by  Captain  J.  S.  Bailey  about  1890 
at  an  old  farmhouse  belonging  to  Clinton  Callender,  near 
Mechanics  Valley,  Bucks  County.  Pa.,  and  was  described  in 
"Decorated    Stove    Plates."    page    7. 


%ir  sy  --v- 


l^v^^- 


99. 

Judge  Not  of  S.  F. 

Front  plate.  Size.  H.  24  x  W.  21.  Bucks  County  Historical 
Society.  No.   1244. 

So  completely  had  the  memory  of  five-plate  stoves  passed 
out  of  general  knowledge,  that  Mr.  Emery,  himself  a  collector 
of  antiquities,  had  fcr  many  years  lived  within  a  few  st^ps  of 
this  plate,  without  knowing  of  its  existence,  when  in  1837,  he 
led  the  writer,  on  inquiry,  to  T.  Sassaman's  outkitchen,  at  Otts- 
ville.  Bucks  County,  Pa.,  and  found  to  his  surprise  this  beautiful 
plate,  together  with  Figure  89,  buried  under  several  inches  of 
wood  ashes,  on  the  hearth  of  a  large  fireplace,  used  for  soap  and 
applebutter  cooking. 

Within  the  double  vaulted  canopy,  with  its  pendant  loops 
and  twisted  columns,  rests  the  usual  symbolic  aureole,  enclosing 

(Figures  119  and  121)  invariably  fills  the  left 
canopy  in  the  upper  panel,  and  frequently 
appears  in  the  single  canopy  of  the  front  plates. 
The  author  has  been  unable  thus  far  to  find 
its  counterpart  among  the  potters'  designs  or 
illuminated  writing  of  the  Pennsylvania  Ger- 
mans, and  all  attempts  to  explain  it  by  any 
known    religious    symbolism    or    to    trace     it 


a  heart  sprouting  three  tulips,  and  flanked  by  two  flower  pots 
wth  tul'ps-  Larger  tulips  fill  the  spaces  below  the  vaults,  and 
the  lower  medallion  enclos  ng  the  initials  S.  F.,  is  filled  in  with 
tulips,  and  flanked  with  heart  tulips.  But  the  sheep's  heads 
below  the  aureole  are  round,  unmodelled  lumps,  and  there  are 
no   stars  or  lozenges   in  the  pattern. 

The  inscription  in  the  central  cartouche,  "NICHT.  GE- 
RICHTET. WERT."  "Be  not  judged,"  from  Matthew  7-1.  in 
Luther's  Bible,  completes  the  sentence.  RICHTET.  NICHT. 
AUF.  DAS.  IHR.,  "Judge  not  that  ye,"  begun  on  Figure  98, 
which,  as  supposed  in  "Decorated  Stove  Plates,"  page  7,  may 
be  its  companion  plate,  notwithstand  ng  many  notable  differ- 
ences in  the  treatment  of  the  tulips,  aureole,  sheeps'  heads  and 
flower  pots.  But  the  initials  S.  F.  doubtless  stand  for  Samuel 
Flower,  and  fcr  the  reasons  given  under  Figure  96  we  would 
ascribe  the  plate  to  Redding  Furnace,  under  Flower's  manage- 
ment  in    1756. 


lOO. 
The  W^icUed  Borrower. 

Left  plate.  Size,  H.  23  x  W.  2334.  Bucks  County  Historical 
Society. 

Floral  pattern,  w'th  double  canopy,  twisted  columns,  flower- 
pot, grain  sheaves,  etc.,  with  the  words  RETDING.  FORNES. 
in  the  lower  medallion.  The  -nscription  in  the  central  cartouche 
reads;  DER.  GOTLOSE.  BORGET.  UND..  from  Psalms  37: 
21.  in  Luther's  translation,  "The  wicked  borroweth  and."  The 
words  BEZAHLET.  NICHT..  "payeth  not  again."  remaining 
to  complete  the  quotation  on  the  front  plate  of  the  stove,  which 
has   not   yet   been   found. 

Though  based  upon  the  evidence  of  the  s'x-plate  stove  plites. 
Figures  156  and  160.  we  may  infer  that  the  plates.  Fgures  96 
and  99.  marked  S.  F.,  were  cast  at  Redding  Furnace  under 
Samuel    Flower   as   ironrraster.    we    cannot   asiert    that    this    plate, 

singly  or  in  combination  with  the  whole  pat- 
tern above  noted  to  Europe  have  failed. 

Following  the  introduction  of  the  tulip 
into  Europe  by  Conrad  Gesner  in  1559,  deco- 
rative designs  developed  from  tulips  became 
common  among  the  European  peasantry,  as 
painted  upon  houses,  designed  upon  fabrics 
or    pottery    or    as    decorations    on    household 


73 


lOI. 

though  made  at  Redding,  was  cast  for  Flower,  until  its  missing 
frcnt  plate  shall  show  it.  The  pattern  described  wrongly  as 
belonging  to  a  six-plate  stove,  see  "Decorated  Stove  Plates." 
page  26.  was  Frit  seen  by  the  writer  in  1839  in  an  old  chicken- 
house,  at  the  colon'al  residence  of  James  Logan,  known  as 
S  ten  ten.  near  Philadelphia.  The  right  replica.  Figure  101,  ap- 
peared ten  years  later  at  a  junk  yard  in  Pottstown.  and  a  third 
r  ght  replica  was  plowed  out  of  a  field  near  a  spring  1<  juse  "m 
the  property  of  Mr.  John  Schweitzer,  of  North  Earl  Townshio. 
Lancaster  County.  Pa.,  and  there  found  in  the  summer  of  1909 
in  the  barnyard  by  Mr.  B.  F.  Owen,  of  Reading,  who  gave  it 
to  the  Berks  County  Historical  Society.  A  fourth  right  replica 
f  frag  "rent  of  lower  right  corner)  was  found  by  Mr.  A.  K. 
Ho= tetter  in  possession  of  Mr.  D.  B.  Landis.  near  Lancaster, 
Pa. 

The  ancient  charcoal  furnace  of  Redding,  built  1736,  aban- 
doned about  1783,  on  French  Creek  in  the  (magnetic)  iron 
ore  region  of  the  Schuylkill  Valley,  originally  Coventry,  now 
Warwick  Township.  Northern  Chester  Countv  fnot  named  after 
cr  associated  with  the  town  of  Reading.  Berks  County,  but 
originally  from  the  English  Read'ng  and  about  ten  years  before 
the  American  town  of  Reading  was  founded),  was  built  (accord- 
ing to  Swank.  Iron  in  All  Ages :  Ja  Ties.  The  Potts  Memorial : 
and  Futhev  and  Cope.  History  of  Chester  County),  by  Samuel 
Nutt  and  William  Branson  in  1736-7  as  a  cicse  neighbor  and 
source  of  pig-iron  supply  to  their  well-known  Coventry  Forgt. 
also  built  by   Nutt  and    Branson  about    1718. 

But  because  the  Potts  Manuscript  Coventry  Forge  Ledgers 
note  the  sale  of  stoves  necessarily  made  at  a  furnace  and  not 
at  a  forge,  between  1728  and  1738.  because  in  1728  and  1729 
they  several  times  refer  to  a  furnace,  called  twice  by  name, 
Christien  or  Christeen  Furnace,  associated  with  Coventry  Forge. 
and  because  the  inventory  of  Samuel  Nutt's  will  in  1737  (His- 
tory of  Chester  County  F.  and  C. )  refers  to  an  "old  furnace" 
and  a  "new  furnace,"  it  follows  that  Redding  Furnace,  built 
in  1737,  was  not  the  original  or  only  furnace  on  that  site,  but 
that  there  were  two  furnaces  there,  an  older  called  Christeen. 
and  a  later  one  called  Redding,  both  built  by  Nutt  and  Branson 
about  a  mile  apart  (James,  page  49),  and  near  the  lost  site  of 
Coventry   Forge. 

Not  possessed  of  this  information  in  the  Potts"  Manuscripts, 
Swank,  page  71.  and  Mrs.  James,  page  51,  who  had  supposed 
that  the  first  furnace  was  called  Redding  and  was  abandoned  in 
1736.  when  the  second  was  built,  had  necessarily  given  no  evi- 
dence of  either  fact,  but  that  the  second  furnace  called  Reddin:^ 
(in    a    road    petition    1736,    in    an    agreement    of    partnership    1736. 


on  Scull's  Map  1756.  and  by  Acrelius  1756;  see  Swank.  Jame« 
and  the  Hi-tcrv  of  Chester  County),  was  oflically  so  na-ned, 
there  is  no  doubt. 

Sa.'nuel  Nutt.  who  owned  half  of  the  furnace  and  For^e 
prop'.rty  at  C'nristinc — Redding — Coventry,  died  in  1737.  and 
the  new  furnace  was  erected  by  Anna  Nutt,  his  wife,  and 
Samu-1  Nutt,  Jr.,  his  son-in-law  and  nephew,  and  his  oH 
partner  Willam  Branson,  and  managed  by  agreement  of  March 
15,   17:6.  by  John  Potts  (Swank,  page  171). 

For  several  years,  therefore.  Redding  (including  its  prede 
cessor,  Christine)  possibly  sometimes  called  Cov:ntry  Furnace, 
was  the  only  furrace  in  the  Mid-Schuylkill,  French  Creek  iron 
region,  on  the  right  bank,  and  the  only  rival  of  the  ne  ghboring 
older  Cobbrookdale  Furnace,  of  Putter  and  Potts  ownership,  on 
the  left  (Manatawny  Cre;k)  bank.  Then  the  partners  dis- 
agreed, quarreled  at  law  and  separated,  when  Branson  remained 
at  Redding  and  Christine,  and  the  Nutt  heirs  built  the  rival 
Warwick  Furnace  ten  miles  away  on  another  (the  south) 
branch  of  French  Creek  in  1738.  while  Thomas  Potts  founded 
Mt.  Pleasant  across  the  river  near  Colebrookdale  in  the  same 
year.  William  Branson  was  in  possession  of  Redding  in  1742 
(Swank,  page  173),  between  1750  and  1756,  according  to 
Acrelius  (Swank,  page  174).  and  probably  until  his  death  in 
1760.  Leaving  four  daughters,  but  no  sons,  he  had  given 
quarter  shares  of  Redding  Furnace  and  Coventry  Forge  to 
three  of  his  sons-in-law.  one  of  whom.  Samuel  Flower,  married 
Branson's  daughter  Rebecca,  in  1744.  Flower  probably  man- 
aged Redding  Furnace  for  his  father-in-law  in  1756.  and  cer- 
tainly after  1760,  as  his  initials  appear  on  the  Redding  plate. 
Figure  96,  dated  1756.  and  his  name  on  Figures  156  and  160, 
dated  1764.  In  1772,  and  for  a  long  time  after,  according  to 
Swank.  Iron  in  All  Ages,  page  180.  Redding  was  managed  or 
leased  by  James  Old.  but  was  at  last  absorbed  by  its  old  rival 
Warwick,  and  soon  after  the  owners  of  the  latter.  Rutter  and 
Potts,  bought  it  in  1778  to  1783.  and  when  noticed  by  the 
Gern-an  traveler,  Schoep.  in  1783  (Swank,  page  187).  it  had 
fallen  into  decay  and  was  abandoned  (History  of  Chester 
County.   F.   and   C.  page  345). 


I02. 

The  Racing:  Vear. 

Right    plate.     Size.    W.    28    x    H.    26.     Bucks    County    Historical 
Society.   No.  711. 

Found  by  Mr.  I.  J.  Stover  in  use  as  a  step  set  in  a  path 
near  the  house  of  Mrs.  Anna  Hoffman,  near  New  Britain,  Bucks 
County,    Pa.,   in    1897. 


74 


No  replica  of  this  very  symmetrical  and  carefully  carved 
floral  pattern  has  yet  been  found,  nor  a  companion  front  plate, 
which  would  enable  us  to  co.r.plete  the  unexplained  inscript  on 
wh:ch  fills  the  central  cartouche  above  the  date  1756.  namely: 
DIS.  1ST.  DAS.  lAHR.  DARIN.  WITET.,  "This  is  the  year 
in   which   rages ." 


Treasure  of  1757. 

Left  plate.  Size,  about  W.  24  x  H.  24.  Mr.  George  H.  Danner. 
Manheim,  Pa.  Described  in  "Decorated  Stove  Plates,"  Figure 
23. 

This  variatcn  of  ths  usual  floral  pattern  shov,^s  the  date 
1757.  and  the  motto,  from  Matthew  6-21  and  Luke  12-34.  in 
Luther's  Bible,  WO.  EUER.  SCHATZ.  1ST.  DA.,  "Where  your 
treasure  is  there." — which  must  be  continued  on  a  lost  front 
plate  with  the  words  1ST.  AUCH.  EUER.  HERZ.,  "will  your 
heart   be   also," 

While  this  is  the  third  plate  with  the  treasure  inscription 
thus  far  found,  it  dilfers  widely  frcm  the  treasure  pattern  of 
John  Potts.  Figure  113.  On  the  other  hand,  save  for  the  date. 
it  is  an   exact  replica  of   Figure    104. 


Right  plate. 
Pa. 


W..^ 


X04. 

Treasure  of  1758. 

Size.    W.    24    x    H.    24.      State    Library.    Harrisburg 


Here  we  have,  with  its  broken  inscription  from  Matthew 
6-21.  an  exact  replica  of  Figure  103,  save  for  the  last  figure  of 
the  date,  17£8.  which  has  been  changed  from  7  to  8.  possibly 
by  erasing  the  or  glnal  sand  impression  and  re-stamping  with 
a  loose  staxp. 

According  to  Kassel,  the  practice  of  re-dating  stove  patterns 
had  been  co.-nmon  in  Germany,  but  strange  to  say  this  is  the 
only  instance  of  it  thus  far  found  among  the  American  plates. 
The  repetition  of  warp  cracks  on  replicas  of  a  given  date, 
proves,  in  many  instances,  that  the  patterns  must  have  been  used 
for  a  longer  time  than  the  twelve  months  indicated,  and  v/e 
are  left  to  suppose  that  the  furnaces  continued  to  use  the  old 
patterns,    without    re- dating    them    to    suit    passing    years. 


XO5. 

Hereford  of  1757. 

Right   plate.     Size   about    H.    25    x    W.    26'..     Col.    H.    D.    Paxson. 
Kolicong.   Pa. 

The  plate  with  th=  usual  central  cartouche  clearly  showing 
the  inscription  W.  HEREFORD.  FURNACE.  M.,  and  with 
the  date,  1757,  set  in  the  usual  manner  in  the  medallion  below, 
and  thus  far  resembling  the  set  floral  patterns  cast  at  this  time, 
differs  rr.arkedly  from  the  latter  in  the  upper  panel,  wher^, 
under  a  double  canopy  on  twisted  columns,  the  usual  arrange- 
ment of  aureole,  flower  pots,  wheat-sheaf  and  lozenges  is  re- 
placed by  a  widened  spray  of  three  tulips,  a  meaningless  cor- 
nice,   two    six  pointed    stars   and    several    scrolls. 

Hereford  Furnace,  on  the  west  branch  of  Perkiomen  Creek, 
in  Hereford  Township,  Berks  County,  Pa.,  was  in  existence, 
according  to  Fcgley  (in  "Old  Charcoal  Furnaces  in  Eastern 
Berks  County"),  in   1753. 

The  ten-plate  stove.  Figure  180.  is  marked  with  the  nane 
Herefcrd.  so  is  the  six-plate  pattern  of  Figure  169,  showing  a 
still  greater  weakness  of  design.  Both  these  plates  show  the 
name,  Thomas  Maybury.  in  full,  but  here  we  have  W.  M  , 
standing  probably  for  Willam  Maybury,  father  or  relative  of 
the  former,  and  according  to  Mr.  B.  F.  Owen,  one  of  the 
shareholders  of  Shearwell  Furnace  at  Oley  in  1760.  and  one  of 
the    first   Justices   of   the    Peace   in    Berks    County.    Pa. 

Left  replica  in  possession  of  Mrs.  A.  Haller  Gross,  Lang- 
horne.    Bucks    County.    Pa..    May.    1913. 


75 


io6. 
Stiuel  of  1758. 

Right  p'.cic.  Size,  H.  23  x  W.  25.  Bucks  County  Historical 
Society. 

Though  the  details  are  nearly  obliterated  by  rust,  we  se; 
that  this  floral  pattern  of  the  usual  set  type,  w  th  double 
cancpy,  twisted  arches,  flower  pots,  aureole  on  the  left,  heart 
tulips,  medall  on  with  the  date  1758,  and  illegible  inscription, 
showing  the  letters  LMS  to  the  right  is  a  replica  cf  the  St  egel 
plate.  Figure  120.  It  proves  that  an  abundance  of  these  typical 
floral  patterns  had  been  carved  in  wood  as  moulds  closely  re- 
sembling, but  never  reproducing  each  other,  all  of  which,  strange 
to  say.  whether  once  in  the  pcssession  of  the  old  furnaces,  or 
remaining  anong  the  he  rlooms  of  the  unknown  families  of  the 
forgotten    pattern    carvers,    seem    to    have    been    lost. 

This  plate,  together  with  three  more  plates  of  Jamb  stoves, 
and  one  of  a  draught  stove  in  three  fragments  (see  description 
of  F  gure  144).  had  been  laid  across  two  rows  of  stones,  under 
the  sod,  so  as  to  roof  a  drain  for  the  porch  pump  in  the  front 
yard  of  Dr.  Frank  Shirk's  far.n.  near  Lancaster,  Pa.  There 
the  writer,  in  company  with  Mr.  Albert  K.  Hostetter.  excavated 
it   on   January    U.    1909. 


Twisted  columns,  double  cancpi:s.  flower  pots,  and  aureole 
of  the  usual  floral  pattern,  in  the  background  of  which  the 
I.  P.  ani  S.  P..  probably  standing  for  the  noted  John  Potii 
(son  of  Thoras  Potts,  born  1710,  d  ed  at  Potlsgrove,  1768),  and 
Samuel  Potts  (h  s  son.  born  1736.  died  1793),  ironmasters  jt 
Warwick  Furnace  in  1758.  are  cast  upon  the  background  under 
the  r  ght  canopy.  The  date  1758,  alcrned  in  the  usual  way 
with  tul  ps.  is  cast  in  the  lower  medallion,  and  the  central  car- 
touche is  filled  with  the  motto:  VER^CHTE.  DAS.  ALTER. 
NL  "Never  despise  old  age."  Ident  fied  by  Dr.  John  B.  Stout, 
of  Northa  rpton.  P3..  as  from  the  motto.  Verachte  das  alter 
richt  denn  du  gedenkest  auch  alt  zu  werrlen.  "Despi^ie  not  oil 
age.  since  thou  rememberest  that  thou  also  shalt  grow  old," 
published  en  page  139  in  the  Lese  buch  fur  Deutsche  Schul- 
kinder,  by  George  Gottfried  Otterbe^n  (printed  by  Conrad  Zeit:r 
ani  George  Mentz,  Philadelphia,  1813.  second  American  edi- 
t  en),   and    quoted   from   the    Apocrvphal   bDok   of   Jesus   Sirach. 


107. 

Despise  ^ot  Old  Age. 

Right  plate.     S  ze.    H.   22U   x  W.   24^-     Bucks   County   Historical 
Society. 


108. 

The  badly  rusted  plate,  broken  in  two  pieces,  came  to 
light  as  a  surprise  during  an  unsucces  ful  hunt  for  a  lost  plate 
said  to  have  been  dated  1674.  mentioned  in  Dav  s"  History  of 
Bucks  County,  page  432.  When,  after  searching  several  old 
houses  at  Chalfont,  Montgomery  County.  Pa.,  in  1909.  the  last 
clue  in  the  meT.ory  of  a  nurse  at  a  farmhouse  had  failed,  the 
far.mer's  wife,  hear  ng  the  writer's  questions,  remembered  an 
iron  plate  used  in  her  girlhood  at  another  farm  as  a  step  to  a 
spring-house.  On  immediately  searching  the  latter  place,  which 
had  since  changed  owners,  and  where  the  step  in  question  had 
been  moved,  a  search  in  the  garret  of  an  old  spring-house  used 
for  smoking  ham,  notwithstanding  the  owner's  ignorance  of  the 
matter,  resulted  in  the  discovery  of  the  plate  bur.ed  under 
nearly  a  foot  of  wood  ashes  in  a  large  wooden  ash  box  set  in 
mid-floor  as  a  hearth. 

Replicas  have  appeared  as  follows.  (1);  right,  as  described 
in  "Decorated  Stove  Plates,"  page  26.  in  the  cellar  of  Mr. 
Walter  Cope's  house,  in  Germantown.  Pa.,  in  1899.  in  possession, 
1912.  of  Mrs.  Albert  Leeds,  Germantown.  (2);  left  fragment, 
see  Figure  109.  bought  by  the  writer  at  a  junk-yard  at  Potta- 
town.  in  1908.  (3):  left  (fragment),  found  by  Mr.  B.  F.  Owen, 
January.  1910.  in  the  oH  closter  at  Ephrata.  (4);  right,  Mr. 
H.  E.  Deats,  Flemington,  N.  J.,  see  Figure  108.  (5);  left, 
together  with  front  plate  (see  Figure  110),  in  possession  of  Mr. 
H.    E.    Deats.    Flemington,   N.   J. 

There  is  no  reason  for  connecting  this  plate  with  Chrij 
topher  Sauer.  as  the  writer  has  done  in  "Decorated  Stove 
Plates."  The  initials  I. P.,  associated  with  the  name  lAHN. 
POT.   on   Figures  90  and  91.  and   the  complimentary   S.    P..   un- 


76 


I09* 

doubtedly  refer  th's  plate,  cast  in  17£8,  as  dbove  noted,  to  the 
Potts  family  of  ironmasters,  who  owned  Warwick  and  several 
other  furnaces  at  that  time.  In  other  examples  of  their  initials 
the  letter  A  sprouts  tulips,  as  do  also  the  sheep  heads.  The 
star   within   the   heart   in   the   aureole   is   a   peculiar   variation. 


IIO. 

Despise  Biot  Old  Ag-e. 

Front  plate.     Size.   H.    22^2    x   W.    19   inches.     Mr.   H.    E.    Deats, 
Flemington,    N.    J. 


The  pattern,  inscription  and  history  cf  this  plate  obtained 
with  its  cornpanion,  F  gure  108,  by  Mr.  Deats  in  1910  from  a 
widow  of  Flemington,  N.  J,,  whose  husband,  Andrew  Crater, 
had  bought  both  plates  at  a  sale  near  Frenchtown,  N.  J.,  about 
irSO,  show  that  it  s  the  long  sought  for  front  plate  of  F'gures 
107  and  109.  Two  flower-pots  with  tulips  and  the  usual 
vaulted  cancpy,  stand  between  the  figures  and  the  date,  1758; 
and  the  well-known  nams  of  lAHN.  POT..  John  Potts,  beau- 
tifully carved  and  adorned  with  tulips,  fills  the  lower  rr.edallion, 
while  the  words,  long  baffl  ng  decipher Tient,  DAN.  WIR. 
GEDEN.,    "since   we    remember,"    fill   the   central    cartouche. 

As  noted  under  Figure  107,  Dr.  John  Bear  Stoudt.  of  North- 
ampton, Pa.,  traced  the  inscription,  there  begun  and  here  con- 
tinued, to  a  motto  in  Otterbeins  Lese-buch  Fur  Schulkinder,  and 
it  would  see  n  that  we  have  here  an  adaptation,  continued  on 
this  front  plate  in  the  plural,  of  the  sentence  from  Otterbe"n 
begun  on  the  left  plate,  Figure  108,  and  should  therefore  expect 
to  find  on  the  companion  right  plate  the  words  KEN.  AUC  H. 
ALT.  ZU.  WERDEN.,  show'ng  that  three  moulds  rather  than 
two  had  been  used  to  make  the  stove.  But  the  right  plate,  in 
the  possession  of  Mr.  Deats,  and  the  right  fragment  here  shown. 
Figure  109,  does  not  so  co— .plete  the  quotat'on,  and  is  a  replica 
of  the  left  plate,  Figure  108,  ?o  that  we  are  Isft  to  suppose, 
e!th;r  that  the  caster  had  several  times  stupidly  used  the  left 
mould  to  cast  the  right  plate,  or  that  the  carver  had  neglected 
to  carve,  or  the  furnace  had  refused  to  buy,  the  extra  pattern 
with   the   final   inscription   required   to   finish   the   sentence. 


III. 

Good  for  Evil  of  1758. 

Right  plate.  Size,  H.  24'4  x  W.  2524.  In  possession  of  Mr. 
J.  L.  Heacock,  of  115  West  Tulpehocken  Street,  German  town. 
Pa.,    Fig.    112.      Right.      Bucks    County    Historical   Society. 

This  plate,  showing  the  usual  floral  pattern,  pecul  ar  in 
having  a  wheat  sheaf  set  within  the  aureole  heart,  is  a  replica 
of  Figure  112,  and  was  found  by  Mr.  Heacock  in  an  old  farm- 
house belonging  to  his  family,  near  Rich  Hill,  about  five  miles 
southwest  of  Quakertown,   in   1910. 

The  same  inscription,  from  Romans  12-21,  in  Luther's  Bible, 
but  slightly  transposed,  and  incomplete,  upon  the  side  plate, 
LAS.     DICH.     DAS.     BESSE.     NICHT..     "Be     not     overcome 


furniture    and    utensils,    in    Germany,    France,  Cologne,     Marburg,     Amsterdam,     Stockholm, 

Holland,  Transylvania  and  Scandinavia.     But  Nancy  and  Christiania,  this  particular  pattern 

notwithstanding  this  fact,  according  to  infor-  appears  to  be  unknown  in  Central  and  North- 

mation    given    the    writer    from    Museums    at  ern  Europe.      Dr.  Beck  and  Dr,   Kassel  never 


77 


of  evil."  with  the  word  UBERWUNDEN,  "overcome."  probably 
cast  on  the  m.ssing  front  plate.  ccci:rs  on  the  S.  F.  plate. 
Figure  96,   dated  two  years  earlier,   in    1756. 

The  date  I7£8.  much  rusted,  on  the  replca.  Figure  112.  is 
here  casly  seen  above  the  name  of  the  ironmaster,  THOMAS. 
POTS.,  to  which  the  Gerran  mould  carver  has  added  a  final  S. 
which  docs  not  appear  in  any  other  spellings  oF  the  name  on  the 
Jamb  stoves  thus  far  found.  This  name,  highly  adorned  with 
sprout  ng  tulips  and  set  under  the  date  1758,  indicates  that  the 
plate   was  cast   probably   at    Colebrookdale. 

The  noted  family  of  Potts,  whose  names  so  often  appear  on 
the  floral  patterns  h:re  shown,  descendants  of  Thomas  Potts,  of 
Germantown  (1680  1752J,  founders  cf  Pottstown  (not  Pottsville), 
Pa.,  by  t-ieir  inter  rarr  ages  In  the  18th  century  with  heiresses 
of  the  Nutt  and  Rutter  family,  became  masters  or  part  owners 
of  several  forges,  together  with  the  principal  ancient  furnaces 
in  the  iron-bear  ng  region  of  the  Mid-Schuylkill  Valley,  namely, 
Colebrookdale  and  Popa:Iickon,  (or  Pcttsgrove  or  Pottstown) 
Furnaces  on  the  Mana tawny  Creel:  on  the  left  bank,  and  Cov- 
entry Forge.  Warwick  and  Mount  Pleasant  Furnaces  in  the 
French   Creek   reg.on,   on   the   r'ght   bank   of  the   river. 


112. 

According  to  disjointed  state T-.ents  in  the  Potts  Menorial. 
by  Mrs.  Potts  James.  Iron  in  All  Ages,  by  J.  M.  Swank,  and  -n 
the  History  of  Chester  County,  by  Futhey  and  Cope,  there  were 
three  persons  by  the  name  of  Thomas  Potts  concerned  in  the 
iron  works  of  Pennsylvania,  at  the  time  of  the  making  of 
decorated  stoves,  namely,  1.  Thomas  Potts  (called  Junior,  and 
nephew  cf  a  Welsh  emigrant  callei  Thomas  Potts),  born  1680, 
probably  in  Wales,  and  the  founder  of  the  American  Potts 
family  of  ironmasters.  Brought  up  among  Germans  in  Ger- 
mantown, Pa.  He  married,  first,  in  1699,  Martha  Kerlis,  and 
second,    about     1718,     Magdalen     Robeson,     leaving     a     numerous 

heard  of  it.  Owing  to  the  sheep  heads,  we  can 
see  no  suggestion  of  it  in  the  description  of 
the  Ark  of  the  Covenant,  as  explained  in 
Exodus  25:  10,  and  if,  according  to  Mr.  George 
von  Collin,  of  Hanover,-  it  might  have  been 
derived  from  decorative  paintings  on  chests 
brought  to  America  by  emigrants  in  the  18th 
century,  no  such  chest  or  painting  has  been 
found. 


family  of  ch  t 'rcn.  He  was  Sheriff  of  Germantown  in  1702,  con 
cerned  with  Tho.mas  Rutter  (the  first  ironmaster  of  Pcnnsyl- 
van  a),  and  a  co.npany.  in  bull  I  ng  Colebrookdale  Furnace  in 
1720,  was  sharehol'Ier  and  probably  manager  at  Colebrookdale 
after  Rutter's  death  in  1718.  partner  at  the  rebui)  I  ng  cf  the 
furnace  in  1731  to  1736,  and  foin:Ier  of  Mt.  Pleasant  Furnace  in 
1738.  but  could  not  be  the  person  referred  to  on  the  plate,  since 
ht  died  at  Ccl:brookdale  in  1752,  six  years  before  the  plate  was 
cast  (when  in  an  inventory  of  his  will  ?ix  stoves  and  some  odJ 
plates,   valued   at   20   pounds,   arc   ment  oned). 

Neither  is  it  probable  that  the  p:rson  h.re  referred  to  Is 
2.  Thomas  Potts,  son  of  John  Potts,  born  at  Colebrookdale  in 
1735  and  who  died  in  1785.  In  1757  this  Thomas  married  hi\ 
cousin  Rebecca  Nutt.  heiress  of  part  of  the  Nutt  iron  proprrty 
on  French  Creek.  Chester  County.  Pa.,  after  which  he  man- 
aged Coventry  Forge  on  buying  out  the  interest  of  Robert 
Grace.  He  was  an  orig  nal  member  of  the  American  Ph  lo- 
sophical  Society  in  17^8,  lived  at  a  house  called  Pcttsgrove,  near 
Pottstown,  was  a  member  of  Assembly  for  Philadelphia  in  1775. 
a  Colonel  of  the  American  Army  in  the  Revolutionary  War, 
concerned  in  the  dit;covery  and  utilizat  on  of  anthracite  coal 
about  1784,  in  the  Pennsylvania  Legslature  in  1785,  died  in 
1785,  and  was  buried  at  the  family  graveyard  at  Coventry.  But 
because  Samuel  Flower,  whose  name  and  nitials  appear  in  1756 
and  1 764  en  stove  plates  cast  at  Redding  Furnace  (associated 
with  Coventry  Forge  nearby),  namely.  Figures  96.  156  and  160, 
was  no  doubt  manager  of  Redding  in  1758,  and  because  John 
Potts,  Senior,  or  h  s  sons  John  and  Samuel,  and  not  Thomas, 
were  managing  Warwick  Furnace  in  1758.  and  because  the 
initials  I.  P.  and  S.  P.,  for  John  and  Samuel  Potts,  appear  on 
the  plate.  Figure  108.  dated  1758.  probably  cast  at  Warwick, 
we  may  infer  that  th  s  Thomas  Potts — who  would  have  made 
the  plate  either  at  Redding  or  at  Warwick,  if  at  all,  had  nothing 
to  do  with   it,  but  that  it  was  cast  rather  by 

3.  Thomas  Potts,  son  of  (1)  Thomas  Potts,  the  Welsh  an- 
cestor, and  uncle  of  (2),  born  about  1721.  and  died  in  176?. 
This  Thomas  Potts  was  brother  of  John  Potts,  the  founder  of 
Pottstown.  and  after  1752  may  have  inherited  a  share  of  Mt. 
Pleasant  Furnace  from  his  father.  But  having  married  in  1742 
Rebecca  Rutter,  heiress  of  part  of  the  Rutter  property  at  Cole- 
brookdale, many  of  his  interests  lay  at  the  latter  furnace,  of 
which  he  was  a  shareholder  in  1742,  and  two-thirds  owner  in 
1752  at  his  father's  death.  Because  the  plate  would  not  probably 
have  been  cast  at  Redding  or  Warwick  Furnace  by  one  named 
Thomas  Potts,  in  1758,  and  because  Colebrookdale  Furnace 
was  and  Mt.  Pleasant  furnace  may  have  been  in  blast  in  1758, 
and  the  former  then  managed  by  thU  Thomas  Potts  and  his 
brother-in-law,  Thoir-as  Rutter,  whose  name  is  on  the  Colebrook- 
dale plate.  Figure  115,  of  the  same  year,  we  infer  that  this  plat* 
was  cait  either  at  Mt.  Pleasant  or  Colebrookdale  furnace,  by 
the    Thomas    Potts   in   question. 

Whoever  designed  Figure  111  followed  very  closely  th- 
whole  upper  panel  of  the  Treasure  plate  of  Jahn  Pot.  Figure 
113,  but  he  did  not  reproduce  it  by  re-casting  from  the  same 
model.  Otherwise,  the  variance  in  the  fluting  of  the  flower 
pots,  wheat  sheaves,  column  twists  and  heart  in  the  aureole, 
v.ould  not  appepar.  The  two  plates  indicate  two  wood  carvings 
made    from   one   design   or   drawing,    probably   by   the   same    hand. 

The  Popadickon  (Pottsgrove)  and  Mt. 
Pleasant  ledgers  in  1743-4-5  speak  of  "Carved 
Stoves,"  which  may  refer  to  this  pattern,  but 
whatever  furnace  first  produced  it,  it  was 
immediately  adopted,  though  never  recast,  by 
rival  furnaces,  and  although  it  might  have 
been  easy  to  make  a  new  stove  from  an  old 
one  by  reproducing  the  iron  original,  no  evi- 
dence of  such  pilfering  or  plagiarism  has  yet 


78 


for  the  two  ironmasters,  Thomas  and  John  Potts,  as  brothers 
owning  neighboring  furnaces,  rather  than  that  one  carving  was 
altered    by    re-piecing   and    used   twice. 

F  gure  111,  in  possession  of  Mr.  J.  L.  Heacock,  August 
23.  1910.  was  found  by  him  at  the  Heacock  far.-n  in  Rockhill 
Township,  near  Rich  Hill.  Bucks  County,  Pa.  Figure  1 12  was 
bought  by  the   writer  at   a   junk  yard   in    Pottstown   in    1909. 


other  five-plate  stove  inscription  yet  seen,  except  in  the  Ger- 
man plates.  Figures  20.  22,  in  Figures  31  and  38  of  possible 
German   make,   and    F  gure   98. 

The  plate  was  bought  at  Boons  antique  store,  in  Potts- 
town. in  1907.  Left  replica.  Hon.  S.  W.  Pennypacker.  at 
Schwenksville.  Right  repKca.  Ccl.  H.  D.  Paxson,  Holicong. 
Pa..  June.    1911. 


113. 

Treasure  of  Jaliii  Pot. 

Right  plate.    Size.  H.  235/4  x  W.  26.     B.   H.  S. 

The  typical  floral  pattern,  double  canopy,  twisted  columns, 
flower  pots,  tulips,  grain  sheaf,  eight  pomt  stars,  chequered 
lozenges,  pendant  scallops  and  aureole  with  sheep  legs  on  the 
left. 

Tul'ps  sprout  from  the  letters  A.  H.  N.  and  O.  in  the 
name  lAHN.  POT.  (for  John  Potts),  probably  the  founder  of 
Pottstown  (not  Pottsville),  born  1710,  d.ed  1762.  and  long 
ironmaster  at  Warwick  Furnace,  where  the  plate  was  probably 
cast  about  1758  (see  Figure  110).  The  inscription  from  the 
Sermon  on  the  Mount,  Matt.  6-21,  Luke  12-34.  in  Luther'i 
Bible,  WO.  EUER.  SCHAZ.  1ST.  DA.  1ST.  "Where  your 
treasure    is,    there    is "    fills    the    central    cartouche. 

No  front  plate  has  yet  been  found  to  complete  the  cele- 
brated sentence  with  the  words  AUCH.  EUER.  HERZ.  "Also 
your  heart,"  as  also  in  the  ca  e  of  the  side  plate.  Figure  103. 
where  the  Treasure  legend,  "For  where  your  treasure  is  there 
will    your   heart    be   aho.'"   likewise    appears    incomplete. 

The  unexplained  letter  V,  placed  within  the  heart  of  the 
aureole,  has  no  counterpart  in  the  whole  collection,  save  in 
the  case  of  the  Huber  plate.  Figure  95.  On  the  other  hand, 
the   round-based   U.   in  the  word    EUER.   does   not  appear   on   any 

appeared.  All  the  illustrations  shown,  though 
alike  in  composition,  vary  in  details,  showing 
that  the  same  pattern  did  not  appear  year  after 
year  with  changed  date,  as  in  Germany,  and 
that  the  designs  were  not  stolen  or  patched 
together,  but  invariably  cast  from  original 
patterns  carved  for  the  occasion. 

No  proof  has  yet  appeared  that  any  of  the 
five-plate  stoves,  however  decorated,  which, 
as  explained  before,  were  made  in  three  sizes, 
ever   showed   the   same   design   in   more   than 


114. 
Company  of  I.  P* 

S'ze.    H.    23^4    X    W.    19.      Berks    County    Historical    Society. 

Found  by  Mr.  B.  F.  Owen  in  an  old  house  in  Millbach  in 
Berks  County,  Pa.,  in  1910.  The  rust  has  almost  obliterated 
the  aureole  and  details  of  the  familiar  floral  pattern,  with  the 
words  UND.  COMPAGNL  and  the  initials  I.  P.,  probably 
standing   for  John   Potts,   the   ironmaster,    in  the   lower  medallion. 

As  John  Potts  (born  1710,  died  at  Pottsgrove,  1768),  son 
of  Thomas  Potts,  was  share  owner  or  manager  not  only  at 
Warwick,  but  also  at  Pottsgrove  and  Mount  Pleasant  Furnaces, 
this  plate  could  not  certainly  be  ascribed  to  Warwick,  but  it  is 
the  only  instance  yet  found  in  which  John  Potts  follows  the 
example  of  St'egel.  Huber  and  Flower,  in  substituting  an 
advertisement  for  the  usual  relig  ous  inscription  on  the  central 
cartouche. 


one  size;  neither  does  it  appear  that  any  of 
the  stoves  were  furnished  with  heat-retaining 
or  smoke-conducting  upper  stories  of  iron  or 
brick,''  and  with  the  exceptions  noted  at 
Nazareth,  Pennsylvania  and  Winston-Salem, 
North  Carolina  (see  Figures  227  and  228),  no 
tile  stove  or  loose  stove  tiles  or  potters'  stove 
tile  moulds,  or  other  evidences  have  appeared 
to  show  that  the  colonists  ever  made  these 
stoves  after  the  old  familiar  European  fashion 
of  tiles  brick  or  wattles  smeared  with   clay. 


79 


115- 

Xlioiiias  Rutter  of  1758. 

Front  plate  of  jaiib  stove.  Size,  H,  24  x  W.  20.  Pennsylvania 
Museum.  Fairmount  Park,  Philndelphia.  Pa..  Museum  No..  13-61. 
The  treatment  of  the  date,  1758,  appearing  in  the  medallion, 
and  cf  the  floral  canopies  with  their  aureole  in  the  upper  panel, 
suggests  the  handiwork  of  the  carver  of  the  Tho.-nas  Potts  plate 
of  17:8.  Figure  111.  and  the  William  Bird  plate.  Figure  35. 
/  U  three  show  a  wheat  sheaf  in  the  heart  of  the  aureole.  Here 
the  name  of  the  ironmaster  THOMAS  ROTTER  indicates  that 
the  plate  was  cast  at  Colebrookdale  Furnace,  under  the  manage- 
ment of  Thomas  Rutter  who  in  this  case  has  abandoned  the 
religious  inscription  of  the  central  cartouche  for  an  advertise- 
ment  of  his   own   name. 


ii6. 
The  Eyes  of  the  I^ord. 

Size.    H.    23^2    x    W.    26. 


with  the  emblematic  aureole  set  not  in  the  left  canopy,  but  in 
the  right.  The  rusty  inscription.  DIE.  AUGEN.  DES. 
HERRN.,  "The  eyes  of  the  Lord."  from  Psalms  34;  )6  in 
L-Jlher's  Bible,  is  probably  continued  by  the  obliterated  word 
SCHAUEN  and  the  final  worJs  AUF.  DIE.  GERECHTEN.. 
cent  nued  on  the  lost  front  plate.  "The  eyes  of  the  Lord  are 
upon   the   righteous." 

In  a  much-rusted  medallion  b;low.  the  name  Thomas  pla  nly 
appears,  either  for  Thomas  Potts,  or  more  probably  Tho-nas 
Rutter,  because  of  the  isolated  R.  no  doubt  stand  ng  for  Rutter. 
m  the  upper  left  canopy,  and  though  the  rest  of  the  inscription 
on  the  medallion  is  rusted  beyond  decipherment,  there  can  be 
little  doubt  but  that  the  plate,  like  Figure  US,  was  cast  at  Cole- 
brockdale    Furnace. 

Figure  112  is  inscr  bed  Thomas  Potts,  and  dated  1758.  Ai 
we  suggeste:!.  it  may  have  been  cast  at  Mout  Pleasant  or  Colc- 
brookdal-.  If  at  the  latter,  here  we  have  another  plate,  prob- 
ably cast  at  the  saiie  furnace  in  the  ramc  year  for  Thonas 
Rutter.  a  co  ncidence  cxplaine-l  by  the  fact  that  Rutter  was 
Thomas  Potts'  brother-in-law  and  that  the  two  relatives  might 
have  been   managing   the   furnace  together  in   the  year   1758. 

Thc.mas  Rutter  appears  thus  a^ain  on  Figure  115,  which 
also  may  be   ascribed   to   Colcbrookd.ile    Furnace. 


Col.    H. 


Left  plate  of  five-plate  stove. 
D.    Paxson.    Holicong.    Pa. 

Here   we   have   another   floral   pattern    of   the    usual   type,   but 


117. 

The  Masters  of  Martic. 

Right  plate.  Size  W.  26  x  H.  23';.  Col.  H.  D.  Paxson.  Holi- 
cong.   Pa. 

There  can  be  no  question  that  this  plate,  with  its  rusty  left 
replica.  F  gi're  118.  and  the  front  plate.  Figure  138.  all  three 
of  which  came  into  the  possession  of  Col.  Paxson  together.  for.Ti 
parts  cf  one  and  the  sa^ne  stove.  The  familiar  quotation  from 
Fsal.-ns  65-10.  GOTES.  BRYNLEIN.  HAT..  'God's  well  hath  "— 
fillirg  the  central  cartouche,  is  completed  on  Figure  138.  but 
the  in  tials  MC.  TS.  WS.  WB.  SW.  in  the  lower  medallion, 
remained  for  some  t  me  inexplicable,  until  finally  explained  by 
Mr.    B.    F.    Owen    in    1910.      He    having    found    by    analogy    with 

Figures  134  and  152.  153  and  164.  that  the  letters  MC.  stood 
for  Martic.  learned  in  the  records  of  Berks  County  that  Marti: 
Furnace,  built  in  1754  by  the  brothers  Thomas  and  Willam 
Smith,  was.  in  ITEO  (the  date  of  the  front  plate.  Figure  138), 
owned  by  them,  together  with  William  Benet.  for  WB,.  and 
Samuel  Webb,  of  Maryland,  for  SW.,  with  Ferguson  Mcllvaine 
as  furnace  manager,  the  latter  three  having  bought  their  shares 
in  1760.  Notwithstanding  the  omisson  of  Mcllvaine's  initials, 
this  seems  conclusive. 

A  replica  in  possession  of  the  Berks  County  Historical 
Society  at  Reading  was  found  by  Mr.  B.  F.  Owen  in  1910.  in 
an    old    house    in    Berks    County.    Pa.      A    broken    frag.ment    (the 


80 


1X8. 

lower  left  corner)  of  a  left  replica  was  in  possession  (1912)  of 
Mr.  D.  B.  Landis,  cf  Lancaster,  Pa.  (Information  of  Mr.  A.  C. 
Hostetter.i 


119. 

Stieg:el  of  1758. 

Right  plate.  Size,  H.  26  x  W.  28  inches.  Mr.  G.  H.  Banner. 
Manheim.  Pa.  The  broad  margin  to  the  right  has  been  cut  off 
in    the    photograph. 

Much  has  been  written  of   H.   W.    Stiegel.   sometimes  called 
Baron    Stiegel,     founder    of     Manheim.     Pennsylvania     (upon    the 

DECADENCE    IN    DESIGN    AND    ABAN- 
DONMENT OF  JAMB  STOVES. 

With  the  advent  of  the  new  floral  pattern 
a  change  appears  in  the  significance  of  the 
plates.  The  carving  is  better,  but  the  re- 
ligious spirit  previously  universal,  occasionally 
yields  to  worldliness.  Though  quotations  from 
Scripture    frequently    appear    on    the    central 


rectangular  model  of  Rhenish  Manheim).  constructor  of  its 
glass  works  and  i-nporter  cf  its  glass  painters,  builder  of  its 
"castle,"  master  of  its  furnace,  donor  of  lind  to  its  Lutheran 
church  (according  to  his  deed,  "For  one  red  rose  in  the  month 
of  June,  given  to  me,  or  my  heir=.  forever  when  lawfully  de- 
manded"), energetic  and  lavish  benefactor,  shipwrecked  in- 
vestor,  ru  ned   prisoner   for   debt. 

Stiegel,  who  was  probably  born  at  Cologne,  and  was  prob- 
ably not  a  baron  (infor  riation  of  Mr.  Luth-r  W.  Kelker,  his 
descendant.  Harrisburg,  Pa.,  1910),  arrived  in  America  in  the 
ship  "Nancy,"  from  Rotterdam,  in  1750  (old  style),  and  after 
marrying  the  daughter  of  Johann  (Hans)  Jacob  Hubtr,  ownT 
cf  Elzabeth  Furnace  on  Mid-lie  Creek.  Lancaster  County,  Pa., 
bought  the  furnace,  with  Charles  Steadman  and  Alexander 
Stead  man.  of  Philad:lph-a  (who  was  also  marr'ed  to  an  Eliza- 
beth),  as   partners,   in    1757- 

Of  the  group  of  dated  plates  of  five-,  six-  and  ten-plate 
stoves  herewith  shown,  inscr  bed  w  th  his  name,  this  pUte,  cast 
the  year  after  he  became  ironmaster  at  Elizabeth  Furnace,  is 
the  earliest  yet  found.  The  inscription  clearly  reads  (n  the 
upper  panel)  H.  WHELM.  STIEGEL.  UND.  (in  the  cartouche) 
COMPAGNL  FOR.  ELIZABETH.,  and  in  the  lower  medallion 
the   date    1758. 

Although  this  plate,  with  a  double  canopy,  aureole,  tulips, 
cartouche  and  date  medall  on.  presents  the  usual,  familiar  tulip 
pattern,  several  unique  details  strike  us.  No  other  plate  in  the 
whole  collection  has  removed,  as  here,  the  legs,  whether  as 
darts  or  sheep,  from  the  aureole,  or,  as  here,  sprouted  tulips 
from  the  shafts  of  the  coluTns,  and  no  other  plate  except  Fig- 
ures 116,  cast  for  Thomas  Rutter,  and  121,  cast  also  for  Stiegel, 
shows  the  ai:reole  in  the  right   canopy  instead   of  the   left. 

Furthermore.  Stiegel,  like  Amos  Geret.  in  Figure  93.  and 
Jahn  Pot.  in  Figure  89,  places  h  s  name  in  full  in  the  back- 
ground of  the  pattern  under  the  canopy. 

We  have  advertisements  in  Germany  on  stove  plates  of  a 
hundred  vears  earlier,  and  Flower's  plate.  Figure  94,  and  the 
I.  P.  plate.  Figure  114.  are  devoted  to  advertisements  in 
America.  Figure  89  also  shows  that  Huber.  Stiegels"  father-- 
in-law  and  predecessor  at  Elizabeth  Furnace,  had.  as  above 
noted,  abandoned  the  religious  inscr'ption.  which  had  invariably 
rrarked  the  five-plate  stove  from  the  beginning,  but  the  old 
German  plates  had  retained  the  religious  motive  together  with 
the  advertisement.  Flower  and  Pott  had  repeated  it  abundantly 
on  other  plates,  and  whether  Ruber,  in  whose  name  we  have 
but  a  single  plate,  ever  used  a  religious  pattern  or  not,  it  is  a 
remarkable  fact  that  Stiegel  has  cast  no  religious  inscriptions 
on  any  of  his  plates  herewith  shown,  but  has  invariably  sub- 
stituted an  advertisement  of  Elizabeth  Furnace,  or  of  h"s  own 
name  in  large  letters,  in  the  date  medallion,  decorated  back- 
ground,   or    upon    the    cartouche    itself. 

Though  the  inscriptions  on  the  five-plate  stoves  remain  in 
German  to  the  last,  and  though  we  may  bel-eve  that  in  general 
the  English  ironmasters  employed  German  pattern  carvers,  and 
left  the  mottoes  and  patterns  to  the  taste  of  the  latter,  without 
gving  much  thought  to  the  subject,  Stiegel,  himself  a  German, 
possibly  preceded  by  Huber,  another  German,  seems  to  havr* 
invariably  interfered  with  the  pious  hand  of  the  workman  to 
introduce  an  eccentric  change  and  abolish  religion  for  adver- 
tisement. 


cartouche,  the  inscriptions,  still  always  in  Ger- 
man, archaic,  frequently  abbreviated,  phoneti- 
cally spelled,  sometimes  inexplicable,  and 
often  substituting  English  words  for  their 
German  equivalents,  occasionally  show  adver- 
tisements in  full  of  the  names  of  furnaces, 
which  though  previously  appearing  in  Ger- 
many had  thus  far  been  unknown  in  America. 


81 


I20. 

Stiejjel  of  1758- 

Left    pl3te    of    ja-nb    stove.      Size.    H.    24    x    W.    26.      Co»     H.    D. 
Pax  son,    Holicong,    Pa. 

Above  the  date,  1758,  in  the  lower  medallion,  the  broken 
inscr  pticn  filling  the  central  cartouche  and  probably  continue i 
on  the  missing  front  plate.  HENRICH.  WILHELM.  STI 
omits  the  final  syllable  of  the  much-advertised  name  of  the 
ironmaster. 

As  suggested  before,  the  letter  V  inserted  in  the  heart  of 
the  aureole  on  this  plate,  occurring  on  the  Huber  plate  of  175S, 
Figure  95.  and  the  Jan  Pott  plate.  Figure  113.  and  appearin:; 
always  in  the  same  place,  may  stand  for  the  unknown  name  of 
a   mould   carver. 

The  very  rusty  Figure  106  is  undoubtedly  a  right  replica 
of   this    plate. 


121. 
H.  IfVillielni  Stiesrel. 

Left  plate.     Size,  H.  2334  x  W.  2534-     Col.   H.  D.  Paxson.  Holi- 
cong.  Pa. 


This    plate    is    remarkable    as    a    copy    of    the    floral    pattern. 

Figure  122.  with  eccentric  variations.  We  have  Sticgel's  adver 
tisement  in  the  central  cartouche.  IN.  COfWBANGNI.  VOR. 
ELISA.,  "In  co.Tpany  for  Eliza."  with  the  words  BETH. 
VORNES..  "Beth  Furnace."  cont  nued  on  the  broken  front 
plate.  Figure  126,  and  the  naiie  H.  W.  HELM.  STIGCHELS.. 
H.  Wilhel."n  Stiegcl,  in  the  lower  medallion. 

Thus  far  the  plate  appears  to  be  a  recast  of  Figure  122. 
but  on  close  comparison  we  find  that  the  bases  of  the  columns 
here  panelled  lack  panels  in  Figure  122,  that  the  initials  I.  B. 
under  the  canopy  in  Figure  122  arc  h;rc  absent,  that  the 
lozenge  in  Figure  122.  within  the  heart  of  the  aureole,  is  here 
replaced  by  a  star,  and  that  the  two  smaller  tulips  branching 
from  the  base  of  the  heart  of  the  aureole  present  in  this  plate 
are  absent  in  the  other.  Furthermore,  the  upper  construction 
of  the  vaults,  loops,  canopy,  tulips  and  lozenges,  though  gener- 
ally similar,  shows  variations,  while  as  a  remarkable  exception 
in  the  typical  arrangement  of  the  floral  pattern  the  aureole 
appear  ng  as  usual  in  the  left  canopy  in  Figure  122  has  here 
been    placed    by   Stiegel    in   the   right. 

The  plate  signifies  no  more  nor  less  than  Figure  122,  and 
why  Stiegel  went  to  the  expense  of  having  two  patterns  carved 
where    one    would    have    sufficed,    remains    unexplained. 


123. 

I.  B.  Sties:el  Plate. 

Right  plate.      Size.   W.   25   x   H.   21    inches.      Senate   House.    King 
ston-on- Hudson.    New    York.    1910. 

In  the  background  of  the  usual  floral  pattern  and  between 
the  tu'ips  of  the  right  canopy,  the  in  tials  I.  B.  appear,  beneath 
which  the  inscript  on  IN.  COMBANGNI.  VOR.  ELISA.  H. 
W.  HELM.  STIGCHELS..  "In  company  for  Elisa  H.  Wilhelm 
Stiegel,"    fills    the    cartouche    and    medallion. 

This  plate  was  cast  in  1760,  as  its  companion  front  plate 
so  dated,  found  with  it,  and  complet  ng  the  inscription  with  the 
words    BETH.    VORNES.,    see    Figure    126.    proves. 

Here  again,  as  in  his  Figure  119,  Stiegel  abandons  the 
usual  religious  motto  and  devotes  the  entire  inscription,  as 
Samuel  Flower  did  on  Figure  94.  in  1754,  to  an  advertisement 
of  himself  and  his  furnace. 

If  the  initials  I.  B..  clearly  appearing  on  the  background 
under  the  right  canopy,  had  referred  to  the  pattern  carver, 
they  would  hardly  have  been  deliberately  erased  in  the  left 
replica.    Figure    123.   as   they  appear   to   have   been,   and    because 


82 


123* 

a  sinilar  erasure  of  the  same  in  tials  appears  on  another  Stiegtl 
left  plate.  Figure  125,  we  rr.ay  rather  refer  them  to  sO-Tie  original 
partner  at   Elizabeth,  who  had  resigned  from  the  firm. 


124. 

Replicas  have  appeared  as  follows:  (1)  Right,  from  an  old 
house  at  Millbach.  found  and  photographed  by  Mr.  B.  F.  Owen 
in    1910.      (2)    Left,   ditto.      Figure    123,    Bucks   County    Historical 


Stiegel  abandoned  the  religious  motto  on 
the  central  cartouche  altogether.  So  did 
Huber  at  Elizabeth  Furnace.  Samuel  Flower 
at  Redding  Furnace  and  several  of  the  Potts 
iron  masters  place  their  full  names  or  initials 
in  the  upper  canopies,  or  the  lower  medallion, 
and  numerous  initials  often  unidentified, 
standing    for    the    iron    masters     or    carvers, 


Society.  (3)  Left,  Bucks  County  Historical  Society,  Figure 
124,  bought  by  the  writer  at  Boone's,  at  Pottstown,  1908.  (4) 
Left,  Mr.   H.  K.  Deisher,   Kutztown,   Pa.,   1914,   Figure  125. 


126. 

Frag;nieiit  of  Front  Plate. 

Size.    H.    14    X    W.    15.      Senate    House,    Kingston-on-Hudson. 

Above  the  medallion,  showing  the  date  1760,  the  words 
BETH.  VORNES.  upon  the  cartouche,  continuing  the  inscrip- 
tion.   IN.    COMBANGNI.    VOR.    ELISA.,    identify    the    plate    as 

appear  on  the  floral  plates  during  the  period  of 
the  last  record  of  their  manufacture.  ' 

The  Potts  manuscripts  show  that  five- 
plate,  or  jamb  stoves,  continued  to  be  cast  or 
sold  at  Pottsgrove  in  1768,  and  the  ledger  of 
William  Smith,  stove  dealer  in  Lancaster 
County,  and  once  owner  of  Martic  Furnace, 
notes  the  sale  of  them  in  1765,  after  the  bank- 


83 


the  companion  to  Figure  122,  with  which  it  is  associated  at 
Kingston,  arri  although  the  inscription  would  serve  as  well  for 
Figure  121.  the  fact  that  the  square  base  of  the  twisted  colunn 
of  Figure  121  is  here  missing,  classes  the  plate  rather  with 
Figure    122. 

Three  dents  on  the  column  look  like  the  countersunk  cav- 
ities for  nail  heads,  which  the  mouldmaker  had  neglected  to 
fill   in  with  clav,  putty  or  mastic. 

If  Dr.  Sieling  had  seen  this  front  plate  he  would  not  have 
asserted  in  his  paper  noticed  in  note  99.  that  these  inscriptions, 
reading 

UND  COMPAGNI.  VOR.  ELIZABETH,  and 
IN.   COMBANGNI.   VOR.   ELISA.. 

see  Figures  119.  121.  125  and  126.  were  cast  by  Stiegel  in 
griev  ng  memory  of  his  deceased  wife.  Stiegel  and  his  com- 
pany, then  Alexander  and  Charles  Stead -nan.  thus  appear,  not 
in  rr.ourn'ng  for  Elizabeth  Huber.  but  in  an  advertisement  of 
partnersh  p  for  Elizabeth  Furnace,  as  the  last  word  VORNES. 
proves.  The  same  error  appears  in  Forges  and  Furnaces,  by 
the    Colonial    Dames.    Philadelphia,    1914.    page    121. 


127. 

Henricti  Willielni  Klizaneth  Plate. 

Left  plate.      Size,    H.   23'2    x  W.   25'2.      Bucks   County    Historical 
Society. 

Here  again,  as  in  Flower's  plate.  Figure  94.  advertisement 
excludes  religion.  In  the  central  cartouche,  under  the  floral 
pattern  with  its  domed  canop  es.  aureole,  flower  pot,  lozenges, 
wheat  sheaves  and  tulips,  we  have,  not  the  usual  B.blical  motto, 
but  the  name  of  the  ironmaster.  HEINRICH.  WILHELM.. 
for  Henry  William  Stiegel.  ironmaster  at  Elizabeth  Furnace  in 
1757. 

The  ruins  of  El  zabeth  Furnace,  near  Brinkersville.  on  Fur- 
nace Run,  northwest  branch  of  Middle  Creek,  a  tributary  of 
Conestoga  Creek,  in  Lancaster  County,  Pa.,  mark  the  spot 
where  the  once  celebrated  iron  works  were  founded,  accord.ng 
to  Pearse.  in  1756.  and  according  to  Swank,  in  1 750.  by  John 
or  Hans  Jacob  Huber,  who.  Swank  says,  adorned  its  smoke- 
stack  with   the   rhyme   described    under    Figure    95  : 

"Johan   Huber.   der  erste   Deutsche   Mann 
Der  das   Eisenwerk  Vollfuren   Kann." 

Stiegel,  who  was  probably  born  at  Cologne,  and  was  prob- 
ably   not    a    baron    (information    of    Mr.    Luther    W.    Kelker.    his 


descendant.  Harrisburg,  Pa..  1910),  arrived  in  America  in  the 
ship  "Nancy."  fro.n  Rotterdam,  in  1750.  old  style,  and  after 
n-arrying  Huber's  daughter.  Elizabeth,  bought  the  furnace,  with 
Charles  Steadman  and  Alexander  Stead. r.an.  of  Philadelphia 
(who  was  also  married  to  an  Elizabeth),  as  partners,  in  1757. 

The  statements  in  Ellis  and  Evans'  History  of  Lancaster 
County  (Ph.ladelphia.  Everts  and  Peck,  1883.  page  303).  that 
Stiegel  made  the  first  wood-burning  stove  in  the  province;  that 
it  was  a  six-plate  stove,  and  that  the  latter  was  built  in  thi 
wall  and  heated  two  rooms,  are  wrong  and  confusing ;  neither 
have  we  found  any  evidence  to  prove  that  the  book  is  correct 
in  asserting  that  Stiegel  introduced  or  invented  the  ten-plate 
stove,  which  Figure  179  shows  that  the  ironmaster,  George 
Ross,  had  cast  in  1765.  and  wh  ch  Figure  185  proves,  had  long 
before  existed  in  Holland.  Unfortunately,  no  ten-plate  stove- 
plate  with  the  rhyme,  in  the  style  of  the  smokestack  rhyme  of 
his    father-in-law. 

"Baron    Stiegel    ist   der    Mann, 
Der   die   Oefen   machen   kann." 
which,    according    to    Swank,    page    179.    was    set    above    the    oven 
doer,   has   yet   appeared.      Mr.    Danner's   stove.    Figure    182,    cast 
for   Stiegel   and   lacking   this   rhyme,    is   dated    1769. 

A  noticeable  feature  in  the  pattern  is  the  fact  that  the 
sheep  heads  in  the  aureole  have  disappeared  to  give  place  t J 
elongated  necks  ending  in  lozenge  shaped  darts,  and  that  the 
whole  aureole  takes  a  form  which,  with  similar  details,  soon 
after  appears  on  several  six  plate  stoves,  and  has  led  us  to  sup- 
pose, for  the  reasons  given  under  F  gure  160,  that  the  Samu-1 
Flower.  Carlisle,  Curtis  Grubb  and  Eschew  Ev  1  plates.  Figures 
160.   162.  163  and  159.  have  been  made  by  the  same  carver. 

The  words  ELIZABETH  FURNACE  fill  the  lower  medal- 
lion, where  the  word  FURNACE,  which  replaced  the  German 
wcrd  Eisenhutten  in  Pennsylvania  and  was  generally  spelled 
phonetically  FORNEC  or  VORNES,  is  here  spelled  in  the 
English    manner   correctly. 


\  W)-  'sy 


/ 


ZiiliitXUi  ■;.'..,. U-f...v/  :M^  J 


128. 

stiegel  and  K. 

Front  of  Jamb    Stove.      Size,   W.    21 'i    x    H.    23' i.      Mr.    H.    K. 
Deisher,    Kutztown,    Pa-,    November    21.    1913. 


84 


Because  the  inscription  on  the  central  cartouche  of  thi:; 
plate,  STIGGEL.  UND.  K.  (Steigel  und  Kompagnie).  which 
is  the  second  companion  jamb  stove  front  thus  far  found,  made 
by  Stiegel,  continues  the  advertiseTient  begun  on  the  side  plate, 
Figure  127,  and  because  all  the  details  in  the  aureole,  heart, 
dart-headed  sheep,  twisted  columns,  flower  pots,  tulips  and  soffit 
ornaments  are  similar  in  style,  we  must  suppose  that  it  is  the 
long  m*ss  ng  front  to  the  latter,  notwithstanding  the  ten-pointed 
stars  under  the  arches,  absent  on  the  other  pattern.  The  broken 
lower  fragment  of  the  plate  preserved,  set  together  and  photo- 
graphed by  Mr.  Deisher,  shows  the  latest  date  (1765)  yet  found 
upon   a   jamb   stove. 

The  only  other  jamb  stove  front  in  the  collection  made  by 
Steigel   is   the   fragment,    Figure    126,   dated    1760. 


129* 

larb  Plate. 

Right  plate.  Sire,  H.  22  x  W.  24.  Bucks  County  Historical 
Society. 

Under  a  double  canopy  with  twisted  columns,  stand  two 
tulips  in  flower  pots,  balanced  with  e  ght  po  nt  stars  and  grain 
Bheaves  unexplained,  while  the  initials  I  ARE  fill  the  space 
midway  between  tuKp  and  columns.  The  inscription  from 
Psalms  65-10.  in  Luther's  Bible.  GOTTES.  BRINLEIN.  HAT.. 
"God's    well     hath,"     continued     in     the     words     WASER.     DIE. 

ruptcy  sale  of  Martic  Furnace.  The  last  plates 
of  a  five-plate  stove  in  the  collection  (Figures 
135  and  128)  are  dated  1763  and  1765.  respec- 
tively, and  this  brings  us  to  the  end  of  the 
manufacture  of  these  stoves  in  Pennsylvania, 
which  had  thus  lasted  about  forty-eight  years, 
or  from   1720  to    1768. 

During  this  time,  before  the  discovery  of 
American  coal,  or  the  appearance  of  cooking 
stoves,  when  all  cooking  was  done  in  the  open 
fire,  it  may  be  said  in  general  that  these  deco- 
rated iron  boxes  were  the  chief,  if  not  the  only, 
house-warming  stoves  existing  in  the  colonies. 


FILLE..  "Water  in  plenty."  on  the  front  plate.  Figure  131, 
fills  the  cartouche  above  the  lower  medallion.  The  latter  Is 
adorned    in   the   usual   way   and   encloses   the   date    1759. 

This  plate,  together  with  its  front.  Figure  132.  and  a 
duplicate  in  three  pieces  (Figure  1301,  together  with  several 
fragments  of  tops  and  bottoms  of  various  five-plate  stoves, 
placed  in  a  long  close  ser'es.  had  lain  across  two  parallel  rows 
of  flat  stones,  just  under  the  sod,  as  the  roof  of  a  pump  drain, 
in  the  front  yard  of  Mr.  Shirk's  far  nhouse  near  Lancaster.  Pa., 
where  the  writer  excavated  them  with  a  crowbar  on  January  11, 
1909.  In  the  following  August,  the  details  of  the  pattern,  badly 
rusted    on   the    front    plate.    Figure    132,    were    settled    by    the   dis- 


130. 

covery  of  another  pair  of  plates,  side  and  front  in  replica,  by 
Mr.  B.  F.  Owen,  at  Mr.  J.  E.  lUg's  old  house  at  Millbach,  in 
Lebanon  County,   Pa. 


Though  never  heard  of  among  the  English 
population  in  New  England  or  the  South,  there 
is  no  doubt  that  the  English  colonists  in 
Pennsylvania  frequently  used  them,  particu- 
larly in  Philadelphia  and  Germantown.  But 
the  inscriptions  were  nearly  always  in  German, 
(  See  figure  88-b )  and  they  appealed  chiefly  to 
the  German  colonists,  who  had  long  been  famil- 
iar with  them  in  Germany,  rather  than  to  the 
English  settlers,  who  had  never  heard  of  them 
in  England,  and  who  maintained  their  ancestral 
preference  for  the  open  fire. 

This  blaze  of  logs  upon  the  open  hearth, 
which,    with    the    superabundant    wood,    was 


85 


131. 
larb  Front  Plate. 

Size.   22   X    18.      Berks   County    Historical   Society. 

Two    flower    pots    with    tulips    under    a    double    canopy     oi 


13*. 

twisted  columns  balanced  with  diamonds  and  the  initials  lARB, 
The  cartouche  below  contains  the  end  of  the  inscription  from 
Psalms  65-10,  in  Luther's  Bible,  WASER.  DIE.  FILLE.. 
"Water  in  plenty."  begun  on  Figure  129.  Another  series  of 
initials.  C.  A.  W..  with  an  interplaccd  snaller  R.  balanced  with 
diamonds,  sprouting  tulips,  and  tulips  sprouting  from  the  A 
and    W,    fill    the   lower   medallion.      The    aureole    with    sheep    legs. 


so  common  on  the  other  floral  plates,  has  been  omitted,  and  the 
date  1759,  on  the  companion  side  plate,  marks  the  stove  as 
one  of  the  later  five  plate  stoves  cast.  No  evidence  has  ap- 
peared to  explain  the  meaning  of  the  initials  or  guess  whAn  or 
by  whom  the  stove  was  cast.  Figure  132  was  found  by  the 
writer  in  Dr.  Shirk's  gutter  with  its  fellow  Figure  129,  as  de- 
scribed under  the  former,  and  the  better  preserved  replica, 
F  gure  131,  was  rescued  by  Mr.  B.  F.  Owen  in  1910  from  the 
rubbish  of  Mr.  J.  E.  Illig's  old  house  near  Millbach,  Lebanon 
County.    Pa. 


133- 
William  Beiiet  of  Hellam. 

Left   plate.     Size,    H.    27   x   W.   2834.      Bucks    County    Historical 
Society. 

The  usual  fioral  pattern  with  double  canopy,  twisted  col- 
umns, aureole  with  dart-headed  sheep  legs,  flower  pots, 
chequered  lozenges,  stars,  grooved  pendants,  and  grain  sheaves, 
appears  above  the  inscription   from  Luther's   Bible,   Psal.-ns   1-1 : 

WOHL.  DEM.  DER.  NICHT.  WANDELT.,  continued 
with  the  words  IM.  RATHE.  DER.  GOTTLOSEN..  on  the 
companion  front  plate,  not  yet  found.  "Blessed  is  the  man 
that  walketh  not  (in  the  councils  of  the  ungodly.")  Below  in 
the  medallion,  flanked  with  the  invariable  flowering  hearts, 
appear  the  words  WILEM.  BENET.  H.  FURNACE.,  undoubt- 
edly meaning  "William  Bennett.  Hellam  Furnace."  There  was 
a  well-known  Hellam  Forge  on  the  south  side  of  Codorus  Creek, 
near  its  mouth  in  the  Susquehanna,  in  York  County,  Pa.,  built 
by  Willam  Bennett  in  1765.  but  the  obscure  and  probably 
short-lived  Hellam  Furnace  might  have  been  overlooked  by 
modern  writers  if  Mr.  G.  F.  Prowcll  had  not  informed  Mr. 
Swank  ( Iron  in  All  Ages,  page  212)  that  William  Bennett  had 
built   a   Hellam    Furnace   with   the   Forge   in    1765. 

We  know  from  the  Potts  manuscripts  and  from  William 
Smith's  ledger,  that  five-plate  stoves  were  sold  as  late  as  1768, 
but  if  Bennett,  who  was  part  owner  of  Mart  c  Furnace  about 
1759.  built  Hellam  in  1765.  then  this  plate,  necessarily  cast  at 
Hellam  then  or  later,  excluding  the  Stiegel  plate  of  1765.  Figure 
128.  may  be  the  latest  example  of  a  five-plate  stove  thus  far 
found. 

The  writer  saw  it  set  in  cement  in  the  yard  pavement  at 
Seventh  and  Kelker  streets.  Harrisburg.  in  1909.  where  its 
owner.  Mr.  E.  W.  Pathemore.  having  bought  it  about  1895  it 
Mastersonville.  Lancaster  County,  had  placed  it  along  with 
Figure  55. 


86 


iiS^% 


» 


'■^j^i^CTi^* 


134- 
M.  C.  Furnace  in  Laiicaj^ter. 

Right    Plate.      Size    H.   22^  2   x    W.   24.      Bucks    County    Historical 
Society. 

The  badly  rusted  plate,  dug  by  the  writer,  together  with 
two  other  plates  (Figures  100  and  132.  and  three  fragments  of 
Figure  153),  from  a  drain  at  Dr.  Shirk's  farm  near  Lancaster, 
on  January  11.  1909,  shows  the  usual  floral  pattern  with  double 
canopy,  twisted  columns,  sheaves,  lozenges,  flower  pot,  and 
aureole  with  sheep  legs   under  the  left  arch. 

Below,  the  rusted  inscription  in  the  central  cartouche  reads. 
KEST.  LICH.  DING.  This  was  for  so.Tie  time  undeciphered. 
until  Mr.  A.  K.  Hostetter  found  a  left  replica  in  possession  of 
Mr.  D.  B.  Landis,  near  Lancaster,  on  which  the  unrusted  let- 
ters clearly  read,  ES.  1ST.  EIN.  KESTLICH.  DING.  Kindly 
explained  by  Dr.  John  Bear  Stoudt,  of  Northampton.  Pa.,  as 
from  Psalms  92-2.  m  Luther's  Bible.  DAS  1ST  EIN  KOST- 
LICHES  DING  DEM  HERRN  DANKEN.  "It  is  a  good 
thing   to   give   thanks   unto  the    Lord." 

The  lower  medallion  is  filled  in  with  a  repetition  of  the  in- 
scription on  Figures  152  and  153.  namely,  M.  C.  FORNES.  IN. 
LANCT.  CT..  standing  for  "Martic  Furnace  in  Lancaster 
County."  This  decipherment  being  further  elucidated  by  the 
fragment.  Figure  164.  As  there  explained,  we  have  the  name 
of  Thomas  Smith,  known  to  have  been  ironmaster  at  Martic 
Furnace  (near  Martic  Forge,  founded  in  1751.  on  Pequea  Creek 
near  the  present  [1914]  Colemansville,  Lancaster  County), 
coupled  with  the  initials  M.  C.  E.,  meaning  probably  M.  C.  for 
Martic    and    E.    for    Eisenhutten    (Furnace). 

According  to  information  from  Mr.  B.  F,  Owen,  of  Read- 
ing. Martic  Furnace  was  built  in  1751  by  the  brothers  Thomas 
and  William  Smith,  descendants  of  several  other  Thomas  Smiths, 
original  land  owners  on  Beaver  Creek.  Lancaster  County.  Both 
brothers  were  Sheriffs  of  Lancaster  County.  Thomas  in  1752  to 
1756,  and  William  from  1758  to  1762.  When  the  latter  married 
he  moved  to  Earl  Township  in  1756.  and  held  his  partnership  in 
the  furnace  till  1760.  after  which  the  firm  became  bankrupt. 
Then  Martic  Furnace,  together  with  Martic  Forge,  four  miles 
away,  also  belonging  to  the  company,  was  advertised  by  Sheriff 
Webb's  sale  in  1769  (Swank.  188),  with  dwelling  house,  stores, 
counting  house,  coal  house,  eight  shops,  six  long  stables,  four 
bays  for  hay,  and  a  lot  of  pot  patterns,  flasks  and  stove  moulds, 
which  latter  are  unfortunately  not  described  in  the  advertise- 
ment quoted. 

Pearse  says  (Iron  Manufacture,  page  220)  that  James  Old 
had    Martic    Forge    in    1755,    and    Thomas    Smith,    James    Wallace 


and  James  Fulton  were  in  possession  in  1769  at  the  Sheriff's 
sale,  and  an  old  account  book  of  William  S.Tiith,  in  possession 
of  Mr.  Owen,  is  interesting  as  marking  the  date  of  sale  of 
some  of  the  latest  jamb  stoves  made  (undoubtedly  at  Martic) 
in  1765,  or  at  the  tixe  of  the  latest  dated  plate  herewith  illus- 
trated, as  follows,  namely :  One  middl  ng  five-plate  stove  sold 
in  1760  at  three  pounds  ten,  one  small  ditto  in  1765  at  three 
pounds,  two  small  ditto,  1765,  at  five  pounds;  three  large  ditto 
in  1765  at  ten  pounds  ten,  together  with  a  large  six-plate  stove 
in  1767  at  five  pounds  two-and-six.  another  large  ditto  in  1769, 
and  a  large  ditto  to  a  meeting  houss  in  1766  at  four  pounds  two- 
and-six. 

Martic  was  in  existence  in  1793,  but  not  active,  and  in 
1890  nothing  but  an  old  cinder  bank  marked  its  site  (Swank, 
183). 


Ood's  Sliield. 

Front    plate    of    jamb    stove-      Size.    W.    I834    x    H,    22. 


Valentine    B.    Lee.   Oak    Lane.    Philadelphia.    Pa. 
from   a    storekeeper    at    Frederick.    Pa. 


Mr. 


Bought   by   him 


136. 

Nothing    unusual    appears    in    the    flower    pots,    tulips    and 
canopy    of    this    familar    floral    pattern    so    frequently    described, 


87 


but  the  aureole  is  without  counterpart  in  the  entire  collection, 
as  altcg;ther  lacking  the  sheep  legs,  for  whch  leaf-scrolls  and 
Iczenges    have    been    substituted. 

If  the  plate  represents  the  front  of  a  jamb  stove,  rather 
than  the  rear  of  a  six  plate  stove,  its  date.  1763,  in  the  lower 
medallion,  is.  w  th  one  exception,  the  latest  thus  far  found  on 
a  ja-r.b  stove.  Here  the  very  legible  broken  inscription,  which 
begins  the  paragraph.  Psalms  7.  11.  in  Luther's  Bible  (as  indenti- 
ficd  by  Dr.  J.  B.  Stoudt).  reads:  MEIN  SCHILD  1ST  BEI 
GOTT  der  den  frommen  Hertzen  hilft.  My  defense  is  of  God 
which  saveth  the  upr  ght  in  heart.  Until  the  appearance  of  this 
plate,  in  1914.  the  mutilated  inscription  on  the  two  fragments, 
figure  136,  at  the  Bucks  County  Historical  Society,  defied  all 
efforts  at  decipherment. 

These  pieces  were  found  by  the  writer  at  Williams'  junk 
yard,  Harrisburg,  Pa.,  on  April  11.  1910.  just  as  ths  Jewish 
workmen  were  about  to  reload  them,  together  with  Figure  60. 
in  a  car  for  shipment  and  remelting.  The  fragTients.  widely 
separated,  lay  -n  mud  under  the  wheelbarrow  track  among  the 
heaps  of  "scrap"  cast  iron.  They  were  weighed,  bought  at  a 
cent-and-a-haU  per  pound  as  the  yard  was  closing,  wrapped  with 
wire  in  two  filthy  sacks,  carried  to  the  ra  Iroad  station  in  the 
last  junk  wagon  leaving  that  day,  with  a  very  lame  horse, 
labelled  at  a  neighboring  warehouse  with  borrowed  labels  and 
left  over  night  on  the  platform  of  the  ra  Iroad  station,  after 
the  freight  office   had   closed. 


^37- 
Frag^iiieiit  of  Front  Plate* 

Of  a  five-  or  six-plate  stove.  Size.  H.  14  x  W.  20.  Bucks 
County    Histor  cal    Society, 

This  plate,  found  in  the  scrap-iron  heap  at  a  junk  yard  at 
Pottstown  in  1910,  and  unfortunately  broken  above  the  ins.rip- 
tion.  shows  two  arched  canopies  with  twisted  columns.  The 
aureole  is  omitted,  and  the  tul  ps  are  set  in  flower  pots,  which 
decorate  both  canopies  and  duplicate  each  other  clcsely.  but  not 
exactly,  as  they  would  if  sta:r.ped  upon  the  sand  from  a  loose 
mould.  The  lozenges  with  four  chequers  to  the  left,  unlike  those 
balancing  thsm,  with  nine  chequers  to  the  right,  are  enclosed  in 
ri.Tis. 

universal  both  for  cooking  and  house  warming 
in  all  American  colonial  houses  whether  Ger- 
man, Dutch,  Norse  or  English,  was  never 
superseded  by  the  stoves,  and  all  the  evidence 
shows  that  the  German  settlers  used  the  latter 
always    as    adjuncts    to    the    cooking    hearth. 


^  \ 


klTflt-, 


138. 

God's  Wen  of  1760. 

Front   plate.      Size.    W.    20    x    H.    23.      Collection    of   Mr.    R.   W. 
Steinman.  1910.  Lancaster.  Pa. 

The  underscored  words  in  the  following  text  from  Psalms 
65-9,  "Thou  visitest  the  earth,  and  waterest  it.  Thou  greatly 
enrichcst  it  with  the  river  of  God.  which  is  full  of  water,' 
would  probably  never  have  caught  public  attention  as  a  maxim 
in  English.  On  the  other  hand.  Luther*s  translation  of  the 
sa-ne  verse.  Psal.-ns  65-10.  in  the  German  verson.  "Gottes 
Brunnlein  hat  wassers  die  Fulle."  co.-nmands  attention  at  once 
as  a  beautiful  and  insp-red  sentence.  According  to  F.  R.  Dif- 
fenderfer.  of  Lancaster,  the  sister  of  one  of  his  friends  had  been 
taught  by  her  German  parents  to  repeat  the  sentence  when  a 
child,  at  the  breakfast  table,  in  about  1340  to  1850.  Mr.  Differ.- 
derfer  hi.r.Eelf  having   been  taught  it  by  his  mother  about   1840. 

Under  a  vaulted  canopy  with  pendant  corbel  and  adorned 
with  tulps  wheat  sheaves  and  chequered  lozenges,  stands  the 
aureole  flanked  with  two  flower  pots  growing  tulips,  enclosing 
a    heart   tul'p  and   supported   upon   the   usual   sheep   legs. 

Below,  the  words  WASER.  DIE.  FYL.  LE.  complete  the 
GOTTES.  BRYNLEIN.  sentence  (see  Figures  129,  131,  153 
and  154).  begun  on  the  side  plate.  117.  Although  the  usual 
double  dot  abbreviation  occurs  in  the  oil  Miracle  plate.  Figure 
27,  probably  cast  in  Germany,  it  has  not  yet  been  found  upon 
any  American-made  plate  in  the  collection,  where  the  letter  Y 
often  takes  the  place  of  the  OE  or  UE,  etc..  thus  abbreviated 
with  a  double  dot.  Here  the  word  "fiille"  is  spelled  with  a  Y, 
though  it  appears  otherwise  in  Figures  131  and  153,  as  FILLE. 
and   FILE. 


rather  than  as  independent  centres  of  heat. 
The  name  "Jamb  Stove"  in  Watson's  Annals 
shows  that  they  often  opened  into  adjoining 
rooms  through  the  jamb  of  a  fireplace,  like 
the  Norse  stove  shown  in  Figure  1.  at  right 
angles   from   the   fire,   and   a   rectangular   hole 


88 


The  medallion  below,  adorned  with  a  central  tulip.  Is 
flanked  with  the  invariable  heart  tul  ps,  and  clearly  marked  with 
the  year  1760.  adorned  with  a  graceful  S  like  tail  to  the  nu- 
meral   I. 

The  plate  found  January  13.  1909,  by  the  writer  at  Mr.  A.  J. 
Steinman's  rolling  mill  in  Lancaster,  had  come  into  the  pos- 
session of  the  owner  with  the  scrap  iron  bought  for  remelting. 
For  some  time  it  remained  without  the  elucidation  of  its  side 
plate.  Then  a  replica,  together  with  F  gures  117  and  118  as 
its  right  and  left  side  plates,  in  the  collection  of  Col.  H.  D. 
Paxson,  at  Holicong.  Pa.,  proved  it  to  be  the  front  plate  of  a 
five-plate  stove,  cast,  according  to  Mr.  B.  F,  Owen,  at  Martic 
Furnace  when  Thomas  Smith.  William  Smith,  William  Benet 
and   Samuel   Webb   were   ironmasters.      (See    F.gure    117.) 


139- 
The  X.  B.  Plate. 

Front  plate  of  five-  or  possibly  a  six-plate  stove.  Size,  W.  19  x 
H.   22K    inches.      Mrs.   John    Faber    M:ller.   of   Chestnut    Hill.    Pa. 

The  plate  photographed  August  30.  1910.  had  been  formerly 
used  as  a  step  at  a  spring  house  on  an  old  farm  belonging  to 
the  Yeakel  family  at  Chestnut  Hill  Park.  Philadelph.a.  Pa. 
After  having  been  in  their  possession  for  about  fifty-four  years, 
it  had  been  removed  to  its  present  position  in  about  1893  (in- 
formation of  S.  W.   Reed,  coachman). 

in  the  back  of  an  old  fireplace  at  the  Clemens 
House,  Doylestown,  seen  by  the  writer  in  1912 
is  evidence  of  their  projection  into  adjoining 
lean-to  sheds  or  workshops,  built  against  the 
house  wall  back  of  the  fireplace,  where  abun- 
dant shavings  would  have  made  the  sparks  of 
a  fire  dangerous. 

Thus  the  kitchen  fire,  always  burning,  did 
double  duty.     The  hot  embers  or  burning  fuel 


Unfortunately  no  sde  plate  had  been  found  or  heard  of 
by  the  Miller  fannily  to  explain  the  inUials  T.  B.  in  the  back- 
ground under  the  canopy,  to  determine  whether  the  plate 
dated  1760  belonged  to  a  five-  or  six-plate  stove,  or  to  co.iiplete 
the  broken  inscription  DER.  UND.  EIN.  GO.,  whch,  however, 
as  kinily  explained  by  Dr.  J.  B.  Stoudt,  concides  with  the 
middle  of  the  sentence  from  Psalms  7.  12.  from  Luther's  Bible 
Gott  ist  ein  rechter  Rich  TER  UND  EIN  GOTT  der  taglich 
drauet.  God  judgeth  the  righteous  and  God  is  angry  with  tha 
wicked    every   day. 

In  this  case  the  inscription  could  not  have  been  duplicated 
on  the  two  side  plates,  but  must  have  begun  on  the  left  and 
ended  on  the  r  ght.  Therefore  as  a  rare  exception  to  the  gen- 
eral practice,  the  stove  must  have  been  cast  from  three  moulds 
instead  of  two.  No  other  evidence  of  this  sort  has  yet  appeared 
except  in  the  case  of  the  Despise  Not  Old  Age  plate,  Figure 
108.    but   there,    for  the   reasons   given,    it   is    uncertain. 

This  same  date,  together  with  so  close  a  similarity  in  the 
treatment  of  the  medallion  border  as  to  suggest  the  same  pat- 
tern carver,  appears  upon  the  front  plates  of  the  Stiegel  and 
Martic    five-plate   stoves,    Figures    126   and    138. 


¥:^tn^ 


140. 

Tlie  Xliaiiksg^iviii};. 

Right  plate  of  Jamb  Stove.  Size.  W.  22i2  x  H.  Z2"4.  Mr.  W. 
E.    Montague,    Norristown,    Pa. 

Not  the  design  which  is  the  oft-described  floral  pattern,  but 
the  inscription,  as  identified  by  Dr.  J.  B.  Stoudt.  strikes  us. 
This  quotes  the  first  verse  of  Psalms  106.  107  or  118  in  Luther's 
translation.  DANCKET.  DEM.  HERRN.  DENN.  ER.  IST. 
FREUNDLICH.  UND.  SEINE.  GUTE,  WAHRET.  EWIG- 
LICH.  Give  thanks  unto  the  Lord  for  He  is  good  and  H's 
mercy    endureth    forever. 

thrust  through  the  wall  into  the  iron  box 
beyond  and  raked  out  or  replenished  in  a 
moment,  might,  in  the  imperfect  draught  of 
the  stove,  smoke  and  smoulder,  as  they  would. 
No  dangerous  spark  or  stifling  smoke  escaped 
into  the  room  heated,  and  no  extra  chimney 
was  necessary.  The  stove,  without  iron  legs, 
set  upon  a  base  of  bricks,  held  together  by 
one  bolt,  built  against  and  into  the  wall,  was 
safe  from  upset   or  collapse. 


89 


The  words  "For  He  is  good"  jeeii  colti  and  stilted  "in  the 
English  version,  and  no  less  so  sounds  the  "Quoniam  bonus"  in 
The  Latin  Vulgate,  but  to  praise  God  because  he  is  "incndly," 
■warms  the  quotation  with  a  life  unknown  in  English,  and  which 
m  ght  account  for  its  continued  use  accord  ng  to  Dr.  Stoudt 
as  a   tabl:  prayer  among   the   Pennsylvania   Ger-tians. 

The  Biblical  sentence,  beginn'ng  on  this  right  plate  with 
the  wor.is  DANCKET.  DEM.  HERN.  DEM.  is  continued  on 
the  front  plate.  Figure  141.  and  if  the  quotation  ends  there  with 
Luther's  bea-jt  ful  word  FREUNDLICH,  two  carved  moulds 
would  have  sufficed  for  this  stove.  But  if  the  sentence  has 
been  corrpleted  on  the  missing  left  plite.  then  three  moulds 
would    have  been   required. 

The  init  als  Wl.  WB.  BH.  and  AD.  on  the  lower  medallion 
remain    unexplained. 

The  mould  carver  has  blundered  by  carving  the  word  DEM 
Jor  DENN. 


141. 

The  XUaiiUsgivinjf. 

Front  plate  of  Jamb  Stove.    Size.  W.  20  x   H.  22'.;.     Mr.  W.   E. 
Montague.    Norristown.    Pa. 

This  plate,  clearly  dated  1762,  is  undoubtedly  the  front 
plate  to  Figure  140  and.  as  there  explained,  continues  the  in- 
script  on  fro.n  Psalms  105.  107  or  118,  1,  "for  he  is  good"  (or. 
as  expressed  in  the  Lat  n  Vulgate,  Loch  edition,  Manz  Ratij- 
bon,  1902,  QUONIAM  BONUS),  with  the  more  appealing  Ger- 
n-an  words  of  Luther's  translation,  ER.  1ST.  FREUNDLICH. 
he  is  friendly. 


On  the  other  hand,  from  the  manufactur- 
ers' point  of  vie'w  this  simple  stove  with  its 
five  flat  rectangular  plates,  cast  in  open  sand 
without  the  trouble  of  flasks,  was  easily  made. 
No  perforation  for  stove  door  or  hinge  hooks, 
no  iron  framework  for  legs,  no  pipe  holes,  and, 
before  the  days  of  machine  rolled  sheet  iron. 


M 


--^^;^  -a. 


i4i-a. 
Stevenson  and  R.os<4. 

Right  plate.     Size.   H.   221 3   x  W.   24.      Mr.   Albert   Cook   Myers, 
Moylan,    Pa. 

The  old  floral  pattern  with  its  canopies,  central  cartouchft 
and  lower  medallion  is  here  entirely  devoted  to  advertisement. 
On  the  rim  and  central  stripe  of  the  lower  medallion  and  under 
the  arches  above,  appear  uncorrected  impressions  of  the  heads 
of  six  or  seven  large  bolts,  as  having  held  together  the  wooden 
mould  which  they  rudely  penetrate.  The  sheep  heads  of  the 
aureole  have  become  short  points  and  the  inscription,  no 
longer  Biblical,  is  balanced  with  decorative  periods,  set  between 
the  letters,  regardless  of  syllables,  and  reads,  in  the  central  car- 
touche, Georgs  Stevenson,  and  in  the  lower  medallion.  George 
Ros.    Wiliam.    Thorn,    (for    Tho-npson). 

We  can  imagine  the  German  designer  in  the  littered  work 
shop  of  his  log  house,  probably  heated  in  winter  by  a  jamb 
stove  and  lit  at  n:ght  with  a  lard  lamp,  carving  this  plate,  which 
rescues  from  oblivion  a  partnership  of  English  ironmasters  who 
probably  took  little  interest  in  his  work.  His  name  is  lost. 
His  descendants,  if  he  has  left  any,  have  forgotten  him.  His 
tools  and  designs  have  perished.  But  whoever  he  was,  he 
must  have  carved  the  Carlisle  plate.  Figure  162.  and  the  whole 
group  of  patterns  there  noted.  A  peculiar  style  common  to 
them  all  seems  to  settle  this  fact. 

The  work  must  have  been  done  for  Mary  Ann  Furnace, 
probably  the  first  Pennsylvanian  furnace  west  of  the  Susque- 
hanna, on  Furnace  Creek,  West  Manheim  Township,  Southwe>t 
York  County,  between  1761  and  1765.  when,  according  to  Colo- 
nial    Forges    and     Furnaces     in     the     Province    of     Pennsylvania, 

above  all,  no  stovepipe  of  thin  hammered  iron, 
was  necessary.'"*' 

Their  end  came  suddenly  when  improved 
equipments  in  the  American  furnaces  enabled 
them  to  produce  stovepipes*  and  make  the 
more  elaborate  castings  required  for  the  six- 
plate  ventilating  stove  which  next  claims  our 
attention. 


90 


Colonial  Dames.  1914,  page  160,  George  Stevenson,  Georg; 
Ross  ar.d  William  Thompson,  founders  of  the  furnace,  were 
partners  there. 

George  Ross  (1730  to  1779)  was  born  in  1730,  and  was  the 
son  of  George  Ross,  the  "rector"  of  New  Castle.  Delaware.  He 
was  a  lawyer  at  Lancaster  in  1750,  member  of  the  Continental 
Congress,  and  signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  He 
declined  a  costly  piece  of  silver  plate  as  a  public  testimonial 
from  the  citizens  of  Lancaster.  In  Lancaster  his  house  stood 
on  the  site  of  the  present  Court  House,  and  his  country  house, 
"Rossmere,"  was  in  the  suburbs.  He  was  warden  of  St.  James" 
Church  at  Lancaster,  Judge  of  Admiralty  of  Pennsylvania,  died 
in    1779.    and    is   buried   at    Christ    Church.    Philadelphia. 

George  Stevenson  was  born  in  Ireland  in  1718.  He  studied 
at  Trinity  College,  Dublin,  and  taught  school  at  New  Castle, 
Del.  He  was  deputy  surveyor  of  Lancaster  County  and  went 
to  York.  Pa.,  in  1744.  From  1749  to  1761  he  held  various  legal 
offices  in  York  County,  and  was  Chief  Ranger  of  Pennsylvania 
under  Governor  Hamilton  in  1750.  He  went  to  Carlisle  in  1765. 
and  was  owner  of  the  site  of  Pine  Grove  Furnace  (built  by 
Thornburg   &  Arthur  in    1770)    for  eight   or  ten  years  after    1764. 

William  Thompson,  born  1736,  lived  on  a  farm  on  the 
Conodoguinnet  Creek,  near  Carlisle.  He  was  Captain  of  Light 
Horse  in  1758,  and  married  first  a  sister  of  George  Stevenson, 
and  second  a  sister  of  George  Ross.  He  was  a  Colonel  of  a 
battalion  of  riflemen  in  the  Revolution  in  1775,  a  Brigadier  Gen- 
eral in  1776,  and  captured  by  the  British  in  the  attack  on 
Quebec.  After  being  paroled  he  was  finally  exchanged  in  1780. 
He  died  in  Carlisle  in  1781,  and  is  buried  in  the  Old  Grave 
Yard.  (See  Colonial  Forges  and  Furnaces.  Colonial  Dames, 
page  160).  which  also  illustrates  another  right  jamb  stove  plate 
of  a  similar  floral  pattern,  unfortunately  mutilated  in  the  illus- 
tration, dated  1763,  with  the  inscription,  George  Stevenson, 
George  Ross.  Mary  Ann  Furnace  and  William  Thompson,  all 
spelled  in  full,  the  "enson"  of  Stevenson  being  set  in  the  upper 
panel  under  the  date,  and  the  lower  medallion  being  enlarged 
to    fill    the    whole    lower    panel. 

DRAFT  HOLLAND  OR  SIX-PLATE 
STOVE  DESCRIBED. 

Figure  142  shows  one  of  the  American 
"Six  Plate"  stoves  in  the  possession  of  Colonel 
H.  D.  Paxson,  at  Holicong,  Bucks  County, 
Pennsylvania.  Constructed  in  principle  like 
all  modern  American  house-warming  stoves, 
standing  free  of  the  wall  on  iron  legs,  with 
fuel  door  and  stovepipe,  and  hence  ventilating 
the  room  heated,  the  stove  is  easily  distin- 
guished from  the  older  non-ventilating  "Five 
Plate"  "Jamb"  stoves  just  described.  It  is  con- 
structed of  six  very  heavy  plates,  cast,  like 
those  of  the  older  stoves,  in  open  sand,  and 
which,  examined  one  by  one,  differ  so  much 


142. 

Depart  from   Evil. 

Six-plate  draught  stove.     Size,   H.   24   x  26'i   long  x  W.    14.      Col. 
H.    D.    Paxson,    Holicong,    Pa. 

Front  view,  showing  hearth  extension  on  bottom  plate, 
wrought  iron  fuel  door  in  front  plate,  wrought  iron  base  for  the 
smoke  pipe  riveted  upon  the  top  plate  (Figure  144),  perforated 
projecting  lips  for  the  long  outer  bolt  on  the  top  and  bottom 
plates,  and  cast  iron  legs.  The  side  bolts  are  lost.  The  side 
plate  with  its  typical  floral  design,  date.  Biblical  inscription, 
and  advertisement,  is  described  under  Figure  159.  Cast  at 
Warwick  Furnace,  on  south  branch  of  French  Creek.  Warwick 
Township,  Chester  County,  Pa.,  for  John  Potts,  ironmaster, 
in    1764. 


in  shape  and  construction  from  the  jamb  stove 
plates  that  they  are  easily  to  be  distinguished 
from  them. 

Unlike  any  of  the  jamb  stove  plates,  the 
top  plate  is  perforated  for  a  smoke  pipe,  and 
shows,  not  merely  one  marginal  lip  for  bolting, 
but  two.  (Figure  144.)  The  bottom  plate  has 
a  projecting  hearth  and  again  two  perforated 
bolt  lips  rather  than  one.  (Figure  145.)  The 
interchangeable  duplicate  right  and  left  plates 
lack  the  very  characteristic  broad  rims  of  the 
older  stoves  for  wall  insertion  (Figures  142 
and  143),  and  the  front  plate  shows  the  un- 
mistakable fuel  door.  (Figure  146.)  On  the 
other    hand    the    back    plate    of    the    six-plate 


91 


143- 

Depart  from  Kvil. 

Six-plate   draught   stove,    rear  view   of    Figure    142. 


144. 

Xop  Plate  of  Six-Plate  Stove. 

Size.  W.  16  X  L.  28^.  Inside  view  of  the  top  plate  of  Figure  142, 
showing  the  hole  for  the  stovepipe,  and  the  continual  channel 
surrounding  the  plate  for  the  insertion  of  the  front,  rear  and 
two  side  plates.  It  differs  from  the  top  plate  of  a  five-plate 
stove   by  the   position  of  the  two  perforated   lips  for  bolts   on   the 


sides,  rather  than  the  end  of  the  plate,  the  perforation  for  the 
stovepipe,  and  the  continuation  of  the  channel  for  the  vertical 
insertion  of  the  side  plates,  entirely  around  the  plate,  rather 
than  on   three  sides  only. 


145- 

Bottom  Plate  of  a  Six-Plate  Draft  Stove. 

Size,  W.  16  X  L.  39.  Loose  plate  belonging  to  Figure  142. 
It  differs  from  the  bottom  plate  of  a  five-plate  stove  by  the 
position  of  the  perforated  lips  fcr  bolting,  which  are  cast  upon 
its  sides  rather  than  upon  its  end.  and  also  by  its  circular  exten- 
sion for  a  hearth.  The  continuous  marginal  channel  for  holding 
the  vertical  rear  side  and  front  plate,  discontinued  at  the  fuel 
door,    is   shown. 


146. 


Front  Plate  of  a  Six-Plate  Draft  Stove. 

Size.   H.   24  x   W.    14.     The   plate  shown   in   reverse    Figure    147. 


Stove  and  the  front  plate  of  the  five-plate  stove  ure    148."') 

are  constructed  alike,  are  of  about  the  same  Thus  constructed,  the  stove  here  shown 
size  and  with  the  guttered  rims  similarly  cast  illustrates  the  whole  series  of  American  six- 
solid  on  their  margins  may  be  confused.    (Fig-  plate  stoves  under  consideration.     All  slightly 


92 


147- 

Belonging    to    Figure    142,    is    fitted   with  wrought-iron    fuel    door 
and  draught  wicket. 

The  upper  panel,  showing  the  aureole  with  tulips,  canopy, 
etc.,  is  a  close  copy,  though  not  a  replica,  of  that  on  the  rear 
plate.  Figure  148,  showing  that  a  special  mould  had  been  carved 
for  each   plate. 


vary  in  size,  all  are  made  of  six  very  heavy 
open  sand-cast  plates,  and  all  are  constructed 
and  decorated,  as  described,  in  about  the  same 
way.  As  independent  heating  apparatus  not 
attached  to  the  ever-burning  kitchen  fire,  they 
required  special  attention,  and  not  being  built 
solidly  into  the  wall  must  at  first  have  seemed 
more  dangerous  and  liable  to  upset  than  the 
older  stoves. 

On  the  other  hand,  they  were  portable, 
burnt  better,  and  owing  to  their  superior 
draught,  warmed  a  room  more  quickly  than 
the  former. 

DECORATION   OF  THE   SIX-PLATE 
STOVES. 
In  Figures  142  and  143  four  of  the  plates, 
the  right,  the  left,  the  front,  and  the  back,  are 
decorated   with   the   tulip   pattern   already   de- 
scribed.     The    right    plate     (Figure    142)     is 


148. 
Rear  Plate  of  Six-Plate   Draft  Stove. 

Belonging  to  Figure  142.  Size  H.  24  x  W.  14.  Col.  H.  D. 
Paxson,   Holicong,    Pa. 

This  plate,  shown  in  reverse  Figure  149,  is  the  only  plate 
in  the  six-plate  stove  which,  in  its  construction,  fis  not  distin- 
guishable from  the  front  plate  of  a  five-plate  stove,  the  general 
shape   and    grooved   rims   being   the   same, 

interchangeable  with,  and  being  cast  from  the 
same  mould,  duplicates  the  left  plate,  shown 
in  Figure  143  and  the  aureole  with  sheep's  legs 
appearing  as  the  whole  pattern  on  the  front 
and  back  plate,  shows  in  the  left  canopy  in  the 
right  and  left  plate,  where  the  words  John 
Pott  (iron  master  in  1764)  and  Warwick 
Furnace,  lAHN.  POT.  AND.  WARCK. 
FVRNEC.  appear  with  the  motto:  LAS. 
VOM.  BESEN.  UND.  THUE.  GUTES. 
Psalms  37:  27. 

The  illustrations  in  the  collection  here- 
with shown,  which  present  all  the  plates 
(Figures  142-178)  which  the  writer  has  thus 
far  heard  of  in  Pennsylvania,  show  that  the 
decorations  of  the  stoves,  in  most  cases,  thus 
represent  the  tulip  pattern  with  flowered 
aureole  and  sheep's  legs  above  described  as 
appearing  on  the  latest  five-plate  stoves. 
Although    the    Biblical    quotations    still    con- 


93 


fcur  empty  scallops,  enclosing  a  chequered  lozenge.  Within  the 
area  thus  bordered,  impress  ons  of  two  bolt-heads  appear,  wh^ch 
the  ironcastcr  has  neglected  to  erase  from  the  sand. 

The  reverse.  Figure  149.  shows  th;  unmistakable  waved 
surface  characteristic  of  iron  castings  in  the  open  sand  without 
flasks. 


#'1111  ill 


149. 

Here  we  have  the  aureole  under  a  canopy  supported  on 
twisted  colunins,  with  the  sheep  heads  changed  to  darts.  The 
date  medallion  and  central  cartouche  with  its  inscription,  seen 
upon   the   side   plate,   has  disappeared,   and   in   its   place  we   have 

tinue  (always  in  German  and  never  in  Dutch, 
notwithstanding  the  Dutch  ancestry  of  the 
stove,  as  explained  later),  the  old  Biblical 
scenes,  so  frequent  on  the  earlier  jamb  stoves, 
do  not,  perhaps  with  one  exception,  "The  Con- 
queror" (Figure  166),  appear  on  any  of  the 
six-plate  stoves.  Furthermore,  it  appears,  that 
advertisements  of  the  names  of  iron  masters 
and  of  furnaces  (using  the  English  word 
Furnace,  often  spelled  Furnec),  latterly  more 
frequent  on  the  jamb  stoves,  become  common 
upon  the  six-plate  stoves. 

EUROPEAN    ORIGIN    AND    VARIETIES 
OF   THE  SIX-PLATE   STOVES. 

That  these  stoves  were  not  invented  in 
America,  but  like  the  jamb  stoves  described 
above,  had  existed  long  previously  in  Europe, 
is  shown  by  the  illustration  (Figure  8)  which 
shows  one  of  them  (not  in  its  original  position) 


150. 
Daiiisli  Six-Plate  Draft  Stove. 

Size,  about  26  high  x  24  long  x  18  wide.  Rijks  Museum,  Am- 
sterdam. 

Through  the  kind  permission  of  Dr.  B.  W.  F.  Van  Riems- 
dyk.  who  informs  us  that  the  stove,  probably  made  in  Dane- 
mark,  is  dated  1753,  and  that  the  top  plate,  as  in  the  Dutch 
ten-plate  stove.  Figure  185,  is  very  heavy,  and  probably  suffi- 
ciently so  to  hold  the  stove  together  without  bolts.  No  sign 
of  these  appear  either  on  the  top  plate  or  on  the  corner  ri.-ns, 
which  are  here  cast  solid,  not  on  the  end  plates  as  in  America, 
but   upon   the  side   plates. 

The  heads  of  double  bolts,  appearing  on  the  side  plate 
below  the  inscription,  may  represent  so.ne  method  of  holding 
the   stove   together  by   means   of   interior   staples   or   bolts. 

in  the  Rijks  Museum  at  Amsterdam,  undated, 
but  of  the  17th  century.  Lacking  its  original 
legs,  the  stove,  as  described  in  Chapter  I,  con- 
sists of  six  rectangular  plates,  held  together, 
as  with  the  five-plate  stoves  before  described, 
by  loose  gutter  shaped  rims  and  short  bolts. 
The  front  plate  shows  a  cast-iron  fuel  door, 
and  the  exceedingly  heavy  top  plate  with  its 
stovepipe  attached,  has  projecting  perforated 
lips  overhanging  either  side  plate  for  the  inser- 
tion of  diagonal  bolts,  fastened  to  the  project- 
ing ends  of  the  long  transverse  bolt  penetrating 
the  stove  from  side  to  side  as  shown  by  the 
perforations  in  the  picture.  The  bottom  plate, 
also  very  heavy,  is  rectangular  and  lacks  the 
circular  hearth  projection  which  appears  in 
Figure  150. 

Figure   150  shows  another  six-plate  draft 
stove  from  Denmark  in  the  same  museum,  in 


94 


C5 


? 


Lroose  Corner  Rini«4  for  a  Jainto 
or  Draft  Stove. 

Each  showing:  two  bolt  holes  for  fastening  the  corners  of  an 
ancient  stove  whether  of  the  jamb  or  draught-stove  pattern.  Size, 
about  H.  30  and  27  inches  by  about  W.  3I4.  together  with  two 
of  the  loose  bolts  used  for  fastening  them,  and  the  longer  diago- 
nal bolt  used  to  secure  the  top  plate  to  the  side  as  in  figure  5. 
The  reverse  side  of  the  companion  to  the  middle  rim  is  shown 
at  the  right.  The  inside  washers,  or  perforated  iron  strps,  as 
in  Figures  2  and  3.  are  not  shown.  From  the  Norse  Folks  Mu- 
seum at  Chrlstiania.   Norway.     Museum  No.   1178. 


and  the  date,  1761.  The  central  cartouche,  with  its  religious 
inscription,  is  wanting,  and  m  the  medallion  below  appears  the 
inscription. 

M.   C.   FORNES. 
IN.   LANGD.   GT. 

The  same  inscription,  with  its  last  four  letters  varied  into 
CT,  CT.,  occurs  on  the  jamb  stove  s  de  plate.  Figure  134,  and 
on  the  s;x- plate  side  plate,  also  dated  1761.  Figure  153,  which 
latter  shows  the   Gottes   Brinlein   motto  on   the  central  cartouche. 

These  inscriptions  long  remained  unexplained  until  the 
clew  was  found  in  the  frag.-nent.  Figure  164,  where  the  words 
Thomas  Smith,  known  to  have  b;en  ironmaster  at  Martic 
Forge  and  Furnace  in  1765,  are  preceded  bv  the  letters  M.  C. 
E.,  wh  ch  the  writer  deciphered  to  mean  MC  for  Martic,  and  E 
for  Eisenhutten,  the  German  word  for  furnace,  hence  the  full 
inscription  would  read,  Martic  Furnace  (an  annex  of  Martic 
Forge,  on  Pequea  Creek,  near  Colemansville,  Lancaster  County, 
Pa.,  built,  according  to  Mr.  B.  F.  Owen,  by  Thomas  and  Wil- 
liam Smith  in  1751,  owned  in  1765  by  Thomas  Smith,  James 
Wallace  and  Joseph  Felton,  and  advertised  for  sale,  with  the 
forge,  mach  nery.  and  a  number  of  stove  moulds,  in  1769),  the 
LANCD.  signifying  Lancaster,  and  the  GT  standing  for  county, 
or  "gounty,"  as  a  German  might  spell  and  indicate  it  phoneti- 
cally. 

This  plate,  together  with  several  fragments,  now  lost,  and 
another  side  plate  was  found  about  1906,  in  an  old  house  for- 
merly belonging  to  the  Funk  family,  on  the  Durham  road,  near 
Gardenville,    Bucks    County.    Pa. 


niartic  Plate  of  1761. 

Side  plate  of  six-plate  stove.     Size,   H.   2A' ,   x   W.   27  "4.     Bucks 
County   Historical  Society. 

The    usual   floral    pattern,    with   double    canopy,    twisted    col- 
umns, aureole  to  the  left,  lozenges,  sheeps'  heads,  wheat  sheaves, 


153- 

Ood*s  "Well. 

Size.  H.  24' 


Bucks 


Side  plate  of  a  fi'x  plate  stove 
County   Historical  Society. 

Upon  this  fine  variation  of  the  usual  and  frequently  de- 
scribed floral  pattern,  where  tulips  sprout  from  the  heads  of  the 
very  distinct  sheep  upon  the  aureole,  the  beautiful  motto: 
GOTES.  BRYNLEIN.  HAT.  WASER.  DIE.  FILE.,  from 
Psalms  65-10,  Luther's  Bible,  "God's  well  hath  water  in  plenty," 
or,  in  the  common  English  version.  "Thou  greatly  enrichest  it 
with  the  River  of  God,  which  is  full  of  water,"  is  complete  in 
the    central    cartouche. 

Appearing  on  both  five-  and  six-plate  stoves,  but  invariably 
with  the  floral  pattern,  and  variously  spelled,  the  motto  lacks 
the  word  FILLE  on  the  lAHN  POT  plate  of  1762,  Figure  154, 
the  words  DIE.    FILLE.   on   the   Flower-Redding   plate  of   1764, 


95 


Figure  160.  and  the  words  WASER.  DIE.  FILE.,  on  Figure 
117,  and  on  the  I.  A.  R.  B.  plate  of  1759.  Figure  129.  but  is 
complete  on  this  Martic  plate.   Figure   153. 

The  most  interesting  feature  of  the  present  plate  is  the 
abbreviated  inscription,  appearing  again  in  the  varied  form 
■  LANCT.  CT„  on  Figure  134'.  which  I  have  deciphered  as 
follows:  M.  C.  FORNES.  Martic  Furnace.  IN.  LANCD.  (Lan- 
caster). G.  T.  (County  spelled  phonetically  by  a  German  work- 
man   for    "County"). 

Figure  164  shows  that  we  may  associate  MC.  with  Martic, 
because  Thomas  Smith,  whose  name  appears  on  the  latter  in 
the  inscription  MCE.  THOMAS.  SMITH.,  built  Martic  in 
Lancaster  County  in  1751.  In  this  case  the  E  before  Thomas 
may  stand  for  the  German  word  E  sen  or  E  senhutlen.  meaning 
furnace. 

The  fragments  of  two  replicas  now  in  the  Bucks  County 
Historical  Society  collection  were  found  by  the  writer  in  a 
wood  house  at  Miss  Krat^'s  farm  at  Danboro.  Pa.,  in  Septem- 
ber.   1912. 


154- 
God's  Well  of  'Warwick. 

Side  plate  of  six-plate  stove.  Chester  County  Historical  Society, 
West  Chester.  Pa.  Figured  in  Centennial  Souvenir  of  West 
Chester,  published  by  the  Daily  News,   1899.      Appendix,  page  79. 

Two  noticeable  features  mark  the  usual  floral  pattern  so 
frequently  described.  The  substitution  of  points  supporting 
tulips  for  the  sheep  heads  of  the  aureole,  as  seen  also  on 
Figure  157.  and  the  insertion  of  the  final  E  out  of  level  within 
the  right  border  of  the  date  medallion  (compare  the  E  in 
Fgure  155).  The  inscription  GOTES.  BRYN.  LEIN.  HAT. 
WASER.  DIE.,  from  Psalms  65-10  in  Luther's  Bible  {continuid 
on  the  end  plate  not  yet  found),  "God's  well  has  water  in 
plenty."   or.   as   in   the   English   translation.    "The    River  of   God. 

this  case  with  the  guttered  rims  cast  solid 
upon  the  side  plates,  with  fuel  door  and  stove- 
pipe as  before,  but  with  a  circular  hearth  pro- 
jection, as  in  the  American  stoves,  upon  its 
bottom  plate.  It  entirely  lacks  bolts,  or  per- 
forations for  bolts,  and,  according  to  informa- 
tion from  the  Rijks  Museum,  is  held  together 
by  the  weight  alone  of  the  top  plate. 


which  ts  full  of  water.*'  lacks  the  last  word  PILLE.  and  the 
words  WARCK.  FORNACE.  lAHN.  POT..  "Warwick  Furnace. 
John  Potts."  fill  the  lower  medallion.  The  O  in  the  word  "Pot" 
is  decorated  with  a   lozenge   within   its  circle. 

When  the  celebrated  ancient  charcoal  furnace  of  Warwick, 
on  the  south  branch  of  French  Creek,  in  Warwick  Township, 
Chester  County.  Pa.  (built,  according  to  Swank,  page  172,  by 
Anna  Nutt,  widow  of  Samuel  Nutt,  in  1738),  was  abandoned  in 
1858,  the  massive  stone  furnace  stack,  originally  32  feet  high 
by  21'i  feet  wide  at  the  bas=.  with  TA  feet  boshes  (interor 
oven  d  ameter).  must  soon  have  disappeared  as  building  material. 
The  old  wooden  bellows  that  cost  nearly  two  hundred  pounds 
(James,  29).  and  immense  propelling  water  wheels,  no  longer 
exist,  and  nothing  but  ruined  walls  and  cinder  heaps  mark  the 
site  of  the  pioneer  furnace,  which,  mak  ng  twenty  five  tons  of 
pig  iron  per  week,  destroyed  about  two  hundred  and  forty  acres 
of  primeval  forest  (five  to  six  thousand  cords  of  wood)  a  year 
(James.   29). 

Young  Samuel  Nutt  died  before  Arna  Nutt.  his  moth-r, 
completed  the  furnace,  and  his  w  dow  married,  in  1741.  Robert 
Grace  (born  1709  and  died  1766.  the  friend  of  Franklin),  who 
for  a  time  thereafter  managed  the  furnace.  Franklin  presented 
Grace  with  the  model  of  his  celebrated  cast-iron,  down-draught 
Breplace.  invented  in  1742.  and  althoL-gh  Grace  cast  many  of 
the  early  Franklin  apparatus  at  Warwick,  as  appears  in  the 
Potts  MSS.  (Warwick)  ledgers,  the  Potts  MSS.  (Coventry) 
ledgers  (Ledger  3.  page  87)  show  that  the  first  Franklin  stove 
was  cast,  in  account  with  Grace,  not  at  Warwick,  but  at  Red- 
ding Furnace.  September  23.  1742,  when  "seven  small  new- 
fashioned  fireplaces"  were  sold  to  Mr.  George  Rock,  at  North- 
east,   Md. 

Nearly  all  the  Warwick  Furnace  ledgers  are  in  the  posses- 
sion of  Hon.  S.  W.  Pennypacker  at  Schwenksville,  Pa.,  but 
they  throw  little  light  upon  the  h  story  of  the  stoves  here 
described,  or  their  decoration  and  construction,  notwithstanding 
the  fact  that  probably  more  of  them  were  cast  at  Warwick 
than  anywhere   else. 

The  furnace  was  managed,  according  to  Acrelius  (quoted  in 
Hist,  of  Chester  County,  Cope.  1.  page  211).  by  a  third  Samuel 
Nutt  in  1756.  by  John  Potts,  whose  name  appears  on  so  many 
of  the  floral  plates,  for  some  time,  and  until  his  death  in  1768 
(James.  110),  by  his  sons,  John  Potts.  Jr..  and  Samuel  Potts, 
with  their  father,  before  1768.  and  for  some  time  thereafter, 
and  by  Thomas  Rutter  and  Samuel  Potts  in  1776,  when,  during 
the  Revolution.  Warwick  cast  Continental  shot,  shells  and 
cannon,  some  of  which  latter  were  buried  to  prevent  British 
capture.  According  to  Mrs.  James,  page  110.  two  large  "Mora- 
vian stoves"  (probably  the  iron  fire  chambers  for  tile  stoves  like 
Figure  227)  were  sold  there  in  1774.  five  tons  of  stoves  in  1779, 
and,  in  1785,  "Franklin  stoves"  at  five  pounds  ten  each,  "Ten- 
plate  stoves"  at  ten  pounds  each,  and  large  six-plate  stoves  it 
six  pounds,  and  five  pounds  ten  each,  respectively. 

The  Franklin  stove  which  Mrs.  James  found  in  an  old 
house  near  Warwick,  with  the  words  Warwick  Furnace  in  2-inch 
letters  cast  upon  it  (James,  211).  which  lacks  the  sun  and 
Latin  motto  of  Franklin  (see  Figure  229).  could  not  have  been, 
as  she  thinks,  an  original.  Neither  is  the  stove  figured  by 
Lossing,  from  the  Hibernia  Furnace,  New  Jersey.  Field  Book, 
Vol.   1.  page,  328. 


When  we  compare  these  European  orig- 
inals with  their  American  successors  here 
shown,  a  far  greater  richness  and  variety  of 
decoration  appears  in  the  former,  besides 
which  several  constructive  differences  are 
noticeable.  In  the  European  stoves  the  rims 
(always  solidly  cast  in  America)  are  some- 
times loose.     The  bolting  is  different  or  absent 


96 


155- 
The  E  Plate  of  1763. 

Side  plate  of  six-plate  stove.  Size.  H.  lO^j  x  W.  22.  Col.  H. 
D.    Paxson,    Holicong,    Pa. 

The  usual  arched  pattern,  with  tulps  and  flower  pots  and 
the  date  1763  under  the  canopies.  The  words  COLEBROOK- 
DALE  FURNAC  fill  the  cartouche,  and  the  inscription 
THOMAS  RUTTER.  THUE.  RECHT.  UND..  "Do  right  and." 
are   cast   in   the   lower   medallion. 

The  striking  features  of  the  pattern  are  the  combination 
of  T  with  H  three  times  repeated,  namely,  in  the  word  Thomas, 
Thue,  and  Recht.  and  the  letter  E  of  the  word  furnace,  intro- 
duced out  of  balance  and  out  of  proportion  with  the  otherwise 
beautifully  carved  inscription,  which  disturbs  the  eye  in  the 
background    of   the    upper   right    canopy. 

A  heap  of  cinders  marks  the  spot  where,  according  to 
several  writers.  Colebrookdale.  the  earliest  furnace  in  Penn- 
sylvania, named  after  Colebrookdale  Furnace  in  Shropshire. 
England,  was  built  in  1720.  Not  to  be  confounded  with  the 
post- Revolutionary  Colebrook  Furnace  in  Lebanon  County  (on 
Conewago  Creek,  seven  miles  southwest  of  Cornwall  Furnace, 
built  by  Robert  Coleman  in  1791,  and  abandoned  in  1860)  it 
stood  in  the  midst  of  a  valuable  deposit  of  magnetic  iron  ore, 
eight  miles  north  of  Pottstown  and  three-quarters  of  a  mile 
west    of    Boyerstown.    Pa. 

Established  by  Thomas  Rutter,  a  citizen  of  Germantown, 
and    associated    from    the    first    with    Pool    Forge,    the    first    iron 

altogether,  the  hearth  extension,  invariable  in 
the  American,  is  sometimes  wanting  in  the 
European  stoves,  but  the  general  construction, 
appearance  and  principle,  the  rectangular  box 
shape,  the  six  rectangular  plates,  the  smoke 
pipe  and  fuel  door  are  the  same. 

Ambrosiani  says  that  they  were  used  in 
Sweden,  where  they  are  called  "Wind  Stoves" 
or  draft  stoves  (Vindugen)  in  the  17th  cen- 
tury, and  Fett  describes  them  as  Vindoven,  in 
Norway  and  Denmark,  in  the  same  period. 
In    Holland,    where    it   appears   that   five-plate 


works  in  Pennsylvania,  and  later  with  Pine  Forge  nearby, 
attacked  by  "French  Miami"  Indians  in  1728,  pulled  down  ani 
rebuilt  in  1736.  marked  on  Skull's  map  of  1753,  and  listed, 
but  probably  inactive,  in  1793,  it  appears  to  have  been  aban- 
doned about  1765,  or  soon  after  the  date  of  the  plate  In 
question. 

The  name  Rutter  is  associated  w-th  the  furnace  from  first 
to  last,  since  Thomas  Rutter  (died  1729)  founded  it  in  1720, 
since  members  of  the  Rutter  family  continued  to  own  it  in 
part  cr  manage  it  together  w^th  their  relatives  of  the  wealthy 
Potts  family,  and  since  the  name  Thomas  Rutter  is  here  stanped 
on    one   of  the    last    stove   plates   cast   at   the    furnace. 

According  to  Mrs.  Potts  James,  Memorial  of  the  Potts 
Fam  ly.  Cambridge,  Massachusetts.  1874,  there  were  four 
Thomas  Rutters.  all  probably  associated  with  Colebrookdale 
Furnace,  and  the  person  whcse  name  is  inscribed  upon  this 
plate.  Figure  155,  is  not.  (1)  Thomas  Rutter.  the  founder, 
who  died  in  1729.  nor  (2)  Thon::as  Rutter,  son  of  the  founder, 
born  1690,  d  ed  1734.  nor  (3)  Thomas  Rutter.  grandson  of  the 
founder,  son  of  Joseph  R.,  born  before  1731,  lived  at  Coventry, 
and  died  in  1808,  but  (4)  Thomas  Rutter,  grandson  of  the 
founder,   son   of  Thomas   R..   born   in   1731    and   died   in    1795. 

This  last  Tho.-r.as  Rutter.  at  the  death  of  h  s  father  in  1734. 
inherited  a  share  of  Colebrookdale  Furnace,  was  Justice  of  the 
Peace  under  the  Crown,  a  share-owner  of  Warwick  Furnace, 
lived  at  Pottstown  at  a  house  called  Laurel  Lodge,  and  was 
brother-in  law  to  Thomas  Potts,  another  share-owner  of  Cole- 
brookdale, who  had  married  his  s  ster  Rebecca.  According  to 
the  stove  plate,  Rutter  had  charge  of  the  furnace  in  1763.  and 
when  Tho.x.as  Potts  died  in  1762,  appears  to  have  continued  its 
ranagement.  He  died  at  Pottstown  in  1795.  aged  64.  and  was 
buried   there   in   the    Potts-Rutter  family    graveyard.' 

The  Furnace  Ledgers  in  the  possession  of  Governor  Penny- 
packer  show  that  these  stoves  were  cast  at  Colebrookdale  in 
the  1730's  and  40"s,  but  no  dated  plates  have  been  found  to 
prove  the  fact,  and  if,  for  the  reasons  given  under  Figure  31.  the 
remarkable  Fortune  Plate  of  1726  is  not  to  be  attributed  to 
Colebrookdale,  then  we  are  left  with  six  comparatively  late 
plates,  namely,  Figure  155.  here  illustrated :  Figure  168.  the 
front  plate  of  1758;  Figure  115.  the  Thomas  Potts  plate  of 
1758;  Figure  HI,  and  the  fireback  of  1763.  Figure  215.  as  the 
only   stove   products   of   the   oldest   furnace   in    Pennsylvania. 

This  plate  may  be  a  replica  of  the  plate  dated  1763,  Cole- 
brookdale. exhibited  at  the  Philadelphia  Centennial  Exposition 
of  1876  (see  Swank,  page  168).  (2)  Replica,  figured,  page  95. 
in  Tulip  Ware,  by  E.  A.  Barber.  (3)  Replica,  presented  to 
Bucks  County  Historical  Society  by  Miss  Burd.  of  the  Burd 
School.  Bucks  County,  Pa..  November.  1911.  found  by  her  at 
a  house  northeast  of  Gardenville  along  the  turnpike,  where  the 
writer  had  previously  seen  it  and  tried  in  vain  to  get  it.  (4) 
Replica.  Mr.  Rutter,  Philadelphia,  given  him  by  Col.  H.  D. 
Paxson. 


Stoves  were  not  used,  save  upon  the  German 
frontier,  they  were  so  popular  and  common  in 
the  17th  and  18th  centuries  that  Rees,  in  the 
Encyclopedia  of  1788  in  its  general  classifica- 
tion of  stoves,  calls  them   Dutch  stoves. 

Very  efficient,  easily  removable  from  one 
room  to  another,  of  superior  draught  and  quick 
heat,  desirable  for  ventilation,  and  well  adapted 
to  a  region  like  America  where  wood  was 
abundant,  it  is  nevertheless  a  noteworthy  fact 
that  these  stoves,  which  are  the  direct  projeni- 
tors   of   all   modern    American   house-warming 


97 


156. 

Samuel  Flower  of  1764. 

Side  plate  of  six-plate  stove,  here  shown  set  together  with  top, 
bottom  and  rear  plates,  but  lacking  the  front  plate.  Size,  22 
long  X  20  high  x  14^2  wide.  The  usual  tulip  pattern,  with  the 
date.  1764,  cast  under  the  capon'es.  As  in  Figure  152.  the  central 
cartouche  with  its  religious  motto,  is  omitted,  and  the  medallion 
in  the  lower  panel  contains  the  words.  S.^MEL.  FLOWER. 
RETING.  FURNACE..  "Samuel  Flower.  Redding  Furnace." 
which,  as  appearing  with  various  spellings  of  the  words  Flower. 
Redding  and  Furnace,  on  Figures  94.  100  and  160.  explains 
the  initials  S.  F.  on  the  beautiful  patterns.  Figures  96  and  99. 
Two  peculiar  features  of  the  design  are  the  changing  of  the 
sheeps'  heads  in  the  aureoles  to  darts,  and  the  replacing  of  the 
heart  tulips  on  either  side  of  the  lower  medallion  with  chequered 
lozenges. 

The  writer  found  the  loose  plates  of  this  stove,  lacking  the 
front  plate,  lying  face  downward,  as  a  hearth  pavement  in  a 
large  kitchen  fireplace  in  an  old  house  near  Cassidy's  Rocks,  on 
Tohickon  Cr:ek,  Bucks  County,  Pa.,  in  1907.  after  having  previ- 
ously seen  the  pieces  in  the  same  place  in  1898,  and  vainly 
tried   to  buy   them   from  the  former  owner. 


Stoves,  and  which  had  been  contemponries  of 
the  five-plate,  non-ventilating  jamb  stove  in 
northern  Europe  since  the  middle  of  the  17th 
century,  did  not  appear  in  America  until  about 
forty  years  after  the  introduction  and  general 
use  of  the  jamb  stove. 

The  fact  may  be  accounted  for  by  the 
difficulty  of  manufacturing  the  plates,  perfor- 
ated fuel  doors,  the  adjustable  legs,  and  the 
stovepipes  of  sheet  iron,  but  more  probably 
by  the  fact  that  the  stove  fashion  came  to 
America  from  Germany  where  five-plate  wall 
or  jamb  stoves  were  universal  and  six-plate 
draft  stoves  comparatively  unknown,  rather 
than  from  Holland,  where  the  latter  were  the 
principal  stoves  in  use. 


157- 
The  Corrected  K  of  1763. 

Side    plate    of    six  plate    stove.      Size.    H.    24    x    W.    27.      Berks 
County   Historical   Society. 

The  pattern  at  first  glance  repeats  that  of  the  E  plate. 
Figure  155.  The  date  and  inscription  are  identical,  but  the 
plates  are  not  replicas.  The  aurtole  with  headless  sheep  as 
legs,  appears  in  the  left  canopy,  stars  replace  the  lozenges  above. 
Heart  tulips  flank  the  medallion  below.  The  whole  wooden 
pattern  has  been  recut  by  the  carver,  who  in  spacing  his  letters 
for  Figure  155,  and  learning  too  late  that  the  English  word 
furnace  was  spelled  with  a  final  e,  took  the  old  decorator's 
liberty  of  throwing  the  letter  out  of  place  and  into  the  upper 
canopy.  But  here,  probably  on  complaint  of  Rutter,  he  re- 
adjusted  it  to   suit  his   employer's  taste. 

Replica,   Col.    H.    D.    Paxson.   Holicong.    Pa..    1913. 

Furthermore,  it  seems  probable  that  these 
draft  stoves  reached  America  by  way  of  Eng- 
lish ownership  of  American  furnaces  through 
England,  where  the  six-plate  stove  had  been 
probably  introduced  by  the  middle  of  the  18th 
century,  rather  than   direct  from   Holland, 

Like  the  non-ventilating  five-plate  jamb 
stove,  the  ventilating  stove  in  Europe  appeared 
in  various  forms.  Ambrosiani  speaks  of  wind 
stoves,  draft  stoves  (vindugen)  built  against 
the  wall  in  Sweden  and  therefore  non-portable, 
also  of  wind  stoves  with  upper  stories  for 
heat  retention  of  earthenware  or  of  iron,  and 
a  plate  in  the  Rijks  Museum  at  Amsterdam 
shows  the  fuel  door  of  one  of  these  draft 
stoves  opening  upon  the  side  rather  than  the 
front  plate.     (See  Figure  9.)     Also  the  ancient 


98 


^■^-..^l 


158. 


JoHn  Pctts  of  1763. 

Side  plate  of  six-plate  stove.  Size  H.  19  x  W.  211;.  Mr. 
Charles  A.  Suddars.  122  South  Sixteenth  street,  Philadelphia. 
May,  1914.  Found  by  Mr.  Suddars  in  1913  in  an  old  house  ^t 
Churchtown,  Lebanon  County.  Pa.  Replica  at  ant  que  store. 
Gcr.x.antown  avenue  and  Harvey  street.  Germantown.  May  2. 
1914. 

Lacking  the  central  inscription,  the  floral  pattern  is  a 
copy  with  variat  ons  cf  the  larger  plate  of  the  year  after, 
Figure  159.  Here  the  advertisement  in  the  lower  panel  varies 
the   spelling   to   lAHN.    POT.    AND.    WARK.    FURNACE. 


159. 

*'Ilepart  from  Kvil  "  of  1764. 

Side    plate.    Size.    H.    23^;    x    W.    26^2-      Here    shown    set   against 
its  back  plate. 

The  usual  floral  pattern  with  var'ations.  and  the  date  1764, 
is  set  under  the  usual  canopies.  The  central  inscription  reads 
LAS.  VOM.  BESEN.  UND.  THUE.  GUTES..  from  Psalms 
37-27.   in    Luther's   Bible;    "Depart   from    Evil  and   do  good.'"   and 


the  wcris  "lAHN.  POT.  AND.  WARCK.  FURNEC,"  fill 
the  lower  medallion,  thus  showing  the  German  UND  and  the 
English  AND  in  the  same  inscription.  It  is  further  noticeable 
that  the  U's  in  the  central  cartouche  are  round,  and  that  in 
the   word    FURNEC    is   pointed. 

The  sheeps'  heads  in  the  aureole  have  turned  to  darts,  and 
for  the  reasons  given  under  Figure  162,  we  may  suppose  that 
this  plate,  the  Carlisle  plate.  Figure  162.  the  two  Samuel  Flower 
plates.  Figures  156  and  160,  the  Curtis  Grubb  plate.  Figure  163. 
and  the  Elizabeth  and  Hellam  plates,  Figures  127  and  133,  were 
carved  by  the  same  hand.  The  plate  was  found  by  Mr.  J. 
Cheston  Morris  at  an  old  house  in  Penllyn,  Pa.,  and  Figures 
142  to  149.  inclusive,  show  a  complete  stove  of  the  same  pat- 
tern photographed  from  both  sides,  with  its  top.  bottom  and 
rear  plates,  as  described  in  the  text. 

Other  replicas  have  appeared,  as  follows :  ( 1 )  Side,  Hon. 
S.  W.  Pennypacker,  at  Schwenksville,  Pa.;  (2)  and  (3)  sides 
(besides  the  complete  stove  above  mentioned).  Col.  H.  D. 
Paxson,  Holicong,  Pa.;  (4)  side,  Dr.  J.  E.  Scott.  New  Hope. 
Pa, ;  (5)  side,  Bucks  County  Historical  Society,  bought  from 
Abram  Pculton  in  1910,  who  had  found  it  in  the  old  Leather- 
man  house  near  Plumsteadville.  Pa.;  (6)  side.  J.  O.  K.  Roberts, 
Phcenixville.  Pa.  (information  of  Mrs.  Wynne  James),  in  1909; 
(7)  side,  in  possession,  June  4,  1911,  of  F.  Cooper  Pullman,  of 
Wyncote.  Pa.  ;  (8  and  9 )  sides.  June,  1911.  recently  found  in 
old  fireplace  at  Washington  Hotel,  Sellersville,  by  Landlord 
J.  S.  Kline  (informaton  cf  Mr.  Thomas  Ross);  (101  side.  Apr'l 
1,  1912,  Mr.  J.  H.  Lynn,  Langhorne.  Pa.,  recently  bought  at  an 
old  tavern  near  North  Wales.  Montgomery  County.  Pa.;  (11) 
side,  Bucks  County  Historical  Society,  bought  at  Pottstown. 
Pa. ;  ( 12)  fragment.  Bucks  County  Historical  Society,  found  in 
the  kitchen  hearth  at  Mr.  Thomas  Sassaman's  house  at  Otts- 
ville.  Bucks  County,  Pa-,  in  1897,  in  association  with  thft  five- 
plate    stove    plate.    Figure    89. 


i6o. 
Samuel  Flower  of  Redd 

Size.    H.    2334    X 


Side    plate    of  six-plate   stove, 
County    Historical    Society. 


ing. 

W.    27.      Bucks 


cylindrical    stove     standing    free    of    the    wall,  "Pommerofen,"  are  draft  stoves,  and  no  doubt 

figured  in  Siebenaler  (page  170)  as  of  the  17th  still  other  forms  are  represented  by  loose  plates 

century,    but    redated    1742,    and    the    stove    in  in  the  European  museums. 
Kassel,    page    60    (of    about    1830),  called    a  Before   1760  no   dated  American   plate   of 


99 


upon  the  usual  floral  pattern  with  flower  pot.  aureol-r. 
heart  tulips,  eight-pont  stars,  sheeps'  heads  turned  to  darts, 
wheat  sheaves,  lozenges  and  twisted  columns,  the  date.  1764. 
appears  under  ths  canopy,  and  here  perhaps  cast  for  the  last 
time  upon  a  stove,  the  beaut  ful  quotation  from  Psal  ns  65-10, 
in  Luther's  Bible,  filling  the  central  cartouche,  reads  GOTTES. 
BRINLEIN.  HAT.  WASER..  "God's  well  hath  water."  lack  ng 
the  f^nal  wor:?s  DIE.  FILLE..  "In  plenty."  no  doubt  continued 
on   the   missing   end   plate. 

Several  other  Redding  plates  have  appeared  cast  with  the 
name  or  init  als  of  Samuel  Flower  or  the  furnace,  variously 
spelled,  viz.:  Figures  94.  96.  99,  100  and  156.  Here  the  spell- 
ing of  the  ironmaster's  name,  in  the  medallion  below,  appears 
M.  SAMEL.  FLOR.  REDIG.  FURNACE.,  the  prefixed  M 
possibly  standing  for  "Master"  or  "Mei^ter"  of  Redd  ng  Fur- 
nace, on  French  Creek,  in  Chester  County.  Pa.  {named  from 
the  English,  not  the  American,  town  of  Reading),  foL-nded. 
according  to  Swank,  by  Samuel  Nutt.  an  English  Quaker,  before 
1728,  with  William  Branson  and  Samuel  Flower,  according  to 
court    records,    part    owners    in    1742. 

The  plate,  very  much  rusted,  and  showing  a  vertical  warp 
crack  in  the  pattern  across  the  medall  on.  which  docs  not 
appear  on  Mr.  Stewardson's  replica.  Figure  161.  was  bought 
by  the  writer  at  Boone's  at   Pottstown  in   1907. 


i6i. 

There  can  be  little  doubt  that  this  plate,  the  Warwick  plate. 
Figure  159.  the  Redding  plate.  Figure  15b.  and  the  Carlisle  plate. 
Figure  162.  described  by  Prof.  C.  W.  Himes  in  "A  Decorated 
Stove  Plate  East  of  the  Susquehanna."  Frankln  Institute 
Journal.  December,  1903.  in  all  of  which  the  style  and  details  of 
the  floral  pattern  above  noted  are  closely  copied,  but  never 
duplicated,  were  made  by  the  same  mould  carver,  who,  as  nn 
independent  workman,  in  the  same  year.  1764.  sold  three  moulds, 
closely  similar,  but  with  varied  inscriptions,  to  three  different 
furnaces. 

Replica,  Mr.  Emlin  Stewardson.  Abington,  Pa..  October  12. 
1910,  bought  originally  by  Mrs.  Walter  Cope  from  the  dealer. 
Mrs.    Cookerow.    at    Pottstown,   about    1905.      Figure    161. 


162. 

The  Carlisle  Plate  of  1764, 

Side  plate  of  six-plate  stove.  S  zt,  H.  24I4  x  W.  27^.  Penn- 
sylvania Historical  Society.  The  plate  shows  the  typical  floral 
pattern,  with  double  canopy  resting  on  twisted  columns,  and 
the  date  1764.  The  sheep  heads  of  the  aureole  on  the  left  have 
turned  to  elongated  darts,  and,  as  in  all  the  Stiegel  plates  and 
the  Huber  and  Maybury  plates.  Figures  95  and  105.  the  cus- 
ton-.ary  rel'g  ous  inscription  on  the  central  cartouche  has  be- 
come an  advertisement  of  the  names  of  the  ironmaster  and 
furnace,  cont'nued  in  the  lower  medallion,  M.  R.  THORNBRU 
GHA.  M.  SEANDSON.  CARLILSE.  FURNACE.,  for  Robert 
Thornburg  and  Francis  Sanderson,  ironmasters  in  1764  at 
Carlisle  Furnace,  or  Carlisle  Iron  Works,  at  Boiling  Springs  oil 
Yellowbreeches    Creek,    Cumberland    County,    Pa.,    built    in    1762, 

Prof.  C.  H.  Himes  (in  "A  Decorated  Stove-plate  of  1764 
froTi  West  of  the  Susquehanna,"  Frankl  n  Institute  Journal. 
December,  1903).  notices  th  s  plate,  of  which  they  have  a  rusty 
replica  at  the  Hamilton  Library  Association  at  Carlisle,  Pa.,  and 
which  was  in  1903  the  only  pUte  of  this  type  thus  far  found 
and  certainly  cast  west  of  the  Susquehanna,  as  evidence  of  the 
extension  of  German  art  in  a  non-German  community,  where 
the  German  relig  ous  inscr  pticn  was  abandoned  because  not 
suited    to    the    taste    of    the    region. 

Still  more  interesting  is  his  observation  of  the  striking 
similarity  of  the  pattern  to  that  of  the  "Depart  from  Evil"  plate 
of  Warwick,  of  1764.  F  gure  159.  which  can  be  carried  further 
by  comparing  the  plate  with  the  whole  collection  of  illustra- 
tions here  shown,  in  which  five  other  plates,  viz..  the  Sa.muel 
Flower  plate.  Figure  161;  the  Stiegel  plate.  Figure  127:  the 
Benet  plate.  Figure  133 ;  the  Salvation  plate.  Figure  163,  and 
the  Stevenson  plate.   Figure   141-A,   bear  it   on  equal  resemblance. 

The  similarity  is  not  in  the  general  detail  of  the  d:s:gn, 
since  all  are  floral  patterns,  but  in  the  treatnent  of  ths  aureole. 
None  of  the  plates  are  duplicates,  but  because  the  sheep  heads 
arc  changed  to  darts  on  these  six  plates,  because  the  aureoles 
are  invariably  accompanied  here  and  nowhere  else  with  pecular 
twisted    leaves    wreathng    the    upper    circle    of    the    nimbus,    and 


this  kind  has  yet  appeared,  nor  has  any  men- 
tion been  found  of  these  stoves  in  the  furnace 
ledgers  above  referred  to.  After  1760,  in  the 
Potts  manuscripts,  frequent  mention  of  the  sale 
of  six-plate  stoves,  called  at  Warwick  "Six- 
plate    English    Stoves."    appears    at    Warwick 


and  Pottsgrove ;  but,  though  Franklin  de- 
scribes them  in  1744,"'  no  certain  evidence  has 
yet  been  found  to  show  either,  that  like  the 
five-plate  jamb  stoves,  these  stoves  were  im- 
ported from  Europe  and  used  here  before  the 
American  furnaces  were  built,  or  were  manu- 


100 


because  the  above  unique  combination  is  accompanied  in  all 
cases  by  wheat-sheaf  adornments  above  the  spring  of  the  arches 
(the  spandrels),  we  may  suppose  that  all  six  plates  were  made 
by  the  same  mould  carver,  who  was  an  independent  workman 
not  in  the  exclusive  e.r.ploy  of  any  furnace,  and  having  made 
the  earlier  five-plate  stove  moulds  for  Elizabeth  and  Hellam 
Furnaces,  carved  for  Grubb  at  Cornwall,  and  sold  three  six- 
plate  stove  moulds  to  Thornburg  at  Carlisle,  Flower  at  Red- 
ding,  and   Potts  at  Warwick,  in   the  same   year. 

Yet  if  we  are  to  suppose  that  all  the  furnaces  bought  their 
patterns  in  this  way,  notes  of  such  purchases  ought  to  appear 
in  their  ledgers,  and  it  is  a  very  singular  thing  that  only  one 
such  item  has  been  found  in  all  the  Potts  manuscripts,  where 
at  Warwick  Furnace,  on  July  25,  1745,  they  paid  six  pounds 
ten  shillings,  or  sixteen  dollars  and  twenty-five  cents  apiece  "for 
two  Dutch  stove  moulds,"  "in  account  with  Mr.  Grace,"  but 
without    mentioning    the    carver's    name. 

The  letter  M,  twice  occurring  before  the  names  of  the  iron- 
masters, may  stand  for  the  word  "meister"  or  "master,"  and 
the  R.  before  the  first  name  for  Robert.  Professor  Himes  sup- 
poses that  the  final  A  in  "Thornburgha"  may  represent  an 
abbreviation  of  the  word  "and,"  although  if  the  name  Thorn- 
burg had  been  pronounced  to  rhyme  with  the  word  Edinburgh, 
the  fnal  A  would  be  accounted  for,  as  the  phonetic  English 
spelling  of  a  German  or  Ger.-nan-American  workman,  who, 
though  a  skillful  designer,  and  fine  carver  of  inscriptions  in 
his  mother  tongue,  misspells  the,  to  him,  barbarous  names 
Thornburg,  as  THORNBRUGHA,  and  the  word  CARLISLE 
with  a  transposed  S.  The  second  letter  in  the  second  name 
may  be  an  F,  rather  than  an  E,  and  in  that  case  stand  for 
Franc  s,  set  incorrectly  after,  rather  than  before,  the  initial  S. 
of  Sanderson,   so   that  the   inscription  would   read: 

M    (Master)    R    (Robert)    THORNBRUGH    (Thornburg). 

A  (And  I  M  (Master  I  F  (Francis  l  SANDSON  (Sanderson). 

CARLILSE    (Carlisle)    FVRNACE. 

In  Forges  and  Furnaces,  Colonial  Dames,  page  173,  the 
A.  and  M.  after  THORNBRUGH  are  thought  to  stand  for 
Armstrong  and  Morris.  But  there  were  two  Morrises;  and  if, 
according  to  Professor  Himes,  there  were  six  partners  in  the 
firm  in  1764,  this  would  only  account  for  four  of  them,  unless 
the   others  appear  on   the  missing  front   plate. 


163. 

In  God  is  my  Salvation. 

Side  plate   of   six-plate   stove.     Size,   H.   24   x   W.   ZZYt. 
tion  of  Mr.  A.  J.   Steinman.  1910      at  Lancaster,  Pa. 


"In  God  is  my  salvation,"  Psalm  62-7,  is  the  theme  of  this 
floral  plate,  with  its  elaborate  sheaf  patterns  above  the  twisted 
columns,  lozenges,  stars,  heart  tulips,  and  three-leaved  branches 
unadorned  by  tulips,  sprouting  from  the  aureole.  The  sheeps' 
heads  have  been  changed  to  spears  and  the  inscription  in  the 
cartouche,  Luther's  translation  of  Psalms  62-8  (in  the  German) 
reads  BEY.  GOT.  1ST.  MEIN.  HEIL..  while  the  words 
CORTUS.  GROB.  FOR.,  standing  for  Curtis  Grubb  Furnace, 
fill   the   lower  medallion. 

We  may  infer  from  the  inscription  that  the  plate  was  cast 
at  the  still  existing  Cornwall  Furnace,  on  Furnace  Creek,  in 
Lebanon  County,  near  Lebanon,  Pa.,  where  Curtis  Grubb,  prob- 
ably  in    1765    or  soon   after    (Swank,    182),   was   ironmaster. 

The  well-preserved  original,  cast,  therefore,  after  1765, 
though  without  date,  is  set  in  a  brick  wall  above  the  fireplace, 
in  1914,  in  the  library  of  Mrs.  A.  J.  Steinman.  at  Lancaster,  Pa. 

While  the  other  Colonial  furnaces  that  made  decorated 
stoves  have  perished.  Cornwall  Furnace,  built  upon  its  very 
valuable  sulphurous  and  copper -bearing  iron  ore  hills  on  Fur- 
nace Creek,  in  Lebanon  County,  Pa.,  and  which  still  used  char- 
coal  in    1892,   though  modernized,    is   still    (1914)    in  blast. 

According  to  Pearse.  Iron  Manufacture,  218,  and  Swank, 
Iron  in  All  Ages,  182.  Cornwall  Furnace  was  built  in  1742  by 
Peter  Grubb  (son  of  John  Grubb,  a  Cornish  emigrant)  who,  in 
1745.  leased  it  for  twenty  years  to  twelve  persons  not  named, 
who  operated  it  as  the  Cornwall  Company.  This  company  ap- 
pears to  have  suh-let  it.  either,  as  Pearse  confusedly  states,  to 
Jacob  Giles,  a  Quaker  of  Baltimore  (about  1755-65),  or,  accord- 
ing to  Acrelius,  quoted  by  Pearse,  to  Gurritt  &  Co.,  or  Garrett 
&  Co.,  about  1756.  In  the  meantime.  Peter  Grubb  having  died 
intestate  in  1754,  the  twenty-year  lease  fell  by  inheritance  to 
his  sons,  Peter  Grubb.  2nd,  and  Curtis  Grubb,  afterwards 
colonels   in   Washington's   Army    (Swank,    182;    Pearse,   218). 

With  its  immense  bellows  twenty  feet  seven  inches  long, 
and  five  feet  ten  inches  wide,  supplying  six  forges  with  pig- 
iron  and  making  twenty-four  tons  per  week  it  was  held  by  the 
Grubbs,  including  Peter  Grubb,  3d.  son  of  the  2nd  Peter,  till 
1798,  when  Robert  Coleman,  whose  descendants  still  own  the 
furnace,  bought  five-sixths  of  the  valuable  property  from  the 
Grubb   family,   some   of  whose   heirs   still   hold   the   remainder. 


■H^ 
s 


CoUec- 


ir'i"  I  ^iii  \-^^ 


164. 

Frag-ments  of  Stove  Plates. 

Size,  largest,  11  x  21  inches.  Bucks  County  Historical  Society, 
Nos.  789,  1514  and  1515,  Described  in  "Decorated  Stove 
Plates,"  page  U. 


101 


All  three  pieces  are  remarkable.  The  lowermost,  evidently 
the  side  plate  of  a  six-plate  stove,  while  showing  the  usual 
flower-pots,  chequers  and  tulip  leaves  of  the  usual  floral  pattern, 
has  o.-nitted  the  familar  canopy  altogether,  and  filled  the  center 
with  a  flower  basket,  like  that  on  one  of  the  small  frag  nents. 
but  otherwise  of  unparalleled  pattern,  out  of  which  spring  unbal 
anced  leaf  scrolls  set  within  the  figures  of  the  date.   1765. 

The  inscript  on  on  the  upper  left  fragment,  also  probably 
part  of  a  six-plate  stove. 

M.   C.    E.   THOM. 

MAS.  SMIT.. 
I  have  deciphered  as  standing  for  "Martic  Eisen  (or  Eisenhut- 
tcn).  Thomas  Smith" — as  ironmaster  and  founder  of  Martic 
Furnace,  on  French  Creek,  in  Northern  Chester  County,  in 
1751.  see  Figure  134.  The  two  smaller  fragments  found  to- 
gether are  evidently  parts  of  one  old  stove,  used  in  the  last 
century  at  Nathaniel  Shewell's  Tannery,  and  were  found  by  the 
writer  in  1898  built  into  the  spring-house  wall  at  the  Shcwell 
house  known  as  "Painswick  Hall."  New  Britain.  Pa.  The 
lower  piece,  found  in  the  waste-iron  heap  of  Mr.  Kenderdine. 
near  Dublin.  Bucks  County.  Pa.,  in  the  same  year,  must  have 
belonged  to  another  stove. 


i66. 
The  Conqueror. 

Side    plate    of    six-plate    stove.      S  ze    H.    24ia    x    W.    26!/^    inches. 
Mr.    Robert   Rau.    Bethlehem,   Pa. 

Under  a  scries  of  clumsy  decorative  scrolls,  only  the  fore- 
legs of  a  prancing  horse,  with  the  lowered  standard  of  a  war- 
rior, much  obscured  by  rust,  above  the  form  of  a  small  retreat- 
irg  animal,  possibly  another  horse,  are  seen  to  the  r^ght.  and  in 
opposition  to  the  advance  of  a  kingly  figure  on  horseback,  hold- 
ing a  drawn  s'A'ord.  These  figures  appear  as  if  upon  a  narrow. 
undulating  road,  qua  ntly  indicated  by  diagonal  lines  set  between 
parallel   stripes. 

The  plate,  described  in  "Decorated  Stove  Plates,"  page  19, 
was  found  for  the  writer  in  1897  by  Mr.  Robert  Rau.  in  a 
lumber  room   in   Bethlehem,   Pa. 

Replica:    Col.    H.    D.    Paxson.    Holicong,    Bucks    County.    Pa.. 


165. 

Sixtv-Seveiitli  P^ialtn. 


Bucks 


Side   plate   of  six-plate    stove.     Size.    H.    2414    x    W.   31'4- 
County  Historical  Society. 

This  unique  pattern  was  found  by  the  writer  in  a  garden 
pavement  near  the  gate  at  a  farmhouse  in  Hilltown  Township. 
Bucks  County,    Pa.,  in   1908,  and  bought  for  five  dollars. 

Strange  to  say.  the  inscription  like  that  on  Figure  46  is  a 
misquotation.  The  words  GOT.  SEI.  UNS.  GNADIG.  PSALM. 
117..  "God  be  merciful  unto  us,  PsalTis  117,"  should  quote  not 
Psalm  117,  but  Psalm  67.  and  the  placing  of  the  sentence  across 
the  top.  instead  of  the  middle  of  the  pattern,  the  paneling  of  the 
plate  into  three  rectangular  decorated  panels,  chequered  with 
three  blank  spaces,  the  wide  swell  of  the  two  flower-pots,  the 
thin  petals  of  the  flowers,  and  the  extreme  plainness  of  the 
whole  carving,  disconnect  the  plate  from  all  the  other  patterns 
thus  far  found,  and  suggest  rather  the  designs  of  old  embroidery 
known  as  "samplers,"  or  the  decorative  paintings  upon  emi- 
grants'  chests. 


167, 

Xtie  German  Hunter* 

Back  plate  of  six-  or  ten-plate  stove.     Size,   H.   24^2    x   W.    14^. 
Bucks  County  Historical  Society. 


102 


The  channeled  marginal  rims  are  here  cast  as  two  columns, 
but  without  the  arched  canopy.  Between  them  a  bearded  man 
on  horseback,  w'th  cocked  hat,  top-boots  and  sword  or  boar 
knife,   holds  a   horn   in  his   left  hand. 

A  dog  runs  below,  and  a  realistic  eagle  wearing  a  crown. 
dates  the  plate  as  older  than  the  era  of  American  Independence, 
when  the  crown  would  not  have  been  used. 

The  eagle  evidently  stands  for  the  single-headed  heraldic 
eagle  of  Prussia,  and  the  rider  with  the  dcg,  for  a  hunts  r.an, 
rather  than  a  soldier,  while  the  sword  stamps  him  as  in  chase  of 
the  deer  or  wild  boar,  rather  than  as  an  English  fox-hunter, 
whose  now  famous  sport  had  not  become  popular  until  about 
1750.  The  horn  is  neither  bugle  nor  trumpet,  but  the  melod  ouj 
soft-toned  brass  hunting  horn,  the  waldhorn  of  Germany,  or 
Corne  de  Chasse  of  France,  blown  by  vibration  of  the  lips. ' 

Replica :  June,  1914.  found  in  an  old  house  at  Langhorne, 
Bucks   County,    Pa. 


167-a. 

Back  Plate  of  Six-Plate  Sto^e. 

Size.  H.  23^4.  W.  I234.  Mr.  A.  D.  Mixsell.  Twelfth  Street  and 
Prospect  Avenue,  Bethlehem,  Pennsylvania,  September  21,  1914. 
Found   at   a   junk   dealer's   yard   in    Bethlehem,   where   it  had   been 

factured  contemporaneously  with  the  jamb 
stoves  by  American  furnaces  in  the  first  half 
of  the  17th  century. 

ABANDONMENT    OF    SIX-PLATE 
STOVES. 

Moreover,  all  the  evidence  shows  that  the 
existence  of  the  six-plate  stove  thus  con- 
structed and  decorated  was  brief,  lasting  little 


discovered    in    a    pile    of   scrap    iron    fifteen    years    ago,    and    nailed 
to  a  wall  as  a   curiosity. 

The  very  uninteresting  plate  shows  the  date  1764  set  upon 
a  raised  cornice  between  two  hi'^eous  shell-1  ke  scrolls,  ani 
because  of  the  lateness  of  its  manufacture  and  its  extreme 
n?rrowness  in  proportion  to  its  height,  we  may  suppose  it  to  be 
the  rear  plate  of  a  six-plate  stove  rather  than  the  front  of  a 
Jamb    Stove. 


168. 

Xlionia«!i  Rutter  of  Colebrookdale. 

Side  plate  of  six-plate  stove.  Size.  H.  19  x  W.  23.  Philadelphia 
Museum,  Memorial  Hall.  Fair  mount  Park.  Mus.  No.,  '08 — 691. 
Repl  ca.   Col.   H.    D.   Paxson    (1911),   Holicong,   Pa. 

Probably  a  part  of  one  of  the  last  six-plate  stoves,  made  in 
the  ancient  style  after  the  introduction  of  ten-plate  stoves,  about 
1765,  or  about  the  date  of  the  abandonment  of  the  Colebrookdale 
Furnace.  Nothing  remains  to  suggest  the  familiar  characteristic 
floral  pattern,  but  the  position  of  the  central  cartouche  or 
rimmed  stripe  of  inscription,  cross  ng  the  middle  of  the  plate, 
and  the  larger  medallion  below  it,  shaped  in  the  usual  way.  The 
inscription  clearly  spelled,  as  if  by  an  English  work.nan,  with- 
out suggestion  of  Ger.xan  adornment,  abbreviation,  or  mis-spell- 
ing, COLEBROOKDALE  FURNACE.  (in  Colebrookdale 
Township,  Berks  County,  Pa.,  named  after  Colebrookdale  Fur- 
nace in  Shropshire,  England,  and  the  earliest  furnace  in  Penn- 
sylvania, built  in  1720),  replaces  the  religious  motto  in  the  car- 
touche, while  the  name,  abbreviated  as  in  English,  THO. 
RUTTER.  (born  1731.  died  1795,  grandson  of  Thomas  Rutter, 
the  founder  and  ironmaster,  in  1720,  see  Figure  157),  fills  the 
lower  medallion.  The  plate  closely  resembles  the  tasteless  Fig- 
ure 169,  and  was  no  doubt  carved  by  the  same  mouldmaker. 
The  lower  background  is  bare,  and  clumsy  scrolls  and  scallops 
take  the  place  of  the  tulip-filled  cavities  of  the  upper  field. 

more  than  ten  years.  The  earliest  American 
plates  in  the  collection  (Figures  152  and  153) 
are  dated  1761  and  the  latest  (Figure  172) 
1772,  while  the  Potts  manuscripts  note  them 
by  name  as  made  in  1760  at  Warwick  Furnace 
and  last  sold  at  Pottsgrove  Furnace  in  1768. 
The  stove  appears  to  have  been  an  after- 
thought, appearing  at  the  last  moment,  and, 
in  its  decorated  form,  as  here  described,  aban- 


103 


i69* 
Xliotnas  Mavbury  of  Hereford. 

Side  plate  of  six-plate  stove.     Size.  H.  20  x  W.  25.      Hon.  S.  W. 
Pcnnypacker.  at  Schwenksv;ne.   June   30.    1910. 

Nothing  of  the  familar  floral  pattern  remains  except  ths 
general  arrangement,  showing  three  panels,  in  the  lower  of 
wh'ch  th:  large  me:3allion  is  inscribed  with  the  name  of  the 
iron.T.astcr,  THOMAS.  MAYBURRY..  while  the  central  car- 
touche shows  the  words  HEREFORD.  FURNACE.  Whoever 
carved  the  displeasing  pattern.  Figure  168.  probably  carved  th  s 
also,  as  both  are  arranged  in  the  same  way.  A  meaningless 
scroll  and  tv.o  corner  scrolls  fill  the  upper  p^nel.  P. liars,  arches, 
tulips,  flower  pots,  religious  mottoes  and  symboKc  aureole  have 
all   gene. 

The  ten-plate  stove.  Figure  180,  is  marked  Thomas  May- 
bury.  Hercfcrd.  while  the  eccentric  five-plate  pattern.  Figure 
105,  is  cast  v/ith  the  name  Hereford  between  the  initials  W.  M,, 
probably  for  William  Maybury.  and  if  it  were  not  for  these 
un'nt cresting  plates,  and  an  old  piece  of  pig-iron  found  at  the 
bottom  of  a  well  at  Hereford.  Berks  County.  Pa.,  now  at  the 
Berks  County  Historical  Society,  marked  with  the  name  Here- 
ford, the  very  existence  of  the  obscure  Hereford  Furnace,  on 
th;  West  Branch  of  Perkiomen  Creek  in  Hereford  Township. 
Berks  County.  Pa.,  might  be  doulited.  Swank  and  Pearse  make 
no  n-.ent  on  of  it,  but,  according  to  Old  Charcoal  Furnaces  in 
Eastern  Berks  County,  by  Winslow  Fegley,  an  old  map.  pub- 
lished in  1753.  shows  that  the  Hereford  works,  now  long  in 
ruins,   stood  there  at  that  time. 

Swank  speaks  of  a  Thomas  Maybury  making  sheet-iron  it 
Mount  Holly  Forge,  in  New  Jersey,  destroyed  by  the  British  in 
1775,  another  Thomas  Maybury  building  Green  Lane  Forge,  on 
Perkiomen  Creek,  Montgomery  County,  in  1733.  and  another 
Thomas  Maybury  petitioning  the  General  Assembly  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, with  a  number  of  iron  masters,  for  a  protective  duty  on 
iron,   in   1785. 

The  William  Maybury.  of  Figure  105.  appears  to  have  been 
a  Justice  of  the  Peace,  shareholder  at  Shearwell  Furnace,  at 
Oley,    in    1760.    and    early    ironmaster    in    Berks    County,    accord- 

doned  almost  immediately  upon  its  introduc- 
tion, but  its  principle,  which  is  that  of  all 
modern  house-warming  stoves,  whether  burn- 
ing coal  or  wood,  survives. 


ing  to  Mr.  B.  F.  Owen,  and  Swank  says  that  a  Jonathan  May- 
bury and  Co.  owned  Fountain  Forge  in  Donegal  Townsh  p. 
Westmcreland    County.    Pa.,    before    1812. 

Replicas;     '  1  i    Bucks    County    Historical    Society,   bought    Ht 
H.   Worthington's   furniture   store.   September   7,    1911. 

(2)    Col.  H.  D.  Paxson.  Holicong.  Pa..  Aug.  6.   1913. 


170. 

Sties:el  of  1769. 

Side   plate    of   six-plate   stove.     Size.    H.    1 
H.    D.     Faxson.    Htlicors,    Pa. 


X   W.   23.     Col. 


171. 

The  plate  and  its  rusted  companion,  the  replica  Figure  171. 
with  its  spray  of  flowers  springing  from  a  three-pointed  scroll 
wreathed  in  floral  scrolls,  and  with  the  date  1769,  and  the 
words  H.  W.  STIEGEL..  marks  the  appearance  of  a  new  and 
insignificant  style,  and  the  subversion  of  the  old  religious 
art  of  the  pattern  carver. 

Any  stove  with  smoke  pipe  and  fuel  door, 
like  all  modern  American  house  stoves  now  in 
use,  may  be  called  a  draft  stove,  and  it  is 
probable  that  other  exceptional  and  eccentric 


104 


172. 
lUark  Bird  of  Hope^vell* 


H.    21    X   W.   29.      Col.    H.    D. 


Side  plate   of  six-plate   stove.     Size, 
Paxson,   Hol.cong,   Pa. 

Upon  a  ribbon  above  the  pattern,  the  ironmaster,  MARK 
BIRD,  has  set  his  name  with  that  of  HOPEWELL  FURNACE, 
on  French  Creek,  Union  Township,  Berks  County,  Pa.,  erected 
according  to  Swank,  by  Will. am  Bird,  in  1759,  or  by  his 
son,  Mark  Bird,  about  1765.  W.Iliam  Bird  died  in  1761,  and 
Mark,  thereafter  owner,  a  L-eutenant-CoIonel  in  the  Revolution, 
became  bankrupt  in  1785  88.  The  meaningless  plate  with  its 
mass  of  floral  filigree,  lacking  all  religious  or  emblematic  signifi- 
cance, and  all  semblance  of  the  older  decorative  style,  is  without 
interest  save  for  its  date,  1772.  That  shows  that  the  plate 
was  cast  after  the  general  introduction  of  ten-plate  stoves, 
with  interior  ovens,  and  fixes  the  time  of  the  downfall  of  the 
ancient  art  of  stove  decoration  described  in  these  pages. 

A  complete  stove,  minus  the  legs,  comprising  this  plate  is 
illustrated  in  Colonial  Forges  and  Furnaces,  Colonial  Dames, 
Philadelphia,   1914.  page   156. 


173- 
Xlie  Fox  and  Crane. 

Side    plate    of   six-plate    stove.      Size,    W.    22    x    H.    1934.      Young 
Men's   Missionary  Society,  at  Bethlehem,   Pa. 

To   illustrate   ^sop's  celebrated   fable   of   the   Crane   who   had 
been    cheated    out    of    a    dinner    by    the    greedy    fox    the    picture 


shows  the  bird  with  uplifted  wings  feeding  from  a  narrow 
necked  vase,  while  the  outwitted  fox,  sitting  close  to  the  left, 
looks   hungr  ly   on. 

The  figures  are  well  modeled,  but  the  vaulted  canopies 
of  the  German  stove  plates  are  here  abandoned  for  a  framework 
of  scrolls,  which  near  the  upper  margin  enclose  the  words 
BATSTO,  showing  that  the  heavy  open  sand  cast  plate,  though 
found  at  Bethlehem,  was  made,  strange  to  say,  not  in  Penn- 
sylvania, but  at  Basto  Furnace,  on  Little  Egg  Harbor  River. 
Burlington  County.  N.  J.  (founded  by  Charles  Read  in  1760  and 
abandoned  in  1846),  where  it  may  have  been  cast  by  William 
Reynolds  who  (according  to  Pearse,  page  54)  was  employed 
there   as   founder   in    1768   to    1784. 

If  any  jamb  stoves  were  ever  cast  in  New  Jersey  they 
would  have  been  produced  by  furnaces  in  existence  before  1760, 
namely  either  at  Shrewsbury  or  Tinton  Falls  Furnace  in  South 
Monmouth  County,  founded  1682,  at  Mount  Holly,  or  Hanover 
Furnace,  Morris  County,  1730  to  1776,  at  Ring  wood  or  Ogden 
Furnace,  Passaic  County.  1740  to  1776.  at  Oxford.  Warren 
County,  from  1742  to  1782,  or  at  Union.  Hunterdon  County, 
1750  to  1778.  But  all  the  jamb  stove  plates  thus  far  found 
in  New  Jersey  have  been  cast  in  Pennsylvania,  and  we  have 
as  yet  only  this  plate  and  Figure  177.  both  side  plates,  not  of 
the  earlier  jamb  stove,  but  of  the  later  six-plate  or  draught 
stoves,  as  the  only  evidence  of  decorated  stove  casting  during 
the  colonial  period  in  question  thus  far  heard  of  by  the  writer 
in   New  Jersey.     (But  see  Figs.  88-b  and  88-c.) 


174. 

The  Hero. 

Side  plate  of  six-plate  stove.  Size,  H.  23  x  W.  25.  Pennsylvania 
State   Library,  at   Harrisburg,   Pa. 

The  inscription.  H.  W.  STIEGEL.  ELIZABETH.  FUR- 
NACE. 1769.,  appears  plainly  along  the  top  of  the  plate,  while 
in  the  lower  corners  the  Masonic  emblems,  a  rule  and  com- 
pass, on  the  left,  are  balanced  by  a  square  and  what  seems 
the  rude,  min-ature  outline  of  a  furnace  with  its  smokestack 
on  the  right,  possibly  indicating  an  association  of  Stiegel  and 
his   furnace   with   the   Freemasons. 

A  human  bust  crowned  with  victorious  laurels  and  enclosed 
in  a  laurel  wreath,  showing  the  berries  of  the  Laurus  nobilis, 
adorns   the   middle   plate   forming   the   center   of  the   pattern. 

Nothing  in  the  reign  of  George  the  Third  in  1769.  nine 
years  after  his  accession,  and  six  years  after  the  ending  of  the 
French  and  Indian  War  by  the  Treaty  of  Paris  in  1763,  seems 
to  justify  the  laurel  wreath  and  the  framework  of  the  medallion, 
and  if  we  do  not  ascribe  the  bust  to  the  king  we  may  per- 
haps more  reasonably  suppose  that  Stiegel,  the  prosperous 
manager   of    Elizabeth    Furnace   and    Charming    Forge,    maker    of 


105 


Manheim  and  fourder  of  the  only  glass  works  in  ihe  American 
■colonies,  employer  of  two  or  three  hun  !red  workmen,  with  his 
carriage  and  outriders,  private  orchestra,  castles  and  mansions, 
here  attempts  to  represent  himself  as  a  conqueror  of  d.fficult  es 
or  a  pioneer  of  enterprise  in  the  hcydey  of  his  prosperity,  six 
years   before   diaster  and    bankruptcy   overtook    him    in    1774. 

According  to  Dr.  J.  H.  Sieling's  paper  on  "Baron  Henry 
William  Stcgel."  before  the  Lancaster  County  Historical  So- 
ciety. September  4,  1895.  New  Era  print.  Lancaster.  1896.  and 
other  authorities.  Heinrich  Wilhel  n  Stiegel  came  to  America 
in  the  brij  Nancy  in  1750,  lived  unt  1  176S  in  Ph  ladelphia.  mar- 
ried Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Jacob  Huber.  master  of  Elizabeth 
Furnace,  in  1752.  and  in  partnersh-p  with  Alexander  and  Charles 
Steadman  bought  the  furnace  of  his  father- n-law  in  1757  (Swank. 
pcgz    180). 

Stiegel  and  his  company  pulled  down  the  old  furnace  with 
its  rhyme: 

■JOHAN   HUBER  DER  ERSTE  DEUTSCHE  MANN 

DER  DAS   EISENWERK  VOLFUHREN   KANN." 

"Johan  Huber.  the  first  German  man  who  can  manage  iron- 
works." inscribed  upon  the  smokestack,  and  built  a  new  furnace 
on  or  near  the  same  spot,  raned  Elizabeth,  after  Stiegel's  wife, 
and  from  v.-hich  the  township  afterwards  took  its  name.  Eliza- 
beth Stiegel.  who  died  February  3.  1758.  leaving  her  husband 
two  female  ch  1-Jrcn.  was  buried  in  the  Lutheran  graveyard  at 
Brickerv.lle.  but  the  inscription  H.  W.  HELM.  STIGCHELS. 
IN.  COMPANGNI.  VOR.  ELIZABETH.  (Figures  121  to  126; 
is  not.  as  Sieling  supposes,  in  mourning  for  her.  which  is  proved 
by  the  word  VORNES  on  F.gure  126,  but  rather  his  advertise- 
ment as  part  manager  with  a  company,  for  the  furnace.  Sieling 
asserts.  p?ge  47,  on  the  author  ty  of  W  Uiam  Taylor,  master  of 
Char.Tiing  Forge,  living  in  1896.  that  Stiegel's  first  stoves  were 
jamb  stoves  with  the  inscr  ption  BARON  STIEGEL.  1ST.  DER. 
MANN.  DER.  DIE.  OPEN.  GIE^SEN.  KANN.  "  Baron 
Stiegel  IS  the  man  who  can  cast  stove=."  but  no  such  stove 
or  plate  has  been  found,  neither  is  it  probable  that  Stiegel  was 
a  baron;  and  though  he  once  signed  himself  von  Stiegel.  -t 
appears  that  he  never  signed  a  documznt  as  baron. 

Sieling  says  that  Dr.  Joseph  Dubbs.  of  Franklin  and  Mar 
shall  College,  found  evidence  that  a  Baron  Stengel  left  Man- 
heim  for  America  in  the  late  18th  century,  but  failed  to  find 
the  name  Stiegel  in  the  Manhei  ti  records.  Mr.  Luther  M. 
Kelker.  of  Harrisburg.  a  descendant  of  Stiegel.  supposes  that 
he  was  not  a  baron  and  has  a  devotional  book  of  St  egel's 
brother.  Anthony,  inscribed  GEBOREN  AUS  KOELLEN  (Co- 
logne) AM  RAEINN  (Rhine),  indicating  that  the  family  came 
from  the  latter  city  and  not.  as  Sieling  supposes,  from  Man- 
heim. 

In  1759  Stiegel  married  his  second  w  fe,  Elizabeth  Holz. 
of  Philadelphia.  In  1760  he  bought  half  of  Charming  Forge, 
and  in  1762,  in  partnership  with  the  Stead  mans,  above  noted, 
founded    Manheim. 

He  visited  the  furnace  from  Philadelphia  once  a  month  in 
a  coach  with  postillions  and  a  pack  of  hounds,  when  cannon 
were  fired  off  at  his  "castle"  and  an  orchestra  of  workmen 
serenaded    him    from    the    cupola    of    his    Manheim    house.       The 


latter,  decorated  with  tiles  and  tapestry,  with  its  chapel  and 
pulp  t.  was  built  in  1763-65  with  English  imported  brick.  He 
had  another  mansion  at  Elizabeth  Furnace,  and  had  built  a 
wooden  tower  seventy-five  feet  high  on  a  high  hill  near  Shafers- 
town.  to  entertain  his  friends,  and.  according  to  Sherman  Day, 
had  another  tower  or  castle  about  five  miles  northwest  of 
Eohrata. 

He  bu  It  the  glass  works  at  Manheim  in  1765-68.  then  th: 
only  factory  of  its  kind  in  the  British  colonies.  He  mortgaged 
his  share  of  the  company's  property  to  Daniel  Benezet  in  1768 
and  bought  out  the  Steadman's  share  of  the  Manheim  enterprise 
in  1770  for  107  pounds.  He  had  brought  40,000  pounds  sterling 
with  h  m  from  Europe  and  invested  it  in  his  enterprises,  reach- 
ing the  zenith  of  his  prosperity  in  1769.  the  date  of  the  plate 
here   illustrated. 

He  was  imprisoned  for  debt  in  1774.  but  released  and  per- 
mitted to  continue  Elizabeth  Furnace  for  his  creditors  until  1778. 
when   his   efforts   finally   failed. 

He  moved  to  Brickerville.  and  taught  school  at  the  age 
of  forty-e'ght  in  1781  at  Womelsdorf.  In  1782  his  second  wife 
died,  and  his  own  death  followed  at  the  age  of  fifty-three  in 
1783.     He    was    probably   buried   at    Brickerville    church. 

Two  holes  have  been  bored  through  the  plate  here  illus- 
trated, as  if  for  the  insertion  of  bolts,  to  hold  the  stove  together. 
It  was  found  in  an  iron  scrap-heap  about  1900  at  R.  Blicken- 
derfer's  foundry  in  Lancaster.  Pa.  (Intorraation  of  Mr.  S.  M- 
Sener,   Lancaster.   Pa..   1909.) 


175- 
Be  Liberty  Thine. 

Side  plate  of  six-  or  ten-plate  stove.     Size.   H.   25%   x  W.   32Vi. 
Col.    H.   D.   Paxson.    Holicong.   Pa..   December.   1913. 

This     is     the     boast     characteristic     of     a     time     when     men 
mistook    their    new     Independence    for     Liberty,    and    with    the 


forms  of  draught  stoves,  like  Stiegel's  "Pom- 
merofen,"  made  at  Elizabeth  Furnace  in  Penn- 
sylvania in  1757  (Figure  225),  which  is  an 
American  copy  of  the  Pommerofen  of  Ger- 
many above  mentioned,  existed  as  importations 
or  were  made  at  the  colonial  furnaces  in  the 
18th  century.'' 

But  it  is  the  remarkably  decorated  rectan- 
gular, box-shaped,  portable  stove,  standing  free 


of  the  wall,  without  upper  story,  made  of  six 
heavy  open  sand  cast  plates,  which  alone  con- 
cerns this   investigation. 

A  few  box-shaped,  rectangular,  wood- 
burning  stoves  of  six  plates  continued  to  be 
made  during  and  after  the  American  Revolu- 
tion,''" but  there  is  no  mistaking  their  plates, 
such  as  Figure  175  or  Figure  177,  made  at 
Batsto   Furnace   in    New   Jersey  and   dated   in 


106 

latttr    word    continually    in    their    mouths,    delighted    to    preach 
that  which  might  not  be  practiced. 

An  angel  flying  'n  clouds  and  hsliiTig  a  bl.iz  rg  torch, 
announces,  with  blast  of  trumpet,  the  motto,  on  a  ribbon  above. 
BE  LIBERTY  THINE  to  two  seated  figures,  on  the  right 
an  Indiin  under  tv.o  stalks  of  reed  or  palm,  with  a  dog  like  a 
greyhound,  and  with  bow.  arrows  and  quiver,  on  the  left  to 
Minerva  wth  her  shield,  or  to  the  genus  of  Wisdom  or 
America,  rather  than  to  the  poor  negro  ilave,  who  is  left  out 
altogether. 

The  two  cross  borders  may  indicate  an  attempt  to  balance 
in  decoration  an  oven  door  opposite,  and  hence  show  that  the 
plate  belongs  to  a  ten-plate  rather  than  to  a  six-plate  stove.  Th; 
liberty  procla.Taton  would  not  have  been  produced  before  the 
Revolution,  whde  the  classical  details  and  curtained  festoons  in 
the  Adam  style,  fix  the  date  of  the  casting  at  about  1785  to  1800. 


176. 

Xlie  Rising:  Sun. 

Side  plate  of  six-plate  stove.  Size,  H.  18'/,  x  W.  23"/2.  Berks 
County  Historical  Society,  1913.  Found  walled  in  the  chiTiney 
of  a  small  house  in  Alsace  township,   Berks   County,   Pa. 

The  artistically  decadent  pattern  showing  the  name  of  the 
furnace,  over  a  figure  of  the  sun  rising  or  setting  upon  the 
sea.    marks    the    end    of    the    period    of    stove    decoration    hsrewith 


1770,  with  their  modernized  patterns,  English 
inscriptions  or  patriotic  mottoes  for  the  older 
original  patterns  here  described.  Neither  is 
there  any  danger  of  confusing  the  ancient 
stoves,  unmistakable  in  construction  and  deco- 
ration, with  the  other  draught  stoves  of  the 
post-Revolutionary  period,  of  lighter  make, 
with  flask  cast  plates,  of  sheet  iron  or  soap- 
stone,  or  of  eccentric  form,  sometimes  box- 
shaped  and  with  the  fire  chamber  in  one  piece, 
which  as  frequently  embellished  with  hideous 


described,  and  proves  that  th-  plate  was  cast  at  Berkshire  Fur- 
nace near  the  site  of  the  present  Robesonia  Furnace  in  Heidel- 
berg Township.  Berks  County,  Pa.,  during  the  period  of  the 
ex  stence  of  the  former,  viz:  between  1756  and  1792  (see 
Montgorrery.  62,  and  Figures  44  and  45),  probably  about  1770, 
or  possibly  under  the  management  of  George  Ege,  who  was 
master  in    1789  and  perhaps  earlier.-' 


177. 

The  Squirrel  Hunt. 

Side  plate  of  six-plate  stove.  Sze.  H.  23  x  W.  25 '/i.  Mr.  W.  L. 
Lathrop,  New  Hope,  Bucks  County,  Pa.,  who  showed  and 
described  the  plate  at  a  meeting  of  the  Bucks  County  Historical 
Society  in    1913. 

Without  religious  sign  ficance  or  trace  of  the  conventional 
treatirent  of  the  Bible  plates,  the  des  gn  shows  the  figure  of  a 
hunter  with  a  dog.  as  he  points  a  gun  at  a  squirrel  in  a  tree, 
while  three  birds  fly  away  overhead. 

The  name  and  date  on  the  scroll  below  show  that  th; 
plate  which  is  one  of  four  decorated  stove  plates  thus  far 
found  and  here  illustrated  as  made  in  New  Jers?y.  was  cast  in 
1770  at  Bat5to  Furnace  in  Burlington  County  on  the  Little 
Egg  Harbor  River  (founded,  according  to  Pearse.  page  54,  and 
Swank,  page  156,  by  Charles  Read  in  1766:  abandoned  in  1845), 
probably  when  William  Richards,  afterwards  owner  in  1784, 
was  employed  as  founder. 

and  meaningless  filagree,  survived  them  until 
the  present  time. 

The  immediate  cause  of  the  disuse  of  the 
decorated  six-plate  stoves  was  not  any  im- 
provement in  their  casting,  or  the  theory  of 
their  construction,  but  rather  the  introduction 
of  an  internal  oven  for  baking,  with  a  large 
oven  door  in  one  or  both  side  plates,  which 
suddenly  transformed  them  from  stoves  which 
only  warmed  the  house,  into  the  so-called 
"Ten  Plate"  stove,  which  cooked  food  and 
warmed  at  the  same  time. 


107 


178. 
Xlie  Xwo  Swans. 

Side  cf  s  x-plate  stove.     Size.    H.   23^2    x   W.   261,^.      Colonel    H. 
D.    Faxson,    Holicong.    Pa. 

Two  geese  or  swans  swim  in  a  pool  between  water  plants, 
surrounded  with  a  rococco  scroll  border,  and  above  a  ribbon 
scroll    inscrbed    with    the    words    PINE    GROVE    FURNACE. 

If  what  appears  to  be  a  date  with  the  figure  6  for  its  third 
numeral  has  been  cast  just  below  this  scroll,  standing  therefore 
for  some  year  in  the  1760's.  Pearse,  192,  and  Swank,  185.  must 
be  wrong  in  asserting  that  Pine  Grove  Furnace,  in  Cu  nber- 
land  County,  was  built  in  1770.  and  the  furnace  may  be  a  few 
years  oHer.  Sv/ark  says  that  Thorburg  and  Arthur  built  it. 
and  sold  it  bsfcre  1800  to  Michael  Ege.  Sr.,  and  Pearse,  pag: 
192,  nctes  that  it  was  the  last  furnace  in  Pennsylvania  to  blast 
with  the  old  wooden  blowing  tubs,  which  it  cont  nued  to  do 
until  abandoned  about  1870.  But  Mrs.  Rose  says  (Forges  and 
Furnaces,  Colonial  Dames,  186)  that  Georgs  Stevenson  owned 
the  property  from   1764  to    1772. 

Prof.  Charles  F.  Himes  has  a  ten  plate  stove  in  the  hall 
of  the  Har.ilton  Library  Association,  at  Carlisle.  Pa.,  inscribed 
PETER   EGE.   PINEGROVE   FURNACE. 


179. 

C^eorg^e  Rosis  of  1765. 

Size,  W.  27  X  H.  24.  Side  plate  of  ten  plate  stove.  Dr.  Park 
BrennTT.an.  cf  Lancaster,  Pa.  Found  at  the  eld  Fountain  Inn, 
at    Lancaster. 

The  plat;,  showing  the  opening  for  an  oven  door,  is  dated 
1765,  and  since,  before  that  time,  the  Pennsylvanian  colonists 
had  cooked  food  in  the  open  fire  and  not  in  stoves,  the  plate 
is  of  great  economic  impcrtance  as  showing  the  side  of  one 
of  the  frst  effective  cooking  stoves  used   in  the  colonies. 

Here,  as  the  illustration  shows,  a  six-plate  stove  of  the  type 
cf  Figure  180  has  been  fitted  out  with  an  internal  oven  for 
coohirg.  and  since  the  oven  required  four  mere  thin  plates 
for  its  construction,  the  stove,  named  after  the  number  of  its 
plates,  is  no  longer  a  "sx-platc"  but  a  "ten-plate"  stove,  from 
1  the  top.  2  bottom.  3  right,  4  left.  5  front.  6  back  plates 
of  its  outride,  and  7  the  top.  8  bottom.  9  front,  and  10  back 
plates  of  its  inside  construction. 

The  name  of  George  Ross,  lawyer,  of  Lancaster.  Pa.,  and 
signer  of  the  Declaraticn  cf  Independence,  is  plainly  cast  above 
the  oven  door,  on  either  side  cf  which  appear  the  figures  of  the 
date,  1765,  when  Roes  was  ironmaster  at  Mary  Ann  Furnace, 
on  Furnace  Creek,  Manheim  townsh  p.  York  County.  Pa. 
(founded  in  1763  by  George  Ross.  George  Stevenson.  William 
Thompson,  and  Mark  Bird),  where  the  plate  was  probably  cast. 
See  Fig.   141-A  and  Note  26. 


THE  TEN-PLATE  STOVE. 

Few  greater  changes  ever  took  place  in 
the  American  household  than  when  the  once 
universal  art  of  cooking  food  in  the  open 
kitchen  fire  was  abandoned.  This  finally  hap- 
pened when  the  coal-burning  cooking  stoves  of 
cast  iron,  with  adjustable  lids  exposing  the 
fire  for  boiling,  broiling  and  frying,  appeared 
about   1840. 

The  earlier  decorated  stoves,  previously 
described,  the  soft  coal  heating  grates,  intro- 
duced when  English  coal  was  imported  into 
the  colonies  about  1750;  Franklin's  down-draft 
fireplace  of  cast  iron,  introduced  by  him  in 
1743,    and    several    other    later    eccentric    and 


exceptional  forms  of  stoves,  referred  to  in 
American  books,  letters,  and  newspapers  of 
the  18th  century,  but  not  described  here,  used 
for  warming  houses  and  public  buildings  rather 
than  for  cooking,  had  no  effect  upon  the  pri- 
meval art  of  the  open  fire  cook.  But  the  stove 
known  in  Pennsylvania  as  the  "Ten-plate 
Stove,"  which,  though  not  prepared  to  boil, 
broil  or  fry  by  immediate  contact  of  dishes 
with  the  fire,  was  equipped  to  bake  meat,  cakes, 
pics  and  bread  on  a  small  scale,  and  thus  partly 
replaced  the  large  household  bread  oven  of 
masonry.  For  a  long  time  it  was  used  as  an 
auxiliary  to  the  open  fire,  near  which  it  stood 
with   its   sheet  iron  stovepipe   let  into  a  hole 


log 

The  shape  of  the  large  tuli'ps  and  the  use  of  a  small  tuh'p 
for  spacing  the  inscr  ption  are  characteristics  of  the  carvings 
on  the  decorated  six-plate  stoves,  which  were  then  still  being 
cast,  but  the  large  foliate  circle  and  eUborate  quatrcfoil  below 
are  unique,  and  the  whole  design  shows  that  the  sudden  intro- 
duction of  the  oven  door  has  paralyzed  the  hand  o£  the  pattern 
carver.  The  chief  point  of  interest  in  the  plate  is  the  fact 
that  it  marks  the  abrupt  end  of  the  ancieat  art  of  stove  decora 
tion.  which  originated  in  Germany  in  the  I6th  century,  was 
transplanted  to  America,  and  survived  here  for  about  fifty  years. 

It  may  appear  later  that  the  energetic  Stiegel.  well  and 
justly  praised  for  industrial  activity  and  enterprise,  who  estab- 
lished the  glass  works  at  Manheim  and  copied  the  old  German 
Pommerofen  in  1759.  was  the  first  to  introduce  the  ten-pUte 
cooking  stove,  but  the  evidence  thus  far  found  does  not  prove   it. 

The  confused  statement  in  Watson's  Annals.  Vol.  I,  page 
218.  that  ten-plate  stoves  were  invented  and  made  in  Pennsyl- 
vania before  Franklin's  fireplace,  i.  e..  before  1742,  is  undoubt- 
edly wrong.  No  one  to  the  writer's  knowledge  has  heard  of  an 
American  ten-plate  stove  earlier  than  1765,  the  date  cast  on  this 
plate  marking  it  as  the  earliest  of  its  kind;  or.  in  other  words, 
as  evidence  of  perhaps  the  first  effective  cooking  stove  thus  far 
found  in  the  United  States. 

Figure  185.  however,  clearly  showi  that  the  ten-plate  cook- 
ing stove  had  existed  since  the  middle  of  the  I7th  century,  at 
least  in  Holland.  Therefore,  neither  Stiegel  nor  any  other 
American  ironmaster  could  have  invented  it.  as  Ellis  and  Evans* 
History  of  Lancaster  County  supposes  Stiegel  did.  Neither 
can  it  be  contended  without  further  proof  that  Stiegel  even  in- 
troduced it.  since  William  Smith,  ironmaster  of  Martic  Furnace, 
1751-1766.  according  to  his  ledger,  in  possession  of  Mr.  B.  F. 
Owen,  of  Reading,  sold  a  ten-plate  stove  to  Bangor  Church,  at 
Churchtowrt,  Berks  County,  Pa.,  in  1766,  for  4  pounds  2  shifl- 
ings  sixpence,  and  since  the  earliest  known  Stiegel  stove,  dated 
1769,  Figure  182,  is  preceded  by  the  Maybury  stove.  Figure 
180.  dated   1767,  and  this  Ross  stove  of  1765. 


The  bottom  plate,  with  projecting  hearth,  is  fastened  to 
the  top  by  three  long  bolts  penetrating  perforated  mirginal 
1  ps.  as  in  the  case  of  the  sngle  bolt  of  the  five-plate  stove  A 
door  opens  on  either  side  of  the  oven,  14^  x  12  inches,  and 
the  front  plate  shows  a  wrought-iron  door  without  draught 
wicket,  and  a  small  upper  door  for  cleaning  the  flue  above  the 
interior  oven,  A  stove-pipe  hole  appears  in  the  top  plate.  Scroll 
work  surrounds  the  side  doer  and  decorates  the  back  and  front, 
as   seen  also   in    Figure    182. 

The  stove  thus  photographed  on  both  sides,  see  Figure 
181,  is  interesting,  because  certain  of  its  decorative  features 
have  survived  from  the  older  five*  and  six-plate  stoves;  namely, 
the  method  of  bolting  the  top  to  the  bottom  plate,  the  solid 
gutter-shaped  rims  on  the  front  and  back  plates,  the  arrange- 
ment of  the  inscription  in  a  central  cartouche,  with  the  words 
HEREFORD.  FURNACE.  1767..  and  the  shape  of  the  lower 
medallion  enclosing  the  name  Thomas  Maybury.  who  was,. 
therefore,  ironmaster  at  Hereford  Furnace,  in  Hereford  Town- 
ship. Berks  County,  Pa.,  where  and  when  this  stove  was  cast 
in    1767. 


i8o. 
Xhoina^  Mavbury  of  i7^« 

Ten-plate    stove.      Size    36    long    x    34    high    x    24    wide 
session.   1910,  of  the  Michigan  Stove   Co..  of   Chicago. 


In   pes- 


i8i. 
Xhoiiias  maybury  of  1767. 

Reverse  of  Figure  180. 

A  replica  of  this  complete  stove  but  with  the  date  changed 
to  1768.  is  in  the  possession  of  Col.  H.  D.  Paxson.  at  Holicong,  Pa. 
and  is  illustrated  in  Forges  and  Furnaces,  Colonial  Dames,  page 
133. 

We  learn  little  of  Hereford  Furnace  and  of  ■William  and 
Thomas  Maybury  who  owned  it  from  the  writers  '  Swank,  Pearse, 
Fegley.  etc.)  listed  in  the  notes.  Its  three  products  here  shown 
I  see  also  Figs.  105  and  169*  comprising  all  three  kinds  of  ancient 
colonial  stoves  ("jamb,"  "Six-Plate  "  and  "Ten-Plate)  are  all  un- 
interesting. They  show  no  religious  and  very  little  artistic 
motive.  All  advertise  the  Furnace,  the  last  two  showing  also 
the  name  of  Thomas  Maybury,  and  the  first  (Figure  105 »  the 
probable  initials  of  William  Maybury  who  may  have  founded 
the  works. 


:i05 


182. 

Stiegel  Stove  of  1769. 

Ten-plate  stove.  Size  about  36  long  x  27  high  x  15  wide.  Mr. 
G.  H.  Danner.  Manheim,  Pa.  Illustrated  in  "Decorated  Stove 
Plates."   Figure  20. 

Six  very  heavy  plates  of  cast-iron  surround  the  internal 
oven  consisting  of  four  plates.  for.Tiing  an  internal  box.  coincid- 
ing with  the  side  door,  around  and  over  which  oven  the  smoke 
and  flame  pass.  The  whole  stove  is  decorated  with  leaf  scrolls. 
and  the  words  H.  W.  STIEGEL  cast  above,  and  ELIZABETH 
FURNACE,  and  the  date  1769.  below  the  oven  door.  In  front, 
below  the  little  soot-cleaning  door,  and  above  the  fuel  door, 
which  latter  has  a  draught  wicket,  the  pattern  of  a  house  with 
its  chimney  and  porch,  is  encircled  with  scroll  work.  The  legs 
are  cast  in  the  form  of  scrolls.,  and  the  grooved  ri.-ns  at  the 
corners  in  the  form  of  columns,  as  in  Figure  167,  are  cast 
solid  upon  the  front  and  rear  plates.  As  in  Figure  180.  two 
side   bolts  and   one   rear  bolt   fasten  the   stove  together. 

The  very  economic  and  ancient  German  method  of  utilizing 
the  smoke  heat,  by  including  several  lengths  of  the  stove-pipe 
inside  the  stove,  is  here  applied  in  the  form  of  a  heat-retain  ng 
cylinder  attached  to  the  smoke-pipe  on  the  outside. 

in  the  chimney  above  the  hearth.  But  it 
never  superseded  the  ancestral  cooking  fire. 
This  latter  continued,  as  before  stated,  until 
when  towards  the  middle  of  the  19th  century 
the  coal-burning  cooking  range,  with  remov- 
able lids,  finally   extinguished  it  forever. 

But  the  ten-plate  stove  chiefly  concerns 
this  subject,  because  appearing  suddenly  about 
1765,  it  immediately  displaced  the  ancient 
decorated  stoves  above  described,  put  an  end 
to  the  decoration  of  stoves  in  general,  and 
therewith  may  be  said  to  have  marked  the  end 
of  the  artistic  casting  of  iron. 


183. 
Ten-Mate  Stove. 

Size    about    28   long    x    24    high    x    20   wide.     Pennsylvania    State 
Library,   at    Harrisburg. 

The  general  form  of  the  stove  resembles  that  of  F  gure  182. 
but  the  decorative  treatment  is  more  modern,  moreover  it  is 
clan-.ped  together  by  four  marginal  bolts  instead  of  three,  and 
as  the  side  plates  are  slightly  curved  they  n-.ust  have  been  cast 
in  flasks.  A  design  rese.T.bling  the  classic  cera.mic  patterns 
of  Josiah  Wedgwood  adorns  the  side  plate  below  the  door,  above 
wh-ch  the  words  Elizabeth  Furnace  are  cast  in  an  cntirelv 
novel  manner  below  the  upper  margin.  A  sheet-iron  cylinder 
for  retaining  the  heat,  perhaps  a  later  addition,  is  placed  upon 
the  smoke  pipe  above,  as  in  Figure  182.  The  side  door  opens 
towards  the  back  and  the  front  door  has  a  draught  wicket. 
There  is  little  about  the  stove  to  suggest  its  relationship  to 
the  five-  and  six-plate  stoves  which  preceded  it.  The  precise 
and  small  letters  of  the  words  ELIZABETH  FURNACE  cast 
over  the  oven  door  appear  to  have  been  glued  upon  the  pattern 
in  the  modern  factory  manner,  and  have  lost  all  trace  of  the 
hand  carver's  style  of  the  elder  stoves. 

Which  American  furnace  introduced  this 
stove  and  exactly  when  it  first  appeared,  the 
writer  has  been  unable  to  learn.  The  oldest 
plate  (Figure  179)  thus  far  in  the  writer's 
knowledge  found  in  Pennsylvania,  was  prob- 
ably cast  at  Mary  Ann  Furnace  in  West 
Manheim  Township,  York  County,  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  is  dated  1765,  v/han  George  Ross, 
whose  name  is  cast  on  the  plate,  was  iron 
master  there.  Thomas  Maybury  cast  Figures 
180  and  181  at  Hereford  Furnace  in  1767, 
Stiegel  cast  Figure  182  at  Elizabeth  in  1769, 
and   these   illustrations   and   figures   show   the 


no 


184. 

Ttrii-Hlate  Stove. 

Size  3515  inches  long  by  15  wide  by  27  high.  Col.  H.  D. 
Faxson.   Holicong,  Pa, 

One  oven  doer  opens  frO.Tl  left  to  right,  the  other  fro-n 
right  to  left,  while  in  the  Mas  bury  stove  of  1767  both  doors 
cpen  n  the  same  way.  Otherwise  the  boltirg,  position  of  stove- 
pipe anJ  of  fuel  and  cleaning  doors,  is  si-Tiilar.  The  plates 
of   the   interior   oven   and   all   doors    but    one   are   lost. 

The  decoration  has  lost  aH  interest  and  significance.  Over 
the  oven  door,  the  words  COLEBROOK  FURNACE  are  not  to 
be  confounded  with  old  Colebrockdale,  the  for.-ner  being  a  com- 
paratively modern  furnace  seven  m  les  southwest  of  Cornwall, 
on  Conewago  Creek,  Lebanon  County,  built  according  to  J.  M. 
Swank  (Iron  in  All  Ages,  page  196),  in  1791.  by  Robert  Cole- 
man. Another  ten-plate  stove  inscribed  COLEBROOK.  with- 
out date,  is  in  possession  of  Mr.   B.    F.   Owen,  at  Reading. 

American  ten-plate  stove  in  its  earliest  typical 
form.  The  whole  construction  is  that  of  the 
six-plate  stove,  with  the  exception  that  an 
internal  rectangular  oven  is  inserted  in  the 
stove  box,  over  the  fire,  consisting  of  four 
thin  cast  iron  plates,  fitted  upon  interior  chan- 
nels (and  coinciding  with  the  openings  of  the 
oven  in  both  side  plates),  so  made  as  to  per- 
mit the  heat  of  the  fire  to  pass  entirely  around 
the  oven  and  to  leave  the  stove  through  the 
smoke  pipe  set  in  the  front  end  of  the  top 
plate.  The  front  plate  is  perforated  with  a 
fuel  door  below,  and  a  small  door  for  cleaning 
the  soot  above  the  oven.  The  bottom  plate 
has  the  hearth  extension,  as  in  the  six-plate 
stove,  and  the  stove  is  bolted  together  gener- 
ally with  three,  sometimes  with  five,  vertical 


185. 
nutcli  Xeii-PIate  Stove. 

Size    in    centimeters,    0.54    long    x    0.76    high    x    0.31    wide.     Rijks 
Museum.    Amsterdam.       By    kind    permission    of    Dr.    B.    F.    Van 

Riemi'^'yk. 

outride  bolts,  in  the  fashion  of  the  older  stoves, 
and  as   described  under  the   illustrations. 

But  like  the  "Pommerofen"  stove  (Figure 
225)  cast  by  Stiegel  at  Elizabeth  Furnace  in 
1769,  this  stove  was  not  an  American  inven- 
tion, but  had  long  been  known  and  used  in 
Europe,  as  is  shown  by  Figures  185-186  from 
the  Rijks  Museum  at  Amsterdam. 

In  this  case  the  old  and  richly  decorated 
stove  equipped  with  its  internal  oven  for 
baking,  with  its  smoke  pipe  and  its  small  door 
for  soot  cleaning,  shows  only  one  oven  door 
on  one  side  plate  where  an  original  design 
intended  to  cover  the  whole  plate  has  been 
cut  into  or  encroached  upon  by  the  iron 
caster  for  the  insertion  of  the  door. 

But  the  American  stoves  had  oven  doors 
on    both    sides    and    the    technical    difficulties 


Ill 


The  stove,  dztei  15£0,  and  showing  the  whol:  constru'- 
t  on  of  an  American  so  calle  I  -tiin-p'.ate"  stove,  proves  that  the 
latter  was  not  invented  in  the  An-.erican  colon  es.  but  existei 
in  Holland  a  hundred  years  before  its  introduction  into  Penn- 
sylvania. 

The  bottom  plate  is  without  hearth  extens  on.  and  the  top 
plate,  perforated  for  a  stDve  pipe  not  shown  in  the  photograph. 
The  legs  are  missing  and  the  corner  rims  are  loose.  The 
doors  are  lost,  but  the  r  orifices  with  the  hinge  hooks  are 
drarly  shown,  namely,  those  for  the  right  oven  door,  the  fuel 
door  and  the  soot  door.  For  the  inter  or  oven,  which  has  no 
door  on  the  opposite  left  side,  see  F  gure  186.  the  plates  are 
missing.  Accord  rg  to  Dr.  Van  Rie-rsdyk  the  style  of  deco- 
ration of  the  stove  is  of  the  late  16th  century,  or  about  a  hun- 
dred years  older  than  its  date.  16£0.  and  the  fact  that  the 
oven  and  scot  door  orifices  have  been  introduced  so  as  to  cut 
across  and  obliterate  the  orig  nal  design  shows  that  the  caster 
has  made  a  new  stove  fro.m  old  moulds  by  redating  the  latter 
and  by  cither  sawing  out  holes  n  them,  or  correcting  their 
impressions  on  the  sand  to  suit  the  case. 


i86. 
Dutcli  Xen-riate  Stove. 

Reverse  of  Figure  185. 

^Vith  interior  oven  for  cooking.  Size.  0.76  centimetres  h-gh  by 
0.54  long  by  0.31  wide.  In  the  Rijks  Museum  at  Amsterdam. 
By  kind  permission  of  Dr.  B.  F.  Van  Ricmsdyk.  who  informs 
us  that  the  stove  is  dated  1660,  though  probably  made  from  a 
much  older  mould.  The  lower  fuel  door  is  original,  but  the 
cleanng  orifice  above  it.  and  the  large  oven  door  shown  in 
the  reverse.  Figure  185.  have  been  cut  or  cast  across  the 
pattern,    without    regard    to    the    design.       The    exceedingly    heavy 

thus  presented  of  mutilating  the  old  patterns 
by  cutting  door  holes  in  three  of  the  vertical 
plates  helps  to  explain  why  the  new  stoves 
were  not  decorated  in  the  old  way,  and  hence 


top  plate,  which  shows  no  holes  lor  inscrl  on  of  diagonal  bolts. 
Wis  probably  hsld  in  place  by  its  weight  alone.  The  pipe  hole 
in  the  top  pl3te  is  net  shown,  the  original  legs  are  lacking, 
and  the  h  ghly  ornamenul  corner  rims  showing  each  the  headi 
of  two  bolts,   are  loose. 

Here  we  have  a  very  early  specimen  of  what  is  called 
in  America  a  ten-plate  stove,  which  appears  to  have  been 
manufactured  from  patterns  used  in  casting  a  six-plate  draft 
stove,  and  which  having  been  m^de  in  1660  would  precede  the 
manufacture  of  the  American  ten-plate  stoves  herewith  described, 
by  a   hundred  years. 


187. 

Vndree  and  Company* 

Side  plate  of  ten-plate   stove.      Size   not    given.      Colonel    H.    D. 
Paxson,  Holcong,  Pa. 

The  advertisement  UDREE  AND  COMPANY  shows  that 
the  plate,  without  date,  was  cast  after  1778  at  what  has  bien 
called  by  Montgomery  and  others.  Dley  Furnace,  on  Furnace 
Creek,  Oley  Township,  near  Friedensburg,  Berks  County,  Pa., 
but  the  investigations  of  Mr.  B.  F.  Owen,  of  Reading,  show 
that  two  furnaces  rather  than  one  existed  at  this  site,  the  first, 
called  Shearwell  built  by  Deitrich  cr  Deiter  Welker,  who  had 
bought  land  at  the  site  in  1744,  probably  between  that  t  me 
and  1760.  and  who  rerr.ained  sole  owner  until  1760.  when 
Bened  ct  Swoope  bought  a  share  and  became  part  owner.  See 
the   stove-plate   Elijah   and  the   Ravens,    Figure   57. 

Oley  Furnace  proper,  accorc^ing  to  Mr.  Owen,  was  bu'lt 
by  Christian  Sauer  and  Jacob  Winey,  in  1772,  as  is  proved 
by  the  date  stone  so  marked,  now  in  the  Berks  County  His- 
torical Society,  and  originally  in  the  smoke-stack  of  Oley  Fur- 
nace. Daniel  Udree.  probably  with  others,  here  referred  to  as 
the  "company,"  bought  Oley  and  probably  Shearwell  with  it  in 
1778.  He  built  a  fine  mansion  near  the  furnace  and  died  in 
1838. 

Both  furnaces,  Shearwell  and  Oley,  standing  side  by  s  de. 
were  in  existence  in  1783,  as  when  seen  by  the  German  army 
surgeon.  Dr.  John  B.  Schoepp.  in  that  year,  he  speaks  of  two 
smokestacks  rather  than  one.  Mr.  Owen  has  not  learned  the 
date  of  the  abandonment  or  demol  tion  of  Shearwell  Furnace, 
but  Oley.  though  now  demolished  and  nearly  forgotten,  was  in 
existence   in    1884. 


since  the  new  stoves  superseded  the  old,  why 
the  old  art  of  stove  decoration  came  to  so 
sudden  an  end.  The  American  plate  (Figure 
179)  shows  that  in  one  at  least  of  the  earlier 


112 


i88. 
Xen-PIate  Sto^e  of  Durliain. 

Size.   H.   25'z    X   W.  32 "X. 

The  inscription  R.  BACKHOUSE.  DURHAM,  set  over 
the  oven  door  and  the  date  1785  flankei  by  scroll-work  on  the 
side  plate,  show  that  the  sto\e  was  cast  after  the  Revolut  on 
at  Durham  Furnace  in  northern  Bucks  County.  Pa.,  when 
Richard  Backhouse  was  ironmaster.  Its  side  and  the  end  plate 
are  shown,  the  latter  dec  ated  with  a  single  tulip  springing 
from  meaningless  scrolls,  is  '--ordered  by  two  ornamental  col- 
umns cast  so  as  to  cover  the  guttered  rims.  A  repUca  of  the 
side  plate,  and  also  the  fragment  of  a  similar  plate  showng 
the  words  Backhouse  and  Durham  are  at  the  Bucks  County 
Histcriral  Society. 


189. 

Xeii-Plate  Stove. 

Size,    H.    27^4    x    W.    37';-      Penrsylvaria    Museum,     Fairmount 
Park.    Ph  ladelphia.    Pa.     Museum    No..   '13.    64. 

The  arms  of  Pennsylvania  appearing  below  the  wrought- 
iron  oven  door,  show  that  the  uninteresting  stove  was  made 
after  the  Revolution.  So  does  the  advert'sement  DISTRICT 
FURNACE  en  a  scrcU  above,  showing  also  that  the  stove 
was  cast  at  the  post-colonial  District  or  German  Furnace  oa 
Pine  Creek,  District  Township,  Berks  County.  Pa.,  erected, 
according  to  Montgomery,  page  70.  after  the  Revolution  and 
before  1800,  pass  bly  before  1784.  and  probably  owned  by  John 
Lesher,  his  son.  Jacob   Lesher,  and  John  Teysher. 


Canadian  "Xliree  Rivers"  Stove. 

Size    not    given.        Mr.    John    J.     Drummond,     Midland,    Ontario, 
Canada,    1914.       Bought    by    Mr.    Dru.-nmond    at    Three    R.vers 


191. 

about  1890,  and  kindly  photographed  by  him  October  25,  1913, 
showing  its  front,  Figure  190.  back  Figure  191,  right.  Figure 
192.  and   left.    Figure   193. 


113 


Like  the  ten-plate  stoves  of  Pcrr.sylvan  a.  this  stove  is  a 
draft  stove,  adapted  for  cooking,  with  fuel  door,  oven  door, 
smoke  p  pc.  legs  and  internal  baking  oven,  made  of  three  jr 
four  inner  plates-  But  several  differences  of  construction  ap- 
pear. The  main  box  or  body  consists  cf  two  differently  sized 
stories  instead  of  one.  and  hcr.cc  the  entire  stove  is  made  of 
fourteen  or  fifteen  instead  cf  ten  iron  plates.  The  very  massive 
doors,  if  not  the  hinge  hooks,  arc  cf  cast,  not  wrought  iron,  and 
the  disk-shaped  hearth  extension  is  cast  free  of  th:  stove.  The 
legs  are  of  th;  modern  American  type.  Th=re  arc  no  outside 
bolts  and  the  side  plates  do  not  seem  to  be  clasped  by  the 
grooved  marginal  rims,  as  in  the  Pennsylvanian  stoves. 


designs    on    ancient    carved    gems,    after    drawings    of    Flaxmann 
(en-.ployed    by    Wedge  wood    in    1775),    Adam    and    others    about 

neo. 

Far  more  artistically  designed  than  any  of  the  Pennsylvanian 
ten-plate  stoves,  the  well  balanced  decorat'on  might  have  been 
made  with  loose  stamps,  but  made  thus  late,  the  stove  throws 
little    light    on    the    earlier    French    Three    Rivers    stoves,    which. 


';'  ^ 


192. 

As  we  do  not  know  when  stoves  of  th-s  general  type,  which 
first  appeared  as  ten-plate  stoves  in  Pennsylvania  about  1765, 
were  introduced  into  Canada,  we  must  infer  the  date  of  this 
stove,  not  from  its  construction,  but  from  its  decoration,  which 
is  of  the  very  characteristic  and  prevalent  style  developed   from 

Stoves  of  this  class  some  effort  was  made  to 
retain  the  ancient  tulip  pattern  or  reconstruct 
it  so  as  to  surround  the  door  hole  with  a 
decorative  framework.  But  attempts  of  this 
kind  must  have  been  soon  abandoned.  The 
American  Revolution,  occurring  shortly  after 
the  introduction  of  the  stoves,  interrupted  the 
traditional  dependence  of  American  furnaces 
on  European  processes.  The  ten-plate  stove, 
as  the  first  effective  cooking  stove,  was  a 
great  novelty.  Its  usefulness  widely  extended 
its  sale  and  introduced  it  to  English  colonists, 
who   had   not   used   the   older   stoves,   and   to 


Uv^; 


193- 

according  to  Peter  Kaim.  were  in  use  all  over  Canada  in  1749. 
which  were  seen  by  Frarquet  as  cast  in  six  plates  in  1752 
(quoted  by  Swank.  Iron  in  All  Ages,  page  350).  and  none  of 
which   cculd   have   besn   decorated   in  this   then   unheard-of  style. 

Several  inquiries  have  fa  led  as  yet  to  infor.Ti  the  writer 
of  the  existence  of  loose  plates  of  these  ancient  stoves,  thus 
certainly  maie  at  Three  Rivers  Furnace  between  1737.  the  date 
of  its  establishment,  and  1770.  But  as  decorated  stove  plates 
of  a  si.milar  date  have  survived  in  Pennsylvania,  they  must  have 

whom  the  German  art  of  stove  decoration  was 
unfamiliar  and  the  German  inscriptions  mean- 
ingless. 

As  time  went  on  artistic  deterioration 
increased  with  technical  improvement  in  flask- 
casting,  fittings,  thinness  of  plates,  and  round- 
ing of  forms,  until  the  whole  process  of  iron 
casting  had  so  lost  its  art  that  for  nearly  a 
century  no  one  in  America  has  looked  for  a 
beautiful  pattern  in  cast  iron,  and  until  the 
farmhouse  stove,  once  so  artistic,  interesting 
and  instructive,  has  become  repulsive. 


114 


survived  in  Canada,  wnere  the  stove  fashion  was  probably  intro- 
duced, not  from  Germany,  but  from  northern  France  and 
Flanders. 

Whether  these  old  stoves  were  all  as  Franquet  describes 
them,  of  the  draft  or  six-plate  type,  and  so  made  from  the 
beginning,  or  whether  some  of  them  were  jamb  stoves,  whether 
any  of  them  were  decorated  with  inscriptions  or  more  or  less 
significant  or  religious  pictures,  are  interesting  questions  which 
the   writer    believes   cannot   long    remain    unanswered. 

The  old  charcoal  furnace  of  St.  Maurice,  about  two  milss 
west  of  the  village  of  Three  Rivers  in  the  Province  of  Quebec. 
Canada,  which  used  a  very  soft  superficial  ore  found  in  the 
neighborhood,  was  built   in    1737,   and  was  abandoned  on  exhaus- 


tion of  ore  and  fuel  in  1883.  It  was  n:anaged  by  a  French 
company,  Cugnet  &  Cie.  1737  to  1743.  By  the  French  Crown, 
1743  to  1760.  owned  and  often  underlet  to  various  companies 
by  the  British  Crown  from  1760  to  1846,  sold  to  Henry  Stuart 
in    1846   and   ownei   by   F.    McDougall   &   Son   in    1879. 

Peter  Kalm.  as  above  noted  (quoted  by  Swank,  page  349), 
says  that  they  cast  stoves  there  in  1749,  in  use  all  over  Canada, 
and  M.  Franquet,  reporting  to  the  French  Government  in  1752, 
says  that  he  sav;  them  casting  stoves  in  six  separate  pieces. 
Josaph  Bouchette,  author,  says  that  they  were  making  "stoves 
cf  all  kinds,  us^d  in  the  province,"  at  Three  Rivers  in  1815. 
(Swank,  page  350.) 


Ancient  Dutch  Xeii-Plate  Stove,  dated  1660. 
At  the  Rijl^s  3Iu»seuni,  Amsterdam. 

See   Figure    185. 


CHAPTER  III. 

Notes  on  Colonial  Firebacks,  Date  Plates 
and  Miscellaneous  Stoves. 


115 


At  the  time  of  the  settlement  of  the 
American  colonies,  firebacks,  that  is  to  say, 
heavy  plates  of  cast  iron  (rarely  of  clay  in 
Flanders)  two  or  more  feet  square,  generally 
decorated  with  coats  of  arms,  dates,  inscrip- 
tions, allegorical  and  mythological  scenes,  and 
placed  against  the  wall  in  an  open  hearth  back 
of  the  fire,  had  been  in  use  in  England,  Hol- 
land, Flanders,  France  and  Central  Europe 
since  the  middle  or  end  of  the  15th  century. 

Exactly  where  or  when  they  were  first  used 
or  invented  are  questions  which  remain  in 
doubt,  since  no  general  or  extended  study  of 
them  has  yet  been  made,  but  it  appears  from 
scattered  and  local  collections  in  Europe  that 
the  oldest  specimens  are  undated,  that  accord- 
ing to  Beck  (Geschichte  des  eisens.  Vol.  II, 
page  308)  one  dated  1488,  afterwards  de- 
stroyed, was  seen  about  1850  at  Ravengiers- 
bach  in  Hesse,  and  that  no  dated  fireback 
has  been  found  in  England  earlier  than  about 
1580. 

Whatever  their  origin,  they  differ  entirely 
in  purpose  and  generally  in  appearance  from 
stove  plates.  Though  some  of  the  old  European 
specimens  are  square,  most  of  them,  and  all 
thus  far  found  in  America  have  rounded 
scrolled  or  vaulted  tops,  and  all,  like  the  stove 
plates,  appear  to  have  been  cast  in  open  sand 
from  carved  wooden  moulds. 


200. 

Xhe  Goddesses. 

Fireback.      Size.    H.    26' 4    x    W.    16!,4.      Essex    Institute.    Salem, 
Mass. 

The  much  rusted  pattern  shows  three  classical  figures  in  a 
central  panel,  under  a  vault  adorned  with  dolphins,  surrounded 
by   a    rich    festoon    of   flowers.      Below    the   date,    1697.    encloses   a 


With    the    exception    of    the    remarkable      Foyer    described    under    Figures     218    to     221, 
radiating  firebacks  of  Luxembourg,  Taques  De      which  may  be  called  stoves  of  one  plate,  all 


116 


monogram   with   the   letter    W.   and   an    indec'pherable    inscription 
on   the   lower    margin    shows   the   letters    PALA.    and    NOV. 

The  ftreback  was  found  in  the  cellar  of  a  house  where  it 
could  not  have  been  used,  in  Sale.Ti,  Mass  ,  and  must  have  been 
imported  or  cast  from  an  imported  original  or  mould.  This  is 
proved  by  the  fact  learned  through  the  kind  information  of  Mr. 
G.  F.  Dow.  that  a  replica  ir.perfectly  illustrated  by  L.  A.  Shuf- 
frey.  in  The  English  Fireplace.  London.  B.  T.  Batsford,  1912, 
page  44,  Is  in  the  museum  at  Rochester,  England,  where  the 
curator  writes  that  the  fireback  is  Dutch,  or  in  the  Dutch  style 
then  in  vogue,  that  the  lower  inscription  reads  PALLAS.  JUNO. 
VENUS-,  explaining  the  figures  in  the  picture,  and  that  the 
monogram  enclosed  by  the  date  is  WM..  standing  for  William 
and    Mary. 


20I. 

The  Pickeriiii^  Firetoaclt. 

Sze.  W.  28  X  H.  22.  Essex  Institute.  Salem.  Mass.  By  kind 
permiss'on    of    Mr.    G.    F.    Dow. 

The  fireback  was  obtained  about  1870  from  Mr.  John  Pick- 
ering at  the  house  18  Broad  street,  Salem,  known  as  the  Picker- 
ing  house,   built   in    1659-60. 

The  pattern,  undoubtedly  cast  from  an  imported  English 
mould  or  carved  in  New  England  by  an  English  mould  carver, 
showing  scroll  work  of  the  marked  Elizabethan  style,  dated  1660, 
and  with  the  initials  I  A  P,  stand  ng  for  John  and  Ann  Picker- 
ing, original  settlers,  shows  a  general  similarity  in  the  form  of 
the    vertical     sp  ndle-shaped    ornaments    to    one    of    the    designs 

have  been  constructed  and  used  only  as  deco- 
rations for  or  protections  to  the  w^all  back  of 
the  open  fire,  and  v^hile  a  stove  may  be  called 
an  economical  necessity  and  a  rival  to  the  open 
fire  itself,  the  iron  fireback  is  a  superfluous 
ornament  not  necessary  for  the  retention  of 
heat. 

Although  long  common  in  Holland,  Flan- 
ders and  France,  and  not  unknown  in  Ger- 
many, the  fashion  of  their  use  in  the  American 
colonies  came,  not  like  that  of  the  stoves  from 


illustrated  by  Starkie  Gardener  in  Iron-casting  in  the  Weald, 
Archaeologa,  2d  Series,  Vol.  5.  page  158,  Figure  24.  as  cast  at 
English  furnaces  in  the  so-called  Weald  district  of  Kent,  although 
according  to  a  tradition  in  Mr.  Pickering's  family,  it  was  cast 
by  Joseph  Jenks,  an  Englsh  founder,  at  the  old  Lynn  or 
Braintree,  Mass.,  Furnace,  founded  in  1645  and  in  blast  in  1660. 


202. 


Fragment  of  FiretoacU. 


Size.   H.   22  X  W.    17' 


Senate   House,   Kingston.    N.   Y. 


Th  s  lower  right  fragnent  shows  a  King,  with  robes,  sword 
and  crown,  who  kneels  with  protesting  gesture,  under  a  curtain, 
framed  in  a  heavy  border  of  melons,  pomegranates  and  fruit, 
enclosing  the  date  1661  set  upon  a  scroll  at  the  bottom.  Not- 
withstanding the  fact  that  the  Lynn  Furnace  in  Massachusetts, 
bu^lt  1645,  abandoned  1688,  and  which  probably  cast  the  fireback. 
F;gure  201,  in  16C0,  was  in  blast  at  this  time,  no  furnaces 
existed  in  1661  in  New  York.  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Mary- 
land or  Virginia,  and  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  the  fireback 
was  made  in  Germany,  HollanH,  France  or  England  and  im- 
ported into  the  Dutch  Colony  which  was  not  conquered  by  the 
English    until    1664. 

Germany  but  from  England,  and  while  a  few 
may  have  been  introduced  from  Continental 
Europe,  their  patterns  in  the  Anglo-American 
colonies  followed  that  in  England,  where 
Starkie  Gardner,  in  Archasologia,  Vol.  56, 
Part  I,  page  133,  notes  several  styles  without 
fixed  chronology,  namely  (1),  Moulded  from 
Loose  Stamps  until  about  1640,  (2)  Coats  of 
Arms,  royal  and  private  cast  from  single 
moulds,  (3)  Allegories,  badges,  illustrations  of 
current  events,  satires,  etc..  (4)  Bible  scenes 
introduced   from    Germany   and   Flanders,    (5) 


117 


203. 

Adam  and  Eve  Fireback. 

S  ze.    H.   241,    X   W.    2234.      Essex    Institute.   Salem.    Mass. 

Adam  and  Eve  under  the  fatal  tree  with  the  serpent. 

Judging  from  the  shaps  of  the  casting,  which  lacks  the 
character  Stic  arched  tcp  of  English  and  American  firebacks, 
from  the  style  of  the  design,  and  in  particular  from  the  shape 
of  the  right  and  left  margins,  we  might  suppose  that  we  have  here 
a  recast  of  the  front  plate  of  a  German  ja.r.b  or  wall  stove  of 
the  17th  or  early  18th  centuries.  If  so.  the  pattern  has  probably 
been  i  r. ported  to  America  from  Continental  Europe,  modernized 
in  date,  and  used  as  a  6reback.  Unfortunately  no  definite 
infcr.r.ation  as  to  its  origin  or  acquisition  has  appeared  at  the 
Essex   Institute. 

The  figures  of  the  dates  1770.  repeated  on  either  side  of  the 
tree,  and  the  welts  as  of  the  edges  of  beards  surrounding  them. 
are  not  identical  as  they  would  bi  in  each  case  if  these  dates 
had  been  stax.ped  upon  the  sand  fro.n  loose  stamps.  We  infer, 
therefore,  that  the  casting  was  made  not  from  an  iron  plate,  but 
from  a  wooden  mould  of  the  style  of  F  gure  14.  probably  flat- 
tened on  the  high  ridges  and  orificed  to  fit  two  boards  carved 
with  the  date,   which  have  warped  above  the  back  ground  level. 

Flemish  firebacks  higher  than  wide,  with  rich 
borders,  dolphins,  cupids,  flower  pots,  mytho- 
logical scenes,  victories,  emblems,  satires,  etc. 

It  was  after  Flemish  firebacks  came  into 
vogue  in  England,  and  after  European  stove 
plates  had  been  introduced  there  to  serve 
as  firebacks,  that  the  fashion  sprung  up  in 
America,  where  the  styles  in  vogue  in  Old 
England  were  repeated  in  New  England  and 
the   other   colonies   to    suit   the   fancy,   not   of 


204. 

Paiimw'ick.  Hall  F*ireback» 

Size,  H.  35f4x  W.  32.  Bucks  County  Historical  Society,  No. 
1204.  Found  by  the  writer  in  1897  in  the  parlour  fireplace  of 
the  eld  house  formerly  belonging  to  the  Shewell  family,  known 
as    Painswick    Hall,    near    Doylestown.   Pa. 

Under  two  dolphins  forming  the  upper  outer  margin,  two 
cornucopias  from  which  fall  festoons  of  flowers  make  the  border 
of  the  central  picture.  But  the  handsome  and  well-designed 
pattern  is  too  much  rusted  to  justify  its  description  in  Deco- 
rated Stove  Plates,  Figure  15.  as  representing  Esther  before 
King  Ahasucrus.  We  can  hardly  think  that  a  pattern  like  this 
could  have  been  designed  at  any  of  the  Pennsylvanian  furnaces 
after  the  beginning  of  the  18th  century.  The  robed  figures, 
curtains,  flowers,  cornucopias,  roped  border  and  dolphins  (char- 
acteristic of  Anglo-Dutch  firebacks  of  the  17th  century),  are 
modeled  in  a  style  at  least  a  hundred  years  earlier  than  the 
period  of  the  establishment  of  furnaces  in  Pennsylvania  or  New 
Jersey,  and  indicate  that  the  plate  or  its  mould,  if  not  designed 
in  New  England,  was  either  imported  from  Europe  or  recast 
from  a  European  original. 

A  replica  is  at  the  Historical  Society  of  Pennsylvania,  at 
Philadelphia.    1914. 

the  comparatively  few  German  settlers  in  the 
Middle  States,  but  for  the  English-speaking 
colonists    everywhere. 

Consequently  as  colonial  blast  furnaces 
existed  throughout  the  whole  colonial  region, 
and  as  owing  to  the  superabundance  of  wood, 
open  household  fires  were  universal  even  in 
the  stove  region  of  Pennsylvania,  there  can  be 
little  question  that  the  ancestral  English 
fashion  of  setting  firebacks  in  fireplaces  ex- 
isted  everywhere,   and   that   old   firebacks   can 


118 


205- 

Xlie  Stag:  Hunt. 

Fireback.       Size    not    given.      Senate    House    Museum.    Kingston- 
on-the-Hudscn,    1912. 

Under  a  festoon  cf  flowers  and  above  two  decorative  scrolls 
two  horsencn,  one  of  who:n  hoUs  a  sword,  riie  towards  each 
other,  and  threa  dogs  run  across  the  lower  foreground  of  the 
pattern,  while  the  fleeing  stag  is  scarcely  seen  in  the  upp.r 
right  corner  behnd  one  of  the  horsemen. 

Two  seams  n-.ark  ng  warps  in  the  wooden  pattern  pass 
vertically  down  the  design  through  the  body  cf  the  m  ddle  dog 
and  across   the   lower  scroll  work. 

be  found  through  nearly  'hs  entire  region   of 
the  original  thirteen   colonies. 

The  oldest  firebacks  in  the  collection  here 
shown  are  dated  1660  and  1651,  and  although 
we  cannot  prove  that  these  particular  speci- 
mens were  cast  in  America,  nevertheless,  if 
as  we  have  seen,  the  first  American  ds;orated 
stoves  were  cast  in  Pennsylvania  (probably  at 
Colebrookdale  Furnace  not  before  1720),  then 
American  firebacks  are  older  than  stove  plates, 
since  we  may  suppose  that  some  firebacks 
were  cast  at  Lynn  and  Braintree  Furnace  in 
Massachusetts,  founded  about  1645,  at  New 
Haven,  founded  in  1658,  or  at  Shrewsbury, 
N.  J.,  in  1682,  or  about  fifty  years  before  the 
making  of  the  first  stoves  in  Pennsylvania. 


2o6. 

Cupids  and  V  FiretiacU. 

Size,    H.   29   x   W.    20;i. 

Photograph  obtained  in  1912  by  M  ss  Westbrook  from  an 
original   at   an   old   house  at    Kingston-on-the-Hudson. 

Above  two  very  prettily  modeled  floral  festoons,  suspended 
from  ribbons,  two  flying  angels  support  a  wreath  abave  the 
letter    V. 

On  the  other  hand,  as  the  fireback  was 
not  adapted  to  open  fireplaces  constructed  of 
cast  iron  for  burning  coal,  but  depended  on 
the  existence  of  the  open  wood  fire,  and  as 
this  latter  was  not  generally  superseded  by 
soft  coal  grates  in  England  until  about  1740- 
1800  and  by  coal  stoves  and  coal  grates  in 
America  until  about  1840,  we  must  suppose 
that  the  American  firebacks  continued  in  use 
later  here  than  in  the  mother  country  and  that 
they  certainly  continued  to  be  cast  after  the 
demolition  (about  1770  to  1790  •,  of  the  old 
decorated  five-  and  six-plate  stoves  here 
described. 

A  large  and  general  grouping  of  the 
American  firebacks  would  be  needed  to  enable 


119 


207. 

Kiiig»<ton  Fireback.. 

Size,  about  H.  27  x  W.  24.     Senate  House,  Kingston.  New  York. 
The  plate  'n  two  fragments,  with  its  four  rosettes  and  spray 
of  flowers   ani   curved   top.   has  been   cast   in   the   open   sand. 


208. 

The  Graeme  Parlt  Fireback  of  1728. 

Size.  H.  26y2  X  W.  19»4.  In  possess  on.  1912.  of  Miss  Mary 
M.  Penrose  at  the  old  house  known  as  Graeme  Park,  in  Horsham 
Township.  Montgomery  County.  Pa.,  built  by  the  Colonial  Gov- 
ernor.   Sir    William    Keith,    about    1721. 

With  curved  top.  and   the  date   1728  set  upon  a  raised  car- 
touche   between    two    floral    festoons,    the    con;paratively    snail 


plate  has  been  cast  without  a  flask,  and  shows  three  circulir 
spots  just  over  the  ("ate.  v/hich  seem  to  have  been  obi  terated 
in  the  sand,  or  cut  ofT  the  wooden  pattern. 

The  design  is  un  nterestlng.  but  not  so  the  date.  That 
places  it  together  with  the  Fortune  stove  plate,  Figure  31.  and 
the  Stcnton  Fireback.  Figure  a09,  among  the  earliest  t'atcd  fire 
apparati  s  cast  in  Pcnrsyhania,  at  a  ti.re  when,  according  to  a 
statement  of  James  Logan,  quoted  by  Swank,  we  have  to  ciioosc 
between  four  furnaces,  namely.  Colebrookdale.  Christine-Red- 
ding, Ke  ths  and  Durham,  as  the  only  ones  then  in  existence. 
and  therefore  the  only  ones  that  couH  have  cast  it. 

At  first  sght  it  appears  to  be  a  replica  of  the  Stcnton  fire- 
back of  I.  L.  of  identical  date.  Figure  209.  but,  closely  inspected, 
differs  from  the  latter  in  every  detail.  Moreover,  when  Mr. 
B.  F.  Fackentiial.  Jr.,  formerlv  manager  of  Durham  Furnace, 
analyzed  both  plates  in  September.  1912.  he  found  too  much 
rr.arganese  an  1  tco  much  coppsr  in  the  Graeme  Park  specimen 
to  class  it  with  the  Stenton  P.reback.  and  s  nee  the  latter,  as  he 
shows,  was  probably  made  at  Durham,  this  was  not,  but  rather 
at  Ke-ths  Furnace,  on  the  Christiana  River,  -n  Delaware,  where 
Governor  Keith,  according  to  a  lett:r  of  Emanuel  Swcdenbo.-g, 
quoted  by  Swank,  had  established  a  furnace  about  1725,  and 
conducted  it  for  three  years  thereafter,  or  until  the  ore  ran  out. 

If  so.  and  as  Davis  says.  History  of  Bucks  County,  page 
436.  Sir  Willia.m  Keith  returned  to  England  in  1728,  then  th=s 
fireback  which,  according  to  a  tradition  cited  by  Davis,  was 
placed  in  one  cf  the  upper  fireplaces  by  Dr.  Graeme,  Keith's 
scn-;n-!aw,  on  Keith's  departure,  r.:ay  be  one  of  the  last  castings 
made  at  the   Governor's   unsuccessful   furnace. 


209. 

The  ^teuton  Kirebaek.  of  i 

Size,  H.  27'4  x  W.  IS'^.  At  the  Colon  al  House, 
ton.  at  Wayne  Junction.  Philadelphia,  built  by  W 
Secretary,  Jar.es   Logan,   in   1728. 

It  would  be  unreasonable  to  suppose  that  the 
cast  on  this  fir.:back  above  the  date   1728.  set  on  a 


728. 


callei   Sten- 
illiam    Penn's 


initials  I.   L. 
raised  block. 


120 


and  possibly  stamped  on  the  sand  with  a  loose  stamp,  stand  for 
anybody  but  JaTies  Logan,  Colonial  Secretary  for  William  Penn. 
who  built  Stenton  in  1728,  and  probably  placed  the  fireback  in 
the   house. 

When  the  latter,  with  its  floral  festoon,  closely  but  not  ex- 
actly resembling  that  on  the  Graeme  Park  fireback.  Figure  208. 
was  cast,  only  four  furnaces  were  as  yet  in  existence  in  Penn- 
sylvana  then,  including  part  of  Delaware,  namely,  Colebrookdale. 
founded  in  1720;  Christine  (predecessor  of  Redding),  founded 
before  1728:   Keiths,  in  Delaware,  in  1725,  and  Durham,  in  1727. 

This  fact,  based  on  a  letter  of  James  Logan,  quoted  in 
Swank,  page  170,  marks  this  otherwise  uninteresting  pattern  as 
one   of  the   first  castings   made   in   Pennsylvania. 

It  belongs  to  a  series  of  eight  other  firebacks,  all  adorned 
with  the  same,  or  a  very  similar  festoon,  and  with  or  without 
initials,  and  the  date  1728,  and  Mr.  B.  F.  Fackenthal,  Jr., 
formerly  manager  of  Durham  Ironworks,  has  shown  that  three, 
and  therefore  probably  all  of  these  castings,  were  made  at 
Durham  Furnace  for  the  following  reasons:  Because  all  were 
found  together  in  old  fireplaces  at  Stenton,  because  James  Logan, 
the  I.  L.  of  the  initials,  who  built  the  house  in  1728.  and  prob- 
ably set  up  the  firebacks,  was  one  of  the  original  owners  of 
Durham  Furnace,  founded  by  hm  and  others  in  1727,  the  year 
before,  and  would  not  have  had  h's  firebacks  cast  elsewhere  in 
1728,  and  lastly,  because  Mr,  Fackenthal's  chcm  cal  analyses  of 
the  Stenton  plates  show  that  they  agree  in  two  decisive  items 
with  the  peculiar  ores  of  Durham,  which  latter,  like  the  Stenton 
firebacks,   contain  almost  no  manganese  and   no  copper  at  all. 


Dated  1734  and  with  its  floral  festoons  somewhat  resem- 
bling the  Stenton  fireback.  Figure  209.  the  plate  was  said  to 
have  been  found  about  1895,  set  as  a  date  plate  in  the  outer 
gable  of  an  old  house  about  one  m.le  from  Valley  Forge,  for- 
merly the  headquarters  of  the  American  General,  Lord  Stirling, 
during    the    Revclutionary    encampment    of    1776. 

Another  extremely  heavy  pUte  of  similar  shape,  at  the 
Bucks  County  Historical  Society,  nearly  2  inches  thick,  re- 
moved about  190O  from  the  gable  of  an  old  house  destroyed  by 
fire  about  1890.  formerly  belonging  to  Joseph  M.  Laurie,  at 
Yardville,  near  Trenton,  N.  J.,  shows  that,  as  in  this  case,  dated 
castings  of  this  sort,  whether  or'g'nally  intended  for  firebacks 
or  not,  were  sometimes  set  in  the  outer  walls  of  houses  as  date 
plates. 

Replica,  Dr.  Wm.  T.  Sharpless,  West  Chester.  Illustrated, 
page  CO.  Forges  and  Furnaces  in  Province  of  Pennsylvania,  for 
the    Colonial    Dames,    Philadelphia,    1914. 


2IO. 

A'alley  Korge  Fireback.  or  Date  Plate. 

Size  W.   20  X   H.   27.      Washington's   Headquarters.   Valley   Forge, 
1912. 


211. 
John  Potts  Fireback  or  Date  Plate. 

Size  not  given.      Col.   H.   D.    Paxson,   Holicong,   Pa. 

The  date,  1741.  plainly  appears  above  the  name  of  the 
ironmaster.  John  Potts,  here  spelled  plainly  in  the  English 
manner  at  a  t'me  when  Potts  was  ironmaster  at  Warwick  Fur- 
nace, when  the  floral  stove  patterns  had  not  yet  appeared,  when 
as  yet  no  Biblical  stove  plate  thus  far  found  had  advertised  the 
name  of  master  or  furnace,  and  when  the  makers  of  jamb  stoves 
at  any  of  John  Potts'  furnaces  would  have  spelled  his  name 
lAHN.    POT. 


US    to    understand    the    subject    and    fix    these  warrant    any    general    classification    of    their 

dates,   but   our   meagre    collection,    made    only  styles  or  deduction  as  to  their  origin  and  age. 

in    Pennsylvania,    Massachusetts,    New    York  Here  we  find,  as  yet,  no  square  firebacks 

and    New   Jersey,    is    too    small    and    local    to  and  none  made  with  loose  stamps  or  bordered 


121 


212. 

Xhe  lIor«^eniaii  and  Coiivict»»« 

Fireback.      Size.    H.    2334    x    W.    17'-2.      Essex    Institute.    Salem. 
Mass.      Given    by    Mr.    Nathan    Pierce. 

As  the  most  intsrestirg  of  all  the  firebacks  herewith  illus- 
trated, it  seen*.s  unfortunate  that  no  definite  information  can  be 
obtained  as  to  the  orig  n  and  history  of  this  singular,  allegorical 
pattern,  in  which  an  elegantly  dressed  figure  seated  upon  a 
prancing  horse  bran-'ishes  a  sword  just  drawn  from  its  uplifted 
scabbard,  and  overrides  a  band  of  ten  chained  prisoners,  pre- 
ceded by  a  small  figure  on  horseback  and  a  sentinel,  and  fol- 
lowed by  two  other  sentinels  holding   the   gang-cha  n. 

The  characteristic  coat,  cocked  hat.  laced  cuffs  and  large 
queue  bow  of  the  horseman,  reasonably  place  the  date  of  the 
pattern  between  1750  and  1776,  and  if  it  were  cast  in  America 
we  might  infer  that  the  sentinels  with  their  pointed  caps  are 
British  soldiers,  and  that  some  New  England  furnace  ha^ 
ventured  to  satirize  George  the  Third  in  his  alleged  attempt, 
after  the  landing  of  British  troops  at  Boston  in  1765.  to  "dra- 
goon"  the  colonies. 

If  cast  in  Europe,  the  fireback  may  be  a  satire  upon  forced 
methods  of  military  enlistment  cither  in  England  or  under 
Frederick  the  Great  in  Prussia  where  only  the  sugar-loaf  gren- 
adier caps  were  worn. 

But  whether  made  in  England,  continental  Europe  or  Amer- 
ica, the  rich  border  is  in  the  Flemish  style,  which,  according 
to  Gardner,  above  quoted,  page  161.  became  fashionable  at  the 
English  furnaces  about  1689. 


0X1  OKL> 


213. 

Arms  of  Kiis^laiid  FiretoacU. 

Size.  H.  34  X  W.  34.     Bucks  County  Historical  Society. 

The  fine  spirited  carving  with  lion,  unicorn,  crest,  crown 
and  legend  of  the  Garter,  differing  entirely  in  style  and  treat- 
ment from  the  workmanship  of  the  Pennsylvania  German  stove- 
plates  here  illustrated,  shows  the  word  Oxford  cast  upon  the 
lower  left  margin,  for  Oxfcrd  Furnace,  in  Warren  County.  New 
Jersey,  and  the  date  1746.  when,  according  to  Swank,  Jonathan 
Robeson  was   ironmaster  there. 

J.  P.  Snell.  in  his  History  of  Warren  and  Sussex  Count  es. 
New  Jersey,  says  (page  78)  that  he  has  seen  several  similar 
firebacks  marked  for  Oxford  Furnace  and  dated  1747  and  later, 
and  the  writer  has  seen  or  heard  of  several  replicas  and  close 
copies,  as  follows: 

1.  Pennsylvania  Historical  Society,  with  words  Oxford, 
1754,   on   the   lower   margin. 

2.  Copy  w!th  variations,  with  words  Oxford,  but  no  date. 
Pennsylvania    Historical    Society. 

3.  Figure  214.  Copy  with  free  variations.  Photographed 
in  1908.  when  in  possession  of  Mrs.  Hallam.  dealer  (successor 
to   "Noah's  Ark"),   at   Bristol.    Pa.      (See   Figure  214.) 

4.  Copy  with  variations  at  Moon  Hall,  near  Valley  Forge. 
in  possession   of   Mr.    Henry    Pennypacker.   June   30.    1910. 

5.  Ditto.  4  and  5.  walled  in  outer  wall  of  a  back  porch 
and  found  in  pulling  down  an  old  wood-burning  heater  in  the 
cellar.      4   and    5   possibly   like   3. 

6.  Replica,  dated    1746.     Col.    H.   D.   Paxson.   Holicong,   Pa. 

7.  Ditto. 

8.  Copy  or  replica  at  Memorial  Hall  Museum.  Philadelphia. 

9.  Copy  or  replica  as  fireback  in  possession  of  Mr.  Pen- 
rose, at   Graeme    Park,   Montgomery   County,   Pa.,    1912. 

10.  Copy  or  replica  in  1910  at  Washington's  Headquarters 
at   Moorcstown.    N.   J. 

Figure  213  was  found  in  one  of  the  parlor  fireplaces  at  the 
old  Cox  house  near  Bushington,  Bucks  County.  Pa.,  in  1908. 
That  the  original  pattern  was  made  in  England  and  brought  over 
seems  probable.  Oxford  Iron  Works  made  their  first  pigiron 
on   March  9.   1743.  and  soon  after  began  casting  firebacks. 


122 


214* 

Arms  of  Hns:laiicl  FirebacU. 

S>e.    about    H.    35    x    W.    33' z-     G.    M.    Hallam.    dealer.    Bristol. 
Pa..   1910. 

At  a  first  glance  this  fireback  appears  to  be  a  replica  of 
Figure  213.  but  on  examination  all  the  details  vary.  Without 
the  evidence  of  a  poss  ble  inscrption  on  the  lower  margin, 
which  is  rusted  away,  we  may  infer  that  it,  like  Figure  213. 
was  cast  at  Oxfori  Furnace.  Warren  County,  New  Jersey 
(founde-l  in  1742,  abandoned  1882).  and  belongs  to  a  series  cf 
firebacks  slightly  varying  'n  size,  but  of  generally  similar  pat- 
tern cast  there  between  1745  ani  1758.  Some  are  and  some  are 
not  inscribed  on  the  lower  margin  with  the  na-ne  Oxford  and 
the  date.  But  the  dates  vary,  and  two  moulds,  at  least,  if 
not  more,  have  been  used  in  producing  the  series,  so  that  if  one 
was  brought  froTi  England,  others  no  less  excellent  were  probably 
made  here  by  an  unknown  mould  carver  whose  beautiful  work, 
differing  widely  from  that  of  the  rrore  original  stove  plates, 
seems   to   surpass   them   in    coTipos't'on   and    art'sric    skill. 


Here  we  have  for  the  first  time  the  fam  liar  American 
floral  pattern  with  the  date  1763  and  the  inscription  COLE- 
BROOKDALE.  FURNACE,  cast,  net  upon  a  stove  plate  but  a 
fireback.  A  sun  with  divergent  rays  fills  the  upper  semi- 
circular area,  the  sheep  heads  have  become  points,  lacking  the 
dart  en'^s.  and  the  lower  panel  is  here  feebly  decorated,  not 
w  th  the  L'si:al  medallion,  tulips  and  inscription,  but  with  a 
hatched  Iczenge  and  four  scallops,  as  upon  the  Warwick  ten-pla*e 
stove.   Figures    143  and   148. 

The  ccUection  has  abundantly  shown  that  this  floral  design, 
as  we  have  called  it,  including  the  peculiar  aureole  and  sheep 
l:;gs,  for  a  few  years  after  1756,  exercised  a  universal  fascina- 
tion on  the  /'m^rican  stove  makers,  who,  with  a  few  exceptions, 
embodied  it  on  the  front  and  side  plates  of  their  five  and  six- 
plate  stoves,  and  because  this  pattern,  as  explained  in  the  text, 
has  not  been  heard  of  in  Ger.nany,  and  because  the  lettering 
of  the  irscription.  the  modified  sheep  legs,  the  tulip  flowers, 
and  the  decoration  of  the  spandrels,  closely  resembles  that  upon 
the  other  Cclebrookdals  stove  plates,  namely,  F  gures  155  and 
157,  this  fireback  ought  not  to  be  ascribed  to  Colebrook^ale 
(now  Coalbrookdale)  Furnace,  in  Shropsh  re,  England,  founded 
in  1709  and  still  existing  in  1914,  where,  according  to  letters 
recently  received  from  the  maragement,  no  records  or  patterns 
are  preserved  to  show  the  casting  of  any  such  design,  but 
rather  to  Colebrookdale  Furnace,  in  Berks  County.  Pennsyl- 
vania, founded  in  1720,  and  therefore  the  earliest  furnace  in 
Pennsylvania  where,  according  to  the  Potts  manuscripts  and 
our  own  collecticn,  numerous  stove  plates  and  firebacks  were 
cast  at  the  date  in  question,  and  for  many  years  before. 


Fireback  of  Colebrookdale. 

Size,   H.   34   x   W.   29'2.     Metropolitan    Museum,    New   York. 


2X6. 

Tlie  Ilor!i*einaii. 

Fireback.      Size.    H.    30    x   W.    23.      Mr.    Nathaniel   T.    Kidder,    of 
69    Ames    Building,    Boston.    Mass. 

A  man  in  the  dress  of  a  clown  stands  on  the  saddle  of  n 
galloping  horse,  with  a  bridle  in  his  right  hand,  and  a  horn  in 
h's  left,  while  he  kicks  with  his  right  leg  in  the  air.  A  balanced 
pattern  of  conventionalized  fol'age.  upon  two  stalks  springing 
from  the  lower  right   and   left   corner   of  the   plate,   surrounds   the 


123 


picture,  above  which  are  cast  the  words  JOHN.  SHIP. 
FAMOUS.  HORSEMAN.,  while  on  the  lower  rim  the  initials 
BA  and  the  date   1774  plainly  appear. 

Mr.  Kidder  found  the  fireback  near  Boston,  and  there  can 
be  no  doubt  that  the  casting,  which  shows  no  resemblance  to 
the  Gcrran  work  herein  described,  was  made  by  English  work- 
men at  one  of  the  old  Massachusetts,  Connecticut  or  Rhode 
Island  f'jrnaces  then  in  blast  (Taunton.  1725-1840;  Plympton. 
17:0:  Charlotte.  1758;  Lennox.  1765-1881  :  Hope  [Rhode  Island], 
17:5:    New    Haven,   Conn.,    1658;    Lime    Rock.    Conn..    1740-1890.) 


217. 

The  Highlander. 

Fireback.  Size.  W.  21  x  H.  32.  Museum  of  the  Huguenots. 
New  Paltz.  N.  Y. 

Between  two  pedestals  surmounted  with  conventional  flowers 
stands  a  figure  which,  judging  from  the  ribbed  stockings,  mili- 
tary frogged  vest,  cloak  or  plaid,  buckled  on  the  right  shoulder, 
bare    knees    and    apparent    kilt,    may    be    supposed    to    be   a    High- 

with  the  impress  of  waxed  rope  pushed  into 
the  sand.  Neither  are  there  any  grave  slabs 
of  cast  iron  shaped  Hke  firebacks.  but  rather 
a  series  of  date  plates  exactly  resembling  them 
set  originally  in  the  gables  of  old  houses.  As 
yet  we  find  national  rather  than  private  coats 
of    arms,    amusing    fancies,    monograms,    alle- 


lander  in  the  uniform  of  the  British  Army  of  the  18th  century. 
A  heavy  plume  adorns  hs  bonnet,  his  broadsword  drawn  from 
its  scabbard  is  uplifted  in  his  right  hand,  while  in  his  left  he 
holds  a  remarkable  object  shaped  like  a  sh  eld,  between  the 
open  bars  of  which  his  hand  appears.  Above  appears  the  in- 
scription AT  NEW  YORK.  1767.  The  arched  top  is  adorned 
with  dolphins  and  the  whole  pattern  is  surrounded  with  a  rich 
Flemish  border. 

The  plate  was  found  in  the  State  of  New  York,  but  dated 
long  after  the  abandonment  of  the  colony  by  Holland,  and 
though  adorned  with  a  rich  Flemish  border,  surmounted  by 
dolphins,  might  have  been  made  at  one  of  the  New  York  fur- 
naces in  the  Flemish  style  then  in  fashion  in  England  and  the 
Anglo-American  colonics. 


y/ 


/ 


f^/O/ 


217-a 
Date  !i»toiie. 

Size  not  given.  State  L  brary.  Harrisburg.  Pa.  Found  in  a 
fitH  in  Elizabeth  Township.  Lancaster  County,  Pa.,  and  obtained 
for   the    Library   by    Mr.    L.    M.    Kelker. 

The  well-designed  and  balanced  pattern,  with  its  stars, 
hearts  and  tulips,  shows  no  familiar  feature  in  the  decorative 
trcat.Tient.  except  the  characteristic  tail  of  the  numeral  I  in  the 
date,  otherwise  the  pattern  carved  in  stone  which  might  well 
have  adorned  a  stove  plate,  is  entirely  distinct  from  all  the  stove 
designs  yet  found. 

If  used  at  Elizabeth  Furnace,  near  the  site  of  the  discovery, 
its  date,  1765,  shows  that  it  must  have  marked  some  other 
event  than  the  founding  cf  the  works,  which  Jacob  Huber  estab- 
lished  in    1742. 

gories,  mythological  scenes,  with  here  and 
there  a  pattern  whose  Flemish  character  shows 
not  necessarily  that  it  was  imported  direct 
from  Holland,  but  rather  that  it  might  have 
come  from  England  or  might  have  been  cast 
at  one  of  the  old  American  furnaces  at  a  time 
when  Flemish  firebacks  were  the  fashion  here 


124 


ROOM 


KITCTHEW 


2l8. 
Radiating:  FirebacU  of  Belgriuin. 

Sketch  showing  the  reversible  fireback  known  as  Taque  de  Foyer 
of  Luxemburg  in  its  position. 

The  drawing,  kindly  furnished  by  Mr.  F.  Loes.  Librarian 
of  the  Archaeological  Institute  of  Luxemburg,  shows  in  vertical 
section  the  Taque  de  Foyer  in  its  original  position,  walled  in  a 
hole  back  o£  the  kitchen  fireplace,  so  as  to  radiate  heat  and 
present  its  decorated  side  into  the  lower  compartment  of  a 
wcoden  cupboard  constructed  in  the  thickness  of  the  partition 
wall.  The  decorated  side  of  the  fireback  shows  in  the  lower 
compartment  cf  the  cupboard  and  the  radiated  heat  passes  into 
the  room  conta'ning  the  cupboard,  when  the  double  wooden 
doors  or  sometimes  curtains  of  its  lower  compartment  arc  left 
open.  The  plain  side  of  the  fireback  generally  fronts  the  kitchen 
fire,  but  sometimes  the  cupboard.  Mr.  Loes  says  that  wall 
hooks  visible  on  the  kitchen  side  were  used  to  hold  the  taque 
flush  with   the   wall  back   of  the   fire. 

A,  B.  C.  Taqueschaf  or  cupboard  or  dresser  in  three  ccm- 
partments    in    thickness    of    wall    between    two    rooms. 

A.  Upper  compartment  probably  containing  shelves,  closed 
with   double   wooden   doors. 

B.  Middle  compartment  forming  shelf  or  buffet  with  front 
single   panel   opening   outward. 

C.  Lower  compartment  closed  with  double  doors  or  cur- 
tains and  warmed  with  the  fireback  or  Taque  de  Foyer  D.  AVhen 
the  doors  or  curtains  are  open,  the  heat  passes   into  the   room   H. 

F.  Kitchen    hearth   and    fire. 

G.  Partition  wall. 

H.      Room   opening   upon   taqueschaf. 
I.       Kitchen. 
E.      Fireplace. 

D.  Taque  de  Foyer  or  taque  or  radiating  fireback  walled  in 
or  hooked  against  the  partition  wall  back  of  the  fire,  often  with 
decorated   side   facing  the   cupboard   or  taqueschaf. 

As  to  the  exact  shape  of  these  firebacks  or  Taques  de  Foyer 
and    whether    as    loose    plates    they    can    be    distinguished   at    sight 


from  ordinary  English  or  American  firebacks.  whether  th°y 
were  invariably  constructed  w  th  extra  broad  margins  for  wall 
insertion,  whether  they  were  always  square  and  never  round, 
and  whether  all  the  firebacks  illustrated  in  Sibenalers'  book 
"Plaques  et  Taques  de  Foyer,  Arlon  Bruck  1904,"  where,  unfor- 
tunately, most  of  the  margins  have  been  cut  by  the  photogra- 
pher, were  radiating  frebacks  of  this  kind,  we  arc  left  in  doubt. 
Mr.  Loes  assures  us  that  Sibenalers'  mutilated  Figure  17  with 
extra    broad    blank    margins   was   so   used. 


A 


B 


219* 

Belg:iaii  Taqueschaf  or  Fireback 
Cupboard* 

From   drawing    kindly  furn  shed   by   Mr.    F.    Loes. 

Taqueschaf  or  wooden  cupboard  walled  in  the  thickness  of 
a  partition  wall  immediately  back  of  the  kitchen  fireplace,  show- 
ing the  original  position  of  the  reversible  fireback  known  in 
Luxemburg  as  Taques  de  Foyer. 

A.  Upper   compartment   closed   with   wooden   doors. 

B.  Middle  compartment  with  front  opening  outward  as  a 
single    panel,    forming    a    shelf. 

D.  Lower  compartment,  showing  decorated  side  of  the 
Taque  de  Foyer  which,  heated  on  the  undecorated  opposite  side 
by  the  fire,  radiates  warmth  into  this  compartment  when  its 
doors   E   are   open. 

F.      Partition   wall. 


because  they  were  the  fashion  in  England.  for  the  English  colonist,  and  that  fact  helps  to 

Just  as  the  German  stove   plate  was  im-  explain  why  stove  plates  have  been,  and  are 

ported   into   England   and   used  as   a   fireback,  still    called    "firebacks,"    where    every    one    is 

here  the  stove  plate  of  the  Pennsylvania  Ger-  familiar  with  an  open  fire,  but  not  one  person 

man  served  the  same  purpose  in  the  fireplace  in  a  hundred  knows  what  a  stove  plate  is. 


125 


220. 
Belgian  Fireback  Cupboard  or  Xaquescliaf. 

Showing  radiating   fireback  in   its  original  position  at  the   Restau-  The    square    plate,    size    not    given,    is    emblazoned    with    the 

rant    Schenken    at    Ansembourg.     Luxemburg.    Belgium.     Photo-         Armc   ^(   »h*   f^m.i,,   «f    H...ii..„f-io     t  ^^a        t  .  . 

Arms  oi  tne  lamiiv  ol   rlollentels.   L.ords  ot  an  ancient  castle  so 
graphed    May.  1914.  by  M.  Lucien    Sibenaler.  by    kind  permission 

of  M.  J.  B.   Sibenaler.   of  Brussels.     As    explained    under    Figure        named,   still   ..i   preservation   on  a   hollow  rock  in   the   Valley   of 

219,    the    fireback     acting    as    a     heat     radiator    faces    the    lower        .^^      ii>T„,^„t,      n i     ^^^,fT  l  .  ..  ^.. 

,     .  '  ,  ,     r    V  1      ■  J  '"^    Mersch.    Grand    Duchy    of    Luxemburg.     A    replica    of   this 

compartment   of  the  cupboard   or  taqueschat.  here   lackmg  doors 

or   curtain.        The    fireplace   showing    the   undecorated    side   of   the         P'^'«  '=  described    and    illustrated    by   J.  B.  Sibenaler    in    Taques 
plate  in  another  room  has  been  walled   up   (1914).  et  Plaques  de  Foyer.  Arlon  Bruck,   1908.  page  22. 


The   style   and   workmanship   of   the    fire-  designs  illustrating  events  in  Biblical  history 

backs  is  generally  superior  to  that  of  the  stove  and   follovi^ing   a   fixed   religious   ideal    accom- 

plates.      But   it   is  very   diiTerent   in   character,  panied    by    Scriptural    mottoes — a    sermon    in 

The  meaning  is  lacking.     Instead  of  a  series  of  iron,  we  have  household  decoration. 


126 


221. 
Firetiack  Cupboard  or  Xaque^tchaf* 


Called  also  Placard  in  Northern  France.  Showing  the  radiating 
fireback  or  Taque  de  Foyer,  size  not  given,  in  its  original  posi- 
tion in  the  Concierge's  room  at  an  ancient  hospital  at  Longwy, 
department  Meurthe  et  Mcselle,  France.  Photographed  May, 
1914,  by  Dr.  Coliez,  of  Longwy,  by  k!nd  permission  of  M.  J. 
B.  Sibenaler. 

The  square  plate  decorated  with  a  class'c  scene  in  the  style 
of  Louis  XV  shows  its  decorated  side  in  the  lower  compart 
ment  of  the  cupboard  here  furnished  with  wooden  doors.  When 
photographed,  a  ccat  of  white  paint  had  to  be  removed. 

The  writer  learns  from  M.  Siebenaler  and  Dr.  Coliez  th3t 
no  radiating  fireback  of  this  sort  has  ever  been  found  decorate') 
on   both  sides,  and  that  the  decorated   side  someti.-ncs   faced   the 


kitchen  fireplace.  It  further  appears  that  few,  if  any,  of  these 
plates  are  still,  1914,  in  use  as  radiators,  or  still  remain  showing 
both  sides  in  their  original  position.  In  this  case,  the  kitchen 
fireplace  enclosing  the  undecorated  reverse  of  this  plate  has 
been  walled  up. 

These  interesting  photographs  I  22U  and  221)  as  showing  two 
of  the  last  remaining  examples  of  "  Taques  de  Foyer"  in  their 
original  position  in  Luxemburg  and  France,  were  taken  in  June. 
1914,  probably  at  the  latest  possible  moment,  since  the  writer's 
correspondence  concerning  them  with  M.  Sibenaler,  then  at 
Brussels,  was  suddenly  interrupted  by  the  stoppage  of  the  Bel- 
gian mails  on  the  outbreak  of  the  great  European  War,  when 
Belgium  and  Luxemburg  were  overrun,  Longwy  demolished  by 
cannon  and  the  quiet  of  Ansembourg  disturbed  by  the  roar  of 
invading  armies. 


127 


Miscellaneous  Stoves. 


225. 

Stie«:el'i*  Cannon  Stove. 

Cylindrical  draught  stove  cf  cast  iron.  Size,  diameter  at  base. 
18-2;  he'ght.  including  l=gs.  57.  Mr.  James  Spear.  1014  Market 
street,    Philadelphia,    Pa. 

Cast  in  three  circular  drums  and  supported  on  four  legs, 
the  stove  shows  the  words  H.  W.  STIEGEL  1759.  upon  the 
lower  drum,  in  the  rear  of  which  is  the  fuel  door  not  seen.  The 
smoke  pipe  orifice  enters  the  rear  of  the  middle  drum.  Both 
the  upper  drux.s  are  adorned  with  tul  ps.  Here  Stiegrl.  two 
years  after  co.ming  into  control  of  Elizabeth  Furnace,  has  re- 
proc'uced  and  cast  in  fiasks  the  stove  known  in  Germany  as  the 
Pommerofen,  which,  according  to  Kassel,  who  illustrates  one 
in  Ofenplatten  im  Elsass.  page  60.  were  ma-'e  in  Germany  in 
the  18th  century  and  probably  earlier,  and  may  have  been 
named  after  Wolfgang  Pommer.  of  Nur.T.berg,  who  obtained  an 
Imperial   privilege  for   a  wood-sparing  cook   stove   in    1582. 

Sibenaler  'Taques  et  Plaques  de  Foyer.  Arlon.  1908.  page 
170)  illustrates  another  more  elaborate  specimen  dated  1742, 
but    probably    cast    from    moulds    made    a    hundred    years    earlier. 

The  stove.  Figure  225.  was  exhibited  at  the  "Founders' 
Week"  n  Philadelphia  in  1908.  and  was  seen  by  the  writer  in 
IDIO  at  Spear's  stove  store.  1014  Market  street.  Philadelphia, 
Pa.  Watson  says.  Annals.  Vol.  I.  page  218,  that  "cannon 
stoves."  "upright  cylinders  looking  like  cannon."  came  out  in 
1752  at  Colebrookdale  Furnace,  and  the  Potts  manuscripts 
show  that  a  "round  stove."  possibly  a  Pommerofen,  weighing 
1921  pounds  and  costing  two  pounds  eight  shillings,  was  cast 
and  sold  at  Colebrookdale  in  1735,  fifteen  years  before  Stiegel 
came   to   America. 

According  to  a  brief  statement  made  by   Esther   Singleton   in 

"Social    L'fe    in    New    York    Under    the  Georges."    New    York, 

about  19C0.  "Cast-iron  stoves,  round  and  square,  were  in  use  in 
New   York  about   1752." 


227. 

Tile  and  Iron  Oraft  Stove. 

Size,  minus  legs.  H.  54.  W.  upper  33.  legs  IS'^^.  Radiating; 
holes,  lower.  H.  12,  W.  14.  Upper.  H.  9.  W.  14.  Moravian 
Historical  Society,  Nazareth.  Pa.  Removed  from  an  unknown 
orig  nal  site  and   reconstructed   in   the   Museum.   October   6,    1871. 

The  stove  is  n-ade  n  the  style  of  similar  stoves  in  Germany. 
Holland  and  Scandinavia,  in  use  in  the  middle  18th  century. 
It  consists  cf  a  fire  chamber  of  iron,  with  an  upp:r  heat  retain- 
ing story,  perforated  by  two  square  heat  radiating  holes,  and  Is 
made  of  cornice-shaped  and  panrlled  stove  tiles,  dished  or  hDl- 
lowed  inside,  broad  r  mmed,  and  probably  punctured  for  wires 
to  faciltate  setting  them  up  like  so  many  bricks  with  lime  and 
sand  mortar.  These  tiles  are,  in  simplsst  form,  in  one  plane 
with  two  stamped  panels  7  inches  high  and  B^'j  inches  wide,  or 
longer  with  three  panels,  when  they  return  in  a  single  piece 
around  the  corners,  and  are  all  glazed  in  one  color  with  brown 
manganese  glaze  on  a  red  clay  body.  The  fuel  door  is  at  the 
lower  right  corner  above  the  iron  hearth  extension  and  the 
smoke   pipe   appears   above. 


128 


The  whole  lower  iron  box  is  a  fire  chaTiber,  from  which 
through  a  hole  at  its  Itft  smoke  and  heat  circulate  around  the 
radiating  holes  and  through  the  entire  interior  of  the  upper 
heat-retain  rg  structure  of  tile.  Through  the  kind  informat  on 
of  Mr.  T.  M.  Rights,  of  Nazareth,  and  the  Rev.  Albert  Oerter 
of  Nazareth.  Pa.,  who  quotes  "an  excursion  into  Bethlehem  and 
Nazareth  in  the  year  1799  by  the  Rev.  John  C.  Ogden."  we 
learn  that  in  1799  stoves  thus  constructed,  either  entirely  made 
of  t  les  or  constructed  thus  of  iron  and  tiles,  were  in  common 
use.  but  "since  the  irrprovem;nt  in  stoves"  were  go  ng  out  of 
fashion  in  public  bu  Idings  and  private  houses  in  Bethlehem  and 
Nazareth,  that  the  first  stove  of  the  kind  was  made  at  a 
pottery  "in  the  Swamp"  (probably  near  Hanover.  Montgomery 
County),  by  Ludwig  Huebner.  and  set  up  by  him  in  1742.  that 
later  Huebner  came  to  Bethlehem  and  built  a  kiln  and  potter's 
wheel  near  the  "Abbott  property,"  and  the  first  log  tavern, 
that  this  or  another  pottery  was  enlarged  in  1756  and  con- 
ta.ned    lodgings    for    workmen    in    its    second    story,    and    that    in 


228. 

1762  the  pottery,  then  managed  by  Huebner,  was  in  a  stone 
building  32  by  35  feet  in  size.  We  learn  further,  that  Huebner, 
after  the  Continental  soldiers  had  used  the  brethren's  house  at 
Bethlehem  as  a  hospital,  had  presented  a  war  claim  against  the 
new  government  in  1789  for  12  pounds  for  the  loss  or  damage 
of   eight    new   tile   stoves. 

It  also  appears  that  the  brothers  Martin  and  Leonard 
Dober,  Swabians.  of  Austrian  extraction,  had  helped  to  intro- 
duce pottery  making  into  the  Moravian  settlement  at  Bethlehtm, 
and  also,  according  to  information  from  Miss  Adelaide  Fries, 
that    a    large    pottery    first    conducted    by    the    Moravian    congre- 


gation, after  1829  by  lessees,  and  after  1833  by  the  German 
Moravian  potter,  Herry  Schaffner,  of  Neuwied,  Germany,  had 
continued  to  exist  as  late  as  18^0  at  the  Southern  Moravian 
community  at  Winston-Salem.  North  Carolina,  where  many 
do.-r.estic  utens  Is  and  tile  stoves  were  made.  Of  these,  accord- 
ing to  Miss  Fries,  two  of  yellow  tiles  with  tile  fire  chambers, 
set  on  iron  bottom  plates  with  iron  legs,  are  now,  1914.  pre- 
served at  the  Wachovia  Historical  Society  at  Winston-Salem. 
According  to  Mr.  J.  A.  Linebach,  Librarian  of  the  Society,  one 
of  these  came  from  the  building  now  known  as  the  Bshop 
house,  see  Figure  228,  and  the  other  from  that  called  the  Bagge 
house.  Another  tile  stove  exists  at  Bethabara.  North  Carolina, 
and    a    fourth    in    a    private    house    at    Winston-Salem. 


229. 

Front  Plate  of  Franklin's  Fireplace. 

Size.    H.    16   X   W.    24.      Bucks    County    Historical   Society. 

The  orig  ral  pattern  of  1742.  as  described  and  illustrated  in 
Frank!  n's  parrphlet  (An  account  of  the  new  invented  Pennsyl- 
vania n  Fireplace,  etc..  etc..  Philadelphia.  Printed  and  sold  by 
B.    Franklin.    1744).    possibly   designed    by    Franklin    himself. 

A  sun  as  a  human  face  with  sixteen  rays,  surrounded  by 
branching  leafage,  twisted  at  various  angles,  with  the  motto 
"ALTER  IDEM."  "Another  like  me,"  upon  a  scroll,  as  to  which 
Frankl  n  publishes  a  poem  on  the  last  page,  33.  of  his  pamphlet, 
as   follows : 

f)n  the  DEVICE  of  the  New  FirePl.\ce  A  SUN  with  titis  motto 
AI.TKR  IDEM.  /.  c. 

A   second  Self  or  Another   the   Same. 
By  a  Friend. 

Another  Sun!  tis  true;  but  not  the  same 
Alike   I    own,    in   Warmth   and   genial    Flame 
Put.    more   obliging   than    his    elder   Brother, 
This  will  not  scorch  in   Summer  like  the  other 
Nor   when   sharp   Boreas  chills   our  shivering   Limbs 
Will   tliis  Sun   leave  us   for   more   Southern   Climes 
(_)r    in    long   Winter    Nights,    forsake   us    here, 
To  cheer  new  Friends  in  tother  Hemisphere; 
But  faithful  still  to  us  this  new  Sim's  fire. 
Warms  when  we  jfiease,  and  just  as  we  desire. 


129 


230. 

Fraiiltliii's  Fireplace. 

Early  modification  of  original  pattern.  Size.  W.  24  x  H.  32. 
Hearth,  back  to  front.  34  inches.  Bucks  County  Historical 
Society.     'Showing  Figure  229  in  position:  > 

Found  in  loose  pieces  at  the  house  of  Mr.  Seth  T.  Walton. 
one  mile  east  of  Willow  Grove.  Montgomery  County.  Pa.  For- 
merly owned  by  Robert  Roberts.  The  two  sides  and  back  pla*e 
were  found  by  the  writer  on  the  top  of  the  parlor  chimney  in 
1911. 

In  general  shape  and  appearance,  the  stove  containing  sev- 
eral of  the  original  plates,  as  described  by  Franklin  in  the 
pamphlet  previously  named  (under  Figure  229).  closely  resem- 
bles the  original  Franklin  stove,  but  when  compared  with  the 
complete  set  of  illustrations  there  shown,  several  differences 
appear. 

Here  the  very  important  hot  air  box  is  lost  and  the  surviv- 
ing bottom  plate,  unl  ke  the  original,  lacks  the  holes  for  the 
blower,  the  hot-air  box  and  down-draft  smoke  egress.  The  back 
plate  is  perforated  for  a  smoke  egress,  while  Franklin's  is  not. 
and  the  top  plate,  unlike  Franklin's,  has  been  perforated  with  2 
circular  hole  equipped  for  a  sliding  lid.  probably  intended  for 
warming   water. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  right  and  left  plates  with  their  a  r 
holes,  and  grooves  for  the  air  box.  and  the  front  plate  with  its 
decorations,  exactly  resemble  Franklin's  models  and  stand  in 
their  original  position. 

According  to  Franklin's  complete  set  of  illustrations,  in  the 
above-named  and  now  rare  pamphlet,  the  entire  apparatus  de- 
scribed was  a  down-draft  portable  fireplace,  intended  to  be  built 
against  and  into  the  fire  opening  of  a  common  open  fireplace 
of  masonry,  so  as  to  emit  its  smoke,  not  at  the  top,  but  through 
a  hole  in  the  rear  of  the  bottom  or  underfire  plate,  and  equipped, 
as  a  particular  novelty,  with  a  hot-air  box  inserted  immediately 
back   of  the   fire,   over   and   down   back   of  which  the   smoke   and 


flame  passed,  to  escape  at  the  down  draft  outlet.  The  air  box 
being  so  constructed  as  to  take  in  cold  air  from  outside  the 
house.  throL-gh  a  hole  in  the  hearth  plate,  and  puff  it  out  when 
heated  into  the  room  through  two  holes  in  the  side  plates  of  ihc 
apparatus,   seen  in  the  illustration.   Figure  231. 

The  whole  fireplace  was  constructed  of  eight  plates,  an  1 
while  the  down-draught  hole  in  the  hearth  plate,  and  the  sun 
and  motto  design  on  the  front  plate,  are  distinguishing  features 
of  the  original  stove,  the  hot-air  box  is  its  most  important 
characteristic. 

But  this  Fr3nklin  did  not  invent,  s-nce.  as  he  admits  in  his 
pamphlet,  cast  iron  hot-air  boxes  emitting  heated  air  had  been 
introduced  into  open  fireplaces  by  Sieur  Nicholas  Gauger  in 
France  in  1709,  and  were  describci  in  a  book  published  by  him. 
called  "La  Mcchanique  de  Feu."  and  described  in  English  in 
1715  by  Dr.  Desaguliers  ^see  Fires  Improved,  etc..  etc..  from 
the  French  of  Mons.  Gauger  made  English,  and  improved  by 
J.  T.  DesTguliers.  Lonlon,  J.  Senex  and  E.  Curll,  1715).  Never- 
theless. Franklin's  apparatus,  if  not  an  invent  on.  was  an  im- 
provement, since  Gauger's  Fireplace,  of  which  Gauger  describes 
seven  varied  arrangements,  was  up-:lraft,  not  portable,  co.-npli- 
cated.  and  set  with  its  air  boxes,  save  in  one  instance,  within 
the  jamb  mantle  and  back,  while  Franklin's  apparatus  was 
portable,  down-draft,  and  with  its  air  box  constructed  away 
from  the  wall,  so  as  to  present  three  sides  to  the  heat,  instead 
of  one  or  two. 

Franklin,  who  presented  the  fireplace  to  Robert  Grace. 
manager  and  part  owner  of  Warwick  Furnace  in  1742.  never 
patented  it:  and  it  appears  that  a  great  number  of  portable  fire- 
places named  after  Franklin  were  thereafter  cast  at  various 
furnaces  in  Pennsylvania.  New  England  and  the  other  colonies, 
but  most  of  them  only  followed  the  orginal  model  in  outward 
shape. 

The  fact  that  no  original  Franklin  stove  has  been  recently 
heard  of.  wh  le  many  of  the  modern  for.ns  minus  the  air  box 
still  survive,  shows  that  the  original  apparatus  was  probably 
not  a  success.  No  doubt  it  smoked  in  many  cases,  either  be- 
cause in  certain  chi-nreys  the  down-draft  principle  would  not 
work,  or  because  the  smoke  canal  under  the  hearth  was  easily 
clogged  with  soot  and  d  fficult  to  clean,  without  removing  the 
air  box.  The  rarity  of  remain  ng  parts  of  these  air  boxes  also 
shows  that  the  latter  was  soon  discarded  altogether,  the  down- 
draft  flue  abandoned,  and  the  smoke  egress  or  pipe  hole  put,  in 
modern  fashion,  in  the  top  of  the  stove. 

The  Potts  MSS.  show  the  first  sale  of  Franklin's  apparatus. 
not  in  the  ledgers  of  Warwick  Furnace,  but  in  those  of 
Coventry  Forge  and  of  Mount  Pleasant  Furnace,  as  follows: 
"Sept.  23rd.  1742.  Coventry,  book  B.  page  87.  charged  to  Mr. 
George  Rock,  of  Northeast.  M2ryland.  7  small  new-fashioned 
fire-places,  weight,  21  cwt..  no  qr.  and  6  lbs.  23  £.  3  shillings 
and  2d.  Sent  to  Israel  Pemberton  per  Will  Wynn.  Mr.  Grace 
had  them  in  town." 

The  second  entry  that  refers  to  a  Franklin  stove,  appears 
in  the  ledger  of  Mount  Pleasant  Furnace  (managed  by  John 
Potts  and  Thorras  Rutter).  for  November  9.  1742.  page  195. 
and  reads:  "Joseph  Scull,  to  cash  to  your  son  4  shillings,  and 
a  fire-place  for  Pascall's,  3£.  14  shillings.'*  from  which  it  ap- 
pears that  Grace,  who  was  then  in  charge  of  Warwick,  had  for 
some  reason  ordered  the  first  stoves  cast  at  Redding  and  Mount 
Pleasant,  rather  than  at  Warwick,  where  the  casting  of  Franklin 
ureplaces.  frequently  credited  to  Grace,  Franklin  himself  and 
others,  often  by  the  ton,  accor;Hng  to  the  first  ledger  entries. 
began  three  years  later,  viz.,  on  June  12,  1745. 

There  in  the  Warwick  day  book  for  1747.  September  29, 
parts  of  the  fireplace  noted,  as  follows:  Eleven  back*,  seven 
bottoms,  six  tops,  seven  right  sides,  one  air  box  and  four 
matching  plates  for  air  box  are  credited  to  Robert  Grace  to  be 
sent  to  Mr.  Franklin  in  Philadelphia;  and  in  that  year  one  ton 
and  in  1751.  between  July  and  October,  seven  tons  of  fireplaces 
are  sold. 


130 


J.  Durno,  of  Jermyn  street.  Picadilly.  London  (see  A  de 
scription  of  a  new  invented  iron  stove,  J.  Desagulisrs,  London, 
1753).  produced  an  altered  version  of  Franklin's  fireplace, 
adapted  for  coal  instead  of  wood,  and   with  a  brick  air  box. 

And  James  Sharp,  of  15  Leadenhall  street  (s=e  an  account 
of  the  Pennsylvanian  stove  grates,  with  additions  and  improve- 
ments, etc.,  by  James  Sharp.  15  Leadenhall  street,  London, 
sold  by  Benjamin  White,  63  Fleet  street,  about  1781).  varied  it 
again  with  long  stovepipes,  made  it  more  easily  cleanable  and 
rendered  it  independent  of  fireplaces.  He  describes  it  as  very 
efficiently  constructed  in  the  damp  St.  John's  Church,  South- 
wark,   and    Draper's    Hall,    London. 

A  great  many  of  the  so-called  "FrankKn  Stoves,"  first  cast 
in  open  sand,  and  later  in  flasks,  have  continued  to  be  manu- 
factured down  to  the  present  time,  but  because  none  of  the 
older  specimens  preserved  in  ancient  houses,  or  heard  of  by 
the  writer,  are  made  of  eight  plates,  as  they  should  be.  but 
consist  only  of  five,  and  because,  like  the  stove  illustrat::d  by 
Lossing  as  an  orig  nal  (see  Field  Book  of  the  Revolution,  Vol. 
I.  page  328).  or  that  described  as  found  among  the  heirlooms 
of  Warwick  Furnace  by  Mrs.  James  (Potts  Memorial),  th;y 
lack  the  air  box,  down-draught  hole,  sun  plate  and  motto,  or 
are  inscribed  with  names  or  advertisements  not  contemplated  or 
described   by    Franklin;    they  are   not   originals. 


231. 

In  the  appendix  called  Sequence  of  Franklin  Stoves 
( Forges  and  Furnaces,  Colonial  Dames,  page  188).  twelve 
Franklin  stoves  and  one  plate  are  illustrated,  together  with  an 
unexplained  reproduction  of  Frankl  n's  orig* nal  stove  cut  of 
1744.  But  the  interesting  construction  of  Franklin's  apparatus 
is  overlooked  and  no  original  stoves  are  illustrated.  All  the 
stoves  shown  appear  to  be  up-draft  and  many  show  inclined 
backs.      No  "sequence"  appears. 

The  Warwick  stove  shown  may  be  pre-r evolutionary,  bu+ 
whether  it  is  down-draft  or  not  does  not  appear  in  the  blurred 
photograph.  Furnace  dates  and  the  liberty  motto  prove  that 
five  of  the  stoves  illustrated  were  cast  during  or  after  the  Revo- 
lution. One  front  is  dated  1772,  while  six  other  stoves  illus- 
trated,   decorated    in   the   style   of   the   late    18th   century,   appear 


to  have  been  cast  between  1780  and  1800,  or  later,  though  these 
are  dated  by  the  ladies  without  quoting  authorities,  between 
1750   and    1760. 

Here  we  have  the  original  front  plate  and.  as  remarked 
above,  the  right  and  left  plates  with  their  air  holes  and  grooves 
for  the  air  box.  but  the  original  perforated  bottom  plate  has 
been  replaced  with  a  solid  new  one :  the  top  plate  has  been 
arranged  for  a  kettle  rest,  and  the  back  plate  perforated  for 
the  smoke  egress,  as  if  the  owner  of  an  original  Franklm  Fire- 
place, having  abandoned  the  down  draft  and  air  box,  had  re- 
placed several  of  the  original  plates  with  new  ones,  and  con- 
tinued  to   use   such   of  the   old   ones   as   served   his   purpose. 


Front  Plate  of  FraiiUlin^s  Fireplace* 

Size,    H.    14'4   x   W.    30»2.      Pennsylvania    Museum.    No.    13-450. 

The  plate,  differing  entirely  in  design  from  Franklin's  orig- 
inal, Figure  229,  must  have  been  cast  about  forty  years  after 
the   philosopher   invented    h.s   fireplace. 

It  is  undated,  but  its  pattern,  the  flying  argel  blowing  a 
trumpet,  the  seated  Indian  with  his  dog  and  bow,  and  the  alle- 
gor  c  al  figure  opposite,  generally  repeat,  though  with  varying 
details,  the  liberty  pattern  of  the  stove  plate.  Figure  175. 
Therefore  it  must  have  been  cast  during  or  after  th;  Revolution, 
as  no  Euch  plate  would  have  been  made  before.  Instead  of  the 
liberty  motto,  we  have  an  advert  semen t  on  the  scroll  of  the 
na  Ties  of  Peter  Grubb  and  George  Ege,  which  association  of 
names  shows  that  the  plate  may  have  been  cast  either  at  Corn- 
wall Furnace,  in  Lebanon  County,  where  Peter  Grubb  was 
master  between  1765  and  1785,  or  at  Mount  Hope  Furnace, 
founded  by  Peter  Grubb,  3d,  1785,  and  where  the  latter  may 
have  had  Ege  as  a  partner,  or  at  a  furnace  unnamed  by  Pearse. 
page    193,  in   Dauphin   County,  managed   by   Peter   Grubb  in    1797. 

According  to  Swank,  page  182,  there  were  three  Peter 
Grubbs.  viz :  Peter  Grubb,  1st.  who  built  Cornwall  Furnace 
in  1742.  and  died  in  1754.  and  who  was  the  son  of  John  Grubb, 
of    Cornwall,    England. 

Peter  Grubb,  2d,  son  of  1st,  who  was  a  Colonel  in  the 
Revolutionary  War  and  a  brother  of  Curtis  Grubb.  He  re- 
sumed the  management  of  Cornwall  Furnace  in  1765,  after  its 
lease   by  his  father,  and  was  living   in   1785. 

Peter  Grubb,  3d,  son  of  2d.  He  was  called  Peter  Grubb. 
Jr..  in  the  ironmaster's  petition  of  1785.  Swank,  page  496.  Built 
Mount  Hope  Furnace  in  1786  and  had  a  furnace,  unnamed,  in 
Dauphin  County  in  1797.  It  is  probably  the  latter  whose  name 
appears    on    this    plate. 

According  to  Swank,  page  176,  George  Ege  was  a  nat've 
of  Holland,  and  for  fifty  years,  probably  after  the  Revolution, 
a  prominent  ironmaster  in  Pennsylvania.  He  was  a  large  land 
owner  in  Berks  County,  where  he  built  Reading  (not  Redding) 
Furnace,  on  Spring  Creek.  Heidelberg  Townsh-p.  in  1794.  This 
he  held  until  his  failure  in  1824.  He  leased  Berkshire  Furnace 
in  1774.  and  held  it  as  lessee  or  part  manager  between  1780 
and  1783.  then  bought  it  about  1790  (Montgomery,  62  and  73); 
He  bought  Charming   Forge,   in   Berks   County,   in    1774. 


131 


He  had  a  brother.  Michael  Ege.  a  prominent  ironmaster  in 
Cumberland  County,  early  in  the  19th  century,  who  owned  Pine 
Grove.  Carlisle.  Mt.  Holly  and  Cumberland  Furnaces,  and 
died  in  1815.  He  had  a  son.  George  Ege.  2d,  and  Peter  Ege. 
who   later   owned    Pine    Grove    Furnace. 

A  similar  pattern,  but  with  the  liberty  motto,  was  de- 
scribed to  the  writer  as  part  of  a  Franklin  stove  still  existing  in 
1898  in  an  old  house  at  Front  street  and  Gcrmantown  avenue, 
Ph  ladelphia.  by  Mrs.  Martha  Am  Hance.  of  2032  Camac  street, 
Philadelphia,  in    1908. 


According  to  articles  in  the  Virg  nia  Historical  Register  of 
1853.  Vol.  I.  pages  28  and  87.  and  Vol.  VI.  page  43.  this  stove 
was  given  to  the  Virginia  House  of  Burgesses  at  Williamsburg 
during  the  ad.Tiinistration  of  Lcrd  Botetout.  received  by  them 
from  his  executor,  the  Duke  of  Beaufort,  in  1770.  and  rc.-noved 
to  Richmond  in  1779.  It  was  ma'e  by  or  for  a  maker  or  stove 
merchant.  Buzaglo.  of  London,  from  whom  a  s  gned  lett:r, 
dated  August  15,  1770,  referring  to  enclosed  printed  directions 
for  setting  up  the  stove,  is  quoted.  The  writer,  Buzaglo. 
praises  the  workmanship  of  "the  newly  invented  war.uing 
machine"  as  "do  ng  honor  to  Great  Britain,  and  excelling  in 
grandeur  anything  ever  seen  of  the  kind,  a  masterpiece  not  to 
be  equalled  in  all  Europe,  and  which  has  met  with  general 
applause,  etc." 

The  writers  of  the  articles  in  the  Virginia  Register,  one  of 
whom  signs  himself  GAM,  discuss  the  Latin  motto,  "Endat 
Virginia  quartam."  under  the  Royal  Arms  of  Great  Britain, 
cast   on    the   reverse,  not   here   shown. 

The  heavy  stove  with  its  massive  decorated  legs  and  its 
fire  chamber,  surmounted  by  two  heat  radiating  tunnelled  boxes, 
is  decorated  in  the  English  Chippendale  style  of  the  middle 
18th  century.  The  upper  arch  is  surmounted  with  the  legend 
Buzaglo  fecit  1770.  and  the  fire  box  shows  a  figure  of  Justice 
holding  scales  and  lean'ng,  with  sword  in  left  hand,  upon  .i 
scroll  marked  "Magna  Charta,"  spread  upon  a  stool  above  the 
motto    "Pro    Aris    Et    Focis." 

Mr.  Miller  Christy,  of  Chelmsford.  England,  supposes  (in 
a  letter  to  the  author.  January  7.  1914)  that  the  stove  may  have 
been  cast  for  Buzaglo  at  the  old  Carron  Foundry,  still  existing. 
at  Carron,  Stirlingshire,  Scotland.     Established  in  1770. 


Lord  Botetout's  Stove. 

Cast-iron  draft  stove  of  Continental  European  pattern  of  the 
middle  18th  century.  Size  ab.ut  7  feet  high  by  3  feet  wide.  At 
the   State   Capitol,    Richmond,   Va. 


132 


NOTES. 


NOTE  1. 

COLONIAL  FURNACES  IN  THE 
EASTERN  UNITED  STATES 
AND  CANADA. 
The  following  is  a  very  incomplete  list  of  the 
American  Furnaces  or  Foundries  where  iron  stoves 
were   or   could   have   been   cast,   in   existence   in   the 
Eastern     United     States    and    Canada,     during    the 
colonial  period,  or  during  the  time,  until  about  1770, 
when  decorated  stoves  were  made  in  Pennsylvania. 
It   is   compiled   from   the   inco.tiplete,   disjointed   ac- 
counts,   frequently    uninde>  ed     and    too    often    un- 
substantiated by  original  authorities,  in 

A.  Iron  in  All  Ages,  James  M.  Swank,  Phila- 
delphia, 261  South  Fourth  St.,  1892.  Chapters  9  to  16, 
21  to  25  and  40.     Cited  as  (Sw.). 

B.  History  of  American  Manufactures,  2 
Vols.  J.  L.  Bishop,  Philadelphia.  Young  &  Co., 
London.     Sampson   Low,    1864.     Cited   as   (Bish.). 

C.  Iron  Manufacture  in  America.  John  B. 
Pearse,  Philadelphia.    Allen  &  Scott,  1876.    (Pearse.) 

D.  Early  Furnaces  and  Forges  of  Berks 
County,  Pa.  By  Morton  L.  Montgomery,  Penna. 
Magazine  of  History,  8.56.     Cited  as  (Mont.). 

E.  Iron  and  Coal  in  Penna.  J.  M.  Swank, 
1878.     Cited  as  (Sw.  I.  and  C). 

F.  History  of  Chester  County,  Penna.  J.  S. 
Futhey  and  Gilbert  Cope,  Philadelphia.  Everts, 
1881.     (F.  and  C). 

G.  History  of  Lancaster  County.  F.  Ellis  and 
S.  Evans,  Philadelphia.  Evarts  &  Peck,  1883.  Cited 
as  (E.  and  E.). 

H.  Memorial  of  Potts  Family.  Mrs.  Potts- 
James.     Cambridge,  Mass.,  1875.     Cited  as  (James). 

I.  Early  Furnaces  in  Lancaster  County.  Wins- 
low  Fegley.  Transactions  Berks  County  Historical 
Society,  Vol.  2,  page  25. 

J.  Owen  B.  F.  Correspondence  with  the 
writer. 

A  is  generally  the  authority  where  B.  C.  D.  E. 
F.  G.  H.  I.  J.  are  not  quoted. 

An  account  of  the  old  Pennsylvanian  Furnaces 
illustrated  from  photographs  of  several  of  the  ruined 
Stacks,    Masters'    Houses,    Stove    Plates,    Franklin's 


Stoves,  etc.  (Forges  and  Furnaces  in  the  Province 
of  Pennsylvania  Prepared  by  the  Committee  on  His- 
torical Research  of  the  Colonial  Dames  of  America, 
Philadelphia,  1914),  appeared  after  the  writing  of 
the  above  pages.  Its  new  information  where  used 
has  been  acknowledged  by  the  writer. 

NOTE  2. 

FURNACES  IN  MASSACHUSETTS. 

LYNN  FURNACE,  1645-1688.  Masters  or  own- 
ers, Copley,  Bond,  Pury,  Becx,  Beauchamp,  Foley, 
Greenhill,  Weld,  Pocoke,  Beck,  Hicocke,  J.  Win- 
throp,  Jr.  At  Saugus  Centre,  head  of  tide  water, 
site  of  old  Ferry,  north  or  left  bank  of  Saugus  River. 
Place  called  Hammersmith,  near  Lynn,  Mass. 

Owners  also  Thomas  Dexter,  Robert  Bridges, 
of  Lynn,  (Alonzo  Lewis  History  of  Lynn.  Swank, 
108),  Joseph  Jenks,  machinist  and  inventor;  Henry 
and  James  Leonard,  forge  men.  Blast  furnace 
called  foundry  and  refinery  forge,  not  Bloomary. 
Till  about  1850  furnaces  generally  called  Foun- 
dries (Swank).  "Stoves,"  pots,  mortars,  skillets 
cast  at  Lynn  and  Braintree  Furnaces,  1647  (letter 
of  Robert  Child  to  John  Winthrop,  Jr.,  Boston, 
March  15,  1647.     Sw.,  113.     Pearse  22). 

BRAINTREE  FURNACE,  1646  to  1653.  Nor- 
folk County,  ten  miles  south  of  Boston,  Mass. 
Masters,  The  Lynn  Co.  Employees,  William  Os- 
borne,  Henry  and  James   Leonard.      (Sw.,   113.) 

DESPARDS  FURNACE,  1702.  Mattakeeset 
Pond,  Town  of  Pembroke.  Plymouth  Co.,  Mass. 
Lambert  Despard  and  Barker  family.  Mark  Des- 
pard.  Abandoned  on  exhaustion  of  wood.  (Sw., 
120.) 

KINGS  FURNACE,  1724-5  to  about  1840.  On 
Little  North  Brook  at  Taunton,  now  Raynham, 
Bristol  County,  Mass.  John  King  and  Stock  Com- 
pany, 1724.  Bog  ore,  pots  and  kettles.  Pig  iron  from 
New  Jersey  in   1816. 

SIX  FURNACES,  1731.  Properly  Foundries 
recasting  pig  iron  for  hollow  ware.  (Swank,  121, 
quoting   Douglass'   British   Settlement.) 

PLYMPTON  (or  CARVER)  FURNACE,  1730. 
First  cast  iron  teakettles,  1760-1765. 

POPES  POINT  FURNACE,  1733.  South 
Carver,  Mass.     (Inf.  Mr.  Henry  S.  Griffith,  1913.) 


133 


CHARLOTTE  FURNACE.  1760.  South  Car- 
ver. Mass.  (Inf.  Mr.  Henry  S.  Griffith.)  Lasted 
through  War  of   1812. 

LENOX  FURNACE.  1765  to  1881.  Berkshire 
Co.,  Mass. 

FURNACE  VILLAGE  FURNACE.  Before 
1773.     Furnace  Village.   Worcester   County,   Mass. 

FEDERAL  FURNACE.  1794.  Plymouth 
County,  Mass.  Made  stoves  and  firebacks  in  1804. 
Inf.  Dr.  James  Thatcher.     (Sw.,  123.) 

NOTE  3. 

FURNACES   IN   RHODE  ISLAND. 

HOPE  FURNACE,  1735.  North  Branch  of 
Pawtuxent  River,  Rhode  Island.  Nicholas  Brown, 
Moses  Brown,  Samuel  Waldo,  Israel  Wilkinson. 
(Sw..   127.) 

THREE  FURNACES  in  Cumberland  Town- 
ship, R.  I.,  in  1735.  Abandoned  before  Revolution. 
Many  pots  and  stoves  cast  at  close  of  18th  cen- 
tury.   (Sw.,   128.) 

NOTE  4. 

FURNACES  IN   CONNECTICUT. 

NEW  HAVEN  FURNACE.  1658.  Captain 
Thomas  Clarke,  J.  Winthrop.  1658  to  1659.  Blast 
furnace  and  refinery  forge,  pig  iron  and  pots  in 
1663.    (Sw.,   118.) 

LIME  ROCK  FURNACE.  About  1740  to  1750. 
Active  1890.  Litchfield  County.  N.  W.  Conn. 
Thomas  Lamb.      (Sw.,    128.) 

NOTE  5. 

FURNACES  IN  NEW  HAMPSHIRE 
AND  VERMONT. 

According  to  Swank  there  were  no  furnaces  or 
foundries  in  these  States  during  the  period  in  ques- 
tion (Chapter  11).  SHAPLEIGH  FURNACE. 
York  County.  Maine.  Furnace  at  FURNACE  VIL- 
LAGE, Exeter,  New  Hampshire,  1795.  (Sw..  132.) 
THREE  FURNACES  in  Rutland  County,  Ver- 
mont, 1794.     No  furnaces  before  1775.    (Sw.,  133.) 

NOTE  6. 

FURNACES  IN   NEW  YORK. 

ANCRAM  FURNACE,  1750  to  1837.  Ancram 
Creek,  Columbia  County,  fourteen  miles  east  of 
Hudson  River,  near  Connecticut  "Ore  Hill,"  Salis- 
bury Township,  Conn.  Philip  Livingston,  1750. 
(Pearse,  46,  and  Sw.,   136.) 

COURTLAND  MANOR  FURNACES.  Two 
of  them,  begun  and  abandoned  before   1756. 

STERLING  IRON  WORKS  or  WARD  AND 
COULTON'S  FURNACE,  1751.     At  Sterling  Pond, 


Orange   County,   N.   Y.     Lord   Sterling,    1750;   Peter 
Townsend,  1776; 

FOREST  OF  DEAN  FURNACE,  1756  to 
1777.  On  Ramapo  Creek,  Orange  County,  five  miles 
west  of  Fort  Montgomery,  abandoned  1777.  Stoves 
cast  for  American  Governmen;,   1776.  (Sw.,  138.) 

QUEENSBOROUGH  FURNACE.  Probably 
after  1770.  Near  Fort  Montgomery,  six  miles  below 
West  Point.  Only  pig  iron;  no  castings.  Aban- 
doned 1800.   (Sw.,   139.) 

CRAIGSVILLE  FURNACE.  During  Revolu- 
tion.    (Pearse,  48.) 

AMENIA  FURNACE  AND  FOUNRDY.  Dur- 
ing Revolution.     In  Dutchess  County.     (Pearse,  49.) 

HAVERSTRAW  FURNACE.  During  Revo- 
lution.    Rockland   County.      (Sw.,    142.) 

PHILIPSBURG  FURNACE.  Westchester 
County.    (Sw.,   141.)  • 

NOTE  7. 

FURNACES  IN  NEW  JERSEY. 

SHREWSBURY  or  TINTON  FALLS  FUR- 
NACE, 1682.  At  Tinton  Falls,  South  Monmouth 
County,  N.  J.  Colonel  Lewis  Morris,  1682.  (Sw., 
Chapter   13.) 

BERGEN  FURNACE.  Doubtful  date.  Mon- 
mouth County.     (Sw..  147.) 

MOUNT  HOLLY  or  HANOVER  FURNACE, 
1730  to  1776.  Isaac  Pierson,  Mahlon  Stacey,  Johi' 
Burr.     Destroyed   1776. 

RINGWOOD  or  OGDENS  FURNACE.  1740 
to  1776.  Near  Greenwood  Lake,  formerly  Bergen 
now  Passaic  County.  Ogden  family,  1740;  Peter 
Hasenclever,   1764-1768. 

J.  Jacob  Faesch,  1770;  Robert  Erskine,  1772. 
Rebuilt  by  Peter  Hasenclever  1768.  Three  fur- 
naces and   forge.     Destroyed   1776. 

OXFORD  FURNACE,  1742  to  1882.  Warren 
County.  N.  J.  Johathan  Robeson,  1742.  Durham 
boats  carried  ore  down  the  Delaware  from  Foul  Rift. 
(Sw.,  154.)    Water  blast  or  Trompe  used  at  first. 

UNION  FURNACE,  1750  to  1778.  Hunterdon 
County.  William  Allen,  Joseph  Turner,  1750.  Two 
furnaces,   two   forges.     Abandoned    1778. 

ANDOVER  FURNACE,  1760,  about.  Sussex 
County.     Furnace  and  forge.     Durham  boats. 

HIBERNIA  FURNACE  or  ADVENTURE 
FURNACE.  1765.  Pequannock  Township,  Morris 
County.  N.  J.  Lord  Sterling.  Benjamin  Cooper, 
Samuel  Ford,  Anderson  and  Cooper,  1765;  Lord 
Sterling  alone,  1773;  Joseph  Hopp,  manager,  1776. 


1.     134 

BLOOMINGDALE  FURNACE,  1765.  Passaic 
County.     The   Ogdens,   1755. 

BATSTO  FURNACE,  1766  to  1846.  Batsto 
river  branch  of  the  Mullica  river,  Burlington  County. 
Charles  Read,  1766;  William  Richards  employed  as 
founder,  1768;  William  Richards,  1784.  Abandoned 
1846.     (Pearse,  54.) 

ATSION  FURNACE,  Atsion  river  branch  of 
the  Mullica  river,  Burlington  County,  1766.  Charles 
Read,   1766. 

TAUNTON  FURNACE,  1766  to  1773.  Eve- 
sham Towfnship,  Burlington  County.  Charles 
Read,  1766.     Abandoned  1773. 

CHARLOTTENBURG  FURNACE,  1767  to 
1776.  West  Branch  of  Pequannock  Creek.  Peter 
Hasenclever,  1767:  John  Jacob  Faesch,  1770;  Rob- 
ert Erskine,   1772.     Burned,   1776. 

LONG  POND  FURNACE,  1768.  Near  Green- 
wood Lake,  Passaic  County.  Peter  Hasenclever, 
1768.     (Sw.,   150.) 

PCMPTON  FURNACE,  about  1768.  Passaic 
County.     Peter  Hasenclever,   1768.     (Swr.,   150.) 

MOUNT  HOPE  FURNACE.  1772  to  1825.  At 
Mount  Hope,  four  miles  N.  E.  of  Rockaway.  John 
Jacob  Faesh,   1772.     Abandoned,   1825. 

FRANKLIN  FURNACE,  1770.  Franklin,  Mor- 
ris County. 

During  or  after  the  Revolution,  about  1780,  the 
following  furnaces  in  S.  and  S.  W.  New  Jersey. 
CUMBERLAND,  DOVER,  ETNA,  FEDERAL, 
GLOUCESTER,  MARTHA,  HANOVER,  MON- 
MOUTH, MELVILLE,  SPEEDWELL,  WASH- 
INGTON, WEYMOUTH,  EIGHT  FURNACES 
in  1784  and  after. 

Note — Decorated  Stove  Plates  of  The  Penn- 
sylvania Type  seen  about  1877,  at  Fillmore,  Mon- 
mou'ih  County,  in  a  "scrap  heap,"  by  Mr.  Patrick 
Trainor.  Information  Patrick  Trainor,  Doyles- 
town,   1913. 

NOTE  8. 

FURNACES  IN  PENNSYLVANIA. 

COLEBROOKDALE      FURNACE.      1720      to 
'     about  1793.  Ironstone  Creek,  branch  of  Manatawny 
Creek,   eight   miles   wast   of   Pottstown,    Colebrook- 
dale    Township,    Berks    County,    Pa.      Thomas    Put- 
ter   founder;    James    Lewis,    Anthony    Morris,    1720; 
share    owners,    Anthony    Morris,    Alexander    Wood, 
I      Samuel    Preston,    William    Atwood,    John    Leacock, 
'<      Nathaniel    French,    George    Mifflin,    Thomas    Potts, 
George    Boone     (ancestor     of     the     pioneer),     1731; 
Thomas   Potts   associated,    1728;   share   owner,    1731, 
Thomas  Rutter,  1733,  1736,  1763  (probably  fourth  of 
the    name,    died,     1763),     (James,    38,   60);    Thomas 
Potts,   1747,   grandson   of   Thomas   Potts,  died   1762. 
First    furnace    in    Pennsylvania    named    after    Cole- 
(or  Coal)  brookdale    Furnace,    Shropshire,   England. 


A, 

V 

I 
c 

V 

I 

c 
s 

d 
2 

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1 


1 


Township  named  after  furnace  in  1736.  Rebuilt, 
1733.  Scull's  map,  1759.  Supplied  Poole  Forge, 
(first  forge  in  Pennsylvania,  founded.  1716).  Sup- 
plied Pine  forge,  1740;  McCalls  or  Glasgow  forge, 
1725;  Spring  forge,  1729.  (Sw.,  58;  Mont.,  63.)  See 
Figures  111,  155  and  158.  Abandoned  about  1765. 
Listed,  but  probably  inactive,  1793. 

NOTE  9— REDDING  FURNACE,  or  more 
properly  CHRISTINE-REDDING.  Successor  to 
CHRISTINE  FURNACE.  Date  of  origin  doubtful, 
soon  after  1720.  certainly  before  1728.  (Potts  Manu- 
script Coventry  Forge  Ledgers).  Date  of  demoli- 
tion of  Christine  unknown.  Redding  built  1737  to 
1738;  abandoned  after  1783.  (F.  &  C.)  French 
Creek,  East  Nantmeal,  now  Warwick  Township, 
Chester  County,  Pa.  Founders,  William  Branson 
and  Samuel  Nutt,  business  partners  in  1728.  (F.  & 
C,  324.)  The  former  died,  1760.  (Sw.  I.  &  C, 
121.)  Owners.  William  Branson,  1737,  1740  to  1742, 
1750  to  1755,  1750,  with  Linford  Lardner  and  Sam- 
uel Flower,  1741;  with  Samuel  Nutt's  widow  as 
Nutt  &  Co.,  and  with  John  Potts  as  manager,  1737. 
Nutt  having  died  in  that  year.  1737  to  1740  Nutt's 
widow  and  Branson  quarrel  in  a  lawsuit  and  sepa- 
rate; 1740  to  1741  (F.  &  C,  344)  Samuel  Flower, 
manager  after  1750.  (S.  F.  on  stove  plates  in  1756- 
1764.)  Part  owner,  Mr.  Van  Leer  (Bishop,  553). 
James  Old,  1772  and  1773  (Sw..  180);  Rutter  & 
Potts,  1778  to  1783.  Abandoned  about  1783  (F.  & 
C).     Started  after  disuse,  1792.    (Pearse,  152.) 

Christine  Furnace  in  existence,  1728  to  1729. 
(Potts  Manuscript.)  Redding  built  1737  (Road  Pe- 
tition, 1735.  F.  &  C.)  agreement  of  management  (F. 
&  C.  and  James).  Two  furnaces  about  one  mile 
apart.  Inventory  of  S.  Nutt's  will,  1737  (James,  49), 
Sculls  map,   1755. 

Christine  and  Redding  Furnaces  were  asso- 
ciated with  Coventry  Forge,  situated  ten  miles  east 
at  mouth  of  French  Creek  (Sw.  I.  &  C,  121),  also 
with  Windsor  Forge  on  Conestoga  Creek,  and  with 
Vincent  Steel  Works.  Exact  site  of  first  and  sec- 
ond forges  lost  (James,  49).  Samuel  Flower,  Bran- 
son's son-in-law,  lessee  of  Windsor  Forge  in  1743 
for  thirty  years. 

NOTE  10— CHRISTINE  FURNACE.  Prede- 
cessor of  Redding  Furnace   (see  latter). 

NOTE  11— KEITHS  FURNACE,  1725  to  1728. 
On  Christiana  River  or  Creek,  Newcastle  County, 
Delaware,  then  Pennsylvania.  Sir  William  Keith, 
Governor  of  Pennsylvania.     (Sw.,  234.) 

NOTE  12— KURTZ'S  FURNACE,  1725,  doubt- 
ful. Lancaster  County.  No  data  given.  See  Pierce, 
218,  Bishop,  page  552,  and  Historical  Collections  of 
Pennsylvania  Sherman  Day,  Philadelphia,  1843, 
page  388.  Day,  page  393,  refers  to  probably  the 
same  Kurtz  as  an  Amish  Mennonite,  who  for  con- 
scientious reasons,  refused  a  grant  of  one  thousand 
acres  from  the  Proprietaries. 


135 


NOTE  13— ABINGTON  FURNACE,  1727 
until  about  1768.  South  bank  of  Christiana  Creek, 
Delaware,  originally  Pennsylvania.  Samuel  James, 
Reece  Jones,  Samuel  Nutt.  Evan  Owen,  William 
Branson,  Thomas  Rutter,  John  Rutter,  Caspar  Wis- 
tar. 

NOTE  14— DURHAM  FURNACE.  1727  to 
about  1897.  Durham  Creek,  one  and  a  half  miles 
above  its  mouth,  Durham  Township,  Bucks  County, 
Pa.  Founders  a  company  of  fourteen  persons  with 
Anthony  Morris,  Jeremiah  Langhorne,  William 
Allen,  Joseph  Turner,  James  Logan  (Penn's  secre- 
tary), and  others.  General  Daniel  Morgan,  William 
Bird  before  1744  (S  reepy  papers.  Inf.  B.  F.  Fack- 
enthal,  Jr.):  George  Taylor,  signer  of  Declaration 
of  Independence,  1774,  who  cast  a  stove  plate  ex- 
hibited in  1892  at  Easton  Post  Office;  Richard 
Backhouse  later.  One  of  the  four  furnaces  in  blast 
in  1728,  according  to  James  Logan  (Sw.,  170).  Many 
stoves  cast  about  1741.  (Sw.,  169.)  Early  records 
and  ledgers  lost.  (Inf.  Mr.  B.  F.  Fackenthal,  Jr.) 
Demolished.  1819;  rebuilt,  1848  to  1851,  and  again, 
1874.  Abandoned,  1897.  Supplied  several  forges. 
Ore  carried  down  Delaware  in  Durham  boats. 

NOTE  15— MOUNT  PLEASANT  FURNACE. 
1738.  Five  miles  west  of  Colebrookdale  Furnace, 
near  present  Barto,  West  Branch  of  Perkiomen 
Creek,  Colebrookdale  Township,  Berks  County,  Pa. 
Thomas  Potts,  Jr.,  1738.  John  Potts,  1742  (Potts  M. 
S.  Furnace  Ledgers).  First  blast  on  authority  of 
Potts  Family  Papers,  October  12,  1738.  (Pearse, 
153.)  Associated  with  Mount  Pleasant  Forge, 
built  about  1743.  David  Potts  manager  until  hij 
death  in  1752.  (Forges  and  Furnaces  of  Penna.. 
Colonial  Dames,  Phila.,  1914,  p.  75.) 

NOTE  16— WARWICK  FURNACE.  1738  to 
1867.  South  Branch  of  French  Creek,  Chester 
County.  Pa.  Anna  Nutt  (Anna  Nutt  &  Co.)  founder, 
1738.  (F.  &  C,  211.)  Franklin  fireplaces  cast  there. 
(F.  &  C,  211.)  These  first  mentioned  in  Potts  MSS., 
Coventry  Forge  Ledger,  September  23,  1742,  hence 
probably  first  cast  at  Redding.  "Seven  small  new 
fashioned  fire  places  on  account  Mr.  Grace  to  Mr. 
George  Rock,  at  Northeast,  Maryland."  Warwick 
sold  Dutch  oven  and  five  tons  of  stoves  in  1774. 
two  large  Moravian  stoves  in  1779,  and  five  tons  of 
stoves  in  1785.  Franklin's  fireplaces  retailed  at  fii^e 
pounds  ten  each  in  1785,  ten  plate  stoves  at  ten 
pounds  each,  large  six  plate  stoves  at  six  pounds 
each,  and  small  six  plate  stoves  at  five  pounds  ten 
each  in  1785,  on  authority  of  Potts  Family  Papers 
(Potts-James,  53).  Managers  1740,  Robert  Grace, 
born,  1709;  married  Mrs.  Samuel  Nutt,  Jr.,  about 
1741,  died  1766.  Samuel  Nutt.  3d.  in  1756  (Acre- 
lius  writing  in  1756,  History  of  New  Sweden.  F.  & 
C,  211  and  328);  John  Potts  before  and  until  1768 
(James,  110);  Samuel  and  John  Potts,  Jr.,  before 
and    after    1768    (James,    110);    Thomas    Rutter    and 


Samuel  Potts  during  Revolution  after  1776.  War- 
wick Furnace  supplied  Mount  Joy  or  Valley  Forge. 
Built.  1751. 

NOTE  17— CORNWALL  FURNACE,  1742, 
still  existing  1914.  On  Furnace  Creek,  near  Leba- 
non, Lebanon  County,  Pa.  Founder  Peter  Grubb. 
1742.  Cornwall  Company  of  twelve  persons,  lessees 
for  twenty  years,  1745;  Jacob  Giles  sub-lessee  later 
(Bishop.  553);  Peter  Grubb  died,  1754;  Curtis  and 
Peter  Grubb  2d,  1754;  Garrett  &  Co..  about  1756 
(Acrelius  quoted  by  Pearse,  218);  Peter  Grubb  2d, 
again  about  1765  till  1783,  then  Peter  Grubb  3d,  then 
with  Robert  Coleman;  Robert  Coleman  five-sixth 
owner,  1785-1798.  (Sw.,  182.)  (Forges  and  Fur- 
naces, Colonial  Dames,  87.) 

NOTE  18— POPADICKON  or  POTTS 
GROVE  FURNACE.  Founded  before  1745.  Ex- 
isting, 1769.  At  or  near  Pottstown,  Berks  County, 
Pa.  (Potts  Manuscript.)  Overlooked  by  Swank  and 
Montgomery.  Managed  by  John  Potts.  Stoves  sold 
in  the  1740's  and  furnace  called  Potts  Grove  after 
1750. 

NOTE  19— ELIZABETH  FURNACE,  1750  to 
1856.  Middlecreek  Branch  of  Conestoga  Creek,  near 
Brickersville,  Lancaster  County,  Pa.  Hans  Jacob 
Huber,  founder,  1750;  H.  W.  Stiegel,  with  John 
Barr  and  Alexander  and  Charles  Steadman  as  part- 
ners (Stiegel  &  Company),  1757  to  1778;  Stiegel  died, 
1783;  Daniel  Benezet,  1775;  Robert  Coleman  lessee, 
1776;  owner,  1784-94.  Rebuilt,  1757.  Abandoned, 
1856.  Furnace  Ledger  at  Historical  Society  of 
Pennsylvania.  (Sw.,  179,  and  Forges  and  Furnaces, 
Colonial   Dames,   119.) 

NOTE  20— MARTIC  FURNACE,  1751  (In- 
formation Mr.  B.  F.  Owen).  A  cinder  bank  in  1890. 
(Sw..  183.)  Existing  but  not  active,  1793,  near  Cole- 
mansville,  Lancaster  County,  Pa.  Named  after  Mar- 
tock  village.  Somerset,  England.  Thomas  Smith, 
William  Smith,  1751-1769;  James  Wallace  and  James 
Fulton,  before  1769;  Willam  Benet,  Samuel  Webb, 
Ferguson  Mcllvaine,  1760  and  later.  Firm  bankrupt, 
1766.  (Inf.  Mr.  B.  F.  Owen,  Reading,  Pa.)  Inven- 
tory of  sheriff's  sale,  1769,  mentions  stove  moulds 
(Sw..  188).  Associated  with  Martic  Forge  after  1755. 
This  was  built  by  Thomas  and  William  Smith,  on 
Pequea  Creek,  six  miles  west.  (Sw.,  188.)  James 
Old  had  Martic   Forge  in  1755.    (Pearse,  220.) 

NOTE  21— HEREFORD  FURNACE,  1753. 
West  Branch  of  Perkiomen  Creek,  Hereford  Town- 
ship, Berks  County.  On  old  map  cited  by  Winslow 
Fegeley  in  "Cld  Charcoal  Furnaces  in  Eastern  Berks 
County,  Fa."  William  Maybury.  1757;  Thomas  May- 
bury,   1767-68.     See  Figures  105,  169  and  180. 

NOTE  22— SHEARWELL  FURNACE.  Fur- 
nace Creek,  branch  of  little  Manatawny  Creek, 
Oley  Township,  near  Friedensburg,  Berks  County, 
Pa.      Built    close   to   and   managed   with    Oley    Fur- 


136 

nace.  Founded  between  1744  and  1756  by  Benedict 
Swope  and  Dio;rich,  or  Dieter,  Welker  (information 
of  B.  F.  Owen,  of  Reading,  Pa.,  and  Figure  57).  Con- 
fused with  Oley  Furnace.  Owned  probably  by  Wil- 
liam Maybury,  1765;  John  Lesher,  1768.  Date  of 
demolition  not  known.  In  existence,  1783  (informa- 
tion B.  F.  Owen).     See  Figure  187. 

NOTE  23— HOPEWELL  FURNACE,  1759  or 
1765  to  1890,  dates  doubtful.  (Montgomery,  60.)  Ex- 
isting, 1884.  Abandoned,  1892.  Union  Township, 
Berks  County,  Pa.  William  Bird,  died,  1761;  Mark 
Bird,  after  1761  to  1785;  Cadwallader  Morris  and 
James  Old,  1788;  Benjamin  Morris,  1790  to  1791; 
James  Old,  1793;  Benjamin  Morris  again,  1800. 
(Mont.,  60.)  Many  ten  plate  stoves  made  in  early 
19th  century.  Account  of  later  furnace  and  photo- 
graph of  ruins,  1914.  (Colonial  Forges  and  Furnaces 
in   Pennsylvania,   Colonial   Dames,   154.) 

NOTE  24— ROXBOROUGH  or  BERKSHIRE 
FURNACE.  Renamed  Reading  Furnace  and  again 
renamed  Robesonia.  First  name,  1755  to  1792. 
Heidelberg  Township,  two  miles  southwest  of 
Wernersville,  Berks  County,  Pa.  William  Bird, 
1755,  died  1761  (Forges  and  Furnaces  in  Pennsylva- 
nia, Colonial  Dames,  p.  152,  76);  Mark  Bird,  1762  to 
1764;  John  and  Bridget  Patton,  1764;  George  Ege, 
lessee,  1764,  owner,  1790  (Forges  and  Furnaces, 
152).  Abandoned,  1792.  Soon  after  rebuilt  near  old 
site  and  renamed  Reading  Furnace.  Again  renamed 
and  now,  1913,  Robesonia  Furnace.  Ledger  and 
Journals  of  Furnaces  after  1767  at  Pa.  Hist.  Society. 
(Forges  and  Furnaces  in  Pennsylvania,  Colonial 
Dames,  p.  152.)     See  Figure  44. 

NOTE  25— CARLISLE  FURNACE.  Boiling 
Springs,  Cumberland  County.  John  S.  Rigby,  1762 
(Forges  and  Furnaces,  172),  later  John  Armsrong 
and  Robert  Thornburg,  part  owners.  Finally  Sam- 
uel Morris,  John  Morris,  Francis  Sanderson  and 
Robert  Thornburg,  bought  from  Rigby  in  1764. 
Later  Michael  Ege,  Amos  Stilwell,  Robert  Thorn- 
burg. In  1792  Michael  Ege,  sole  owner.  (Forges 
and  Furnaces,  page  172),  Professor  Himes  says  that 
six  owners,  five  of  whom  were  from  Philadelphia, 
with  Robert  Thornburg  and  Francis  Stevenson,  of 
Carlisle,  bought  the  furnace  in  1764.  (Decorated 
Stove  Plate  of  1764  West  of  the  Susquehanna,  Jour- 
nal of  Franklin  Institute,  December,  1903.) 

NOTE  26— MARY  ANN  FURNACE,  1761-3  to 
1800.  Furnace  Creek,  West  Manheim  Township, 
Southwest  York  County.  George  Ross,  George 
Stevenson,  William  Thompson,  Mark  Bird,  between 
1761  and  1763;  Stevenson  goes  to  Carlisle,  1765; 
George  Ross  and  George  Ege,  1774;  John  Steinmetz 
and  John  Brinton,  of  Philadelphia,  1790;  later  David 
Meyer.  Cannon  balls  cast  for  American  army  during 
Revolution.  Furnace  abandoned  about  1800.  Cinder 
heap  and  frequently  plowed  up  cannon  balls  mark  the 


site  on  farm  of  Mr.  Dusman,  1884.  Remains  of  race 
and  charcoal  pits,  1914.  (Gibson's  History  of  York 
County,  page  485.)  Furnace  Ledgers  at  Historical 
Society  of  Pennsylvania.  (Furnaces  and  Forges  in 
Penna.,  160.) 

NOTE  27— CODORUS  or  HELLAM  FUR- 
NACE, 1765  to  1850.  Codorus  Creek,  Hellam  Town- 
ship, York  County,  Pa.  Confused  with  Hellam 
Forge.  Owners,  William  Benet,  1765  to  1771,  see 
Figure  133  (Sw.,  212);  Charles  Hamilton,  1771; 
later  James  Smith;  Thomas  Niel,  1778;  Samuel  lago, 
about  1793;  Henry  Grubb,  1810;  various  later  own- 
ers. A  furnace  buil';  1837,  abandoned  1850.  (Gib- 
son's History  of  York  County,  page  486.) 

NOTE  28— PINE  GROVE  FURNACE,  1770  to 
1870.  Mountain  Creek  Branch  of  Yellow  Breeches 
Creek,  fourteen  miles  southeast  of  Carlisle,  Cum- 
berland County,  Pa.  Robert  Thornburg  and  John 
Arthur,  1770;  later  Jacob  Simon;  in  1782  Michael 
Ege  and  Thomas  and  Joseph  Thornburg,  sons  of 
Robert  Thornburg;  in  1803  Michael  Ege  sole  owner; 
Ege  family  until  1838.  Abandoned  about  1870. 
(Forges  and  Furnaces,  Colonial  Dames,  181;  Bishop, 
559;  Pearse,  192.)  Site  ownsd  by  Thomas  Pope  in 
1762  and  George  Stevenson,  1764  to  1772,  but  Swank, 
page  185.  says  that  the  founders  ware  Robert  Thorn- 
burg and  John  Arthur  in  1770.     See  Figure  178. 

NOTE  29— HOLLY  FURNACE.  Mount  Holly 
Springs,  Cumberland  County.  Built,  1770,  by  a  Mr. 
Stevenson.    (Sw.,   185.) 

NOTE  30— OLEY  FURNACE.  Furnace  Creek, 
branch  of  Little  Manatawney  Creek,  Oley  Town- 
ship, near  Friedensburg,  Berks  County,  Pa.  Suc- 
cessor to  Shearwell  Furnace  and  confused  with  the 
latter.  Probably  built  in  1772,  according  to  date 
stone  from  its  stack  now  at  Berks  County  Histori- 
cal Society,  by  Christian  Sauer  and  Jacob  Winey. 
(Information  of  B.  F.  Owen,  of  Reading,  Pa.)  Dan- 
iel Udree,  owner,  1778  to  1828.  Furnace  in  opera- 
tion, 18S4  (Mont.,  61),  now,  1914,  destroyed.  Site 
nearly  obliterated.     See   Figure  87. 

NOTE  31— POST  REVOLUTIONARY  FUR- 
NACES IN  PENNSYLVANIA. 

MOUNT  PLEASANT.  NO.  2,  1783.  FrankUn 
County,  Pa.  William  Benjamin  and  George  Cham- 
bers, 1783. 

DISTRICT  or  GERMAN  FURNACE.  Date 
of  building  doubtful.  Before  1784  to  1797.  Pine 
Creek,  District  Township,  Berks  County.  Jacob 
Lesher,  1791;  John  Teysher,  one-third  owner,  1793; 
John  Lesher,  1797.  Abandoned,  1797.  (Mont.,  70.) 
See  Figure  189. 

MOUNT  HOPE  FURNACE,  1786.  Going,  1876. 
Big  Chickies  Creek,  four  miles  from  Cornwall  Fur- 
nace, Lancaster  County,  Pa.  Peter  Grubb,  Jr.,  1786. 
(Pearse,  219;  Bishop,  554.) 


137 


MARY  ANN  NO.  2.  about  1789  to  1869.  Eight 
miles  west  of  Trexlertown.  Longswamp  Township. 
Berks  County.  Jacob  Lesher.  1789;  Reuben  Trex- 
ler,  1808.  Many  stoves  cast.  First  anthracite  coal 
stove  made  here  by  Reuben  Trexler  about  1820. 
Cast  in  open  sand.  So-called  "Lehigh  Coal  Stove" 
made  till   1857.    (Mont..  72.) 

DALE  FURNACE.  1791  to  1821.  West  Branch 
of  Perkiomen  Creek,  two  miles  from  Mount  Pleasant 
Furnace.  Thomas  Pot's,  Joseph  Potts,  John  Smith, 
1791:  Robert  E.  Hobarth,  one-third  owner,  1793. 
(Mont.,  72.)     See  Figure  178. 

SALLY  ANN  FURNACE,  1791.  Sacony  Creek, 
Rockland  Township,  Berks  County.  Valentine  Eck- 
ert,  1791.    (Mont.,  71.)     Nicholas  Hunter. 

JOANNA  FURNACE,  1792.  Hay  Creek,  Robe- 
son Township,  Berks  County.  Thomas  Bull.  John 
Smith,  Thomas  May,  1796;  Potts  and  Rutter,  1792 
(Mont.,  71.) 

COLEBROOKDALE  FURNACE  No.  2  or 
COLEBROOK,  1792  to  1860.  Eight  miles  south- 
west of  Mount  Hope  Furnace,  near  Cornwall,  Lan- 
caster County,  Pa.     Robert  Coleman,  1792. 

READING  FURNACE  (not  Redding),  1794  to 
1850.  Spring  Creek.  Heidelberg  Township,  Berks 
County,  Pa.  Successor  to  Roxborough  or  Berkshire 
Furnace,  and  predecessor  to  Robesonia  Furnace. 
George   Ege,   1794.    (Monl.,  73.) 

GREENWOOD  FURNACE,  1796.  Schuylkill 
Gap,  Sharp  Mountain,  Schuylkill  County.  Pa.  Lewis 
Reese,  Isaac  Thomas,  1796;  John  Pott  (not  related 
to  the  Potts  family  of  Pottstown),  1807.  Demol- 
ished and  rebuilt.     (Mont.,  73.) 

Note — Montgomery  says,  page  70,  that  Union, 
District,  Sally  Ann,  Joanna,  Dale,  Mary  Ann,  Read- 
ing (not  Redding),  and  Greenwood  Furnaces  were 
built  during  or  after  the  Revolution  and  before  1800. 

WINDSOR  FURNACE.  On  Conestoga  Creek. 
near  Churchtown,  Caernarvon  Township,  Lancas- 
ter County,  Pa.  Furnace  probably  after  Revolution, 
near  old  Windsor  Forge.  Built  by  Valentine  Eckert, 
later  owner  George  Reagan.  Associated  with  Union 
Furnace  in  Albany  Township.  (Forges  and  Fur- 
naces, page  178,  quoting  Berks  County,  by  M.  L. 
Montgomery.)  Fine  castings  were  made  here  under 
the  management  of  Jones,  Keim  &  Co.,  early  in  the 
19;h  century.  See  a  Crucifix  and  a  casting  repre- 
senting the  Last  Supper,  illustrated  in  Forges  and 
Furnaces. 

NOTE  32. 
FURNACES  IN   DELAWARE. 

KEITHS  FURNACE,  1725  to  1728.  On  Chris- 
tiana   Creek,     Newcastle     County,     Delaware,     then 


Pennsylvania.       Sir     William     Keith,     Governor     of 
Pennsylvania,  1725.    (Sw.,  234.)     See  Figure  208. 

ABINGTON  FURNACE,  1727  to  about  1768. 
South  bank  of  Christiana  Creek.  Samuel  James, 
Reece  Jones,  Samuel  Nutt,  Even  Owen,  William 
Branson,  Thomas  Rutter,  John  Rutter,  Caspar  Wis- 
tar,   1727. 

DEEP  CREEK  FURNACE,  1763  until  Revolu- 
tion. On  Deep  Creek,  tributary  of  Nanticoke  River, 
Sussex  County.   Joseph  Vaughan,  1763. 

PINE  GROVE  FURNACE,  1764  to  about 
1785.  On  Deep  Creek,  tributary  of  Nanticoke  River, 
near  Concord,  Sussex  County,   Delaware. 

NOTE  33. 
FURNACES  IN  MARYLAND. 

PRINCIPIO  FURNACE,  1724  to  1780.  Near 
mouth  of  Principio  Creek,  Cecil  County,  Maryland. 
English  company.  William  Chetwynd,  Joshua  Gee, 
William  Russell,  Thomas  Russell,  Walter  Chet- 
wynd. John  Wrightwick,  1724  to  1734.  John  England, 
manager,  1724  to  1734.  William  Baxter,  manager, 
1744. 

One  of  the  most  important  of  American  Colo- 
nial Furnaces.  Owned  Accokeek  Furnace  in  Vir- 
ginia, 1726. 

GWYNNS  FALLS  FURNACE,  1723  to  1730. 

MOUNT  ROYAL  FURNACE.  1723  to  1730. 

KINGSBURY  FURNACE,  1744.  Herring  Run, 
head  of  Back  River.  Baltimore  County,  Maryland. 

LANCASHIRE  FURNACE,  1751  until  Revolu- 
tion. West  side  of  branch  of  Back  River,  a  few 
miles  N.  E.  of  Baltimore,  near  Kingsbury  Furnace. 
Principio  Co.  Lawrence  Washington,  1751;  Thomas 
Russell  general  manager  for  Principio  Company, 
1776. 

EIGHT  FURNACES  in  Maryland,  1749  to  1756. 
(Sw.,  240.) 

BUSH  FURNACE,  1760.  Harford  County. 
Owner,  John  Lee  Webster,  1767;  Isaac  Webster, 
1762. 

NORTHAMPTON  FURNACE,  1760.  Balti- 
more County.  Ridgley  Family.  Cannon  cast,  1780. 
(Sw.,  253.) 

UNICORN  FURNACE,  1762.  Queen  Anne 
County.  Robert  Evans  and  Jonathan  Morris,  1762. 
(Sw.,  253.) 

OLD  HAMPTON  FURNACE,  1760  to  1765. 
Near  E.Timetsburg,  Frederick  County.  Soon  aban- 
doned. 

LEGH  FURNACE,  1760  to  1765.  Near  West- 
minster.    Owner,  Legh  Master.    (Sw.,  253.) 

ELK  RIDGE  FURNACE,  before  Revolution. 
On  Patapsco  River.  Edward  Dorsey. 


138 


YORK   FURNACE.     Site  and  da're  unknown. 

STEMMERS  RUN  FURNACE.  No  date. 
Seven  miles  from  BaUimore. 

CURTIS  CREEK  FURNACE,  until  1851. 
Patapsco  County.  William  Goodwin  and  Edward 
Dorsey. 

PATUXENT  FURNACE,  about  1734.  Anne 
Arundel  County.  Thomas  Rubard,  Edward  Snow- 
den  and  John  England. 

GUNPOWDER  RIVER  FURNACE,  before 
1769.  Head  of  Gunpowder  River.  Stephen  Onion. 
(Sw.,  253.) 

GREEN  SPRING  FURNACE,  1770.  Washing- 
ton County.  James  Johnson  and  Mr.  Jacques.  Soon 
abandoned.    (Sw.,  254.) 

MOUNT  ETNA  FURNACE,  1770.  Antietam 
Creek,  near  Hagerstown.  Samuel  and  Daniel 
Hughes.     During   Revolution. 

CATOCTIN  FURNACE.  1774.  Frederick 
County.  James  Johnson  &  Co.  Rebuih,  1787  and 
1831.     In  blast.  1880.    (Bishop,  588.) 

ONIONS  FURNACE. 

NOTE  34. 

FURNACES  IN  VIRGINIA. 

FREDERICKSVILLE  FURNACE,  about 
1727.  Spottsylvania  County.  Mr.  Fitz  Williams 
Governor  Alexander  Spottswood,  Captain  Pearse, 
Dr.  Nicholas,  Mr.  Chiswell,  1727.  (Sw.,  260). 
(Bishop,  596.)  Waterwheel,  26  feet  in  diameter. 
Bellows  cos;  a  hundred  pounds  each.  Dam,  race 
and  flume  seen  about  1880.    (Sw.,  263.) 

GERMANNA  FURNACE,  soon  after  1727. 
Spottsylvania        County.  Colonel        Spottswood. 

(Bishop,  596,  and  Swank,  261.) 

ACCOKEEK  FURNACE  or  ENGLAND'S 
IRON  MINES  FURNACE,  1750  to  1753.  Twelve 
miles  from  Fredericksburg,  Stafford  County.  In 
1750  sent  410  tons  of  pig  iron  to  England. 

MASSAPONAX  FURNACE,  Air  Furnace  or 
Foundry,  1732.  Five  miles  below  Fredericksburg, 
on  Rappahannock.  Colonel  Alexander  Spottswood. 
Melted  Sow  Iron  to  cast  chimney  backs,  pots,  skil- 
lets, etc.    (Sw.,  262.) 

THREE  BLAST  FURNACES  in  Virginia  in 
1732.     (Col.  William  Byrd,  quoted  by  Sw.) 

RAPPAHANOCK  FURNACE,  about  1732. 
Ten  miles  above  Fredericksburg.    Built  by  Germans. 

ZANES  FURNACE,  before  Revolution.  Fred- 
erick County.     Associated  with  a  forge. 

ISABELLA  FURNACE,  1760  to  1841.  Page 
County,  near  Luray.    (Pearse,  14.) 

MOSSY  CREEK  FURNACE,  1760  to  1841. 
Augusta  County,  near  Staunton.  Henry  Miller  and 
Mark  Bird.    (Pearse,   15.) 


WESTHAM  FURNACE,  about  1776  to  1781. 
Six  miles  above  Richmond,  on  James  River. 

OLDS  FURNACE,  1777.  Twelve  miles  from 
Charlottesville.  Old  Wilkinson  and  Trent.  (Sw., 
269.) 

POPLAR  CAMP  FURNACE,  1778.  Wythe 
County.     (Sw.,  268.) 

ZANES  FURNACE,  before  1781  to  1828.  Cedar 
Cretk.   Frederick  County.    (Pearse,   14.) 

ROSS  FURNACE,  before  1781.  Beaver  Creek, 
near  Lynchburg.  Called  OLD  DAVY  ROSS  FUR- 
NACE. Named  OXFORD  FURNACE  in  1856. 
(Pearse,  16.) 

NOTE  35. 

FURNACES  IN  NORTH  AND  SOUTH 

CAROLINA,  GEORGIA,  ALABAMA, 

KENTUCKY  AND  TENNESSEE. 

Furnaces  in  1728.  Names  not  given.  Pig  iron 
then  exported.    (Sw.,  273.) 

JOHN  WILCOX  FURNACE.  No  date.  On 
Deep  Run. 

VESUVIUS  FURNACE,  on  Anderson's  Creek, 
1780  to  1873.     (Sw.,  273.) 

SEVERAL  FURNACES  on  Cape  Fear,  Yad- 
kin and  Dan  Rivers.  Before  Revolution,  according 
to  Bishop.  No:e  on  Moravian  settlement  near  Yadkin 
River  in  Surrey  County.    (Sw.,  273.) 

BUFFINGTONS  FURNACE,  1773.  N.  W.  part 
of  South  Carolina.  Destroyed  in  Revolution.  (Sw., 
276.) 

No  furnaces  existed  in  Georgia,  Alabama,  Ken- 
tucky and  Tennessee,  during  the  period  of  the  manu- 
facture of  decorated  stoves  in  Pennsylvania.  First 
furnace  in  Georgia,  1832;  in  Alabama,  1818;  in  Ken- 
tucky BOURBON  FURNACE  in  1791,  and  in  Tenn- 
essee in  1790.    (Sw.,  Chapter  28.) 

NOTE  36. 
JUNK  DEALERS  AND  STOVE  PLATES. 
With  a  few  exceptions,  no  individual  in  Pennsyl- 
vania dwells  in  the  house  of  his  ancestors.  Families 
multiply  and  continue,  but  the  old  dwelling,  indi- 
visible among  heirs,  sold  and  resold,  in  a  few  gen- 
erations passes  into  new  hands,  who  in  turn  soon 
Sill  it  again.  Original  family  heirlooms,  books, 
samplers  worked  by  loving  hands,  toys  of  children, 
furniture,  clocks,  all  of  the  agricultural  implements, 
with  the  ancient  tools  and  utensils  are  soon  scat- 
tered. 

An  immense  mass  of  ancient  objects  became 
obsolete  about  1860  to  1880  and  were  destroyed,  or 
sold  in  the  so-called  "penny  lots,"  at  innumerable 
sales  to  native  junk  dealers,  who,  impelled  by  a  de- 
sire to  find  scrap  iron,  or  discover  new  uses  for  old 


139 


things,  saved  thousands  of  cast  off  utensils,  and 
piled  up  what  they  did  not  destroy,  in  scattered 
heaps  upon  their  premises. 

These  men  were  followed  about  1900  by  Jewish 
peddlers  fresh  from  Europe,  who  with  lame  horses 
and  rickety  wagons,  traveled  from  house  to  house, 
as  buyers  of  bones,  paper,  bottles,  carpets  and  old 
iron,  while  a  growing  avaricious  band  of  "antique" 
furniture  dealers  from  country  towns  and  cities 
sought  out  country  sales  as  prominent  buyers  of 
tables,  chairs,  sideboards,  "highboys,"  cupboards, 
clocks,  etc.,  so  that  by  1914  a  farm  house  possessing 
any  considerable  number  of  heirlooms  has  become 
a  remarkable  rarity. 

Notwithstanding  these  changes,  the  circum- 
stances of  the  finding  of  the  stove  plates  show  that 
many  of  them  have  remained  in  or  near  the  prem- 
ises or  original  house  of  their  first  use.  Very  well 
adapted  by  their  rectangular  shape,  flatness  and 
great  weight,  to  various  service  upon  the  farm, 
many  of  them  were  set  up  upon  four  piles  of 
bricks  as  chimney  covers.  Many  were  used  as  flag- 
ging for  kitchen  porches,  as  gutter  lids,  as  stepping 
stones,  or  as  drip  stones  to  protect  the  sod  at 
house  corners  from  the  splashing  of  water  spouts, 
or  most  frequently  as  hearth  pavements  in  large 
ancient  kitchen  fireplaces,  where  these  latter,  fur- 
nished with  wooden  doors,  and  perforated  with 
stove  pipe  holes,  for  modern  coal  stoves,  remained 
on  the  premises  as  fixtures.  When  found  by  the 
junk  dealer,  they  were  wanted  by  their  owner.  When 
discovered  by  the  collector  lying  face  downward 
in  the  hearth  ashes  and  pried  up  with  staves  or 
crow  bars,  their  long  buried  pictures  and  inscrip- 
tions were  as  great  a  surprise  to  their  owners  as 
to  any  one  else. 

Newspapers  began  to  notice  them  and  museums 
and  collectors  to  gather  and  buy  them  at  high 
prices,  after  about  1910. 

On  the  other  hand  a  great  many  of  the  plates 
have  been  bought  at  sales  by  farmers,  to  be  used  as 
above  indicated  on  new  properties,  and  when  found 
therefore,  cannot  be  associated  with  the  place  of 
discovery.  Neither  should  we  without  positive  proof 
infer  that  a  stove  plate  was  cast  at  a  certain  fur- 
nace because  found  near  it,  since  abundant  evidence 
from  the  marked  plates  shows  that  probably  all  the 
colonial  furnaces  in  Pennsylvania  not  only  cast 
stoves  but  frequently  imported  their  wares  into  the 
territory  of  their  rivals. 

NOTE  37. 
EARTHEN  STOVES. 

Throughout  Northern  and  Central  Europe,  ex- 
cept Britain,  recently  or  until  about  1890,  travelers 
have   noticed   in   public   buildings,    hotels,   dwellings 


and  farm  houses  a  great  variety  of  house  warming 
and  cooking  stoves  built  of  tiles,  bricks  or  plastered 
masonry,  frequently  lacking  smoke  pipes  and  fuel 
doors. 

With  one  or  more  second  stories  or  heat  re- 
taining apartments,  frequently  in  close  connection 
with  horizontal  or  vertical  or  irregular  and  tortu- 
ous, internal  smoke  passages,  or  lacking  the  lat:er 
altogether,  they  are  sometimes  built  in  close  con- 
nection through  their  fire  chamber  with  the  cooking 
hearth  of  kitchens  in  adjacent  rooms.  Through  fuel 
doors  or  passages  pertaining  to  these  cooking  ovens 
their  fuel  is  fed  from  the  outside  of  the  room  con- 
taining the  stove  and  therefore  the  latter  fails  in 
ventilation  like  a  modern  American  Radiator.  Some- 
times on  the  other  hand  the  fuel  door  is  inside  the 
room  and  therefore  ventilates  it  as  does  an  Ameri- 
can iron  stove. 

Near  Bielostok,  in  the  Russian  Province  of 
Grodno,  according  to  the  information  of  recent 
American  emigrants  at  Doylestown,  Pennsylvania, 
themselves  stove  builders,  these  stoves  are  now, 
1914,  consjructed  of  bricks,  so  as  to  form  the  entire 
partition  between  two  rooms,  thus  heating  both, 
and  equipped  with  vertical  or  horizontal  internal 
smoke  canals,  partitioned  with  long  flat  roof  tiles, 
running  back  and  forth,  five  or  six  times  the  length 
of  the  stove.  In  East  Prussia,  according  to  similar 
information,  they  are  built  of  bricks  set  on  edge 
with  or  without  internal  smoke  canals. 

In  Tyrol  specimens  are  seen  built  of  masonry 
or  possibly  iron  rods  or  wattles  smeared  with  clay 
or   plaster. 

Where  they  are  built  of  tiles  the  latter  are  fre- 
quently saucer-shaped  for  increased  radiation  of 
heat,  or  made  with  wide  transverse  rims  pierced 
with  holes  to  permit  fastening  together  with  twisted 
wire,  so  as  to  facilitate  construction  and  minimize 
the  frequently  recurring  cost  of  repair,  while  pre- 
serving the  needed  thinness  for  radiating  heat. 

In  many  cases  short,  quick  fires  of  about  two 
hours'  duration,  after  which  the  fuel  door  and 
smoke  egress  are  closely  and  ingeniously  damped, 
by  inserting  double  lids  through  side  doors  in  the 
flues,  or  by  luting  with  sanded  clay  as  in  a  potter's 
kiln,  retain  the  heat  in  these  stoves  without  fire  for 
from  ten  to  twelve  hours.  Furthermore  fires  built 
of  small  waste  rubbish,  inadequate  with  the  old 
American  quick  cooling  wood  stoves,  suffice  to  heat 
these  heat-retaining  earthen  structures  at  a  great 
saving  of  small  fuel  otherwise  wasted. 

The  tile  stoves  of  the  18th  and  17th  centuries 
are  frequently  glazed  with  the  translucent  green 
glaze  probably  derived  from  copper  known  to  the 
Moors,  and  surviving  upon  the  modern  peasant 
wares  of  Spain,  and  though  the  modern  specimens 


140 


show  the  artistic  degredation  of  the  18th  and  19th 
centuries,  and  though  those  recently  on  sale  in  the 
warehouses  of  Vienna,  Munich,  Berlin,  etc.,  seem  to 
have  reached  the  climax  of  ugliness  in  form  and 
color,  the  earlier  tile  stoves  of  the  16th  and  17th 
centuries,  such  as  the  beautiful  example  in  the  Castle 
at  Salzburg,  and  some  of  the  richly  enameled  stoves 
in  the  Germanic  Museum  at  Nuremberg,  are  splen- 
did examples  of  the   potters'  art. 

The  Museums  of  Europe  possess  still  older  stove 
tiles  of  the  15th  and  14th  centuries  sometimes 
modeled  in  high  relief  within  deep  concavities 
adorned  with  architectural  filagree,  and  that 
/  earthen  stoves  were  in  use  long  before  the  inven- 
tion of  cast  iron  stoves  is  well  known.  The  loose 
stove  tiles  of  concave  gothic  pattern  excavated 
from  the  ruins  of  the  Castle  of  Tannenberg  "",  near 
Frankfort-on-the-Main  should  unquestionably  be 
dated  from  the  time  of  the  destruction  of  the 
Castle  in  1399,  but  the  general  history  of  the  sub- 
ject is  complicated  by  the  fact  that  there  seem  to 
have  been  no  house  chimneys  in  Europe  before  the 
Uth  or  12th  century,  so  that  we  would  have  to  im- 
agine earthen  stoves,  if  of  older  date,  standing  like 
braziers  in  a  room  free  of  its  walls,  and  emitting 
their  smoke  through  roof-holes,  as  did  the  open  fires 
of  that  earlier  time.  Fur;her  than  this,  earthen 
stoves  have  been  found  in  sites  belonging  to  prehis- 
toric time,  though  the  evidence  of  chimneys  in  their 
case  has  gone. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  probably  very  ancient 
Chinese  hong,  which  are  low  brick  stoves  used  for 
seats  and  beds,  with  tortuous  internal  smoke  canals 
and  fed  with  wood  fuel  from  out  or  inside  the  room, 
have  chimneys,  in  1911,  according  to  the  information 
of  Dr.  Edgar  Geil,  as  high  at  least  as  the  low  side 
walls  of  their  houses.  Beckman,  in  his  History 
of  Inventions,  denies  the  existence  of  chimneys  in 
ancient  Rome,  but  there  is  no  question  about  their 
use  on  potters'  kilns  and  industrial  furnaces  before 
the  Middle  Ages,  while  it  is  impossible  to  suppose 
that  the  Roman  hypocausts,  which  were  large  cel- 
lars used  as  ovens  to  heat  the  floors  of  houses  and 
baths,  had  no  chimneys  and — hence,  filled  every- 
thing with  smoke. 

There  is  a  tile  stove,  Figure  187,  at  the  Moravian 
Historical  Society  Museum  at  Nazareth,  Pennsylva- 
nia, made  by  a  Moravian  potter  at  or  near  Bethle- 
hem, probably  before  1800  and  now  regarded  as  a 
great  curiosity.  And  some  loose  stove  tiles  pre- 
served in  the  Young  Men's  Missionary  Society 
rooms  at  Bethlehem,  indicate  that,  as  Dr.  Oerter 
informs  the  writer,  numerous  other  tile  stoves  were 
in  use  among  the  Moravians  in  the  18th  century  near 
Bethlehem. 

Two  other  tile  stoves  still  preserved  in  the 
Wachovia  Historical  Society  at  Winston-Salem, 
North  Carolina,  show  that  these  stoves  were  also 
used  there  until  about   1850  to   1860. 


The  Russian  stoves  of  earthenware  introduced 
into  Salem,  Massachusetts,  by  Captain  Solomon 
Towne  (see  Sidney  Perley  in  Essex,  Massachusetts, 
Antiquarian,  December,  1897,  page  183),  did  not 
appear  until  1812.  Otherwise  no  evidence  has  ap- 
peared to  show  that  earthenware  stoves  were  ever 
made  in  the  American  colonies  before  the  Revolu- 
tion. 

The  colonists  and  their  descendants,  though  they 
continued  to  use  wood-burning  iron  stoves  until 
long  after  the  introduction  of  coal-burning  iron 
stoves  about  1820-30,  though  they  occasionally  con- 
structed wood-burning  furnaces  for  house  heating  in 
the  19th  century,  never  ceased  to  waste  wood.  They 
had  no  occasion  to  economize  it  in  stoves,  and,  ac- 
cording to  the  evidence  thus  far  found,  even  after 
the  Revolution  never  constructed  an  economic 
stove  on  the  old  European  models;  and  the  Ameri- 
can who  abandoned  iron  wood-burning  stoves  and 
open  wood  fires  for  coal  stoves,  hot  air  and  steam 
radiators,  in  the  19th  century,  while  recently  return- 
ing to  the  fireplace  for  ventilation,  looks,  or  should 
look  with  admiring  wonder  on  these  earthen  stoves, 
which  embody  several  of  the  most  valuable  princi- 
ples of  scientific  heating. 

They  illustrate  the  great  superiority  of  clay  to 
iron  for  heat  retention,  the  conservation  of  the  heat 
of  smoke,  the  principle  of  holding  heat  without  fire, 
impossible  with  coal  on  account  of  poisonous  gases, 
the  heating  of  two  or  more  rooms  with  one  stove, 
the  use  of  one  stove  for  cooking  and  house  warm- 
ing, and  the  utilization  of  waste  wood  and  rubbish 
not  serviceable  for  the  quick  cooling  iron  wood- 
burning  stove,  as  fuel. 

NOTE  38. 
VARIED  SHAPES  OF  STOVES. 

In  a  great  majority  of  stoves  of  both  ventilat- 
ing and  non-ventilating  types  the  heating  capacity 
was  much  increased  by  one  or  more  upper  stories, 
aufsatz  in  German,  sometimes  built  against  the  wall 
through  which  the  smoke  passed  before  leaving  the 
room;  sometimes  these  upper  stories  were  of  iron. 
Sometimes,  see  Figure  7,  of  tiles  or  bricks,  or,  ac- 
cording to  Dr.  Kassel,  of  clay  reinforced  with  wat- 
tles or  straw.  In  Alsace  again,  according  to  Kassel, 
the  upper  s-tories  were  sometimes  boxed  or  panelled 
away  from  the  smoke  so  as  to  form  smokeless  dry- 
ing-boxes or  ovens.  Sometimes  draft  stoves  were 
built  against  the  wall  and  sometimes  jamb  stoves 
were  supplied  with  a  smoke  pipe  appearing  in  the 
room  and  entering  the  wall  above  the  structure. 
And  sometimes  these  Alsatian  wall  or  jamb  stoves, 
according  to  Kassel,  included  extra  iron  fire  cham- 
bers, on  the  other  side  of  the  wall,  outside  the 
room  heated,  and  used  for  cooking. 

Bickell  says,  page  6,  thai  in  the  17th  century  in 
Hesse  appeared  Querofen — square  stoves,  Pyra- 
midenofen — pyramid  stoves,  and  Windofen — wind  or 


141 


draft  stoves,  and.  according  to  Wedding,  round, 
cylindrical  stoves  with  one  or  more  upper  stories, 
sometimes  called  Pommerofen — Pomeranian  stoves 
(see  Figure  225,  and  as  figured  by  Dr,  Kassel  as  an- 
other type  of  wind  stove),  appeared  about  1725-30. 
The  great  Castle  stoves  cited  above  at  Coburg, 
Schmalkald,  Rapperschwl,  Spangenburg,  etc.,  were 
probably  made  of  a  dozen  or  more  plates  with 
double  or  triple  stories  polygonal  in  for.Ti.  while 
the  later  (1630  to  1700)  stoves  of  rectangular  box 
form  with  two  stories  (and  rarely  with  one,  as  here 
chiefly  described)  consisted  of  from  five  to  ten 
plates. 

NOTE  39. 

MOULDS  FOR  FIRE  BACKS. 

In  England  a  specimen  has  been  heard  of  in  the 
possession  of  the  Hastings  Museum  and  two  men- 
tioned by  Starkie  Gardner  (Iron  Casting  in  the 
Weald,  Archeologia,  2d  Series,  Vol.  5,  page  152), 
as  belonging,  in  1898,  to  Mr,  Willett,  and  to  Lord 
Ashburnham  (the  latter  used  in  the  Penshurst 
foundry  in  1811).  All  are  moulds  for  firebacks,  not 
stove  plates. 

NOTE  40. 

IRON  CASTING  UNKNOWN  TO  THE 
ANCIENTS. 
That  is  to  say,  the  pouring  of  molten  iron  into 
moulds  of  sand  or  clay.  But  this  operation  was  un- 
known to  the  ancients,  who  were  masters  of  the 
crafts  of  casting  the  alloy  of  tin  and  copper  called 
bronze,  and  that  the  iron  workers  throughout  the 
Middle  Ages  could  only  hammer  and  never  cast  iron 
seems  a  remarkable  thing.  The  celebrated  iron  pil- 
lars at  Delhi  and  elsewhere  in  India  are  of  wrought 
iron,  and  no  certain  evidence  exists  that  either  the 
Chinese  or  Europeans  had  discovered  the  art  of  iron 
casting  before  the  year  1400. 

NOTE   41. 

IRON    STOVES   IN   GERMAN   FAIRY 
TALES. 

In  his  notes  upon  an  iron  stove,  which  ap- 
pears in  the  old  Schwerin  fairy  tale  of  the  Goose 
Girl,  into  which  the  betrayed  Princess  creeps  to 
tell  her  secrets,  Wilhelm  Grimm  says  nothing  as  to 
the  kind  of  stove  referred  to,  nor  the  date  which 
any  iron  stove  would  fix  for  the  incident  if  not  for 
the  whole  tale.  But  because  of  the  fact  that  the 
king  listens  at  the  stove  pipe  (ofenrohre)  we  must 
suppose  that  the  original  story  teller  meant  a  draft 
stove.  On  the  other  hand,  in  the  tale  No.  91  of  the 
elves,  the  stove,  which  may  have  been  of  tiles,  must 
have  been  a  wall  stove,  since  when  the  three 
princes  relate  their  secret  to  it  the  king  "went 
out"  and  listened  at  the  door,  as  if  the  stove  door. 


as  in  a  five  plate  non-ventilating  stove,  was  outside 
the  room. 

NOTE  42, 

OLD  GERMAN  FURNACES, 
According  to  the  guide  book  of  the  Bavarian 
National  Museum,  for  1903,  page  183,  there  was  an 
old  stove-making  furnace  at  Rothenburg  on  the 
Tauber,  and  another  at  Hohenaschau  in  Southern 
Bavaria  which  worked  in  the   16th  century. 

According  to  Kassel,  Beck  and  Wedding,  old 
stove-making  furnaces  existed  in  Nassau  at  Nuen- 
kirchen,  Saarbrucken,  St.  Ingbert,  Halbergerhutte, 
Weilmuenster,  Ottweiler,  Siegen  and  Budigen;  in 
the  Palatinate  at  Quint,  near  Trier,  at  Fishbach, 
Schonau,  and  Geislautern,  in  Solm,  at  Usingen, 
in  Flanders  at  Rienfronde,  St.  Dizier  and  Cousance- 
aux-Forges;  and  in  Lorraine  at  Oettingen  and  Mut- 
terhausen,  in  Champagne,  in  Holland,  and  in  Alsace 
at  Jagerthal,  Merzweiler  and  Zinsweiler,  where  they 
were  still  casting  jamb  stoves  in  1903, 

NOTE  43. 

EUROPEAN    COLLECTIONS   OF   STOVE 

PLATES. 

The  private  German  collections  of  Messrs.  E. 
Schott,  at  Ilsenburg  in  Hesse;  George  von  Collin, 
at  Hanover,  and  of  Mr.  G.  Lueders,  are  noted  by 
Beck,  and  museums  containing  stove  plates  at 
Munich  (Bayrisches  National  Museum),  Nurem- 
burg  (Germanic),  Berlin  (Markish),  Amsterdam 
(Rijks  Museum),  Weisbaden  (Alterthums),  and  at 
Frankfort-on-the-Main,  Lubeck,  Stuttgart,  Altona, 
Flensburg,  Zurich,  Mayence,  Osnabruck,  Stein-Ant- 
werp, Utrecht  and  Erbach. 

The  splendid  plates  designed  in  the  16th  cen- 
tury by  Philip  Soldan  at  Frankenberg  in  Hesse,  de- 
scribed by  Bickell,  appear  in  many  museums,  but 
probably  the  finest  series  of  them,  forming  the  most 
interesting  collection  in  Germany,  has  been  collected 
by  the  Hessian  Historical  Society  at  Marburg. 

Kassel  notes  collections  in  museums  in  Alsace 
at  Metz,  Colmar,  Zabern,  Strasburg,  and  Muhl- 
hausen,  and  others  are  referred  to  by  Fisher,  Per- 
ron, Sibenaler  and  Benoit,  at  Esch  and  Arlon  in 
Luxemburg,  at  Metz.  in  Loraine.  and  in  Northern 
France  at  Nancy,  Luneville,  Bar-le-duc,  Poictiers, 
Beaume,  Moulins,  Montauban,  Longwy,  St.  Die,  and 
at  the  Louvre,  Cluny  and  Carnavelet  Museums  in 
Paris.  Many  of  the  French  and  Flemish  collections 
consist  largely  of  firebacks,  or  the  peculiar  radiating 
fireback  partitions  called  "taques."  See  Figs.  218  to 
221. 

NOTE  44. 

CONFUSION    OF    STOVE   PLATES    BY 
WRITERS. 
A  good  many  of  the  writers  have  confined  them- 
selves to  the  artistic  side  of  the  question  almost  ex- 


142 


clusively.  Gardner,  in  Archeologia.  Vol.  55.  p.  133. 
confuses  stove  plates  with  fireback=,  iron  plates  set 
in  the  open  fireplace  back  of  the  fire,  and  fails  to 
note  th:  existence  of  decorated  stove  plates  of  -his 
kind.  Further  confusion  appears  in  the  description 
of  the  Belgian  and  French  writers,  who  sometimes 
refer  ro  stove  plates  as  if  thty  wire  firebacks.  Some- 
times they  present  illustrations  of  the  plates  with 
edges  trimmed  by  the  photographer  so  as  to  ob- 
literate their  disinctive  character,  or  refer  to  the 
very  curious  kind  of  Flemish  iron  partition  set  back 
of  an  open  fire  in  Flanders  so  as  to  throw  heat 
through  the  wall  into  another  roo.-n  and  so.-neti.-nes 
decorated  on  the  reverse  side  away  from  the  fire, 
as  if  it  was  a  common  fireback.    See  Figure  21S. 

NOTE   45. 

OLD    FURNACE    AT    OBEREICHSTATT. 

Dr.  Kohler,  in  Volkskunst  und  Volkskunde, 
Munich,  Seyfried  &  Co.,  1909,  finds  still  in  existence 
an  old  furnace  at  Obereichstatt,  in  the  Altmuhlthal, 
near  Treuchlichen,  in  Bavaria,  where  old  jamb 
stoves  had  been  cast  until  abou::  1850.  They  were 
decorated  with  Catholic,  classical  and  mythological 
subjects,  and  occasionally  Biblical  scenes.  Pat- 
terns representing  St.  Hubert,  Madonnas,  Samson, 
Coats-of-arms,  the  Flight  into  Ejypt,  or  S;.  George, 
filled  the  whole  plate  without  borderings.  A  series 
of  designs,  adopted  from  carved  gems  in  the  wedg- 
wood  manner,  appeared  after  1817.  A  wooden  pat- 
tern, made  in  the  last  decade  of  the  17';h  century 
probably,  was  found  for  the  St.  Hubert  design,  and 
the  illustration  shows  that  in  the  Samson  plate, 
daed  1731,  the  17  of  the  original  mould  and  the  31 
had  been  stamped  as  loose  stamps  upon  the  sand 
before  the  impression  of  the  main  pattern,  which 
crosses  the  line  of  the  date. 

The  earliest  furnace  r?cord3,  beginning  in  the 
last  decade  of  the  1/tn  century,  were  lost,  but  the 
names  of  some  of  the  old  mould  carvers  in  the  18th 
century  were  found  to  be  Caspar  Eychern,  Franz 
Schwanthaler  (father  of  Ludwig  Schwanthaler). 
and  Ignaz  Breitenauer.  One  C.  E.  had  been  paid 
for  carving  six  new  letters  "Zur  schmalz."  (Upon 
the  grease.) 

NOTE  46. 
SURVIVAL  OF  ANCIENT  STOVES. 

Kassel  says  that  in  1905  there  were  a  hundred 
and  ninety-eight  (jamb)  stoves  in  situ  in  thirty- 
three  villages  near  Hochfelden  in  Alsace,  of  which 
Dunzenheim  had  51,  Lasolsheim  20,  Melsheim  IS, 
and   Waltenheim    14. 

The  German  magazine  Volkskunst  und  Volks- 
kunde, of  Munich,  No.  6,  1909,  page  78,  has  a  notice 
with  five  illustrations  of  old  iron  stoves  photo- 
graphed   in    situ,    during    the    rebuilding    of   houses. 


for  a  csrp;nter's  guild-house  on  the  corner  of  the 
Obstmarkt  and  Carolinen  Strasse  a'  Augsburg.  Three 
of  the  s  oves  had  second  stories  of  tiles.  Two  were 
dated  1804  and  1805.  Two  of  them  were  entirely  of 
iron.  All  were  presented  to  the  Historical  Society 
of  Augsburg. 

Dr.  Ludwig  Beck,  in  his  Geschicte  des  Eisens, 
Brunswick,  1893-95,  page  307,  describes  the  stoves 
referred  to  in  the  text  and  a  number  of  inter- 
esting single  plates  at  private  collections  and 
museums.  He  notes  a  complete  ancient  iron  stove 
dated  1529,  with  two  upper  stories,  decorated  with 
the  figures  of  Christ  crowned  with  thorns,  the 
Madonna,  St.  Christopher,  angels,  and  the  arms 
of  Bavaria,  under  Gothic  canopies,  at  the  Castle  of 
Trausnitz,    near    Landshut,    in    Bavaria. 

There  is  another  complete  stove  with  a  figure  of 
Lucretia  and  a  Creation  of  Eve,  dated  1564,  in  the 
Buttler  Castle  at  Riede,  and  another,  also  dated, 
with  the  Woman  of  Samaria  and  Adam  and  Eve, 
in  the  Luther  chamber  at  the  celebrated  Wartburg 
Castle  near  Eisenach,  in  Saxony.  Patterns  illus- 
trating the  Judgment  of  Solomon,  Daniel  in  the 
Lion's  Den,  and  a  number  of  armorial  shields,  dec- 
orate an  immense  iron  stove  with  hexagonal  upper 
story  and  polygonal  base,  dated  1572,  in  the  grand 
saloon  at  the  town  hall  of  Rapperswyl,  on  Lake 
Zurich,  in   Switzerland. 

No  lover  of  decorative  art,  who  has  the  oppor- 
tunity, ought  to  miss  seeing  the  splendid  stove 
adorned  with  a  Nativity  and  Creation  of  Eve,  at  the 
Castle  of  Spangenburg,  thir:y  miles  southeast  of 
Cassel.  or  another  remarkable  stove,  with  second 
story  and  a  mixture  of  17th  century  designs,  with 
earlier  patterns  by  Soldan,  in  the  grand  hall  of  the 
Williamsburg  Castle  at  Smalkald.  A  splendidly 
decorated  complete  stove,  upon  which  the  master 
Soldan  has  repeated  with  variations  a  design  on 
the  stove  at  Spangenburg  shows  the  Nativity  and 
Creation  of  Eve,  together  with  patterns  illustrating 
the  Siege  of  Bethulia,  and  the  death  of  Holofernes, 
with  the  initials  PS  and  JP.  Probably  cast  at 
Usingen  in  Nassau  between  1537  and  1555,  it  stands 
in  the  Rathshaus  at  Wolfach  in  the  Black  Forest 
(Beck  298).  One  of  the  richest  of  all  the  Soldan 
stove  patterns,  illustrating  the  Parable  of  the  Rich 
Man  and  Lazarus,  of  which  Bickell  has  illustrated 
a  replica  (Eisenhutten  des  Klosters'  Haina.  L. 
Bickell,  Marburg.  1889,  page  16,  plate  7)  in  the 
Marburg  collection,  with  medallions  and  the  names 
of  Peter  Rosenhausen  and  Koret  Scharpe,  stood,  in 
1889,  in  the  church  library  at  Fritzlar,  near  Cassel. 

NOTE   47. 

THE    STOVE    IN    THE   STORY    OF    THE 

GOOSE  GIRL. 

As  if  no  one  would  comprehend  this  stove  in- 
cident in  the  story  of  the  Goose  Girl,  the  first  trans- 
lator  of    Gri.mm's    tales   into    English    (see    Popular 


143 


Stories  collected  by  the  Brothers  Grimm,  reprin'  of 
the  first  English  edition  of  1823,  with  22  illustrations 
by  George  Cruikshank,  Frowde.  London.  1905.  page 
193).  omi:s  it  altogether. 

The  translator  of  the  American  edition  (Ger- 
man Popular  Tales,  with  illustrations  by  Edward 
H.  Wehnert.  Philadelphia.  Porter  &  Coates,  1880, 
page   103)   transforms  the  stove  into  a  fireplace. 

NOTE   48. 

CARVERS  OF  STOVE  MOULDS. 

As  follows,  namely,  the  carvers,  Philip  Soldan, 
of  Frankenburg,  in  Hesse,  about  1530;  Jost  Luppolt. 
1580  to  1600:  Jost  Shillink.  of  Imphausen.  1576  to 
1606;  Reinhart  Schenk.  1559  to  1573;  Heinrich 
Gockler;  Johannes  Ludekind;  Conrad  Luckeln; 
Bastian  Platzen.  1614;  Her.Tian  Mullern.  1624;  Curt 
Bach.  1650;  Master  Aldar,  1650;  Master  Lipsen; 
Benedictus  Shroder,  1680;  Peter  Sorg,  Philip  Sorg. 
of  Weilmunster.  in  Nassau.  1561,  previously  at  Kraft. 
Solms;  the  casters,  Peter  Rolshausen,  Kurt  or  Con- 
rad Scharf;  and  the  ironmaster,  Johan  Conrad,  also 
caster  at  Braunfels  in   1672. 

A  number  of  double  or  single  letters  or  mono- 
grams remain  to  be  noted,  as  follows:  F  for  Fish- 
bach.  AZ  for  Aus  Zinsweiler.  where,  according  to 
Kassel.  not  one-tenth  of  the  plates  were  identifiable 
by  marks,  and  then  generally  after  the  middle  of 
the  eighteenth  century;  ZW  for  Zinsweiler  Work, 
the  sun  or  horn  as  armorial  emblems  of  the  Dieter- 
ich  family  of  ironmasters  at  Zinsweiler;  the  word 
Niederbron.  in  recent  years,  after  I860:  W  or  I  N 
W  for  in  Weilburg:  CS  or  Ks  for  Curt  Scharf:  H. 
RW.  HP.  SS.  LB.  AK.  E.  ST.  HCH.  FS.  C.  LL. 
1666.  BL.  1684  and  1691.  SH.  GH.  HW.  on  the 
Samaritan  plate  with  W  97.  GD.  on  another  Samar- 
itan plate.  GD.  W  98  on  a  Pharisee  plate.  I  SB  and 
the  interlocked  monograms  CIF.  IS.  HAF.  on  a 
Cana  plate. 

Some  of  the  Nassau  plates,  as  illustrated  by 
Wedding,  and  a  great  many  of  the  Norse  plates, 
described  by  Fett.  show  the  circle  with  the  cross 
or  diagonal  spear  as  the  mediaeval  symbol  for  iron. 

NOTE  49. 

SAMARIA   PLATE  AT   METROPOLITAN 
MUSEUM  IN  NEW  YORK. 

A  Sa-naria  plate,  dated  1613.  now  in  the  Metro- 
politan Museum  at  New  York,  Museum  No.  7789-1. 
though  varying  in  all  the  details,  closely  resembles 
this  plate  in  composition.  Recently  purchased  in 
Europe,  it  lacks  the  characteristic  marginal  notches 
of  the  old  German  stove  plates,  and  may  be  a 
modern  recast. 

NOTE  SO. 
THE  PENNSYLVANIA  GERMANS. 
Early    in     the     18th     century,     the     people    now 
called  Pennsylvania  Germans  came  to  Pennsylvania, 


generally  by  way  of  Holland,  from  the  Rhenish 
Palatinate,  Switzerland.  Southern  Germany  and 
Silesia,  to  escape  religious  persecution.  They  came 
to  practice  what  Christianity  preaches,  to  live  ac- 
cording to  the  inner  rule  of  conscience  which  could 
not  be  compromised  with,  without  police,  jails,  legis- 
latures, elections  or  the  outward  forms  of  government. 

They  refused  to  swear,  fight  or  hold  slaves; 
did  not  wish  to  vote,  avoided  law  suits  and  took 
little  interest  in  politics  and  the  Anglo-Saxon  gov- 
ernment around  them. 

The  religious  sects,  of  which  they  were  and 
are  composed,  should  not  be  classed  together,  but 
might  reasonably  be  divided  into  liberals  and  con- 
servatives. 

The  former,  as  Lutherans  and  Moravians,  have 
held  to  music,  letters,  history,  a  knowledge  of  Ger- 
many and  a  system  of  foreign  missions.  Continu- 
ally replenished  by  modern  emigrants  from  Europe, 
they  have  adapted  themselves  more  or  less  to  Amer- 
ican life. 

But  the  latter  class,  as  Mennonites.  Amish, 
Schwenckfeldters.  Tunkers,  and  other  minor  sects, 
isolated  for  two  hundred  years  in  the  hills  of  the 
Alleghanies.  have  forgotten  Ger.Tiany  without  be- 
coming Americans.  They  have  forsaken  the  dec- 
orative arts  brought  over  by  their  ancestors,  and 
avoided  letters,  learning,  architecture,  music  and 
the  higher  arts,  but  unlike  the  modern  German 
emigrant,  who  seems  anxious  to  forget  German  and 
learn  English,  they  have  maintained  their  ancient 
language,  though  rather  as  part  of  their  religion 
than  for  love  of  Germany. 

Unlike  the  Boers  in  South  Africa,  these  people 
avoided  slavery,  but.  while  the  Quakers  distin- 
guished themselves  by  opposing  it.  the  Pennsyl- 
vania Germans  exerted  no  shining  influence  upon 
the  ideals  of  American  life  by  their  antagonism  of 
the  practice.  On  the  other  hand,  as  negroes  avoided 
their  country,  their  doctrine  of  human  brotherhood 
has  not  been  tested  by  contact  with  the  black  race. 
Farmers  they  came  and  farmers  they  have  remained, 
good  and  thrifty,  but  not  inventive.  Where  other- 
wise they  have  distinguished  themselevs  by  riches 
or  achievements,  no  rumor  of  sordidness.  stinginess 
or  hypocrisy  has  attached  itself  to  them;  but  their 
lives  and  work  pass  into  the  tale  of  the  general 
prosperity  of  the  United  States,  and  do  not  stand 
for  the  furtherance  of  the  religious  ideals  of  their 
ancestors. 

The  English  speech  of  the  Pennsylvania  Ger- 
man betrays  him  with  a  genial  and  very  marked 
accent  and  his  original  South  Ger.man  dialect  cor- 
rupted with  English  words  and  divested  of  the 
gender  and  inflection  of  high  German,  echoes  in  a 
familiar  and  peaceful  and  what  might  be  called  a 
very  non-Italian  sing-song,  free  of  harshness  and 
anger  to  the  ignorant  English  ear. 


144 


Because  he  called  himself  Deutsch,  the  early 
English  settlers,  without  thought  of  Holland,  called 
him  "Dutch"  and  the  name  still  clings. 

The  worldly  success  and  rapidly  acquired 
riches  around  him,  have  tempted  him,  modern  bad 
taste  has  seized  him  and  American  newspapers 
have  encroached  upon  his  ideals,  but  his  high  rule 
of  conduct  between  man  and  man,  which  is  the 
aim  of  all  governments,  remains.  This  is  his  great 
achievement.  Nevertheless,  remaining  apart  and 
still  regarded  as  uncouth,  he  has  failed  to  con- 
spicuously inspire  or  influence  the  Anglo-Saxon. 

The  modern  American  flushed  with  success  and 
seeing  the  future  salvation  of  mankind  in  democ- 
racy, overlooks  these  Christian  brothers,  and  the 
Socialist  or  so-called  Progressive  in  1914  presents 
as  new  problems  to  the  world,  civic  questions 
which  they  have  been  living  out  for  themselves  for 
two  hundred  years. 

As  Pilate  asked,  "what  is  truth?"  the  modern 
philosopher  confronted  by  the  materialism  of  life, 
may  ask,  what  is  success?  and  whether  in  the  past, 
government  without  religion,  or  religion  without 
government,  have  not  both  failed  to  teach  man 
how  to  live.  Nothing  but  profound  wisdom  grasp- 
ing the  meaning  of  inner  movements  that  have 
advanced  the  human  struggle  in  past  centuries, 
could  venture  to  estimate  the  final  effect  of  this 
high  moral  attitude,  held  generally  without  letters 
or  learning,  on  the   fate  of  the   United   States. 

Art  had  waned  in  Christendom  before  the 
United  States  was  settled.  Because  where  asso- 
ciated with  religion,  it  either  died  as  with  the  Catho- 
lic or  Anglican,  or  was  thrown  out  as  vanity  by 
the  Protestant,  the  small  but  singular  importation 
of  decorative  art  in  cast  iron,  here  discussed,  as 
brought  over  by  the  Pennsylvania  Germans,  is  very 
interesting.  Strange  to  say,  it  came  out  of  the 
Middle  Ages,  not  through  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church,  but  through  the  Protestant  Reformation 
and  Luther's  Bible.  Essentially  German,  it  is 
more  varied  and  remarkable  than  the  pottery  and 
illuminated  writing  that  came  with  it  and  though 
rude  and  uncouth  in  its  decorative  treatment,  the 
style  of  its  inscriptions  and  the  arrangement  of 
figures,  it  is  plainly  a  survival  of  the  ancient  Ger- 
man craftsmanship  of  the  17th  century.  For  one 
generation  at  least,  it  maintained  in  the  American 
backwoods  among  the  strictly  religious  settlers,  a 
greater  simplicity,  directness  and  sincerity  than  it 
perhaps  possessed  in  Germany.  Nevertheless,  per- 
taining only  to  the  household  and  never  applied  to 
the  decoration  of  churches  or  meeting  houses,  it 
was  a  non-essential  and  though  always  religious, 
did  not  have  a  lasting  hold  on  the  life  of  the  people. 
Produced  from  moulds  carved  by  German  hands,  it 
was  generally  made  at  English  furnaces  for  Eng- 
lish  ironmasters,   who   probably   took   little   interest 


in  the  inscriptions  or  meaning  of  the  pictures.  Its 
life  was  short.  With  the  improved  technical  skill 
of  the  iron  caster,  the  art  of  the  mould  carver  de- 
creased. Advertisement,  and  worldliness  encroach- 
ing upon  the  ancient  spirit,  finally  prevailed.  When 
the  imported  German  mould  carver  died,  his  suc- 
cessors adapted  themselves  to  new  conditions.  New 
stoves  appeared,  which  while  becoming  less  Ger- 
man and  more  American,  grew  less  artistic. 

The  memory  of  an  ancient  and  foreign  art  long 
the  servant  of  religion,  inspired  the  stove  makers, 
but  that  passed  away  one  hundred  and  fifty  years 
ago,  and  though  the  story  of  the  Bible  thus  told, 
might  again  ally  itself  wth  the  work  of  any  church, 
no  sign  of  the  awakening  of  such  an  art  at  its  origi- 
nal source,  has  appeared.  The  Pennsylvania  Ger- 
man farmer  may  love  the  Bible  as  his  ancestor 
loved  it,  but  he  has  lost  his  old  art,  and  his  spirit- 
ual leaders  of  to-day,  with  a  few  exceptions, 
whether  Lutheran,  Moravian,  Mennonite  or  Tunker, 
have  forgotten  the  pictured  stoves  and  the  helpful 
meaning  of  their  sermon  in  iron  once  widely 
preached  in  the  pioneer  household. 

NOTE  51. 

FURNACES     AND      FOUNDRIES 
DISTINGUISHED. 

It  was  the  important  process  of  smelting  iron 
direct  from  the  ore.  as  pigiron  or  raw  material, 
rather  than  remelting  the  metal  thus  previously 
produced,  that  distinguished  the  blast  furnaces 
properly  so  called  not  only  from  the  secondary 
blast  furnaces,  called  foundries  or  "cupolas,"  which 
did  not  smelt  but  remelted  iron  for  manufatruring 
purposes,  but  also  from  the  forge,  where  iron  was 
hammered  into  the  raw  material  for  wrought  iron 
work,  known  as  bar  iron.  Because  the  forge  was 
also  built  in  the  forest,  equipped  with  a  massive 
smoke  stack  and  blast  bellows  on  a  waterwheel,  it 
has  sometimes  been  confused  by  the  uninstructed 
with  the  furnace,  but  the  forge  as  a  blacksmith 
shop  on  a  large  scale,  which  only  softened  the 
metal  without  melting  it,  equipped  with  a  huge  ham- 
mer attached  to  another  waterwheel  which  ham- 
mered the  metal  into  shape  either  directly  from  the 
ore  (a  bloomary),  or  by  reheating  the  previously 
smelted  pig  iron,  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  cast- 
ing of  iron,  or  with  the  manufacture  of  any  such 
thing  as  a  stove  plate  made  of  cast  iron.  And  when 
the  forge  ledgers  among  the  Potts  Manuscripts,  re- 
ferred to  in  the  text  note  the  sale  of  stoves  (pro- 
duced only  at  furnaces),  the  entries  only  signify 
that  forge  and  furnace  were  sometimes  owned, 
managed  and  accounted  for  together. 

Though  it  appears  that  the  "air  furnace"  of 
Colonel  Spotswood,  at  Massaponax,  in  Virginia, 
working  in  1732  (Swank,  261).  may  properly  be 
called    a    foundry,    and    though   the   name   foundry 


145 


was  loosely,  if  not  incorrectly  applied  to  blast  fur- 
naces in  the  United  States  until  the  middle  of  the 
19th  century  (Sw.,  110).  we  learn  from  the  informa- 
tion of  Mr.  B.  F.  Fackenthal,  Jr..  that  before  1820 
there  were  no  true  foundries  in  Pennsylvania,  so 
that  during  the  period  of  their  artistic  decoraion 
under  consideration,  the  making  of  stoves  was  con- 
fined to  the  furnaces,  that  is  to  say.  all  the  s  ove 
plates  here  illustrated,  were  cast,  not  at  stove  works 
end  foundries  in  small  remelting  furnaces  called 
"cupolas,"  but  direc;  from  the  ore  at  its  first  melt- 
ing, in  the  original  furnace,  and  close  to  the  site 
of  its  excavation  from  the  earth,  so  that  the  chemi- 
cal analysis  of  these  plates,  when  agreeing  with 
csr'ain  deposits  of  ore,  might  sometimes  show, 
without  further  evidence,  which  furnace  made  them. 

NOTE  52. 

LIMITED  AREA  OF  STOVE  MAKING 
IN  COLONIAL  TIME. 
The  collection  shows  that  a  few  decorated 
plates  were  made  in  New  Jersey  but  otherwise  the 
manufacture  of  the  stoves  in  question,  appears  to 
have  been  confined  to  Pennsylvania,  and  no  evi- 
dence has  appeared  to  show  that  during  the  period 
here  considered,  namely  from  the  settlement  to 
about  1770,  stoves  of  this  kind  were  made  in  Mary- 
land, Virginia  or  Delaware,  or  the  South,  or  in 
New  York  or  New  England,  though  some  may  have 
been  produced  in  Canada. 

No  furnaces  then  existed  in  Maine.  New  Hamp- 
shire or  Vermont,  and  Massachusetts  and  Southir.T 
New  England  appear  to  have  been  the  chief  cen- 
ters of  iron  making  in  the  American  Colonies  for  a 
hundred  years  after  the  landing  of  the  Mayflower 
emigrants,  and  as  noted  by  Swank  (page  111),  and 
listed  under  Note  2.  bog  iron  ore  found  on  or  near 
the  surface,  or  dredged  out  of  ponds  and  marshes, 
was  smelted  at  the  following  furnaces:  Lynn  Fur- 
nace, 1645.  abandoned,  1688.  Braintree,  1646.  New 
Haven.  Connecticut,  Furnace.  1658.  Despards  Fur- 
nace in  Plymouth  County,  Mass.  (1702.  soon  aban- 
doned). Six  furnaces  in  Massachusetts  in  1619. 
Kings  Furnace  at  Taunton.  Mass.  (1724  to  1840). 
Several  furnaces  in  Massachusetts  for  making  hol- 
low ware  in  1731.  Plympton  or  Carver  Furnace. 
1730.  Hope  Furnace,  on  Pawtuxent  River.  Rhode 
Island.  1735.  Three  Furnaces  in  Cumberland  Town- 
ship. Rhode  Island.  1735.  abandoned  before  the 
Revolution.  Lime  Rock  Furnace.  Litchfield  County. 
N.  W.  Connecticut,  1740  to  1750.  Six  furnaces  in 
Massachusetts  in  1750.  Charlotte  Furnace  at  Mid- 
dlebcro,  Mass.  1758.  Lakeville  Furnace.  Litchfield 
County,   Connecticut,   1762  to   1830. 

Several  of  these  furnaces,  like  that  at  New 
Haven  or  at  Taunton  or  at  the  Cumberland  Town- 
ship. Rhode  Island  Furnaces,  gave  particular  at- 
tention to  the  casting  of  pots,  firebacks  and  jambs. 


andirons,  kitchen  mortars,  household  utensils,  etc., 
and  some  it  appears  were  foundries  proper,  where 
pig  iron  previously  smelted,  was  remelted  and  thus 
retast.  The  fireback  shown  in  Figure  201  was  pos- 
sibly cast  at  Lynn  Furnace  in  1660  by  Joseph  Jenks, 
who  had  made  the  mould  for  the  ancient  pot  illus- 
trated by  Swank,  p.  112,  cast  at  Lynn  Furnace  in 
1645.  and  in  possession  (1S90)  of  Messrs.  A.  and  L. 
Lewis,  at  Etna  Place.  Lynn.  Franklin's  fireplace, 
as  the  advertisement  in  the  original  pamphlet 
shows,  was  introduced  into  New  England  about 
1742,  and  no  doubt  soon  after  made  there.  More- 
over there  is  a  remarkable  statement  in  a  letter  of 
Robert  Child  to  John  Winthrop,  Jr.,  written  in 
Boston,  March  15,  1647,  quoted  by  Swank,  page  113, 
saying  that  "We  have  cast  this  winter  some  tons  of 
pots,  likewise  mortars,  stoves,  skillets.  Our  potter 
is  moulding  more  at  Brayntree."  But  with  the  ex- 
ception of  this  passage,  which  according  to  Mr. 
Dow.  of  the  Essex  Institute,  refers  to  small  foot 
stoves,  or  boxes  for  hot  embers,  there  is  no  evi- 
dence that  any  of  the  New  England  furnaces  made 
any  stoves  at  all  before  1770,  much  less  any  deco- 
rated six  plate  stoves  of  the  type  here  described,  or 
five  plate  stoves  thus  adorned  with  Biblical  pic- 
tures, floral  patterns  or  mottoes  in  German.  Numer- 
ous inquiries  and  ECorches  recently  made  by  the  au- 
thor at  the  New  England  Historical  Society,  at 
Deerfield.  and  Springfield,  at  Northampton  and 
Carver,  among  tne  antique  dealers  of  Eastern 
Massachusetts,  at  Fall  River,  Taunton,  New  Bed- 
ford; Litchfield,  Conn.,  and  Providence,  R.  I.,  have 
failed  to  find  evidence  of  the  existence  or  discovery 
of  decorated  stove  plates  in  New  England.  No 
stove  plate  has  been  found  at  Lynn,  or  Newbury- 
port.  or  at  Portsmouth.  New  Hampshire,  or  heard 
of  at  the  Essex  Institute  at  Salem.  Mass..  where 
later  in  1810  Captain  Solomon  Towne.  of  the  ship 
Galataea.  introduced  Russian  brick  stoves  (see  S. 
Perley,  in  Essex  Antiquarian.  December.  1897),  and 
incredible  as  it  may  seem,  all  the  evidence  thus 
far,  though  negative  and  liable  to  be  upset  at  any 
moment  by  the  discovery  of  a  Colonial  New  Eng- 
land stove  plate,  shows,  that  as  old  England  had 
done  wl'hout  stoves,  so  did  New  England,  and  that 
notwiths'anding  the  severity  of  their  winter  the 
New  England  settlers  with  firewood  in  superabun- 
dance, and  loving  the  sight  of  the  open  flames  as 
their  ancestors  had  done,  heated  their  houses, 
churches  and  public  buildings,  in  Colonial  times, 
not  with  stoves  but  with  open  fires. 

In  Canada  on  the  other  hand,  where  still 
severer  winters  prevail,  we  learn  (Swank,  p.  348) 
that  at  the  one  and  only  ancient  furnace  there  ex- 
isting, the  St.  Maurice,  at  Trois  Riviers  (built  in 
1737  and  abandoned  in  1882),  stoves  were  cast  in 
1749  and  then  in  use  all  over  Canada  made,  as  ob- 
served by  Peter  Kalm  then  visiting  'he  furnace, 
in  "six  pieces  separately  moulded  but  fitted  to- 
gether to  form  a  stove  about  three  feet  high." 


146 


But  these  stoves,  again  referred  to  by  Bou- 
chette  in  1815,  types  of  which  still  survive  (see  Fig- 
ure 190),  known  as  "box  stoves,"  in  old  Canadian 
houses,  were  undoubtedly  not  wall  stoves  of  the 
German  type  but  rather  draft  stoves  with  smoke 
pipe  and  fuel  doors,  of  the  general  shape  of  the 
Pennsylvanian  six  plate  or  ten  plate  stoves  here- 
with described.  And  they  were  undoubtedly  not 
adorned  with  German  inscriptions  though  we  may 
reasonably  suppose  that  some  of  the  earlier  ones 
may  have  been  decorated  with  pictorial  patterns  and 
inscribed  in  French. 

According  to  Mrs.  Potts-James,  Potts  Me- 
morial, page  162,  a  John  Potts  in  1783  to  1785,  tried 
to  introduce  five  different  kinds  of  cast  iron  stoves 
apparently  made  in  Pennsylvania  and  sent  up  to 
Halifax,  into  Nova  Scotia. 

Swank  notes  the  following  furnaces  in  New 
Jersey  as  in  existence  during  the  period  of  stove 
decoration,  namely  Shrewsbury  or  Tinton  Abbey 
Furnace,  Monmouth  County,  1682.  Hanover  or 
Mount  Holly,  Burlington  County,  1730.  Ringwood 
or  Ogdcns,  near  Greenwood  Lake,  Passaic  County 
(three  furnaces  and  a  forge),  after  1767;  rebuilt  by 
P.  Hascnclever,  1768;  destroyed,  1776.  Oxford, 
Warren  County,  1742.  Union,  Hunterdon  County 
(two  furnaces),  1750  to  1778.  Hibernia  or  Adven- 
ture, Pequannock  Township,  Morris  County,  1764. 
Batsto,  Burlington  County,  1766  to  1846.  Atsion, 
Burlington  County,  1766.  Taunton,  Burlington 
County,  1766.  Charlottenburg,  on  Pequannock 
Creek,  1767.  Andover,  Sussex  County,  1760.  Mount 
Hope,  near  Rockaway,  1772  to  1825. 

Figures  108  and  110  though  cast  in  Pennsylva- 
nia were  found  in  New  Jersey.  Mr.  Patrick  Trainor, 
of  Doylestown,  Pa.,  informs  the  writer  that  he  saw 
decorated  stove  plates  about  1877  in  a  "scrap"  heap 
at  Filmore.  Monmouth  County,  N.  J.  Oxford  Fur- 
nace made  the  fireback  shown  in  Figures  213  and 
214  and  Figures  173  and  177  were  cast  at  Batsto. 

Though  there  was  no  German  colony  in  New 
Jersey  it  seems  probable  that  some  of  the  other 
furnaces  cast  decorated  stoves  in  the  general  style 
of  those  made  in  Pennsylvania,  though  the  New 
Jersey  Historical  Society  is  ignorant  of  the  fact, 
and  no  plates  have  been  heard  of  by  the  writer  to 
prove  it. 

Neither  have  any  decorated  stoves,  or  stove 
plates  of  native  make,  and  of  the  six  plate  or  five 
plate  type  under  discussion,  been  found  in  New 
York  where  all  the  plates.  Figures  19,  21,  26,  59,  83, 
124  and  126,  discovered  at  or  near  Kingston,  were 
imported  from  Germany  or  Pennsylvania,  though 
Ancram  Furnace,  Columbia  County,  1750;  the  two 
Courtland  Manor  Furnaces,  begun  and  abandoned 
before  1756;  Ward  and  Coulton's  Furnace,  or  the 
Sterling  Iron  Works,  1750;  the  Forest  of  Dean  Fur- 
nace,    near     Fort     Montgomery,     Orange     County 


(which  cast  stoves  for  the  Government  in  1776),  1755 
to  1777  (Swank,  Chapter  12),  might  have  made 
them. 

Maryland  Furnaces  are  noted  by  Swank  as  fol- 
lows: Gwynnes  Falls,  1723  to  1730.  Mount  Royal, 
1723  to  1730.  Principio,  Cecil  County,  1724.  Kings- 
bury, Baltimore  County,  1745.  Eight  furnaces  in 
Maryland,  1749  to  1756  and  1761.  Lancashire  Fur- 
nace, Baltimore  County,  1751.  Old  Hampton, 
Frederick  County,  1760  to  1765.  Legh,  near  West- 
minster, 1760  to  1765.  Gunpowder  River,  1769. 
Bush,  Harford  County,  1769.  Elk  Ridge,  on  Pataps- 
co,  1759.  Patuxent,  Anne  Arundel  County  1769. 
York,  1769.  Steiners  Run,  1769.  Green  Spring, 
Washington  County,  1770.  Mount  Etna,  near 
Hagerstown,  1770.  Catocton,  near  Frederick,  1774. 
Some  of  these  may  have  produced  stoves,  but  if 
so  the  Maryland  Historical  Society  has  heard  noth- 
ing of  it,  and  no  decorated  plates  have  come  to  the 
writer's  knowledge. 

In  Maryland  as  in  Virginia,  North  Carolina 
and  farther  South  where  in  the  milder  winters  the 
need  of  stoves  was  less  felt,  open  fires  were  uni- 
versal. In  Virginia  Fredericksville  Furnace, 
Spottsylvania  County,  about  1727  (Swank,  260); 
Germanna  or  Rappahannock  Furnace,  Spottsylvania 
County,  about  1729;  Accokeek  or  England's  Iron 
Mines  Furnace,  near  Fredericksburg,  about  1729  to 
1753;  Massaponax  Air  Furnace,  near  Fredericks- 
burg, 1732;  Zanes  Furnace,  Frederick  County,  be- 
fore the  Revolution,  and  Isabella  Furnace,  Page 
County,  1760,  existed  during  the  period  in  ques- 
tion, but  no  evidence  has  appeared  to  show  that  any 
of  them  cast  decorated  stoves,  which  if  made  at 
all  in  Virginia,  would  have  been  probably  produced 
at  Colonel  Spottswood's  so-called  "Air"  Furnace,  at 
Massaponax,  above  noted,  which  appears  to  have 
been  a  foundry,  rather  than  a  furnace  proper,  where 
after  its  establishment  in  1732,  according  to  Swank, 
sow  or  pig  iron,  elsewhere  made,  was  recast  into 
chimney  backs,  pots,  skillets,  household  utensils, 
and   the   so-called  "country   castings." 

NOTE  53. 
THE  POTTS  MANUSCRIPTS. 

In  about  one  hundred  and  twenty  daybooks  and 
ledgers  of  furnaces  and  forges  in  the  library  of  the 
Hon.  S.  W.  Pennypacker,  at  Schwenksville,  Pa., 
examined  for  the  author  by  Mr.  W.  S.  Ely,  in  the 
summer  of  1910,  we  find  that  numerous  plate  stoves 
were  made  and  sold  between  1728  and  1769  at  Cov- 
entry Forge  (representing  probably  Christine  or 
Redding  Furnace,  on  French  Creek,  Northern 
Berks  County,  founded  between  1720  and  1736); 
Colebrookdale  Furnace  and  Pine  Forge,  near  the 
present  Boyerstown,  Berks  County,  founded,  1720; 
Mount  Pleasant  Furnace,  near  Boyerstown, 
founded,  1736;  Warwick  Furnace,  on  South  Branch 
of      French      Creek,      Northern      Chester      County, 


147 


founded,   1737,  and  Popadickon,  later  Pottsgrove  or 
Pot^stown,   founded  about   1744. 

Because  many  of  the  stoves  (five  and  six  plate), 
are  noted  as  sold  in  the  ledgers  of  Pine  Grove.  Cov- 
entry Forge  and  other  forges,  rather  than  furnaces. 
we  must  infer  that  in  these  cases  the  furnaces, 
whether  mentioned  or  not,  where  they  were  made. 
and  the  forge  where  they  could  not  have  been  made, 
were  under  the  same  management. 

Sometimes  the  forge  was  built  close  to  the  fur- 
nace, as  at  Antrim,  New  York,  founded,  1750; 
Shrewsbury,  New  Jersey;  Ringwood,  or  Ogdens, 
New  Jersey,  which  was  founded.  1740;  Union.  New 
Jersey;  Charlottenburg,  New  Jersey,  founded.  1767, 
at  Sterling.  New  York,  1751;  Martic.  Pennsylvania, 
1751;   Lynn,   Massachusetts,   1645. 

Until  1753  all  the  stoves  referred  to  in  these 
manuscripts  must  have  been  types  of  the  five 
plate  non-ventilating  "jamb  stove"  under  discus- 
sion, though  the  name  "five  plate"  was  never  used. 
The  stoves  are  noted  generally  as  "stoves."  without 
explanatory  adjective,  never  as  jamb  stoves,  and 
very  often  from  tht  oeginning.  though  no  measure- 
ments are  ever  given,  as  "large,  middling,  and  small" 
stoves;  or,  very  rarely  and  latterly,  as  "Dutch" 
(meaning  German)  stoves:  "large  Dutch  stoves" 
(Warwick,  1747);  "small  Dutch  stoves"  (Warwick. 
1760).  and  "Dutch  stove"  (Pottsgrove.  1768),  no 
doubt  intended  occasionally  to  distinguish  therr 
from  the  "English,"  or  "six  plate"  stoves,  which 
first  appear  in   1753. 

In  that  year  eleven  "small  English  stoves"  are 
noted  as  sold  at  Warwick,  followed  by  twenty  "six 
plate  English  stoves"  made  there  in  1760,  and  by 
numerous  "large  six  plate  and  small  six  plate 
stoves,"  made  at  Pottsgrove  between  1762  and  1768. 

NOTE  54. 
STOVES  OF  UNUSUAL  TYPE. 

Once  only  we  find  "round  stove"  (evidently  a 
Pommeroffen,  or  Pomeranian  stove  of  the  original 
German  type,  see  Figure  225),  weighing  1,921 
pounds,  cast  at  Colebrookdale  in  1735;  once  a  "Ger- 
mantown  stove"  of  unexplained  construction  at 
Warwick  in  1754,  costing  two  pounds  ten,  and  "2 
Moravian  stoves"  at  four  pounds  and  four  pounds 
sixteen  shillings  each,  also  unexplained  but  probably 
of  the  type  of  Figure  227.  at  Pottsgiove  in  1768  and 
1769,  and  two  at  Warwick  in  1767. 

Only  a  few  doubtful  references  are  made  to  the 
universal  decoration  of  the  stoves,  as  at  Popadickon 
in  1745,  and  Mt.  Pleasant  in  1743  and  1744,  the 
names  "large  carved  stove  and  plain  stove"  appear, 
as  if  not  only  (carved)  decorated,  but  (plain)  un- 
decorated  stoves  cast  from  smooth  undecorated 
board  moulds,  had  been  made  at  these  furnaces 
though  no  evidence  of  the  latter  supposition  has 
elsewhere  appeared. 


A  slab  of  open  sand-cast  iron,  without  mar- 
ginal border  and  moulding  about  two  feet  square, 
was  found  by  the  writer  at  Doylestown  in  1912. 
But  the  plate  may  not  be  a  stove  plate,  and  no  UD- 
decoratcd  front  plate  with  the  unmistakable  gut- 
tered rims  has  yet  appeared.  On  the  other  hand,  it 
must  be  remembered  that  thus  far  undecorated 
plates  would  not  have  been  valued  by  collectors 
and  dealers,  and  that  as  yet  no  decorated  plate  of 
certain  American  make  has  been  found  dated  earlier 
than   1741. 

Sheet  iron  jamb  stoves  may  have  been  used  be- 
fore 1770.  If  so,  they  were  made  at  the  forges,  not 
furnaces,  and  not  decorated. 

No  mention  is  anywhere  made  of  casting  loose 
rims,  necessary  to  the  construction  of  stoves  in 
the  German  manner,  as  above  explained,  and  we 
must  therefore  suppose  that  all  these  stoves  were 
made  with  the  grooved  rims  cast  solid  upon  the 
plates.  Neither  is  mention  made  of  the  wrought 
iron  bolts,  one  of  which  was  necessary  for  each 
stove,  though  at  Valley  Forge  in  1764  "a  door  for  a 
stove."  evidently  the  fuel  door  of  a  six  plate  stove, 
and  "two  iron  plates  for  a  stove"  are  charged  in  a 
smith's  book,  and  therefore  must  have  been  made  of 
wrought  iron. 

NOTE  55. 

STYLE  AND  WEIGHT  OF  STOVES. 

In  1747  six  large  stoves  "with  holes  in  the  top 
plates"  sold  at  Warwick,  indicate  that  heat-retain- 
ing upper  stories  of  brick,  tiles,  iron,  etc.,  may  have 
been  constructed  upon  them,  otherwise  no  evidence 
appears  that  non-ventilating  stoves  were  ever  built 
of  more  than  five  plates  or  with  upper  stories  of 
iron  or  earthenware. 

The  items  show  that  the  large  five  plate  stoves 
generally  weighed  about  448  pounds,  also  varying 
from  406  to  560  pounds  and  costing  generally  five 
pounds  Sterling  to  five  pounds  ten  (Warwick  and 
Colebrookdale).  that  the  middling  stoves  weigheQ 
generally  373  and  varying  also  between  356  and  35-' 
pounds,  cost  generally  four  pounds  Sterling  (War- 
wick and  Colebrookdale).  and  that  the  small 
stoves,  weighing  generally  320  pounds  and  varying 
between  209  and  304  pounds  (Mt.  Pleasant  and 
Warwick),  cost  generally  three  pounds  ten  Ster- 
ling, but  sometimes  three  pounds  and  two  pounds 
ten. 

When  2.240  pounds  stood  for  a  ton.  112  pounds 
for  a  hundredweight  and  28  pounds  for  a  quarter, 
loose  stove  plates  in  greater  or  less  quantity,  odd 
tops,  bottoms  and  sides  once  referred  to  (Warwick, 
1747),  as  "top,  front,  right,  left  and  bottom  plates,' 
were  sold  by  the  ton  or  hundredweight  or  singly, 
weighing  42,  126,  80  pounds  (Colebrookdale,  1733 
to  1736),  82,  89,  101  1  3,  151  pounds  (Coventry,  1728 


148 


to  1729)  5514  pounds  (Warwick),  and  a  "large  side 
plate"  101,  and  "a  large  plate"  98  pounds  (War- 
wick, 1748). 

Sometimes  individuals,  for  instance  Jacob  Le- 
vant, who,  according  to  the  Popadickon  ledger, 
bought  fifteen  tons  of  stoves  between  1749  and  1753. 
buy  plates  or  stoves  by  the  ton,  or  in  such  quanti- 
ties or  so  often,  that  we  may  suppose  they  were 
stove  dealers.  Namely.  Marcus  Hulings  (Mt.  Pleas- 
ant, 1740);  Henry  Snyder,  also  referred  to  as  "The 
Stove  Mould  Maker"  (Warwick,  1755);  Philip  Metz, 
shoemaker  at  Skippach   (Warwick,    1750). 

NOTE  56. 
STOVES  WITH   UPPER  STORIES. 

In  a  Warwick  Furnace  daybook  for  August  3, 
1747,  page  59,  the  entry  reads:  "John  Hookman,  Dr. 
to  6  large  stoves,  per  Randall  Marshall.  N.  B. — He 
wanted  top  plates  with  holes  in." 

The  top  plate  of  the  lower  iron  fire  chamber  of 
the  Moravian  tile  stove  at  Nazareth  (Figure  227) 
has  one  if  not  two  holes  in  it  for  the  smoke  egress. 

NOTE   57. 

IRON  MASTERS  GENERALLY 

ENGLISH. 

Pennsylvania  was  an  English  colony,  and  if  it 
had  not  been  for  the  German  immigration  early  in 
the  18th  century,  these  stoves  would  never  have 
existed. 

Rutter  and  Potts,  founders,  of  Colebrookdale; 
Nutt  and  Branson,  at  Redding;  the  first  masters  of 
Durham  and  Keith's,  of  Warwick,  Mt.  Pleasant,  and 
if  we  may  except  the  questionable  Kurtz  Furnace, 
were  English.  And  though  they  must  have  been 
familiar  with  decorated  firebacks  had  probably 
never  heard  of  jamb  stoves  in  England.  But  in  a 
colony  full  of  German  settlers,  they  employed  Ger- 
man workmen.  Jamb  stoves  were  wanted  and  they 
made  them,  putting  their  construction  and  adorn- 
ment into  the  hands  of  Germans  from  the  first. 

NOTE  58. 

FURNACE    LEDGERS   AT    THE    HISTORICAL 

SOCIETY  OF  PENNSYLVANIA  AND  NOTE 

ON  CHRISTOPHER  SAUER. 

About  thirty  original  manuscript  Furnace  and 
Forge  ledgers  and  account  books  called  "waste 
books,"  "store  books,"  "journals,"  "coal  books,"  "day 
books,"  etc..  preserved  at  the  Historical  Society  of 
Pennsylvania  in  Philadelphia  (1914)  cover  the  fol- 
lowing intervals,  in  every  case  incomplete  and  with 
numerous  breaks  represented  by  missing  books.  For 
Elizabeth  Furnace  1756  to  1770.  For  Mary  Ann  Fur- 
nace 1762  to  1765.  For  Berkshire  Furnace  1767  to 
1768.  For  Tulpehocken  Eisenhammer  (Forge)  1754 
to  1760.  For  Charming  Forge  1765  to  1785  and  for 
New  Pine  Forge  1744  to  1788. 


As  learned  from  the  Potts  Manuscripts  we  must 
examine,  item  by  item,  not  only  all  Furnace  but  all 
Forge  account  books  in  order  to  exhaust  stove  in- 
formation from  old  items  of  sale,  since  both  kinds  of 
books   note   transactions   in   stoves. 

Here  the  forge  ledgers  of  Charming  Forge  in 
Berks  County  (originally  Tulpehoken  Ei;enhammer, 
called  "Charming"  in  1763  by  Stiegel)  accounting  for 
Elizabeth  Furnace,  and  New  Pine  Forge  in  Union 
Township,  Birks  County,  accounting  for  Berkshire 
Furnace,  note  the  sale  of  stoves. 

A  careful  scrutiny  of  all  items  in  all  these  books 
might  reveal  the  names  cf  some  of  the  mould  carvers 
or  throw  further  light  on  the  manufacture  of  deco- 
rated stoves,  but  the  twelve  books  searched  (4  for 
Elizabe'.h,  1  for  Berkshire,  2  for  Mary  Ann,  3  for 
New  Fine  Forge  and  2  for  Charming  Forge)  though 
revealing  the  usual  stove  sale  items  throw  no  new 
light  on  the  subject.  "Ten-Plate  Stoves  '  appear  at 
Berkshire  in  1767,  and  "Moravian  stoves"  (compare 
Iron  fire  chamber  of  Fig.  227).  'Seven-Plate  stoves" 
(probably  Franklin  Fireplaces  with  double  back 
plates),  "Open  Six-Plate  Stoves"  (probably  ditto  with 
single  back  and  minus  the  air  chamber),  "Clay-Ware 
Round  Stoves"  (probably  Pommerofen,  s:e  Fig.  225 
and  note  54,  lined  with  fire  clay  slabs),  appear  at 
Elizabeth  in  1771. 

But  we  also  learn  that  "Five-Plate  stoves"  (jamb 
stoves),  "big."  "middling"  and  "small,"  are  sold  at 
Elizabeth  as  late  as  1771  and  1772. 

The  Elizabeth  Ledger  for  1771  to  1772  gives  the 
following  list  of  weights  and  prices  for  stoves: 

Ten-Flate  Stoves:  Big.  Weight  5  cwt.  2  qr.  10 
lb.  Price  5  Pounds  10  shillings.  Small.  Weight  5 
Cwt.     Price  5  Pounds. 

Six-FIate  Stoves:  Big.  Weight  4  cwt.  Price 
5  Pounds.     Middle.  Weight  2  cwt  3  qr  12  lbs.  Price 

3  Pounds.  Small.  Weight  2  cwt.  25  lbs.  Price  2  lbs. 
5  Shillings. 

Five-Plate   Stoves   (Jamb  Stoves) :    Big.   Weight 

4  cwt.  Price  5  Pounds.  Middle.  Weight  3  cwt.  1  qr. 
9'/4  lbs.  Price  4  Pounds.  Small.  Weight  2  cwt.  3  qr. 
12  lbs.     Price  3  Pounds. 

Moravian  Stove:  Weight  2  cwt.  3  qr.  12  lbs. 
Price  3  Pounds. 

Open  Six-Plate  Half-Stove:  (Probably  Franklin 
Fireplace  minus  air  chamber.  H.  C.  M.)  Weight  3 
cwt.  3  qr.  21  lbs.     Price  4  pounds  10  shillings. 

CHRISTOPHER  SAUER. 
A  series  of  vague,  unsupported  statements  in 
Bishop's  History  of  American  Manufactures,  Vol. 
1,  page  182;  Swank's  Iron  and  Coal  in  Pennsylva- 
nia, page  19,  and  by  later  writers  here  noted,  to  the 
effect  that  Christopher  Sauer.  of  Germantown,  in- 
vented or  introduced  the  jamb  stove,  appear  to  have 
been  started  by  Watson,  in  his  Annals,  Vol.  2,  page 
34,  who  asserts  that  (inferably  about  1770)  every 
house  in  Germantown  "was  warmed  in  winter  by 
jamb   stoves,   and   that   Mr.   Sauer,   of   Germantown, 


149 


the  printer,  "cast  the  first  stoves,  perhaps  thus  used 
in  the  United  States.  They  were  cast  in  Lancaster. 
None  of  them  are  now  (probably  about  1820)  up 
and  in  use,  but  many  of  '.he  old  plates  are  often 
seen  lying  about  the  old  houses  as  door  steps,  etc." 
Vol.  1.  page  218,  Waston  says  that  Sauer  invented 
the  ja.T-b  stove. 

But  this  cannot  be  true,  since  we  know  that 
jamb  stoves  existed  in  Germany  since  about  1500. 
and  since  imported  stove  plates  found  in  the  United 
States  and  dated  before  Sauer  came  to  America,  are 
here   shown. 

Christopher  Sauer,  father  and  son,  born  near 
Marburg,  in  Hesse,  in  a  region  where  decorated 
jamb  stoves  were  abundant,  may  have  advised  the 
use  of  the  stoves,  and  increased  their  sale,  or  pos- 
sibly introduced  or  invented  the  outside  vertical 
belts  htr;  described.  According  to  M.  G.  Brum- 
baugh (in  the  "Pennsylvania  Gsr.-nan"  for  about 
1904.)  Sauer  came  to  America  in  1724  and  if  he  or 
his  son,  Christopher,  Jr.,  had  caused  the  first  Ameri- 
can stoves  to  be  cast  the  Potts  MSS  would  prob- 
ably show  it,  but  though  the  earliest  furnace  ledgers 
are  lost,  the  books  note  the  sale  of  stove  plates  in 
1728  and  1729  to  other  individuals.  Sauer's  name 
does  not  appear  until  1743,  when  on  March  30,  at 
Mount  Pleasant  Furnace  he  is  charged  with  eleven 
large  carved  stoves  (bought  at  Marcus  Hulings), 
five  small  stoves,  and  some  single  plates. 

NOTE  59. 

CONSUMPTION  OF  WOOD  BY 

CHARCOAL  FURNACES. 

In  England  they  passed  laws  against  the  de- 
foresting by  furnaces  in  Sussex,  Surrey  and  Kent  in 
1584,  and  prohibited  the  charcoaling  of  beech,  oak 
and  ash  trees.    Evelyn  denounced  the  furnaces. 

At  the  Trois  Rivieres  Furnace  in  Canada  they 
preferred  deciduous  wood  charcoal  for  smelting  in 
the  furnace,  but  used  evergreen  for  the  forges. 

According  to  the  Lake  Superior  Mining  Insti- 
tute Proceedings  in  1903,  it  took  a  hundred  bushels 
of  charcoal  to  a  ton  of  pig  iron,  or  two  and  a  half 
cords  of  wood,  at  forty  bushels  of  charcoal  per  cord, 
for  a  ton  of  pig  iron. 

NOTE   60. 
DESCRIPTION  OF  OLD  FURNACES. 

Pearse  says,  page  78,  that  the  stack  of  Cornwall 
Furnace,  built  in  1742,  was  thirty-two  feet  high, 
twenty-one-and-a-half  feet  square  at  base,  and 
eleven  feet  square  at  top. 

He  shows  a  perpendicular  section  of  a  Lake- 
ville,  Connecticut,  Furnace,  built  in  1763,  with  its 
greatest  diameter  inside  the  egg  or  "bosh,"  nine 
feet,  and  a  height  of  twenty-eight  feet.  It  was 
lined  with  slate   smeared  with  yellow   clay,   against 


which  the  outer  wall  was  constructed  of  white  lime- 
stone. The  bottom  of  the  interior  was  built  of  a 
special   rtfractory   stone. 

Swedenborg,  quoted  by  Pearse,  page  74,  de- 
scribes the  old  furnace  stacks  in  general  as  twenty- 
five  feet  high,  with  oblong  openings  near  the  top 
about  four  feet  long  for  charging  the  ore,  charcoal 
and  flux.  He  says  the  largest  bellows  were  five 
feet  wide,  that  the  ore  was  roasted  at  the  rate  of 
eighteen  pecks  to  twenty-four  bushels  of  charcoal, 
that  oyster  shells,  when  convenient,  were  used  for 
flux,  and  that  the  furnace  was  tapped  every  eight 
hours. 

Swank  says,  page  87,  that  some  of  the  lower 
hearths  for  about  three  feet  up  were  lined  with 
sandstone,  higher  with  brick,  and  that  every  six 
days  was  a  "found  day." 

Dr.  James  Thatcher,  quoted  by  Swank,  page 
124,  says  that  Federal  Furnace,  Massachusetts, 
built  in  1794,  had  a  stone  stack  twenty  feet  high, 
twenty-four  feet  square  at  base,  seven  feet  thick, 
and  with  an  inside  diameter  of  ten  feet.  It  was 
lined  with  soft  slate  called  firestone  and  had  a  brick 
funnel  at  the  top.  It  was  arched  on  the  oven  front 
above  the  tap-hole  and  also  on  the  side  for  the 
two  tuyers  of  the  two  leather  bellows. 

In  Forges  and  Furnaces  in  the  Province  of 
Pennsylvania,  Colonial  Dames,  Philadelphia,  1914, 
interesting  halftone  cuts  from  photographs  are  shown 
of  the  ruins  cs  now  existing,  1914,  of  Pine  Grove 
Furnace,  Cumberland  County,  Pa.,  built  1770  (front- 
ispiece), Hopewell  Furnace,  Berks  County,  Pa.,  built 
1759-1765  (page  154),  and  Carlisle  Furnace,  at  Boil- 
ing Springs,  Cumberland  County,  Pa.,  built  1762 
(page  172).  John  B.  Pearse.  in  Iron  Manufacture  in 
the  American  Colonies.  Philadelphia,  1876,  carelessly 
shows  a  wood  cut  (frontispiece),  of  one  of  the  later 
western  furnaces  (unnamed)  on  the  Conemaugh 
River,  in  Westmoreland  or  Cambria  County,  Pa., 
standing  about  1876. 

NOTE  61. 
BLOWING  APPARATUS. 

The  blowing  apparatus  of  the  old  blast  fur- 
naces was  of  three  kinds,  1,  the  leather  bellows, 
first  used:  2,  the  blowing  tub,  or  wooden  box  bel- 
lows, and  3,  the  tromp,  or  water  blast.  Pearse,  page 
101,  says  that  two  bellows,  rather  than  one,  were 
used,  driven  by  water  power  communicated  by 
means  of  a  cam  arrangement  on  the  shaft  of  the 
great  waterwheel.  Swank,  page  85,  quoting  Dr. 
Parsons,  says  that  in  the  Forest  of  Dean  English 
furnaces,  they  had  two  high  pairs  of  bellows  behin'J" 
the  furnace,  whose  noses  met  at  a  little  hole  (the 
tuyer)  near  the  bottom,  and  that  they  were  com- 
pressed by  certain  buttons  placed  on  the  axle  of  a 
large  overshot  waterwheel  so  arranged  that  as  the 
buttons  slid  off,  counterpoised  weights  lifted  the 
bellows  and  played  them  alternately. 


150 


In  general,  Swank  says,  page  89,  that  the 
leather  bellows  were  twenty-two  feet  long  and 
made  of  oak  plank  two  inches  thick,  at  the  Scotch 
furnaces  in  1809. 

2.  The  blowing-tub.  This  it  appears  was  in- 
vented by  Hans  Lobsinger,  of  Nuremburg,  about 
1550,  used  in  England  in  the  18th  century,  intro- 
duced in  Pennsylvania  shortly  before  the  Revolu- 
tion and  continued  in  the  United  States  in  many 
furnaces  as  late  as  about  1870.  Pearse  and  Swank 
carelessly  fail  to  explain  this  interesting  and  oft 
referred  to  apparatus,  which  was  held  to  be  cheaper 
and  more  durable  than  the  leather  bellows,  but  it 
is  however  fully  described  and  illustrated  in  the 
American  edition  of  the  noble  old  Reese's  En- 
cyclopedia, article  Bellows,  plate  13,  Pncu.matics, 
Figure  108,  as  consisting  of  two  large  close-fitting 
wooden  boxes,  one  of  which  raised  and  lowered 
upon  the  other,  and  being  kept  air  tight  along  the 
cracks  by  what  rright  be  called  very  flexible  wood 
and  leather  weather  strips  set  on  steel  springs, 
forced  out  the  air  which  had  entered  through  valves 
in  the  bottom  box  through  the  tuyer  or  blast  pipe. 

Pearse  says  that  these  tubs  or  boxes  were  of 
short  stroke,  three  feet,  that  they  generally  had 
one  tuyer  and  rarely  two   (page  101). 

3.  The  tromp  or  water  blast.  This  was  a  very 
ancient  invention  by  which  air  was  forced  or 
pumped  in  through  a  wooden  pipe  about  eight 
inches  square,  by  the  down-rush  of  water  from  a 
tank  above  and  forced  into  a  box  five  feet  long  by 
two-and-a-half  high  by  one-and-a-half  deep,  where 
incoming  water  compressing  it,  forced  it  out  through 
the  tuyer  in  a  continuous  steady  blast. 

The  apparatus  had  been  long  used  in  South- 
ern Europe  in  connection  with  the  ancient  so-called 
Catalan  forge,  but  the  writer  cannot  learn  that  it 
was  ever  utilized  by  the  older  Pennsylvanian  fur- 
naces during  the  stove  plate  period.  Professor 
Lesley  in  1858  describes  it  as  surviving  in  the  South- 
ern States. 

NOTE  62. 
BOG  ORE. 

Men  in  boats  with  an  apparatus  resembling 
oyster  tongs  used  to  pull  the  lumps  of  bog  ore  out 
of  Assawamsett,  Carver  and  Middleboro  ponds  in 
Massachusetts,  the  latter  of  which  yielded  from 
three  to  six  hundred  tons  a  year  at  six  dollars  a 
ton. 

Pearse,  quoting  Dr.  Thatcher,  page  31,  says 
that  bog  ore  occurred  along  the  margin  of  ponds 
where  there  were  springs  and  that  it  grew  or 
formed  in  from  seven  to  fifteen  years,  if  the  digger 
covered  the  hole  with  leaves  and  rubbish,  but  that 
it  would  not  form  if  the  water  were  drained  off. 
Some  other  ore  called  "pond  ore"  was  dredged  out 
of  ponds  at  depths  of  from  two  to  twenty-five  feet 


with  tongs,  and  "grew"  again  in  twenty-five  years. 
A  man  could  raise  a  half  a  ton  a  day,  consisting  of 
three  kinds,  the  so-called  "short,"  reddish  brown 
and  of  the  size  of  large  bullets;  the  "pancake,"  re- 
sembling Turkey  figs,  and  the  "black,"  in  cakes 
from  the  mud  bottom. 

Dr.  Forbes  (Pearse  31)  asserted  in  1793  that 
"the  time  will  come  when  it  will  be  as  easy  to  raise 
a  bed  of  bog  ore  as  a  bed  of  carrots." 

NOTE  63. 

STOVE  MOULDS  AND  MOULD 

MAKERS. 

According  to  information  from  Mr.  F.  S.  B. 
Reeves,  of  45  North  Second  street,  Philadelphia,  in 
1909,  obtained  from  his  grandfather,  Benjamin  F. 
Reeves,  near  Cumberland  Furnace,  New  Jersey, 
open  sand  cast  stove  plates  were  there  modeled 
(probably  the  plates  of  ten  plate  stoves,  H.  C.  M.), 
about  1812  by  hand  upon  the  sand  with  little  tools 
mostly  of  wood.  The  furnace  burned  charcoal  and 
used  bog  ore,  and  the  stove  plates  were  sent  to 
Troy,  New  York,  to  be  mounted. 

The  Potts  MSS.,  Warwick  Furnace  ledger  XLI, 
1755,  page  306,  notes  "Potts  and  Rutter  Dr.  to  one 
large  stove.  Hen  Snyder,  the  stove  mould  maker,  5 
pounds."  And  the  Popadickon  ledger  for  1745, 
Nov.  11.  page  5  in  account  with  Warwick  Company, 
notes  "To  cash  for  mending  stove  moulds,  5  shil- 
lings." 

At  the  bankruptcy  sale  of  Martic  Furnace  in 
1769  (Swank,  188),  according  to  the  inventory  the 
sheriff  sold,  along  with  a  good  dwelling  house, 
stores  and  counting-house,  a  large  coal  house,  with 
eight  dwelling  houses  for  the  laborers,  a  good  grist 
mill,  smith's  and  carpenters'  shops,  six  good  log 
stables,  with  four  bays  for  hay,  a  number  of  pot  pat- 
terns and  some  flasks  for  ditto,  stove  moulds,  etc., 
etc. 

NOTE   64. 

ORNAMENTAL  CAST  IRON  FENCES. 

With  notable  exceptions,  such  as  some  of  the 
iron  fences  or  balustrades  cast  in  the  form  of  con- 
ventional foilage  or  Renaissance  filagree  about  1840 
to  1860.  and  occasional  decorative  plaques,  such  as 
the  small  flasked  casting  of  St.  John  the  Divine  with 
the  poisoned  chalice,  about  14  inches  square,  in 
possession,  1913.  of  Miss  Annie  Bewley,  at  Forest 
Grove,  Bucks  County,  Pa.,  and  of  which  replicas 
have  been  heard  of  by  the  writer  in  Philadelphia, 
in  Nantucket,  and  in  Italy  at  Rome.  Pearse  says, 
page  155,  that  George  Keim  cast  a  decorative  pat- 
tern representing  the  Last  Supper  in  sand  direct 
from  the  blast  at  Windsor  Furnace,  probably  about 
1850.  This  and  a  cast  iron  crucifix  are  illustrated  in 
Forges  and  Furnaces  in  Pennsylvania,  Colonial 
Dames,  p.  178. 


151 


NOTE  65. 

JAMB    STOVE    LEGS,    BOLTS.   WALL 

HOLES  AND  LUTE.     FRANKLIN'S 

DESCRIPTION  OF  A  JAMB 

STOVE. 

No  American  jamb  stove  legs  or  bolts  have  been 

found  to  the  writer's  knowledge,  and  as  no  student 

has  discovered  a  jamb  stove  in  its  original  position. 

we  are  in  the  dark,  from  actual  observation  as  to  the 

exact  size  and  shape  of  the  hole  in  the  wall  for  the 

insertion  of  its  fuel. 

We  may  reasonably  suppose,  however,  that  the 
vertical  outside  bolt  was  a  thin  hammered  rod  with  t 
flattened  head  below  and  a  thumb  screw  above,  after 
the  style  of  the  shorter  diagonal  bolts  on  the  old 
Norwegian  stoves  as  seen  in  Figs.  5  and  6,  and  that 
the  hole  in  the  wall  was  rectangular,  of  the  size  of 
the  end  of  the  stove  and  without  a  door  which  would 
have  obstructed  the  draught. 

An  old  kitchen  fireplace,  nine  feet  wide  by  four 
feet  ten  high  by  two  feet  ten  deep,  in  the  farmhouse 
of  Mr.  Lewis  H.  Clemens,  at  Doylestown  (1914), 
shows  in  the  lower  left  corner  of  its  fireback  stone 
wall  a  walled  up  rectangular  recess  nineteen  inches 
high  by  fourteen  inches  wide,  connecting  within  with 
a  vertical  mural  orifice  about  two  inches  in  diameter 
passing  through  it  from  the  cellar  as  if  to  increase 
its  draught.  This  wall  recess  is  four  inches  from 
the  corner  of  the  fireplace  and  eleven  inches  above 
the  hearth,  and  may  well  have  been  the  wall  orifice 
for  the  Dance  of  Death  stove,  the  plates  of  which 
(see  Fig.  75)  were  found  on  the  premises,  in  which 
cas^  the  stove  if  resting  against  the  hole,  would  have 
probably  stood  about  a  foot  above  the  floor  of  the 
opposite  room. 

Since  it  would  have  been  necessary  to  lift  all 
jamb  stoves  above  wooden  floors  for  safety,  and 
above  stone  floors  for  heat  radiation,  we  may  reas- 
onably infer  that  legs,  either  of  pottery,  of  iron,  of 
blocks  of  stone  or  of  masonry,  were  always  used  if 
not  at  the  walled-in  end  of  the  stove,  certainly  at  the 
front  where  it  required   support. 

Stove  legs  or  stands,  truncated  cones  of  red 
glazed  earthenware,  four  inches  in  diameter  and 
about  six  inches  high  (see  Bucks  County  Historical 
Society,  No.  725).  were  found  by  the  writer  in  1893 
at  Headman's  Pottery,  in  Bucks  County,  and  there 
described  as  sold  for  use  as  leg  rests  for  modern 
kitchen  cooking  stoves,  probably  intended  to  raise 
the  level  of  the  stove  and  prevent  communication  of 
heat  to  the  wood  floor.  But  these  stove  rests  are 
comparatively  modern  and  no  ancient  specimens  of 
this  shape  have  been  found  in  association  with  the 
jamb  stove  plates.  The  Potts  Manuscripts  and  Fur- 
nace Ledgers  at  the  Historical  Society  of  Pennsyl 
vania  as  examined  for  the  writer,  make  no  mention 


of  jamb  stove  legs  of  cast  iron  or  other  material. 
But  blocks  of  soapstone  were  used  according  to  the 
infor.-nation  of  a  building  contractor  in  Philadelphia 
who.  in  1889.  at  a  lecture,  informed  the  writer  that 
in  demolishing  an  old  house  in  eastern  Philadelphia, 
once  belonging  to  Governor  Mifflin,  he  had  pulled 
to  pieces  a  complete  jamb  stove  discovered  in  a 
walled-up  corner,  the  front  of  which  rested  upon  two 
blocks  of  soapstone. 

Since  the  jamb  stove  fashion  came  to  America 
from  Germany  so  the  method  of  equipment  with 
legs  must  have  come  with  it,  and  we  may  suppose 
that  carved  stone  legs,  in  the  old  German  style,  as 


shown  herewith,  in  Fig.  233-A,  reproduced  from  Dr. 
Kassel's  interesting  picture,  illustrating  an  old  Alsa- 
cian  stove  in  situ  at  Farmer  Sieh's  house,  at  Walten- 
heim.  in  Lower  Alsace,  in  1903.  were  sometimes  used 
in  Pennsylvania  in  lieu  of  simpler  posts,  props  or 
under  rests  of  bricks  or  stone.  In  the  picture  we  se; 
a  stove,  according  to  Dr.  Kassel,  waxed  and  polished 
with  beeswax,  and  luted  at  the  corner  cracks  with 
a  mixture  of  clay  and  barley  grains,  equipped  with 
decorated  loose  corner  rims,  and  an  iron  upper  story, 
surrounded  where  built  against  the  wall  by  a  lintel, 
forming  an  upper  shelf,  but  lacking  the  American 
outer  bolt  and  supported  on  a  single  pair  of  heavy 
carved  sandstone  legs,  for.Tiing  the  so-called  "posta- 
ment,"  sometimes  decorated  with  a  date. 


152 


Kassel,  page  10,  s:e  Note  8t,  says  that  thess 
arched  legs,   several  of  which   are  illustrated  in  his 

valuable  book,  ware  sometimes  mcda  of  earthenware, 
sometimes  of  wrought  iron,  and  when  thus  in  arch 
form  of  sandstone  often  dacorated  with  carvings  or  a 
date,  and  sometimes  waxed  or  brown  or  green 
painted  or  marbeled.  In  the  Swedish  Stove,  Fig.  1, 
they  appear  as  corner  posts  of  iron. 

Franklin,  who  says  nothing  of  legs,  bolts,  wall 
hole,  lintel,  stove  lute,  d:coration  or  inscription,  de- 
scribes the  old  Pennsylvanian  jamb  stoves  in  his 
fireplace  pamphlet  of  1744  as  follows:  "The  Ger- 
man Stove  is  like  a  Box,  one  Side  wanting.  "Tis 
composed  of  Five  Iron  plates  scru'd  together  and 
fixed  so  that  you  may  put  the  Fuel  into  it  from 
another  Room,  or  from  the  Outside  of  the  House. 
'Tis  a  kind  of  Oven  revers'd,  its  Mouth  being  with- 
out, and  Body  within  the  Room  that  is  to  be 
warmed  by  it.  This  Invention  certainly  warms  a 
Room  very  speedily  and  very  thoroughly  with  little 
Fuel.  No  Quantity  of  cold  Air  comes  in  at  any 
Crevice,  because  there  is  no  Discharge  of  Air  which 
it  must  supply,  there  being  no  Passage  into  the 
Stove  from  the  Room.     These  are  its  Conveniences. 

"Its  Inconveniences  are.  That  people  have  not 
even  so  much  Sight  and  Use  of  the  Fire  as  in  the 
Holland  Stoves,  and  are  moreover  obliged  to 
breathe  the  same  unchanged  Air  continually,  mixed 
with  the  Breath  and  Perspiration  from  one  an- 
other's Bodies,  which  is  very  disagreable  to  those 
who  have  not  been  accustomed  to  it." 

NOTE   66. 

SHEET  IRON. 

According  to  Beck.man's  History  of  Inventions, 
all  sheet  iron,  whether  tinnsd  or  not,  before  about 
1728,  was  hammered  with  heavy  hammers  run  by 
waterwheels.  Previously  iron  could  be  rolled  in 
small  narrow  strips,  or  smoothed  by  rolling  after 
hammering,  but  could  not  be  squeezed  out  into 
broad  fiat  sheets,  hot  or  cold,  between  rollers,  as 
now. 

NOTE  67. 

FRANKLIN'S  DESCRIPTION  OF  DRAFT, 
OR  SIX-PLATE  STOVES. 

Franklin,  in  his  fireplace  pamphlet  of  1744.  de- 
scribes them  as  follows: 

"The  Holland  iron  stove,  which  has  a  flue  pro- 
ceeding from  the  top,  and  a  small  iron  door  opening 
into  the  room,  comes  next  to  be  considered.  Its 
conveniences  are  that  it  makes  a  room  all  over 
warm,  for  the  chimney  being  wholly  closed,  except 
the  flue  of  the  stove,  very  little  air  is  required  to 
supply  that,  and  therefore  not  much  rushes  in  at 
crevices,    or   at   the    door   when    'tis   opened.      Little 


fuel  serves,  the  heat  being  almost  all  saved,  for  it 
rays  out  almost  equally  from  the  four  sides,  the 
bottom  and  the  top,  into  the  room,  and  presently 
warms  the  air  around  it,  which  being  rarified  rises 
to  the  ceiling,  and  its  place  is  supplied  by  the  lower 
air  of  the  room,  which  flows  gradually  toward  the 
stove,  and  is  there  warmed  and  used  in  its  turn,  so 
that  there  is  a  continual  circulation  till  all  the  air 
in  the  room  is  warmed." 

"The  air,  too,  is  gradually  changed  by  the  stove 
doors  being  in  the  room,  through  which  part  of  it 
is  continually  passing,  and  that  makes  these  stoves 
wholesome,  and  at  least  pleasanter  than  the  Ger- 
man stoves,  next  to  be  spoken  of.  But  they  have 
these  inconveniences — there  is  no  sight  of  ':he  fire, 
which  is  in  itself  a  pleasant  thing.  One  cannot  con- 
veniently make  any  other  use  of  the  fire  but  that 
of  warming  the  room.  When  the  room  is  warm, 
people  not  seeing  the  fire  are  apt  to  forget  to  supply 
it  with  fuel  till  'tis  almost  out,  then  growing  cold,  a 
great  deal  of  wood  is  put  in,  which  soon  makes  it 
too  hot.  The  change  of  air  is  not  carried  on  quite 
quick  enough,  so  that  if  any  smoke  or  ill  smell 
happens  in  the  room,  'tis  a  long  time  before  'tis  dis- 
charged. For  these  reasons  the  Holland  stove  has 
not  obtained  much  among  the  English  (who  love 
the  sight  of  the  fire),  unless  in  some  workshops, 
where  people  are  obliged  to  sit  near  windows  for  the 
light,  and  in  such  places  they  have  been  found  of 
good  use." 

But  this  description  (which  reappears  in  Cham- 
bers' Encyclopedia  with  Reese's  Supplement,  Lon- 
don, 178S)  may  refer  to  the  Holland  stove  as  then 
used  in  England  rather  than  in  America. 

NOTE  68. 
STOVES  IN  VIRGINIA. 
Timothy   Pickering   saw  what  he   calls   "a   Ger- 
man stove,"  no  doubt  a  six-plate  stove,  in  the  house 
of  a  German  woman  at  Yorktown,  Virginia,  in  1778. 
See  Life  of  Timothy  Pickering.  Vol.  1,  page  207. 

Lord  Botetouts'  stove  (see  Figure  233),  now  pre- 
served at  the  State  Capitol  at  Richmond,  was  not 
made  in  Virginia,  but  imported  from  London  in 
1770. 

AUTHORITIES. 

NOTE  69 — Ambrosiani.  Sune.  Cm.  Jarnkake- 
lugnar.  och.  jarnugnar.  Nordiska  Museet,  Stock- 
holm.    About  1901. 

NOTE  70— Beck,  Dr.  Ludwig.  Die  Geschichte 
des  Eisens.     Braunschweig.     1884  to   1900. 

NOTE  71 — Benoit.  Arthur.  Notes  sur  une 
plaque  de  cheminee.  etc.  Montmedy  Pierrot.  No. 
date  (not  seen  by  writer). 

NOTE  72— Bickell,  L.  Die  Eisenhutten  des 
Klosters  Haina.     Marburg.    Elwert.    1889. 


153 


NOTE  73 — Bishop,  J.  L.  A  history  of  American 
Manufactures  from  1608  to  1860.  By  J.  Leander 
Bishop.  2  Vols.  Philadelphia,  Edward  Young  & 
Co.,  441  Chestnut  street,  1854.  London.  Samson 
Low,  47  Ludgate  Hill,   1864. 

NOTE  74 — Chambers'  Encyclopedia.  With 
Reese  Supplement.  8  Vols.  London,  1788.  Article, 
Fireplace.     German  and  Holland   stove  described. 

NOTE  75— Ellis  and  Evans.  History  of  Lan- 
caster County  by  Franklin  Ellis  and  Samuel  Evans. 
Philadelphia,  Everts  and  Peck,   1883. 

NOTE  76 — Evans,  Samuel.  Early  Furnaces  in 
Lancaster  County.  Lancaster  Intelligencer,  Cen- 
tennial edition. 

NOTE  77— Fegley,  Winslow.  Old  Charcoal 
Furnaces  in  Eastern  Berks  County.  Transactions 
Berks  County  Historical  Society,  Vol.  2,  p.  25. 

NOTE  78— Fett,  Harry.  Gamle  Norske  Ovne. 
Norsk  Folk  Museums,  Saerudstillung  No.  3.  Kris- 
tiania  Brydes,  1905. 

NOTE  79— Fischer-Ferron,  Joseph.  Taques. 
Description  de  Plaques  dc  Foyer  et  de  Fourneau 
dans  les  pays  luxembourgeois.  Luxemburg,  C. 
Praum,  after  1890.     No  date. 

NOTE  80 — Franklin,  Benjamin.  An  account 
of  the  newly  invented  Pennsylvanian  fireplace,  etc. 
Printed  and  sold  by  B.  Franklin,  Philadelphia,  1744. 

NOTE  81— Futhey  and  Cope.  History  of 
Chester  County,  Pennsylvania.  By  J.  Smith  Futhey 
and  Gilbert  Cope.    Lewis  H.  Everts,  1881. 

NOTE  82— Gardner,  J.  Starkie.  Iron  Casting 
in  the  Weald.  Archaeologia,  Vol.  56,  par;  1.  J.  B. 
Nichols,   London,   1898. 

NOTE  83— James,  Mrs.  Potts.  Memorial  of 
Potts  Family.  Mrs.  Potts  James,  Cambridge,  Mass.. 
1875. 

NOTE  84 — Kassel,  Dr.  Ofenplatten  und  Plat- 
tenofen  im  Elsass.    Strasburg,  J.  Noirel,  1903. 

NOTE  85— Kohler.  Dr.  Ernest.  Alte  Ofen- 
platten. Volkskunst  und  Volkskunde  (Munich 
Magazine)    No.  3,   1909. 

NOTE  86— Lossing,  Benson  J.  Field  Book  of 
the  American  Revolution.  New  York.  Vol.  1,  p. 
328. 

NOTE  87— Luebke,  W.  Alte  Oefen  in  der 
Schwciz.     Zurich,  Burkli,   1865. 

NOTE  88— Martin,  John  Hill.  Historical 
Sketch  of  Bethlehem,  Pennsylvania.  J.  W.  Pile, 
Philadelphia,  422  Walnut  street,   1872.    P.   135. 

NOTE  89— Mercer,  Henry  C.  The  Decorated 
Stove  Plates  of  the  Pennsylvania  Germans.  Doyles- 
town.  Pa.     McGinty,  1899. 


NOTE  90 — Mercer,  Henry  C.  Pennsylvania 
German  Stove  Plate.  Proceedings  Numismatic  and 
Antiquarian  Society,  Philadelphia,  1899  to  1901. 
P.  171. 

NOTE  91 — Montgomery,  Morton  L.  Early 
Furnaces  and  Forges  of  Berks  County,  Pennsylva- 
nia.   Penna.  Mag.  of  Hist.     Vol.  8,  p.  56. 

NOTE  92— Owen,  Miss  Addie  C.  Early  Fur- 
naces in  Gley  Valley.     Reading  Eagle,  May  12,  1912. 

NOTE  93— Pearse,  John  B.  Iron  Manufacture 
in  America.  Philadelphia,  Allen,  Lane  &  Scott, 
233  South  Fifth  street,  1876. 

NOTE  94 — Rivieres,  Baron  De.  Les  Plaques 
de  Foyer.  Publisher,  Foreslier  Montauban,  1893 
(cited  by  Kassel,  not  seen  by  writer). 

NOTE  95 — Sharp,  James.  An  account  of  the 
principle  and  effects  of  the  Pennsylvania  Stove 
Grates,  commonly  known  by  the  name  of  American 
stoves,  with  improvements,  etc.  Benjamin  White, 
63  Fleet  street,  London,  1781.  (Not  seen  by  the 
writer.) 

NOTE  96— ShufTrey,  L.  A.  The  English  Fire- 
place.    London,   B.   T.   Batsford,   signed    1912. 

NOTE  97— Slbenaler,  J.  B.  Quelques  pagts 
dThistoire  de  Luxembourg,  etc.  Arlon  F.  Bruck, 
1903. 

NOTE  98— Sibenaler,  J.  B.  Taques  et  plaques 
de  foyer  du  Musee  d'Arlon.     Arlon,   1899. 

NOTE  99— Sieling,  Dr.  J.  H.  Paper  on  Baron 
Stiegel.  Proceedings  Lancaster  County  Historical 
Society,  1897.     Vol.  I. 

NOTE  100— Singleton,  Esther.  Social  New 
York  under  the  Georges,  1714  to  1776.  New  York, 
1902. 

NOTE  101— Spielman,  M.  H.  Fire  grates  of  a 
hundred  years  ago.  Country  Life  (magazine),  27 
Tavistock  street.  Strand,  London.  February  6th, 
1909.     Page  xxxviii. 

NOTE  102— Swank,  James  M.  Iron  in  All 
Ages.     Philadelphia,  261    South  Fourth  street,  1892. 

NOTE  103— Swank,  James  M.  Iron  and  Coal 
in   Pennsylvania.     J.   M.    Swank,    Philadelphia,    1878. 

NOTE  104 — Burg.  Tanncnburg.  Dr.  J.  H.  von 
Hefntr-Alteneck  und  Dr.  J.  W.  Wolf.  Frankfurt  O. 
M..  1850. 

NOTE  105— Wedding,  Dr.  Herman.  Eiserne 
Ofenplatten.    Festschrift    des    Harzvereins.      Werni- 

gerode,  1893. 

NOTE  106— Wedding,  Dr.  Herman.  Beitrage 
des  Eisenhutten  wesens  im  Harz.  Zeit  schrift,  ditto. 
Vol.  14,  1881,  pages  1  to  32. 


154 

NOTE  107 — Westchester  Daily  News.  Centen- 
nial  Souvenir,   1899.     Appendix,  page  79. 

NOTE  108 — Gauger,  Nicholas.  La  Mechanique 
ds  feu.  Translated  by  Dr.  Desaguliers,  London, 
1716. 

NOTE  109— Himes,  Prof.  Charles  F.  A  Dec- 
orated Stove  Plate  of  1764  West  of  the  Susquehanna. 
Journal  of  the  Franklin  Institute,  December,   1903. 

NOTE  110— Gibson,  John.  History  of  York 
County,  Pa.     Chicago,  F.  A.  Battey,  1886. 

NOTE  111 — Johannsen,  Dr.  Otto.  Die  tech- 
nische  Entwickelung  gusseisenerner  Ofenplatten. 
Stahl  und  Eisen,  29  Feb.,  1912. 

NOTE  112— Lasius.  J.  Darstellungen  auf  alten 
Gusseisernen  Ofenplatten  vom  Standpuncte  des 
Kunsthistorikers.     Stahl  und  Eisen,  28  March,  1912. 

NOTE  113 — Colonial  Dames  of  America.  Forges 
and  Furnaces  in  the  Province  of  Pennsylvania, 
prepared  by  Committee  on  Historical  Research. 
Philadelphia,  printed  for  the  Society,   1914. 

NOTE    114. 

RIGHT   AND    LEFT    PLATES    NOT 
ALWAYS   DUPLICATES. 

The  extended  Biblical  quotations  on  the  floral 
patterns  for  jamb  stoves.  Figures  108  and  139,  would 
have  required  three  plates  for  their  completion; 
hence  the  right  and  left  plates  could  not  have  been 
duplicates,  but  must  have  varied  in  their  inscrip- 
tions. 

NOTE  115. 

The  first  stove  plate  ever  seen  by  the  writer 
(orobably  the  Judge  Not  Plate,  Fig.  98,  and  prob- 
ably before  1895)  was  at  the  house  in  Buckingham 
of  Captain  J.  S.  Bailey,  after  which  the  S.  F.  Plate, 
Fig.  96,  presented  to  the  Bucks  County  Historical 
Society  by  Mr.  Patrick  Trainor,  was  described  as 
par;  of  the  Collection  of  Pioneer  Implements  made 
by  the  writer  in  1897.  In  various  notes  on  the  col- 
lection, published  in  the  Bucks  County  Intelligencer 
in  1898,  and  in  particular  "Durham  Stove  Plates," 
Intelligencer.  March  23,  1898,  soon  after  printed  as  n 
separate  undated  leaflet  called  "Decorated  Stove 
Plates  of  Durham,  Contributions  to  American  His- 
tory by  the  Bucks  County  Historical  Society,  No. 
5,"  and  in  the  catalogue  called  "Tools  of  the  Nation 
Maker,"  printed  for  the  Society,  Intelligencer, 
Doylestown,  1897,  the  writer,  ignorant  of  the  con- 
struction of  the  ancient  stoves,  supposes  all  of  them 
to  have  been  made  at  Durham  Furnace. 

But  the  construction  of  the  stoves  was  soon 
afterwards  explained  by  the  writer  in  "Decorated 
Stove   Plates  of  the   Pennsylvania  Germans,  Contri- 


butions to  American  History  by  the  Bucks  County 
Historical  Society,  No.  6,"  written  for  the  Society  by 
February  14  and  April  7,  1899,  and  published  by 
McGinty,  Doylestown,  in  1899. 

The  subject  is  not  discussed  in  the  first  edition 
of  Davis's  History  of  Bucks  County,  but  in  the  sec- 
ond edition,  Chicago,  Lewis  &  Co.,  1905,  Vol.  2,  page 
148,  two  pages  of  confused  and  mistaken  statements 
(asserted  to  have  been  obtained  from  "records  and 
correspondence  compiled  at  the  Furnace  in  its  his- 
toric period")  as  to  extra  doors  above  the  fuel  doors 
in  Franklin  stoves,  fuel  doors  in  "Adam  and  Eve" 
stoves  (Figure  41)  and  Swedish  words  or  "Scanda- 
navian  spelling"  used  in  the  stove  inscriptions  ap- 
pear. All  four  of  the  German  inscriptions  are  either 
misread  or  mistranslated. 

The  author  of  the  history  then,  1905,  President 
of  the  Bucks  County  Historical  Society,  ignores  the 
pamphlet,  "Decorated  Stove  Plates,"  above  noted, 
written  for  the  Society  six  years  before,  but  appropri- 
ates, without  acknowledgment  (page  150),  one  of  its 
illustrations,  a  cut  of  the  Cain  and  Abel  Plate,  ap- 
pearing on  the  first  page  of  the  pamphlet. 

NOTE   116. 

VARIOUS  NAMES  OF  THE  JAMB 
STOVE. 

As  little  has  been  written  on  the  subject,  these 
names  originating  in  America  are  not  sanctioned 
by  much  authority.    All  are  unsatisfactory. 

"JAMB  STOVE"  was  used  by  Watson  in  his 
brief  notices  in  Annals  of  Philadelphia.  But  the  stoves 
notices  in  Annals  of  Philadelphia.  But  the  stoves 
were  not  always  built  into  the  jambs  or  side  walls 
of  fireplaces,  but  probably  often  into  the  "back,"  or 
wall  back  of  the  fire.  The  name  "FIVE  PLATE 
STOVE"  appears  in  old  furnace  ledgers  and  ac- 
count books  of  the  later  Colonial  period  and  accord- 
ing to  information  of  the  late  I.  J.  Stover  of  New 
Britain  was  anciently  used  in  Bucks  County,  Penn- 
sylvania. Nevertheless,  stoves  of  this  kind,  if  built, 
as  often  in  Germany,  with  iron  upper  stories, 
would  have  consisted  of  more  than  five  plates. 
"WALL  STOVE"  was  coined  by  the  writer  In 
Decorated  Stove  Plates,  written  in  1897,  for  want 
of  a  better  name  and  in  ignorance  of  the  fact  that 
not  only  non-ventilating  stoves  of  this  type  but  also 
ventilating  stoves,  "draft  stoves",  had  been  built 
against  the  wall  in  Europe. 

The  name  "GERMAN  STOVE"  is  used  by 
Franklin  in  his  Fireplace  pamphlet  of  1744  and  in 
the  later  encyclopedias,  but  the  cylindrical  "pom- 
merofen"  was  also  a  German  stove  and  "six-plate 
stoves"  of  the  ventilating  type  were  also  used  in 
Germany.  As  the  English  settlers  called  the  Ger- 
mans in  Pennsylvania  "Dutch",  they  no  doubt  often 


155 


called  this  stove  a  "Dutch  Stove"  (see  Note  S3). 
For  the  sake  of  clearness,  the  writer  has  in 
nearly  all  cases  used  the  names  "FIVE  PLATE 
STOVE"  or  "JAMB  STOVE,"  as  synonyms  to  de- 
scribe this  stove  in  these  pages. 

NOTE  117. 
After  the  foregoing  pages  had  gone  to  press,  the 
writer  learned,  on  September  19,  1914,  from  Mr.  A. 
H.  Rice,  of  35  South  New  Street.  Bethlehem.  Penn- 
sylvania, that  the  latter  had  found  in  August,  1914, 
at  a  house  about  two  miles  from  Lebanon,  Hunter- 
don County,  New  Jersey,  rebuilt  upon  an  older  house 
in  1813  and  remodelled  in  1909.  two  side  plates  of 
the  Dance  of  Death  pattern  together  with  a  top  and 
bottom,  and  a  front  plate  (a  replica  of  Figure  63) 
all  fitting  together  as  parts  of  one  stove,  here  shown 
in  Figure  234. 


234- 
Xtae  Dance  of  neatli. 

Complete  jamb  stove.     Size,  height   22.  w/idth   19'-,  length  23.     Mr. 
A.  H.  Rice.  Bethlehem.  Pa.,  September.  1914. 

One  of  the  side  plates  stood  as  a  fire-back  in  an 
open  fireplace,  and  the  other  four  plates  had  been 
sealed  up  at  various  intervals  in  the  air  space  be- 
tween the  lath  and  plaster  crusts  of  certain  interior 
partition  walls. 

As  no  other  stove  plates  were  found  in  the  house. 
we  may  reasonably  infer  that  the  front  plate  here 
shown  as  found  by  Mr.  Rice  (easily  recognized  as  a 
replica  of  Figure  63)  and  set  together  with  its  fellow 
plates,  was  probably  in  this  case  furnished  by  the 
Furnace  in  1745.  its  date,  as  the  front  plate  to  the 
"Dance  of  Death"  stove  and  that  if  a  more  significant 
pictorial  pattern  had  ever  existed  to  fit  the  stove, 
the  latter  was  not  then  in  stock  at  the  Furnace. 

If  so,  the  entire  series  of  meaningless  front 
plates.  Figures  61.  62,  63.  64  and  88-A,  may  probably 
be  explained  as  makeshift  fronts  to  pictorial  stoves, 
which  would  have  served  any  one  of  many  stoves  of 
proper   size,   regardless   of   design,    and   which   were 


intended  to  take  the  place  of  pictorial  front  plates 
which  either  never  existed,  or  which  having  been 
burned  out  or  broken,  could  not  be  supplied  on  sud- 
den demand  at  the  furnace. 

Front  plates,  though  comparatively  rare,  prob- 
ably because  half  as  numerous  as  side  plates  in  the 
first  place,  and  also  because  their  grooved  rim  pro- 
jections made  them  objectionable  as  pavements,  have 
nevertheless  been  found  for  several  of  the  stoves,  and 
without  more  evidence,  we  may  not  infer  that  no  pic- 
torial front  plate  had  ever  been  made  in  Pennsyl- 
vania to  still  further  explain  the  gloomy  subject  of 
the  Totdentanz,  and  that  the  uninteresting  and  insig- 
nificant Figure  63  was  the  only  front  plate  ever 
made  or  used  by  the  Colonists  to  fit  the  stove. 

In  the  well-preserved  right  plate  here  shown 
the  word  FEIT  appears  as  usual  in  the  inscription, 
but  the  words  MIT  and  BRINGT  are  imperfectly  cast 
or  nearly  rusted  away.  The  Ns  remain  upside  down 
and  a  suggestion  of  the  final  T  (absent  on  all  the 
other  plates  known  to  the  writer)  appears  upon  the 
final  word  NO  for  NOTH. 

NOTE  118. 
TWO  MORE  CANA  PLATES. 
While  the  present  pages  are  in  press  (Decem- 
ber, 1914)  two  more  very  interesting  frag.ments  of 
stove  plates  have  been  found  and  are  here  illustrated. 
Figures  235  and  236.  Both  are  front  plates  of  jamb 
stoves  lacking  the  guttered  margins  and  notched  in 
German  fashion  at  the  sides  as  described  on  page  7. 
Both  illustrate  the  miracle  at  Cana  and  having  been 
probably  imported  from  Germany  before  the  estab- 
lishment of  Pennsylvanian  Furnaces  are  among  the 
oldest  plates  shown  in  the  collection  herewith  de- 
scribed. 


235- 

Xhe  IVIiracle  at  Caiia. 

Fragment  of  front  plate  of  Jamb  stove.  Size  \V.  17  by  H.  16. 
Bucks  County  Historical  Society.  Prerented  Sept.  23rd.  1914.  by 
Mr.  A.  H.  Rice,  of  Bethelem.  Pa.  who  had  found  it  in  August  1914. 
in  an  old  fireplace  on  the  farm  of  John  Ruch  near  Springtown, 
Bucks  County.  Pa. 


156 


Found  too  late  for  insertion  in  its  proper  place  the  broken 
plate  here  shown  should  be  classed  with  the  earlier  plates  of 
Jamb  stoves  described  in  Chapter  II.  as  probably  made  in  Ger- 
many and  imported  into  the  American  Colonies  in  the  seven- 
teenth or  early  Eighteenth  Centuries. 

The  very  rusty  frag  nent,  which  gauged  by  the  distance 
(doubled)  between  the  comparatively  intact  rght  margin  of 
the  plate  and  the  center  of  the  lower  oval  medallion  must  have 
been  a  front  plate,  shows  the  remains  of  a  row  of  wine  jars 
into  one  of  which  an  approaching  figure  pours  water  from  a 
tankard  while  Christ  near  a  twisted  column  of  the  canopy 
to  the  right  points  downward  with  extended  left  hand.  To  the 
left,  not  quite  obliterated  by  rust,  parts  of  the  bodies  of  two 
Euests  at  the  Marriage  Feast,  one  bearing  a  tankard,  appear 
below  the   break   in   the  plate. 

In  the  central  cartouche  the  letters  ISTUS.  ROMER. 
alone  are  legible,  while  the  legend,  in  the  lower  medallion  with 
its  leaved  border  flanked  by  curved  branches  with  scroll  like 
leaves,  has   rusted   away   beyond   decipherment. 

Because  of  the  superior  artistic  grouping  and  modeling  of 
the  figures,  the  style  of  decoration  of  the  whole  lower  panel 
and  the  bolt  notch  in  the  ancient  German  fashion  on  the  right 
margin,  we  may  infer  that  the  plate,  like  Figures  19  to  30  was 
imported  from  Germany  before  the  establishment  of  Pennsyl- 
vanian    Furnaces. 

The  writer  has  preserved  a  rough  sketch  of  a  stove  plate 
described  under  Figure  48  as  seen  in  1892  at  Rothenburg-on- 
the-Tauber  which  because  of  its  closely  similar  treatment, 
because  of  its  upper  panel,  canopied  on  twisted  columns,  its 
central  cartouche  and  lower  medallion  must  have  been  either 
a    close    copy    or    repKca    of    the    plate    Figure    235    here    shown. 

The  inscription  on  the  central  cartouche  of  the  German 
plate  read  CHRISTUS.  FROMMER.  EHE.  LEUTE.  TROST.  . 
"Christ  The  Trust  Of  Pious  Married  People."  which  unques- 
tionably explains  the  half  effaced  legend  here  shown,  while  the 
words  on  the  medallion  of  the  Rothenburg  plate  JOHAN.  AM. 
2.  CAP.  CHRISTUS.  MACHT.  WASSER.  ZU.  WEIN.  trans- 
lated, "John  in  the  2nd.  Chapter  Christ  turns  water  to  wine," 
might  well  have  been  duplicated   here. 

If  this  plate  Figure  235  is  a  replica  of  the  Rothenburg 
plate,  then  it  was  cast  at  the  old  We  Imunster  Furnace  in 
Nassau  in  1697  (see  Figure  49)  since  the  German  plate  has  the 
words  UF.  or  AUS.  WEILMUNSTERER.  EISEN.  HUTTEN. 
1697.  translated  "From  the  Weilmunster  Furnace  1697,"  cast 
upon   the   frame   work   of   the   arches   over   the    upper   canopy. 


236. 

Xlie  IVIiracle  at  Cana. 

(Another  version.)  Upper  half  of  the  front  plate  of  a  jamb 
stove.  Size  W.  20,  H.  15.  Isaac  De  Turck.  Friedensburg,  Oley 
Township,  Berks  County.  Pennsylvania.  Kindly  brought  to  the 
writer's  attention  in  1914  by  Dr.  J.  B.  Stoudt,  of  Northan:pton, 
Pa.  The  plate  was  found  face  downward  at  the  opening  of  an 
ancient  bread  oven  in  the  kitchen  fireplace,  by  him  and  Dr. 
Isaac  Stahr,  of  Oley.  Pennsylvania,  at  the  old  homestead  of 
the  De  Turck  family,  at  Friedensburg,  now  belonging  to  Isaac 
De   Turck,   in   August,    1914. 

The  rusty  and  broken  fragment  shows  another  version 
of  the  Cana  Feast  generally  repeat  ng.  without  copying,  the 
grouping  of  Figure  235.  The  inscription  is  gone,  but  we  see 
the  wedding  table  spread  with  dishes  and  four  seated  figures, 
one  of  whom  seems  to  be  the  bride,  crowned  in  German  fashion 
as  shown  in  Figure  29.  Three  attendants  appear  in  the  fore- 
ground, one  of  whom  pours  the  miraculous  water  from  a 
tankard  while  Christ,  seated  at  the  right,  points  downward 
with  his  left  hand. 

Life  Figure  235  the  plate,  lacking  guttered  rims  and  notched 
for  bolts  in  German  style  on  both  vertical  margins,  is  a  front 
plate,  while  the  decorative  treatment  of  its  vaulted  canopy, 
namely  the  floral  festoons,  looped  curtains,  cherubim  spandrels, 
twisted  columns  and  capitals  closely  resembling  that  of  the  well- 
preserved  Oil  Miracle  plate.  Figure  23,  proves  it  to  be  the 
companion  front  plate  to  the  latter,  though  it  illustrates  another 
miracle. 

Like  F  gure  23  it  must  have  been  imported  from  Germany 
in  the  late  I7th  or  early  18th  century  and.  like  the  other  im- 
ported Oil  and  Wine  plates,  Figures  28  and  29.  it  shows  that 
two  different  subjects,  the  Oil  Miracle  of  Elisha  and  the 
Wine  Miracle  of  Christ,  were  here  again  represented  on  the 
front   and   sides   of   the   same   stove. 


It  should  be  remembered,  at  this  momept,   Oc-      have  appeared  in  the  ruins  of  old  American  houses. 


tober,  1914.  in  the  midst  of  Europe's  great  war,  when 
Germany,    fighting    against    heavy    odds,    with    her 
submarine    telegraph   destroyed,    is   accused   of   bar- 
barism by  enemies  who  ignorantly  or  wilfully  have      handiwork    of   pious    Germans   who    lived    and    died 
misread  her  history,   that   these   eloquent   fragments      in  Pennsylvania  rather  as  Christians  than  barbarians. 


Ill  use  and  rust  have  not  effaced  their  certain  evi- 
dence of  a  virtue  long  ago  expressed  in  the  lives  and 


157 


The  writer  acknowledges  with  gratitude  assist- 
ance given  him  in  Pennsylvania  by  Messrs.  B.  F. 
Fackenthal,  Jr.,  B.  F.  Owen.  Albert  Cook  Myers,  A.  J. 
Lynn,  W.  E.  Montague,  Gilbert  Cope,  T.  M.  Rights, 
G.  H.  Potts,  V.  B.  Lee,  John  P.  Ott,  Clarence  E. 
Beckel,  Philip  G.  Wright,  W.  L.  Lathrop,  J.  W. 
Lundy,  William  Sharpless,  The  State  Librarian  T. 
L.  Montgomery,  Dr.  Albert  Oerter  and  H.  K. 
Deisher,  and  by  Col.  H.  D.  Paxson,  Dr.  John  B. 
Stoudt,  Hon.  S.  W.  Pennypacker,  Mrs.  A.  Haller 
Gross,  Prof.  C.  F.  Himes,  Messrs.  E.  A.  Barber,  A. 
K.  Hostetter  and  S.  B.  Patterson,  also  by  Messrs. 
F.  K.  Chew,  of  the  Metal  Worker  Magazine,  and 
the  late  Mr.  John  H.  Buck,  of  the  Metropolitan 
Museum,  New  York;  Mr.  H.  E.  Deats,  of  Fleming- 
ton.  N.  J.;  Mr.  N.  T.  Kidder,  of  Boston;  Mr.  Henry 
S.  Griffith,  of  Carver,  Mass.;  Mr.  G.  F.  Dow,  of  the 
Essex  Institute,  Mass.;  Mr.  John  J.  Drummond,  of 
Midland,  Ontario,  Canada;  Mr.  John  S.  Eels,  of 
Walton,  N.  Y.;  Mr.  Edward  H.  Hall,  of  New  York; 
Mr.  Shoemaker  and  Mrs.  Sophy  L.  Pratt,  of  Kings- 
ton, N.  Y.;  Miss  Adelaide  Fries  and  Mr.  J.  A.  Line- 
bach,  of  Winston-Salem,  N.  C;  Mr.  Lewis  H.  Clem- 
ens, of  Doylestown;  Mr.  A.  H.  Rice  and  Mr.  A.  D. 
Mixsell,  of  Bethlehem,  Pa. 

In  Europe,  by  Dr.  Kassel,  of  Hochfelden  in 
Alsace;  Prof.  Dr.  Ludwig  Beck,  of  Biebrich-on-the- 
Rhine;  Dr.  S.  Ambrosiani,  of  Stockholm;  Mr. 
George  von  Coelln,  of  Hanover;  Mr.  J.  L.  Sibenaler, 
of  Brussels;  the  Abbe  Loes,  of  Arlon,  Belgium: 
Dr.  CoUiez,  of  Longwy,  France;  Dr.  Van  Riemsdyk, 
of  the  Rijks  Museum,  Amsterdam;  the  Curator  of 
the  Loraine  Museum  at  Nancy;  Dr.  L.  Lindholm,  of 
the  Norse  Museum,  at  Christiania,  Norway,  and  Mr. 
Miller   Christy,   of   Chelmsford,   England. 


158 


INDEX. 


A.  Page 

Aaron  or  Joshua 45 

Abandonment  of  Six-Plate  Stoves 102 

Abington   Furnace    35,  42 

Abraham   and   Isaac 61 

Absalom    45 

Abbreviations    49,  53 

Accrelius 36,  49,  69.  71,  95 

Adam,  William   46 

Adam  and  Eve 4,  42,  43,  45 

Adam  and  Eve  of  1745 63 

Adam   and   Eve   Fire-back 117 

Advertisements 20,  69.   70,  81,  89 

Advertisement,  excluding  religion 78,  79,  83 

Advertisements  in  Germany 80 

Advertisement  of  Elizabeth  Furnace 80 

Advertisements  of  Furnaces 70 

Advertisement  of  Iron  Masters'  Names,  etc 82 

Advertisements  of   Stiegel 80,  81 

Advertisement  on  Stoves 70 

Advertisement,     Stiegel,     Huber    and     Maybury 

Plates    99 

Advice   of   Tobit iii 

^sop's  Fable  of  the  Crane 104 

A.  G.  Plate 69 

A.  G.  Plate  of  1752 68 

Air  Furnace   144 

Aldegrever   22 

Alhambra   53 

Allen,   William    43 

Alsace  Township  105 

Alsacian  Stove  151 

Alsation  Iron  Stove,  Ancient 151 

Ambrosiani.  Dr.  S.      4,  7.  8.  11.   15.   16.   17.  33,  96,  97 
American  Five-Plate  or  Jamb  Stove  Described.  .      37 

American  Cana   Pattern 54 

Amman,  Jost    22 

Amish    57 

Amos  Geret,  of  1 752 69 

Amsterdam   Museum    8,   16,  76 

Angel   Carrying   Scales 53 

Anno,  the  Word 33 

Ansembourg    125 

Apochryohal  Book  of  Tobit,  4th  chap iii 

Arabic   Figure    53 

Arabic   Numerals    20 

Ark  of  the  Covenant 77 

Arms  of  England  Fireback 121,  122 

Arms  of  Navarre 56 

Arms  of   Philadelphia 56 

Armstrong  and  Morris 100 

Art  of  Stove   Decoration,   End  of lOS 

Artistic    Deterioration    113 

Artistic  Treatment  of  Stove  Pictures 19 

Artists   20 

Aureole    68,  70,  72 

Aureole,  Emblematic,  Set  in  Right  Canopy 79 

Aureole,   in   Right   Canopy 80,  81 

Aureole.   Lacking   Sheep   Legs 80.  85,  87 

Authorities  152 

Axes,   Long-bitted  European 35 


B  Page 

Backhouse,   Richard  43,  112 

Back  Plate  of  Six-plate  Stove 102 

Bailey,  Capt.  J.  S 72,  151 

Balance  Plate  62,  65 

Baldwin,  Zerah   24 

Bangor  Church   108 

Barber,    E.    A 54,  96 

Baron  Stengel   105 

Baron   Stiegel    105 

Basel    60 

Basel  Inscription    54 

Batsford,  B.  T 116 

Batsto   Furnace    104,  105 

Bavarian  National   Museum 18,  22,  26 

Beaufort,  Duke  of 131 

Beck,  Dr.  Ludwig        .11,  15,  17,  22,  26,  68,  76,  116,  142 

Bee-hive,   Dome-shaped   58 

Beeswax   151 

Be   Libertv   Thine 105,  105 

Belgian  Fireback  Cupboard  or  Taqueschaf 125 

Belgian  Taqueschaf  or  Fireback  Cupboard 124 

Bell,   H.   C 43 

Bellows,  Immense,   20'  7  '  long,  5'  10    wide 100 

Bellows,   Leather   150 

Bellows.    Wooden   35,  95 

Belshazzar   55 

Belshazzar's   Doomed  Banquet 53 

Benet,  William 45,  79,  85,  88 

Bennett,  Will-am,  of  Hellam 85 

Benezet,  Daniel  105 

Bennet.   Isaac   71 

Berks   County.   Old   House   in 56 

Berks   County   Fair 58 

Berks  County  Historical  Society       27.  28.  33.  37, 
38,  39,  48,  54,  55,  58,  61,  62,  65,  68.  69.  73.  78. 

79.  85  97.   106.  Ill 

Berkshire  Furnace   39.  46,  106.  148 

Bethabara,   North   Carolina 128 

Bethlehem.   Pa 101.    102,  104 

Bewlev,  Miss  Annie 150 

Bible  Subjects  in  Germany 19 

Biblical  Pictures  on  Draft  Stoves — not  found  93 

Biblical  Quotations   (see  inscriptions) 92 

Bickell.  L 8.  9.  11,  13,  17,  18,  22,  26,  29,  70 

Billingsfelt    Elmer    E 37 

Biography,   William    Bird    46 

Biography.  William  Branson 49 

Bird.  Perched  Upon  Leafless  Branch 64 

Bird.  Mark 46 

Bird,  Mark,  of  Hopewell 104 

Bird.  William   39.  45,  46 

Bird,   WilTam   Biography 46 

Bird.  William.  Plate 79 

Birdsboro   46 

Bishop    36 

Bjoeverkeroed.    Sweden    4,  5 

Blickenderfer's  Foundry,  R 105 

Bliss.  Theodore  60 

Blocks.  Soapstone.  as  Stove  Legs 151,  152 

Blowing   Apparatus    149 

Blowing   Tubs    107,   150 

Bog  Ore  150 

Bolt-heads  Not  Erased 93 


159 


Bolt   Holes    13 

Bolting  of  Maybury  Stove 110 

Bolts,   Diagonal  93 

Bolts,  Five,  Vertical  Outside 1 10 

Bolts,    Impressions   of 13 

Bolts.  Jamb  Stove 151 

Bolts,  Original  37 

Bolt,  Outside   30 

Bolts,   Short    34 

Boone,    W.    H 42,  54 

Boone's   Antique   Store 63 

Boppard-on-the-Khine,   Carmelite   Church 22 

Border,  Flemish  12! 

Bort,   V/illiam    (Bird) 45 

Bortschent,   Wilhelm    iii 

Bortschent,  William  40,  61 

Bortschent,  William  and  T.  B iii 

Bosh   35 

Bottom  Plate  of  Six-plate  Draught  Stove 91 

Bouchette     146 

Bouetout's    Stove,    Lord 152 

Box  Stoves   14o 

Boyertown     " 

Braintree   Furnace    118 

Branson  Biography,  William 49 

Branson,    Rebecca    70,  73 

Branson,   William    45 

Branson  &  Nutt's  Furnace  (Redding) 70 

Braunfels  Oil  Miracle 26 

Brennerman,    Dr.    Park 107 

Brickerville    105 

Brumbaugh,  M.  G 149 

Bucks  County  Historical  Society ii,  iii,  27, 

30,  31,  32,  33,  38,  41,  42,  43,  44,  46,  47,  50,  51, 
52,  54,  56,  58,  59,  60,  61,  62,  63,  64,  67,  69,  71, 
72,  73,  75,  76,  78.  82,  83,  84,  85,  85,  94,  96,  93, 
100,  101,  103,  106,  112,  117,  120,  121,  129,  151, 

154,  155 

Bullitt,    Wm.   T 26 

Burd,  Miss 96 

Burd  School,  Bucks  County,  Pa 96 

Burwash,  Grave  Slab 15 

Bushington,  Bucks  County,  Pa 121 

Buzaglo  131 

c 

Cain    and   Abel 43 

Callender,  Clinton   72 

Cana  Plates 52,  53,  63,  156 

Cana   Plate  of  1742 48 

Canada,   Stoves  in 114 

Canadian   Stoves  145 

Canadian  "Three  Rivers"  Stove 112 

Cannon  Stoves 127 

Canopies.  Vaulted   20 

Carlisle  Furnace   149 

Carlisle,  with  a  transposed  S 100 

Carlisle   Plate   89,  98 

Carlisle  Plate  of  1764 99 

Carmelite  Church  at  Boppard 22 

Carron  Foundry   131 

Carved  Stoves  34,  77 

Carvers  of  Stove  Moulds 143 

Carvina;,   Method   of 11 

Cassidy's  Rocks,  Tohickon  Creek 97 

Cast  Iron  Fuel  Door 93 

Castings,  Country   36 

Castings  Made  in  Pennsylvania,  First 120 

Casting  of  St.  John  the  Divine 150 

Casting  in  Open  Flasks 11 

Casting  in  Open   Sand 11 

Casting.  Stove   10 

Casting  Unknown  to  the  Ancients,  Iron 141 

Castle,    Manheim    80 


Castle  near   Ephrata 105 

Castle  of   Tannenberg 140 

Castle  of  Trausnitz 142 

Cave,  Temples  of  India 22 

Centennial  Souvenir  of  West  Chester 95 

Chalfont   75 

Charcoal  Consumption    35 

Charlotte   Furnace   123 

Charming   Forge    104,   105,  148 

Chester  County  Historical  Society 95 

Chew,   F.  K 24 

Child,   Robert   145 

Chinese   Fretwork    22 

Chinese   Hong    140 

Christ  Church    90 

Christeen  or  Christien   Furnace 49 

Christine,  alias   Redding   Furnace 33,  34,  35, 

42,  45,   119,   120,  146 

Christiania    11,   14,   76,  94 

Christy,   Miller  131 

Churchtown    49 

Clarier   Collection    15 

Clemens  House,   Doylestown 88 

Clemens,  Lewis  H 60,  151 

Cloister  at   Ephrata,   Pa 31,  32,  70 

Coat  of  Arms 56 

Coburg.  Castle  of IS 

Coburg  Stove  18 

Coellin  von,  George 23,  24,  68,  77 

Colebrook  Furnace    96 

Colebrookdale   Fireback    122 

Colebrookdale  Furnace 33,  34,  35,  42,  44,  49, 

64,  73,  77,  79,  96,  102,  110,   118,  119,   120,  127, 

146,  147 

Colebrookdale    Furnace,    History 96 

Coleman,    Robert   96,  100,  110 

Colemansville    94 

Coliez,  Dr 126 

Cologne  Museum   76 

Colonial   Dames    46 

Colonial  Furnaces   35 

Colza  Oil   29 

Collection  of  Stov^es  at  Hanover 23 

Collection  of  Stoves  at  Nordiska  Museet,  Sweden  17 
Collection  of   Stoves  at   Norse   Museum,   Chris- 
tiania     17 

Collections  of  Stove  Plates,  American 54 

Collections  of  Stove  Plates,  European 141 

Columns  Cast  on  Rims 102 

Columns,   Twisted  or   Fluted 20 

Company  of   I.   P 78 

Confusion  of  Stove  Plates  by  Writers 141 

Cookerow.   Mrs 47,  53,  99 

Cooking,  Open  Fire 84 

Cooking  Stoves 84 

Conodoguinnet   Creek    90 

Conqueror.   The    101 

Consumption  of  Wood  by  Charcoal  Furnaces...  149 

Contributions  to  American   History 154 

Cooper  and  Hewitt 43 

Cope,  Gilbert   49 

Cope.    Mrs.    Walter 75,99 

Copying,  Inferior   14 

Copying  of  Patterns 97 

Cornwall   Furnace   35,  44,  149 

Cornwall  Furnace,  History 100 

Cornwall,  Lebanon  County 110 

Corrected  E  of  1 763 97 

Cost  of  Jamb  Stoves 34 

Covenant,   Ark  of  the 77 

Coventry  96 

Coventry  Forge 34,  49,  73,  77,   129,  146 

Coventry   Furnace    73 

Coventry  Ledgers 95 


160 

Cox  House   121 

Crater,  Andrew   76 

Cross  and  Tulip  of  1751 67 

Crucifix,  Cast  Iron 150 

Crucifixion,  by  Soldan,  at  Fritzlar 20 

Crucifixion,  by  Soldan,  at  Marburg 20 

Cugnet  &  Cie 114 

Cumberland  County   149 

Cumberland  Furnace    131 

Cumru   Township   58 

Cupids  and  V   Fireback 118 

Curtains.   Pendant    51 

Curtis  Grubb  Furnace 100 

D 

Danboro   95 

Dance  of  Death  Rhyme 54 

Dance  of  Death  Stove 45,  60,   151,   155 

Daniel  5-27    53 

Danner.   G.   H 74,  80,  109 

Dates  Not  Changed 78 

Dates   20 

Date  of  Casting  1785  to  1800 106 

Date  of  Firebacks,  1728,  1741,  1746,  1747,  1750, 

1754,  1776  119,  120,  121 

Date,  Earliest  of  Stove  Plates 15,  34 

Dates  of  Stove  Plates: — 

1585    26 

1659    24 

1660    Ill 

1661    26 

1663     24 

1671     30 

1726    32 

1741     63 

1742    48.  63 

1745    55,  63 

1746    58 

1747    50,  65 

1749 54,  55 

1751    67,  68 

1752    68,  69 

1753    93 

1754    69 

1755    70 

1756    71,  74 

1757    74 

1758    75,  76 

1759    84 

1760    38 

1761    94 

1763    97,  87,     98 

1764     97,  98,   102 

1765    85,   107 

1766    101 

1767    108 

1769    103,  104,  109 

1770    117 

1772    104 

1780    113 

1782    12 

1785    112 

Date  Plates  115 

Date  Plates  like  Firebacks 120 

Date  Stone 123 

Dated  Draft  Stoves,  Earliest 98 

Dated   Stove   Plates 45 

Dates  of  Manufacture  of  Jamb  Stoves 84 

David  &  Goliath   Plate 26,  45 

David  and  Jonathan 59 

Davis,    Dr.    R.    Lewis 51 

Davis.  W.  W.  H 119 

Davis'  History  of  Bucks  County 75 

Day,  Sherman    105 


Dealers  and  Bric-a-Brac   Collectors 26 

Death  of  Absalom 61 

Deats,   H.    E 75,  76 

Decadence  in  Design  and  Abandonment  of  Jamb 

Stoves    80 

Decadence  of  Casters'   Art 103 

Decorated  Canopies  Abandoned 45 

Decorated  Stove  Plates 41,  60 

Decorated    Stove     Plates    of    the     Pennsylvania 

Germans 3,   100,   101,  154 

Decorated  Stove  Plate  East  of  the  Susquehanna  99 

Decoration  of  Six-plate  Stoves 92 

Defense   87 

Deisher.   H.   K 46,  54 

Denmark    96 

"Depart  from  Evil"  of  1764 98 

Depart  from  Evil 90,  91 

Desaguliers,  J.  T 129,  130 

Description  of  Old  Furnaces 149 

Designs,   Decorative    19 

Designs.  Imperfectly  Explained 55 

Designs,  Rude  and  Primitive 50 

Despise  Not  Old  Age 75,  76,  88 

De    Turck,    Isaac 155 

De   Turk.   Solomon 62 

Dietrick  House   58 

DiiTenderfer,  F.  R 87 

Distribution  of  Ancient  Stoves 14 

Distribution  of  Firebacks 117 

Dober,  Leonard  128 

Dober,  Martin   128 

Dominican  Cemetery  at  Basel 60 

Doors.  Cast  Iron 113 

Doran,  Joseph  H 30 

Doster.   J-   H 70 

Double  Bolts   93 

Douglasville    46 

Dow.  G.  F 116,  145 

Doylestown.  Pa 61 

Draft   Stoves    8,  9,  97,  98 

Draft  Stove  Complete 90 

Draft  Holland  or  Six-plate  Stove  Described 90 

Drain,  Stove  Plates  Excavated  from 84 

Draught  Stoves  of  Post-Revolutionary  Period   .  106 

Draught  Wick-t   92 

Drummond,  John  J 112 

Dubs,  Dr.  Joseph 105 

Dublin,   Bucks   County,   Pa 101 

Duke   of   Beaufort 131 

Dunkards   58 

Dunzenheim,  Alsace   25 

Durham  Cave  43 

Durham  Furnace 35,  42,  43,  44,  52,  154 

Durham  Furnace,  History  of 43 

Durham  Stove  Plates 154 

Durer,   Albert  22 

Durno.    T 139 

Dutch  Inscriptions  Never  Found 93 

"Dutch  Stoves"   34,  96,  147 

"Dutch  Stove  Moulds" 34,  100 

"Dutch   Ten-plate   Stove" 110,  111 

Dyerstown    57 


E  Plate  of  1763 96 

Eagle  of  Prussia 102 

Earliest  American  Stove  Patterns 41 

Earthen   Stoves 139 

Eels,  lohn  S 23,     24 

Ege,   George 106,  130 

Ege.  George,  biography 130 

Ege.  2d.  George 131 

Ege.    Michael 131 

Ege,  Sr.,  Michael 107 


161 


Ege.    Peter 131 

Egleman    28 

Eisenhutten    83,  95.  101 

Eldridge.  Frederick SO 

Elijah  and  Ravens 45,  62,  63.  65.   Ill 

Elijah  and  the  Ravens  of  B.  S.  D.  W 52 

Elijah   Fed  by   Ravens 53,     55 

Elijah  Plate 52 

Elisha's    Miracle 27 

Elizabeth    Furnace 35,  70,  123,   148 

Elizabeth  Furnace  History 83 

Elizabeth    Plates 98 

Elongated    Necks,     Ending    in    Lozenge-shaped 

Darts    83 

Ellis  and   Evans 83 

Ellis  and  Evans'  History  of  Lancaster  County..    103 

Emery.    Mr 72 

English    Iron    Masters 35 

English  Ownership  of  American  Furnaces 97 

"English    Stoves" 34.  147 

"Enson"   Plate 90 

Ephrata.   Penna 70 

Erasure  of  Initials 81,     82 

Errors   Repeated 14 

Eschew   Evil   Plates 83 

Essex  Institute.  Salem.  Mass US,  116,  117.   121 

Esther  Before  King  Ahasuerus 117 

European   Collections  of  Stove  Plates 141 

European     Origin    and    Varieties    of     Six-Plate 

Stoves    93 


Evangelists,  Emblems  of 

Eve,    Creation   of 

Eve,  Nativity  of 

Example  of  Five-Plate  Stove,  Latest. 

Exodus  20:   17 

Exodus   32:   5 

Exterior   Bolt 


8 
8 
8 
85 
38 
45 
40 


Fable  of  the  Crane,  .ffisop's 104 

Fackenthall,  Jr.,  B.  F 43,  119,  120,   145 

Family  Quarrel   iii.     41 

Farmhouse.   Mr.  Shirk's 84 

Fegley.    Winslow 36,     SO 

Fegleysville.  Pa..  Stove  Plate  at 24,     25 

Felton.    Joseph 94 

Fences.   Ornamental  Cast  Iron 150 

Ferron.   Fischer 15.     17 

Fett.   Mr.  H 17.     95 

Field  Book  of  the  Revolution 95 

Fielding.    Mantle 50 

Figure,  Arabic  (Numeral) 53 

Figure.    Lead 13 

Filigree.    Meaningless 54 

Fireback.  Adam  and  Eve 117 

Firebacks.  American.  Older  than  Stove  Plates..    118 

Firebacks.    Anglo-Dutch 117 

Fireback  Arms  of  England 121.   122 

Firebacks.  Colonial 115 

Fireback.    Kingston 119 

Fireback  Dated   1 734 120 

Firebacks.  Distribution  of 117 

Firebacks.  Flemish   117 

Firebacks  in   Europe US 

Fireback  in  House  of  Wm.  Adam 45 

Firebacks  in   Pennsylvania.   Earliest 119 

Firebacks  Introduced  from  England 116 

Firebacks.  Late  Use  of 118 

Firebacks.  Not  Found  Sauare 120 

Firebacks.  Not  Made  with  Loose  Stamps 120 

Fireback  of  Bel<jium.   Radiating 124 

Fireback.  of   Colebrookdale 122 

Firebacks.    Oldest IH 

Fireback,  Painswick  Hall 117 


Firebacks,    Radiating 17 

Fireback.    Reversible 16 

Firebacks.    Square 115 

Firebacks.  Stove  Plates  Used  as 52.  117 

Firebacks.   Styles  of.  in   Europe 116 

Firebacks.  Vaulted  Top 115 

Fireplace.  Down  Draft    95.   107 

Fireplace.   Franklin's  129 

Fireplace.   Perforated  as  fTr   Five-Plate   Stove..      55 

Five-Plate   Stove   Plates,   Notched 23 

Five  Plates  of  a  Jamb  Stove 40 

Five-Plate   Stove 5,   10,   34,     37 

Five-Plate  Stoves,  Made  in  Thrse  Si-es 78 

Flasks    11,  35,     37 

Flask-casting    11,   113 

Flasks,   C  pen 11 

FleTish    Firebacks 117 

Flight  Into  Egypt 45,  61.     62 

Flower.    Samuel 45 

Flower  of  1754,  Samuel 69 

Flower.  Samuel,  of  1 764 97 

Flower.   Samuel,   of   Redding 98 

Flower   Plate,   Samuel 69,  80,  98,     99 

Flowering    Crosses 67 

Folks  Museum.   Norse 8,   11,     14 

Forest   Consumption 95 

Forges  and  Furnaces  in  Province  of  Penna 149 

Forges  Near   Furnaces 147 

For  He  is  Good 89 

Formschneider   13 

Forms  of  Stoves,  Eccentric  and  Exceptional     ..    107 

Fortune    Plate 42 

Fortune  Plate  of  1726 31 

Founders'   Week 127 

Foundry.   Blickenderf er's.   R 105 

Foundry.  Keystone.  State  Street.  Hamburg,  Pa.     59 

Fountain  Inn,  Lancaster,  Pa 107 

Four    Horsem :.! ."^S 

Fox  and  Crane 101 

Fox-Hunter.    English 102 

Fragment  of  Fireback 116 

Fragment  of  Front  Plate 82,     87 

Fragments  of  Stove  Plates 100 

Frankenbera:    in    Hesse 141,   143 

Franklin.    Mr 39,     95 

Franklin's   Apparatus 95 

Franklin  Describes  Six-Plat-  Stoves  in  1744   ...      99 
Franklin's    Description    of    Draft,    or    Six-Plate 

Stoves    152 

Franklin's  Description  of  Jamb  Stove 151 

Franklin's    Down-Draft   Fireplace 107.   lOS 

Franklin's   Fireplace 129 

Franklin's  Poem 128 

Franklin  Stove,  First 95 

Franquet   113.   1)4 

Frederick,   Penna 8t 

Frederick  the  Great 59 

Freemasons  101 

French  Creek 9S 

Fretwork.    Chinese 22 

Friedensburg.  Pa Ill 

Friendlv.  God  is 89 

Fries.  Miss  Adelaide 128 

Fritzlar    H2 

Front   Plates 155 

Front  Plate  of  1749 54 

Front  Plates.  Meaningless 15S 

Front  Plate  of  Franklin's  '^'ireolace 128 

Front  Plate  of  Six-Pla*:e  Draught  Stove 91 

Front  Plate  to  th-  Dance  cf  Death 155 

Front  of    Tamb   Stove 55 

Fronts,    Makeshift 155 

Fronts  Without  Sides 41 

Fuel   Door 90,  110 


162 


Fuel  Doors.  Perforated 97 

Fulton,   James..  ac. 

Funk,  William  B ''''.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'. 4° 

Funk   Family g. 

Furnaces,  Ancient,  at  Niederlsronn  .  .  ,  .  .  . .  .  . .  .    '      ig 

Furnaces,  Ancient,  at  Zinsw:iler 18 

Furnaces,  Colonial,  in  the  Eastern  United  States 

and  Canada   .    132,  133.  134,  135,  13S,  137    133 

Abmgton   j35    J37 

Accokeek,  or  England's  Iron  Mines  '  138 

^™^"'3    133 

Ancram  j33 

Andover .33 

^*f°" ■■■'•".■.■.■.■.■.'.•;;::;;;:;;:::  134 

Hatsto   ,3. 

Bergen I33 

Berkshire  13g 

Eloomingdale 134 

Bourbon   .30 

Braintree   j32 

Bufifingtons j3a 

Bush   j3^ 

^3""''^^ ::';';;'.'.'.v.v.'.;;;::;::  ue 

Catoctm   ,30 

Charlotte   ,33 

Charlottenburg 134 

Christine    I34 

Codorus  or  Hellam 135 

Colebrookdale    _ 134'    137 

Cornwall '   135 

Courtland    Manor 133 

Craigsville 133 

Cumberland 134 

Curtis  Creek 138 

Dale j3y 

Deep  Creek   .........! 137 

Despards    132 

District,  or  German   \ I35 

Dover   '  ' '  ' ' 134 

Durham   13c 

Eight   .■".■;■■  ■.'.'.■.■'■. 137 

Elizabeth   1  ^"i 

Elk  Ridge  '■■'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'. 137 

England's  Iron  Mines ...] 138 

Etna  13^ 

Federal  ......'..'. 133    134 

Forest  of  Dean '  I33 

Franklin . I34 

Fredericksville 138 

Furnace  Village 133 

Germanna    13g 

Gloucester 13^ 

Green    Spring j3g 

Greenwood 137 

Gunpowder  River 13g 

Gwynns   Falls 137 

Hanover  13^ 

Haverstraw  I33 

Hellam   ,oc 

Hr      .        136 
ereford    I35 

Hibernia 133 

g°"y '■'■'.'.y-^'.'.'.'.'.'.:.:'.'.'.'..::  ue 

Hope    133 

Hopewell ' "  135 

Isabella 1 30 

.Joanna .07 

^F'^'^'s  ..'.'.■.■.■,'.■.■.■.■.  134,  137 

Kmgs   132 

Kingsbury  I37 

Kurtz  ......'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'..■'    134 

Lancashire    137 

j^^gh '■'■'.'■'.'.'.''.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'..:  137 

i/enox   133 

Lime  Rock 133 


Long  Pond 134 

Lynn  132 

Martha   " 134 

Martic  13c 

^^■■y  Ann '.'.".'.■.■.■.■.■.■.■.■.■.■.'.■.■.'.■.'.'.■.136,  137 

Massaponax    ....  102 

Melville    y.'.'.'.'.'.'..'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'. 134 

Monmouth 13; 

Mossy   Creek 138 

Mount  Etna 133 

Mount  Holly,  or  Hanover 133 

Mount   Hope '.■.'.'.'.■.'.  I's^',  135 

Mount   Pleasant    135    135 

Mount    Royal 137 

New  Haven 133 

Northampton   137 

°f^^"S .''.'.'.'■'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'..'.'..:    133 

Oley  i3g 

Old  Davy  Ross 133 

Old  Hampton 137 

o^^ ;;^ ■■.'.■.■.'.'.■,■.'.'.;:::  u? 

0"l°"s  i3g 

"^'°''a    133,  138 

Patuxent 130 

Philipsburg 133 

Pine   Grove 135    137 

Plympton,  or  Carver 132 

Pompton  '"  •  ■  ■  •  •  ■    J24 

Popadickon,  or  Potts  Grove 135 

Popes  Point 132 

Poplar  Camp j3g 

Post   Revolutionary 135 

Potts  Grove 135 

Principio 137 

Queensborough    133 

Rappahanock   i3g 

Reading    '    13^ 

Redding "  ..............        134 

Ringwood,  or  Ogdens 133 

Ross  i3g 

Roxborough,   or   Berkshire 135 

Sally  Ann 137 

Shapleigh    133 

Shearwell     13c 

Shrewsbury,  or  "Tinton  Falls .......... .         .    133 

olX "I  '3'y 

Speedwell 134 

Stemmers   Run    133 

Sterling  Iron    V^orks 133 

Taunton  134 

Three 133 

Three  Blast 133 

Unicorn    '.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.[   137 

Union  133 

Vesuvius    i3g 

Ward  and  Coulton's ......'...      133 

Warwick    135 

Washington   ...........[   134 

Westham   135 

Weymouth   134 

Wilcox,  John 138 

Windsor   137 

^ork '■'.'.'.'.'.'.':::::::::'.[[  133 

■^^nes  i3g 

Furnaces   in    Delaware 137 

Abington 
Deep  Creek 
Keith's 
Pine   Grove 

Furnaces  in  Maryland 137    135 

Bush  

Catoctin 
Curtis  Creek 
Eight 


163 


Elk  Ridge 

Green  Spring 

Gunpowder    River 

Gwynns    Falls 

Kingsbury 

Lancashire 

Legh 

Mount    Etna 

Mount  Royal 

Northampton 

Old    Hampton 

Onions 

Patuxent 

Principio 

Stemmers   Run 

Unicorn 

York 
Furnaces  in  Virginia 138 

Accokeek 

Fredericksville 

Germanna 

Isabella 

Massaponax 

Mossy  Creek 

Olds 

Poplar  Camp 

Rappahanock 

Ross 

Three  Blast 

Westham 

Zanes 
Furnaces  in  North  and  South  Carolina,  Georgia, 

Alabama,  Kentucky  and  Tennessee 13? 

Bourbon 

Buffingtons 

Vesuvius 

Wilcox,  John 
Furnaces  in  Massachusetts 132 

Braintree 

Charlotte 

Federal 

Furnace  Village 

Despards 

Kings 

Lenox 

Lynn 

Plympton 

Popes  Point 

Six 
Furnaces  in  Rhode  Island 133 

Hope 

Three 
Furnaces  in  Connecticut 133 

Lime  Rock 

New  Haven 
Furnaces  in  New  Hamsphire  and  Vermont 133 

Shapleigh 

Three 
Furnaces  in  New  York 133 

Amenia 

Ancram 

Courtland    Manor 

Craigsville 

Forest  of  Dean 

Haverstraw 

Philipsburg 

Queensborough 

Sterling  Iron  Works 

Ward  &  Coulton's 
Furnaces  in  New  Jersey 133,  134,  146 

Andover 

Atsion 

Batsto 


Bloomingdale 

Charlottenburg 

Cumberland 

Dover 

Eight 

Etna 

Federal 

Franklin 

Gloucester 

Hanover 

Hibernia,  or  Adventure 

Long  Pond 

Martha 

Melville 

Monmouth 

Mount    Hope 

Oxford 

Pompton 

Speedwell 

Taunton 

Union 

Washington 

Weymouth 

Furnaces  in  Pennsylvania 134,  135,  136,   137 

Abington 

Carlisle 

Christine 

Codorus 

Colebrookdale 

Cornwall 

Dale 

District,  or  German 

Durham 

Elizabeth 

Greenwood 

Hereford 

Holly 

Hopewell 

Joanna 

Keith's 

Kurtz's 

Martic 

Mary  Ann 

Mount  Hope 

Mount  Pleasant 

Oley 

Pine  Grove 

Popadickon 

Post   Revolutionary 

Reading 

Redding 

Roxborough,  or  Berkshire 

Sally  Ann 

Shearwell 

Warwick 

Windsor 

Furnaces,  Date  of 33,     34 

Furnace    Described 35 

Furnaces  in  Blast  in  1746 64 

Furnaces,  Old,   Denmark 15 

Furnaces,  Old    German 16,   141 

Furnaces,  Old,   Hesse 16 

Furnaces,  Old,  Norway 16 

Furnace  at  Obereichstatt,  Old 142 

Furnaces,  Old,   Sweden 15 

Furnace,  Abington  35,     42 

Furnace,  Batsto   104,   106 

Furnace,  Berkshire 39,  46,  106,  148 

Furnace,  Christeen  or  Christien 49 

Furnace,  Keith's 33.  35,  42,  119,   120 

Furnace,  Kurtz's    33,     42 

Furnace,  Lynn    118 

Furnace  Ledgers  at  Historical  Society  of  Penna.  148 
Furnace,  Picture  of 149 


164 


Furnaces  and   Foundries   Distinguished 144 

Furnace   Stack 95 

Futhey  and  Cops 77 

G 

Gardenville  94,     96 

Gardner,   Starkle 11,    15,  64,   116,   121,   142 

Gate  of  Gaza 51 

Gauger,  Sieur  Nicholas 129 

Geil,    Dr.   Edgar 140 

Geislautern    Foundry 26,     27 

G  for  Geislautern  Furnace 25 

George  the  Third 59 

George  the  Third  in  1769 104 

Geret,  Amos 80 

Geret,  Amos,  of  1752 69 

German  Art  in  a  Non-German  Community 99 

German  Furnace 112 

German  Household   Tales 18 

German  Hunter    101 

German  Pattern    Carvers 80 

German  Samaria   Plate 54 

German  Stove   5,  10,   152 

Germanic   Museum 6,     7 

Germantown  51,  53 

Germantown  Houses,    Destroyed 50 

Germantown  Stove    147 

Gesner,   Conrad 72 

Giles,    Jacob 100 

Glass  Works  in  the  American  Colonies,  Only..    105 

Glass  Works,   Manheim 80 

God  Be  Merciful  Unto  Us,  Psalms  117 101 

God  Righteous  Judge Ill 

God's  Shield   86 

God   Threateneth    Ill 

God's  Well 94 

God's  Well  of  1760 87 

God's  Well  of  Warvvrick 95 

Goddesses,  The 115 

Godshall,  William  H 51,  53,  56 

Golden   Lion  Ship 49 

Good  for  Evil,  of  1758 76 

Goose  Girl 18 

Gothic  Decoration 19 

Gothic  Fretwork 20 

Gouverneur,  Mrs 63 

Grace,   Robert 77,  95,  129 

Graeme,   Dr 119 

Graeme   Park  Fireback 119 

Grave    Slabs 123 

Grave,  Slab  at  Burwash 15 

Graves,    Wm 24 

Green  Lane  Forge 103 

Grim,   Webster 51 

Grimm.  Wilhelm 18 

Grimm's    Tales 142 

Gross,  Mrs.  A.  Haller 74 

Grubb,  Curtis 83 

Grubb,  Curtis.   Furnace 100 

Grubb,  2d.  Peter 130 

Grubb,   3d,    Peter 130 

Grubb   Plate,   Curtis 98 

Grubbs 69 

Grubb,  Peter,  Three  of  the  Name 100 

Grunau.  Stove  from  Castle  of 18 

Guldin.  Garrion 27 

Gurret  &   Co 69,  100 

Gwynns   Falls  Furnace 33 

H 

Haina  Abbey 13,  16,  17,  22 

Halberstadt.  Stove  at 7,  8 

Hall.  Mathias 64 

Hallam.  Mrs 46,  121 


Hallam,  G.   M.,   Dealer 122 

Hamburg,   Penna 59 

Hammersmith  Furnaces  at  Lynn  and  Braintree, 

Mass 33 

Hamilton,  James 43,     59 

Hamilton  Library  Association  at  Carlisle 99,  107 

Hanover  Furnace 101 

Hanover  Replica 24 

Harrisburg    45,     51 

Hartsville,   Bucks  County,   Penna 62 

Hartz,   Stoves  in 16 

Hartz  Verein 17 

Harz  Plates  29 

Harzverein   23 

Hatboro,    Pa 51 

Haycock  Mountain 55 

Hay   Creek   Forge 46 

Hays,   Robert 50 

Heacock,  J.  L 76,     78 

Headman's  Pottery 151 

Hearth  Extension 10,  110,  113 

Hearth  Projection,  Circular 93 

Hearth,  Projecting 90 

Heart   Tulips 70 

Heger    22 

Hellam   Forge 85 

Hellam  Furnace 85 

Hellam    Plates 98 

Henrich  Wilhelm  Elizabeth  Plate 83 

Hereford  of  1757 74 

Hereford    Furnace 44 

Hereford  Furnace,  Note  on 103 

Hering,    Loy 22 

Hero,  The 104 

Herselius,  Dr.,  at  Stockholm 17 

Heston.   Burroughs 64 

Historical  Society  of  Pennsylvania.  .  .41,  54,  117,  151 

Hibernia  Furnace 95 

Hibernia  Iron  Works 43 

Highlander,    The 123 

Hilltown   Township 101 

Himes,  Prof.  Charles  F 99,   107 

Historical  Society  Museum,  Nazareth 140 

Hoch,    Gideon 53 

Hochfelden  in  Alsace,  Stoves  Near 18 

Hockley,  Richard 49,     71 

Hoff  iv 

Hoffman,   Mrs.   Anna 73 

Holbein,    Hans 60 

Holes  in  Top  Plates  for  Upper  Story 34 

Holland    Stove 9,     10 

HoUenfels,  Lords  of  an  Ancient  Castle 125 

Holz,  Elizabeth 105 

Hope  Furnace  (Rhode  Island) 123 

Hope  of  Peace iv 

Hopewell  Furnace 44,  46,  149 

Horseman,  The 122 

Horseman  and  Convicts 121 

Hostetter,  A.  K 63,  73,  75,  80,     86 

Houyon-Requet,  M 21 

Huber    70 

Huber,   Elizabeth 83 

Huber,  Jacob 80,  82,  83,  105 

Huber,  Jacob,  of  1755 70 

Huber  Plate 78,     81 

Huber's  Junk  Yard 63 

Huber's   Rhyme 70 

Huebner,  Ludwig 128 


I.  A.  R.  B.  Plate 84,  95 

Illig,  J.  E 38,  84,  85 

Ilsinburg,  Stoves  Cast  at 16,  17 

Impressions  of  Unmortised  Bolts 13 


165 


Indistinguishable   Stove   Plates 92 

Ingersoll,   H.   M 50 

In  God  is  My  Salvation 100 

Initials  AG   69 

Initials  B.  S.  D.  W 65 

Initials  C.  A.  W 85 

Initial  D   52 

Initials  I  A  P 116 

Initials  I.  B 81 

Initials  I.  L 119 

Initials  I.  P 68,  75,  78 

Initials  I. P.  and  S.P 75 

Initials  K.T.F 49 

Initials  LMS   75 

Initials  MC.  TS.  WS.  WB.  S\V 79 

Initials  M.C.E 86,  94 

Initial,  smaller  R 85 

Initials  S.F 45,  68,  72,  97,  99 

Initials  T.B 88 

Initials  TM 50 

Initials  W.B 45,  46 

Initials  WI.  WB.  BH.  and  AD 89 

Initials  E  for  Eisenhutten 86,  94 

Initials  G.T.   for   Gounty 95 

Initial   M.   Standing  for   Master 99,  100 

Initials  M.C.  for  Martic 85 

Initial  R.   Standing   for   Robert 100 

Initials  of  Founders 70 

Initials  on  Plate,  S.F 45 

Initials  on  Plate,   W.B 45,  46 

Inscriptions  69 

Inscriptions  Abandoned  on   Advertisement,   Re- 
ligious    78,  79,  83 

Inscriptions  Abbreviated    53 

Inscription  ALS   51 

Inscription  BSDW.  6.  0 52,  56 

Inscription,   Continued    on    Companion    Plates..  Ill 

Inscriptions,  Decipherment   33 

Inscription,    English 66 

Inscriptions,  German   80 

Inscriptions,  Imperfect    53 

Inscriptions,  Interrupted    55 

Inscriptions,   Latin    20 

Inscriptions,  Obscure    39 

Inscription,   Rhymed    51 

Invention  of  Cast  Iron  Stoves 15 

I.  P.  Plate 78,  80 

Iron,   Sheet 152 

Ironmasters,   Early   English 70 

Ironmasters  Generally  English 148 

Ironmaster  of  Penna.,  First 77 

Isaac  Kneeling  in   Prayer 50 

Isaac,  Abraham  and 61 

Inscriptions  on   Stove  Plates: 

ABRAHM 61 

ABSOLOM 61 

ADAM.  UND.  EFA 63 

ALTER 75 

ALTER.  IDEM 128 

ARMER 21 

AUGEN iii 

AUGEN.  DES.   HERRN 79 

AUS.  WEILMUNSTERER 156 

AWEL 44 

R.  BACKHOUSE.  DURHAM 112 

BATSTO 104 

BAUM 61 

BENET.  WILEM 85 

BESE 71 

BESE.  BUB 61 

BESSERT 62 

BETH.  VORNES 81,  82 

BEWEISSET 26 

BEY.  GOT.  MEIN.  HEIL 100 


Inscriptions  on  Stove  Plates: 

BEZAHLET 72 

BIRD.   MARK 104 

BITTER.  TOT 60 

BOLVIGS.   WERK 12 

BORGET 72 

BORTSCHENT 39 

BRAUNFELS 26 

BRINLEIN 84 

BROTS 26,  30 

BRUNNEN.  WASSER 47 

BRYNLEIN 79 

BRYNLEIN.  WASER 49 

CAIN 44 

CANA 48 

CARLISLE.  FURNACE 99 

CHRISTUS 47,  48 

CHRISTUS.   FROMMER.   EHE.   LEUTE. 

TROST 156 

CHRISTUS.      MACHT.      WASSER.      ZU. 

WEIN 156 

CCLEBROOK.  FURNACE 110 

COLEBROOKDALE.  FURNAC 96 

COLEBROOKDALE.  FURNACE 102,  122 

COMBAGNI 81,82,  83 

COMPAGNI 78,  80,  83 

CORTUS.  GROB 100 

CRANETIR 57 

CRITH 53 

DANCKET.  DEM.  HERRN 88 

DAVID 59 

DELIA 51 

DEN.  27.  FEBRUARU,  1829 10 

DER.  RICHER 22 

DIE.  FILE 94,  95 

DIETER.  WELKER 64 

DISTRICT.  FURNACE 112 

DREI.   SPIES 61 

DROHET iii 

DURCH.  STILLE 41 

DURST 68 

EHE.  LEVT 48 

EISEN.  HUTTEN 156 

ELIA S3 

ELISA 82,  83 

ELISA.  H.  W.  HELM.  STIGCHELS 81 

ELIZABETH 80,  83 

ELIAZBETH.  FURNACE 83,  104,  109 

EUER 78 

FALSCHES ii,  32 

FEBRUARU.  1829 10 

FEIND 41 

FEIT 60,  155 

FILE 87,  94,  95 

FILLE 84.  85,  87,  94,  95,  99 

FLAUR.  SAMEL 70 

FLOR.  REDIG 71 

FLOR.  SAMEL.  REDIG.  FURNACE 99 

FLOR.  SAMUET,  M.  REDIG.  FURNACE.  71 

FLOWER.  SAMEL 97 

FLOWER.     SAMUEL.     RETING     FUR- 
NACE   71 

FCRNEC 83 

FORNES.  M.C 86,  94 

FREUNDLICH 88,  89 

FRIDFERTIGE 41 

FROMMER 156 

FURNACE 83 

FURNEC 98 

FYLE 49 

FYL.  LE 87 

GEDEN 76 

GEDULD 41 

GEDULT 6 


166 


Inscriptions  on  Stove  Plates: 

GEFENCKNIS  6 

GEGOS 45 

GELYSSTEN 38 

GELYSSTEND 38 

GERECHTEN 79 

GERET.   AMOS 69 

GERICHTET 68,  72 

GEWANDELT 47 

GLAUBEN ii 

GLUCK 32 

GOT 62 

GOTES.  BRYN.  LEIN 95 

GOTES.  BRYNLEIN 94 

GOT.  SEI.  UNS.  GNADIG 101 

GOTLOSE 72 

GOTT 27.  29,  63,  87 

GOTT.  ERNAHRT.  DIE.  WITWE.  UND. 

VERMEHRT.  IHR.  OEL 29 

GOTTES.  BRINLEIN 99 

GOTTES.  BRYNLEIN 87 

GOTTES.    SEGEN 28 

GOTTLOSEN 85 

HEINRICH.  WILHELM 83 

HELLE.  SAS 22 

HELT 57 

HENRICH 81 

W.  HEREFORD.  FURNACE.  M 74 

HEREFORD.  FURNACE 103 

HERR 59 

HERRN 79 

HERRN.  DANKEN 85 

HERTZ li 

HERZ 74,  78 

HERZEN iii 

HOCHZEIT 48 

HOFF iv 

HOPE iv 

HOPEWELL.  FURNACE 104 

HUBER.  ERSTE 70 

HUTTEN 156 

lAHN.  POT 67,  68,  75,  76,  78,  92,  95,  98,  120 

lAHR 74 

lARB.  FRONT.  PLATE 85 

IN.  LANGD.  GT 94 

lOHAN.  AM.  2.  CAPIT 31 

lORG 64 

lOSEPH 62 

ISAC 61 

JACOBS.   BRUN 24 

JESU 67 

JESUS 47,  68 

JOHANNES 9 

JOHN.  SHIP.  FAMOUS.  HORSEMAN.  ..  122 

JONATHAN 59 

JOSEPH 46 

JUNO 116 

KALB 45 

KESTLICH.  DING 85 

KOTH ii 

KRAFT 51 

KRUG 47 

KURT 9 

KURT.  SCHARFEN 9 

LACHEN 57 

LANCD 95 

LANCT.  CT 86 

LANG iii 

LANGD.  GT 94 

LAS.   DICH 71 

LAS.  VOM.  BESEN 92,  98 

LASERU 22 

LEBEN iii,  67 

LEBEN.  JESU.  LIGHT 67,  69 


Inscriptions  on  Stove   Plates: 

LEUT 59 

LEUTE 156 

LIBEN 41,  59 

LIGHT 67 

LIEBE 62 

LUCAS.  SANCTUS 9 

LUCAS.  SANCTUS.  MATTHEUS 9 

MARK.   BIRD 104 

MAS.   SMIT 101 

MATTHEUS 9 

MAYBURRY.  THOMAS 103 

M.  C.  FORNES 86 

M.  C.  E.  THOM 101 

MCE.  THOMAS.  SMITH 95 

MORITZ.   WILHELM 26 

MOSE 45 

M.  SAMUEL.   FLOR 71 

NEST.  STEN.  GUT 38 

NO 155 

NOTH 155 

OE.  or  UE 87 

OEHL 26 

OEL 27,  29 

OHL 28,  30 

OHS.  BRUK 10 

OLY 64 

PALLAS.  JUNO.  VENUS 116 

PEACE iv 

PEINIGERN 6 

PERLEN ii 

PFLUG 50 

PFRTE 59 

PHARISAER 63 

PHILADELPHIA 55 

PHILLIPO.  SOLDAN 9 

PINE  GROVE  FURNACE 107 

POTS.    THOMAS 77 

QYLLET 68 

RABEN.  B.  D.  K 52 

RATHE 85 

REBENSAFT.  WASSER.  KRUG 47 

RECHE 57 

RECHTER iii 

REDIG 71 

REGUM 27 

RETING 71 

RETING.  FURNACE 71,  97 

RICHEN 21 

FICHTER iii 

RICHTET 72 

RICHTET.    NICHT 68 

RITER 64 

ROTTER.   THOMAS 79 

RUTTER.  THO 102 

RUTTER.  THOMAS 96 

SALUTATION.   THE 66 

SAMEL.  FLOR.  REDIG.  FURNACE 99 

SAMEL.    FLOWER 97 

SAMUEL.  FLOWER 71 

SATEL 57 

SAUTAN.    THE 66 

SCHARFEN 9 

SCHATZ 74 

SCHAZ 78 

SCHILD 87 

SCHLANG.  ADAM.  UND.  EFA 43 

SEANDSON.   M 99 

SEGEN.  DES.  HERREN 29 

SELIG 41 

SHEARWELL 64 

SHIP.    JOHN 123 

SIMSON 51 

SIMSONS 51 


167 


Inscriptions  on   Stove   Plates: 

SMITH.   MCE.   THOMAS 95 

SOLDAN.    PHILLIPO 9 

SPEISSET 26 

SPIL 57 

STIEGEL.  H.  W 103,  104,  103 

STIEGEL.   WHELM 80 

STIEGEL.  1759.  H.  W 127 

STIGGEL 84 

STREIT iv 

TATELN 57 

THIMNATH 51 

THOM.  M.  C.  E 101 

THOMAS.   MAYBURRY 103 

THOMAS.    POTS 77 

THOMAS.  ROTTER 79 

THO.   RUTTER 102 

THOMAS.  RUTTER 95 

THORNBRUGHA.  M.  R 99,  103 

THUE.   RECHT.   UND 95 

THUE.  GUTES 92,  98 

TIO 66 

TODT 26,  30 

TOTS 60 

TRAUM 62 

TROST 156 

UBERKLUGE ii 

UBERWUNDEN 77 

UDREE.  AND.  COMPANY HI 

VENUS 115 

VERACHTE 75 

VERGAS 22 

VERMEHRT 30 

VORNES 83 

WAGR 49,  53 

WANDELT 85 

WAPPEN 56 

WARCK.  FORNACE 95,  98 

WARCK.    FURNEC 98 

WARCK.    FVRNEC 92 

WARK.   FURNACE 98 

WARRS   iv 

WASER 31,  49.  84,  85,  94,  95 

WASER.  FYL.  LE 87 

WASER.  ZU.  WEIN 31 

WASSER 47,  155 

WEIB 46 

WEILMUNSTER 26 

WEILMUNSTERER 48 

WEIN 31,  47,  155 

WELT ii 

WHELM.   STIEGEL 80 

WILEM.   BENET 85 

WILHELM.  HENRICH 81 

WILHELM.  HEINRICH 83 

WILHELM.    MORITZ 25 

WITET 74 

WITWE 27.  29 

WITWEN 27 

WOHL.   DEM 85 

ZETT iv 

ZOELNERS 53 

ZORNIG 5 

ZU 31 

J 

Jacob's    Brun     23,  24 

Jamb  Stove,  American  Five  Plate  or  described..  37 

Jamb   Stove    34,  35 

Jamb  Stove  at  Christiania 6,  7 

Jamb   Stove   at   Halberstadt 7 

Jamb  Stove  complete   37,  39 

Jamb  Stoves,  destruction  of 37 

Jamb  Stove  easily  made   89 


Jamb  Stove,  German  6,  7 

Jamb    Stove,    how   used 88 

Jamb  Stoves  imported  from  Europe 23 

Jamb  Stove  in  Alsace   151 

Jamb  Stove,  Invention  of 149 

Jamb  Stove,  Swedish   4 

James    49 

James,   Mrs.   Potts    35,  36,  73 

James,    Mrs.   Wynne    98 

Jan   Pott   plate    81 

Jarnkakelugnar.    Om    IS 

Jarnkakelugnar  Iron  Tile  Stoves 7 

Jesus     SO 

Jesus  Sirach    75 

Joanna  Furnace  35 

Johannsen    33 

John  the  Baptist,  Beck's  collection 20 

John  the  Baptist,  Weisbaden  Museum 20 

John    Evangelist    9 

John,  2d  chapter   31,  47 

(ohnsville,  Penna 32 

Jonathan    50 

Joshua,  Aaron  or    45 

Joseph  52 

Joseph  Stove    56 

Judge  Not  of  1751 68 

Judge  Not  of  1755 71 

Judge  Not  of  S.  F 72 

Judge  Not  Plate  of  1751 67 

Judges  14.   IVDICVM.  XIIII   31 

Judges  14   51 

Judges   16    51 

junk  Dealers  and  Stove  Plates 138 

Junk  Yard,  Philadelphia 61 


Kalm,  Peter 32,  113.  145 

Kassel.  Dr 11.  13,   14.  15,  17.   19.  20.  22.  25, 

26,  27,  28,  29,  30.  31,  47,  48,  54,  54,  58,  70,  74, 

76,  98,  127,  152 

Keim  House   47 

Keim  property,  near  Oley   61 

Keith,  Sir  William 119 

Keith's  Furnace   33,  35,  42,   119,   120 

Kelker,  Luther  W 45,  59,     80 

Kelker,  Luther  M 105,   123 

Kenderdine,  Mr.,  near  Dublin,  Pa 101 

Keystone  Foundry.  State  St..  Hamburg,  Pa 59 

Kidder,  Nathaniel  T 122 

Kings  1st,  16 53 

Kings  1st,   17-4 29,     52 

Kings,  2d,  4th  chapter  27 

Kings  Furnace,  at  Taunton,   Mass 33 

Kingston  Fireback   119 

Kingston    Museum     57 

Kingston.  New  York   116 

Kingston,  New  York,  replica  of  plate  at 24 

Kingston-on-the-Hudson     57,     63 

Khne,    J.    S 98 

Klingenthal     60 

Kloster  Haina,  Eisenhutten  des 8,     22 

Kohler,   Dr.   Ernest    18,   142 

Kratz,  Miss  95 

Kurt  Sharf   9 

Kurtz's  Furnace   33.     42 

Kutztown   59,     61 


Lakeville,    Connecticut    149 

La  Mechanique  de  Feu    129 

Lancaster    90.   107 

Landis.  D.  B 73,  80,     86 

Langhorne    63,     74 

Lardner.    Lynford    49,     71 


168 

Large,  Middling,  and  Small  Stoves 147 

Lasius,  J 22 

Last   Supper    4,  150 

Lathrop,   W.  L 105 

Latin   inscription    31 

Latin   numeral    53 

Latin   Vulgate    89 

Laurie,  Joseph  M 123 

Laurus   nobilis    104 

Lazarus  and   Rich   Man    21 

Lazarus,  Porte  de  Hal   22 

Lead  Moulds   13 

Leatherman  House  93 

Lebanon,    Penna 65 

Ledgers   of   Durham    42 

Ledger  of  William   Smith    82,  85 

Lee,  Valentine  B 25,  85 

Leeds,    Mrs.    Albert    75 

Legs,   adjustable    97 

Legs,  Jamb  Stove    151 

Legs,  Sandstone  152 

Leg  Rests  151 

Lennox  Furnace  123 

Lersners  Chronicle   15 

Lesher,  Jacob  112 

Lesher,    John 112 

Lettering   31,  43,  53 

Lettering   Glued  on 109 

Lettering  of  Inscriptions 47 

Letters,  Broken  Off 13 

Letters,    Gothic    20 

Letters,  Single 20 

Letter  U,  Round-based  78 

Letter  V   70,  78,  81 

Letter  V  on  Fireback   118 

Letter  Y  Abbreviated  with  Double  Dot 87 

Liberty    105 

Liberty  Cap   32 

Library  at  Fritzlar,  near  Cassel 142 

Lime  Rock  Furnace 123 

Limited  Area  of  Stove  Making  in  Colonial  Time  145 

Lindholm,  Mr.  L 11 

Linebach,  J.  A 128 

Lintel    151 

Lips,  Projecting  Perforated,  Overhanging 93 

Little    Basel    60 

Lobsinger,    Hans    150 

Loes,   F.,   the   Abbe    124 

Logan,   James    43,   73,  119 

Long,   George    63 

Long,  Wm.  H 53 

Longacre,    Mrs 46 

Longwy     126 

Loose  Corner  Rims  for  Jamb  or  Draft  Stove.  ...  94 
Loose  plates  referred  to  as  "top,  bottom,   right 

and  left"  plates   34 

Loose   Rims    147 

Loose  Stamps    63,  142 

Loose  stamp,  use  of    51 

Lord  Botetout's  Stove    131 

Lord    Stirling    120 

Lorraine    Museum    68 

Loss  of  letters    14 

Lossing    95 

Lost  Plate  dated  1674   75 

Louis   XV 66 

Louvre    Museum    9 

Loux,   Enos  B 27 

Love    Bettereth    62 

Luebke,    W 17 

Luke  6-42    62 

Luke  in  9th    50 

Luke,    12-34    74 

Luke,    18th   chapter    63 


Lundy,  J.  W 62 

Lute,  for  Jamb  Stove 151 

Lutherans  58 

Luther's   Bible    45,  84 

Lynn,  J.  H 47,  50,  63,  93 

Lynn   Furnace    118,  145 

M 

Macungie,   Penna 63 

Magi,   Adoration   of 7 

Makeshift  fronts   65,  155 

Man  and  Goat    59 

Man   on   Horseback 46 

Manayunk     30,  31 

Manheim,  Pa 80,  105,  108 

Manufacture  of  Jamb   Stoves,   First  American..  32 

Marburg   Museum 22,  24,  75 

Marburg  Museum,  stove  fragments  at 22,  24 

Marburg,  Stove  Collection  at 17 

Margin,    broad    10,  40 

Marginal  lip  for  bolting   93 

Mark  Bird  of  Hopewell    104 

Martic  on  Pequea  Creek   45 

Martic  Forge   94 

Martic  Furnace 35,  82,  85,  85,  88,  94,  108,  150 

Martic  Furnace,  history  of   86 

Martic  Plate  of  1761    94 

Martin,  George   43,  47 

Martin,  John   Hill 3,  53 

Mary  Ann  Furnace 89,  107,  109,  148 

Mary  Ann  Furnace,  History 89 

Maryland    Furnaces 146 

Masonic  Emblems 104 

Massachusetts   Furnaces 145 

Massmann   60 

Massaponax,    Virginia 144 

Masters  of  Martic 79 

Master  of  the  Mosel 15 

Mastersonville    85 

Matthew  5 :  9 41 

Matthew  6:21   74 

Matthew  7 :   1 72 

Matthew   18 :  26 6 

Matthis,   Farmer  at   Dunzenheim,  Alsace 25 

Mabury  &  Co.,  Jonathan 103 

Maybury   Stove 108,  1 10 

Maybury,  Thomas 50,  74,  103,  109 

Maybury  of  Hereford,  Thomas 103 

Maybury  of  1767,  Thomas 108 

Maybury,  William 74,  103,  108 

M.  C.  Furnace  in  Lancaster 85 

Mearns  Mill,  Hartsville,  Pa 62 

Mechanics    Valley 72 

Meister   99 

Memorial   Hall 102,  121 

Mennonites  57 

Merchants  of  Stoves 148 

Merian,    Matthew 60 

Metal    Worker   Magazine 23,  24 

Metropolitan  Museum 24,  26,  54,  122,  143 

Micah  4    iv 

Michigan  Stove  Co.  of  Chicago 108 

Millbach    69,  82 

Miller,  Mrs.  C 63 

MilUer.    Mrs.   John   Faber 88 

Miracle  at  Cana 27,  31,  47,  155 

Miracles  of  Elijah  and  Elisha 29 

Miracle  of  the  Oil 27,  28,  30 

Miracle    Plate 87 

Miracle    Rhyme 30 

Miracle  of  Sarepta 29 

Miracles,  Mixture  of  Two 29 

Misplacement  of  Words,  Elijah  and  Elisha 29 

Misquotations  from  the  Bible 101 


169 


Mixsell,   A.   D 55,  102 

Moller.   F 48 

Molten   Calf 45,     51 

Monograms     20 

Monogram,  A.  F.  and  Letter  A  on  Replica 24 

Monogram,  A.  F.  and  Letter  B 24 

Monagra-n    VM  Standing  f  :r  William  and  Mary  115 

Montague,  W.  E iv,  88,     89 

Montayne.   Mrs.  Sidney 33 

Montgomery   ....    36,  106,  112 

Moorestown.   N.   J ■ 121 

Moon  Hall,  Near  Valley  Forge 121 

Moravians    58 

Moravian  Historical  Society 55,  127 

Moravian  Meeting  House,  Oley 58 

Moravian  Museum 55 

Moravian  School,  Reading 47 

Moravian  Stoves   147 

Moravians,  Tile  Stoves  of 8 

Moravian   Tile   Stove 148 

Morgan,    General    Daniel 43 

Moritz,    Wilhelm 25 

Morris.    Anthony 43 

Morris,  J.   Cheston 98 

Moses 45 

Moses,  I  Book.  I3th  Chapter 46 

Moses.  I  Book.  22d  Chapter 61 

Moses.  II  Book,  Chapter  32 45 

Moulds,  Several  by  the  Same  Carver. 

43,  44,  48,  52,  S3,  77,  98,  99,  103 

Mould  Carvers 55,  100,  142 

Mould    Carvers,    Anglo-American 66 

Mould  Carver,  the  Same  for  Several  Plates...  iii 

Mould.  Christiania  Museum   12 

Moulds.   Carved  Wooden 115 

Moulds   for    Firebacks 141 

Mould,   Imported    42 

Mould.   Imported    English    116 

Moulds,   Mahogany   35 

Mould   Maker    148 

Moulds,  Stove   10,     11 

Moulds.  Three  for  One  Stove iii 

Mould,  Wooden   10,   14,     40 

Moulds.  Wooden,  at  Obereichstatt 18 

Mould.  Wood.=n.  for  Stove  Plate 14 

Moulds.  Wooden,  How  Constructed 63 

Moulten  Calf   64 

Mount   Holly   Forge 103 

Mount   Holly  Furnace 104,  131 

Mount  Penn.  Pa 32 

Moyer.  Mr..  Oley  Township,  Berks  County,  Pa.     55 

Mt.  Pleasant  73 

Mt.  Pleasant  Furnace. 

42.  64,  77,  78,  79,  129,  146,  147,  149 

Mt.  Pleasant  Ledgers 77 

Mount  Royal  Furnace 33 

Muhlenberg  Family   58 

Museet,  Nordiska,  Stockholm 5,     11 

Museums     and     Private     Collections     of     Stove 

Plates  in  France 17 

Museums     and     Private     Collections     of     Stove 

Plates  in  Germany 17 

Museums     and     Private     Collections     of     Stove 

Plates  in  Holland 17 

Museum,  Amsterdam 8,     16 

Museum.  Bavarian  National 18,  22,     26 

Museum,   Christiania 6,       8 

Museum  of  the  Huguenots 123 

Museum,  Louvre 9 

Museum,   Nancy 15 

Museum,   Rijks,  at  Amsterdam 9 

Museum.  Stockholm  4.  5.     14 

Museum  of  Young  Men's  Missionary  Society  of 

Bethlehem 49,  55,  58,  104,  140 


Mutilation  of  Patterns 14 

Myers,  Albert  Cook 63,     89 

Myers,   Grant 57 

McCahan,    James 61 

McDougaU  ^  Son.   F 114 

Mcllvaine,  Ferguson 79 

N 

Nail   Heads 83 

Name  "Jamb  Stove" 87 

Names  of  Founders 70 

Names  of  the  Jamb  Stove,  Various 154 

Names  of    Stoves 10 

Names  or  Initials,  Soldan 20 

Nancy  68 

Nancy  Museum 15,     76 

Nancy,  Ship  from  Rotterdam 80 

National   Museum   at  Washington 54 

Navarre,   Arms  of 56 

Nazareth.   Penna 127,  140 

Negro    Slaves 43 

New  Haven.   Conn.,   Furnace 33 

New  Hope,  Bucks  Co.,  Penna 105 

New  Jersey  Furnaces 146 

New  Jersey,  Jamb  Stove  Made  There 66 

New  Jersey,  Stove  Plates  in 101 

New  Paltz.   New  York 123 

New   Pine   Forge 143 

New  York.   1767,  at 123 

New  York   Furnaces 146 

Nieman  and  Saul 59 

Noble's   Curiosity   Shop 30 

Nockamixon  Township 51 

NO   for  NOTH 155 

Nordiska   Museet 5,     11 

Norse  Folks  I:iuseum,  Christiania. 6,  7,  8,  11,  14,     94 

Norse    Furnaces 17 

Northeast.  Maryland' 95,  129 

Northern   Museum 4,  5,  ID,   14,     68 

North  Wales,  Tavern  Near SO,     98 

Norway  93 

Notches,  Mcrginal 33,     34 

Note  on   Christopher  Sauer 148 

Numismatic  and   Antiquarian   Society  of   Phila- 
delphia    51,     55 

Numerals,  Arabic 20 

Nunnery,  Kl'ngenthal 60 

Nuremberg:  Museum 6,       7 

Nutt  Family 77 

Nutt,  Anna 73,     95 

Nutt,  Samuel 49,  70,  73,  95,  99 

o 

Obereichstatt,  Ancient  Wooden  Moulds  at 18 

OE  or  UE 87 

Oerter,    Rev.    Albert 128,  140 

Ogden,  Rev.  John  C 128 

Ogden    Furnace 104 

Oil  Miracle 27 

r-il  Miracle  of  Braunfels 26 

Oil  Miracle  Stoves 26 

Old.  James 73 

Oil  Miracle  Plate 50 

Oley,  Penna 53 

Oley  Furnace 44 

Oley  Townshio.   Berks  County 55 

Open  Fire  Cooking 84 

Open  Sand  Casting 93 

Origin  of  Ancient  Stoves 14 

Original  Legs  of  Stove.  Lacking Ill 

Ornamental    Cast   Iron    Fences 150 

Otterbein,  George  GottfI^ed 75 


170 


Ctterbeins,  Lesebuch 76 

Ottsville,    Penna 59,    67,  72 

Oven   Doors  on  Both  Sides HO 

Owen,    B.    F 27,  28,  31.  33,  35,  37,  38,  45,  46, 

48,  52,  54,  55,  56,  58,  61,  62,  64, 
67,  68,  69,  73,  74,  75,  78,  79,  82, 

84,  85,  94,   103,   108,   110,  111 

Owl,  The 65 

Oxford   104 

Oxford  Furnace 66,  121,  122 


Painswick  Hall 42,  47.  101,   117 

Painswick  Hall  Firebacks 117 

Paintings  on  Chests 77 

Pathemore,  E.  W 85 

Pathemore.  R.  W 51 

Pattern.  Aureole  Unknown  in  Europe 76 

Patterns,   Several  Carved  by  the  Same   Hand, 

43,  44,  48,  52,  53,  77,  98,  99,   103 

Patterns,  Cana 31 

Pattern,  Floral 67 

Pattern,    Gothic 140 

Patterns,  Original  "Urplatten" 25 

Pattern,  Typical  Floral 65 

Pattern,  Wooden 142 

Patterson,  S.  B 45 

Paxson,  H.  D 44,     45,     48,     50,     51,     54,     58, 

60,     62,     74,     78,     79,     81.     88. 

90,     92,     96,     97,     9?,   101,   103, 

104.   105.   107,   108,   110.   Ill,   121 

Pearse,  John  B 35,  35,  69,   149 

Peinigern    5 

Penllyn,   Penna 93 

Penn,  William 46,   12J 

Pennsylvania   Germans 143 

Pennsylvania  Historical  Society 57,  67,  99,   121 

Pennsylvania  Museum 52,  53.  54,     79 

Pennypacker,  Mr.  Henry 121 

Pennypacker.  Hon.  S.  W., 

33.  45.  47.  49,  54,  63,  78,  95,  95,  98,  103,   145 

Penrose,  Miss  Mary  M 119 

Penrose.  Mr..  Graeme  Park,  Pa 121 

Perforated  Lips 39 

Perley.  S 145 

Peterson.  Emanuel 46 

Pharisee  Plate 52,     53 

Pharisee  and   Publican 53,     62 

Philadelphia.  Arms  of 56 

Philadelphia  Centennial  Exposition 95 

Philadelphia  Museum  Memorial  Hall 102 

Pickering.  Ann 116 

Pickering,  John , 116 

Pickering  Fireback  116 

Pickering  House 116 

Pictures  on  Stoves,  Allegorical  Subjects 19 

Pictures  on  Stoves,  Bible  Subjects 19 

Pictures  on  Stoves,  Catholic  Subjects 13 

Pictures  on  Stoves,  Classical  Suljjects IS 

Pictures  on  Stoves,  Coats  of  Arms 18 

Pictures  on  Stoves,  Landscapes 19 

Pictures  on  Stoves,  Patriotic  and  Warlike  Sub- 
jects        19 

Pierce.  Nathan 121 

Pilfering  or  Plagiarism.  No  Evidence  of 77 

Pig  Iron 11 

Pigs  Fighting 41 

Pigs  or  Geese  Castings 36 

Pipeholes 10 

Pipehole  in  Top  Plate  Not  Shown Ill 

Pine  Forge 35,   145 

Pine  Grove  Furnace 90,  107,  131,  147,   149 

Placard   125 

Plate  of  1752.     A.  G 68 


Plates,  Earliest  American 102 

Plates,  Flask  Cast 105 

Plates,   Front 155 

Plate,  Front,  To  the  Dance  of  Death 155 

Plate  Interchangeable  as  Top  and  Bottom 40 

Plates,  Meaningless  Front 155 

Plates,   Names  of 147 

Plates  of  Sheet  Iron  or  Soap  Stone 105 

Piatt,  Horace  H 30,     31 

Plow,  1747  45,     57 

Plumbago   11 

Plumsteadville,  Pa 93 

Plympton   Furnace 123 

Pommer,  Wolfgang 127 

Pommeroffen 98,  105,  108,  110,  127,  147 

Popodickon  Furnace 35,  64,  67,  68,  77,   147 

Popodlckon   Ledgers    77 

Porte  di  Hal  Museum 21 

Postament 151 

Posts,  Props  or  Under  Rests  of  Brick 151 

Pot,  Ancient 145 

Pot,  Jahn 77,     80 

Potiphar's    Wife 45 

Potters'  Stove  Tile  Mould's 78 

Potts.  John 67.  70.  73,  74,  75,  78.  80.  95,  120,  145 

Potts,  John   (2) 95 

Potts  of  1 763,  John 98 

Potts  Fireback  or  Date  Plate,  John 120 

Potts,  Samuel 75,  77,     95 

Potts,  Thomas  67,  71,  75,  77,  78,     79 

Potts,  Thomas,  Three  Persons  by  Name  of...      77 

Potts   Family 77 

Potts   Manuscripts 35,   73,  146 

Potts  Manuscripts  and   Furnace  Ledgers 151 

Potts  Memorial 35 

Potts-Jam.es,    Mrs 73,   96,  146 

Potts-Rutter   Family   Graveyard 95 

Pottsgrove    77,     78 

Pottsgrove  Furnace 34,  68,  77,  82,  99,  102,   147 

Pottsgrove   Ledgers 77 

Pottstown,    Pa 54,     67 

Pottstown,  Founders  of 77 

Pottstown   Furnace 77 

Pottsville    67,     77 

Poulton,    Abram 98 

Prayer,  at  Table 89 

Principio   Furnace 33 

Proverbs  10:  22 29 

Prowell,   G.   F 85 

Prussian  Grenadiers 45,     57 

Psalms     1:     1 85 

Psalms    7:11 87 

Psalms     7:12 iii 

Psalms  34:  16 79 

Psalms  37:21 72 

Psalms  37:  27 92,     98 

Psalms  62 :     7 100 

Psalms  65:    9 87 

Psalms  65:  10 84,  85,  87,     94 

Psalm  67 101 

Psalms  92:     2 85 

Psalm  117 101 

Pullman,  F.  Cooper 98 

Pump.    1748 45 

Putt    67 

Q 

Ouakertown   76 

Quoniam  Bonus 89 

Quotations,  False 46 

R 

Radiating  Fireback  of  Belgium 124 

Raging  Year,  The 73 


171 


Ralph.  Alexander 44 

Range.  Cooking 103 

Rapperswyl.  Town  Hall  of 142 

Rathshaus  at   Wolfach 142 

Rau.  Robert 46,  101 

Ravengiersbach   15,  115 

Read.   Charles 104,   105 

Reading.  Penna 69 

Reading,  in  England 49 

Reading   Furnace 130 

Readin?  Weekly  E^gle 33 

Rear  Plate  of  Six-Plate  Draught  Stove 92 

Recasts   35 

Records.  Missing   35 

Red  Rose 83 

Redding  Furnace.  .49.  64.  70,  71,  72,  77,  82,  95,  97,   119 

Redding  Furnace  Ff istory 49 

Redding  Furnace.  Note  on 73 

Redding.  C  rigin  of  its  Name 73 

Redding  Plates 99 

Reed.  S.  W 88 

Rees  Encyclopedia  of  1788 95 

Reeves.  F.  S.  B 150 

Religious  Motive.  Together  with  Advertisement    80 

Renaissance.   German 19 

Renaissance  Vaults 25 

Rene  of  Anjou 15 

Replicas  of  Arms  of  England   Fireback 121 

Pennsylvania   Historical   Society. 

Mrs.   Hallam. 

Moon   Hall,  near  Valley  Forge. 

Mr.  Henry  Pennypackcr. 

Col.    H.    D.    Paxson.    Holicong.    Pa.,    replica 
dated  1746. 

Memorial  Hall  Museum. 

Mr.    Penrose.   Graeme   Park.   Pa. 

Washington's     Headquarters.     Moorestown, 
N.  J. 

Cox  House,  near  Bushington.  Pa. 
Replicas  of  Depart  from  Evil  of  1764 98 

Hon.  S.  W.  Pennypacker. 

Col.  H.  D.  Paxson. 

Dr.  J.  E.  Scott. 

Pucks  County  Historical  Society. 

Abram  Poulton. 

Leathermsn   House.   Plumsteadville.   Pa. 

J.  O.  K.  Roberts. 

F.  Cooper  Pullman. 

Washington  Hotel,  Sellersville.  Pa. 

J.  H.  Lynn. 
Replicas  of  Pharisee  and  Publican  Plate 63 

Dr.  Sieling. 

C.  J.  Wister. 

Gov.  S.  W.  Pennypacker. 

Bucks   County   Historical   Society. 

Huber's    Tunk   Yard. 

Mrs.  C.  Miller.  Macungie.  Pa. 

George   Long. 

Albert  C.  Myers. 

A.  K.  Hostetter. 

T.  H.  Lvnn. 

C.  J.  Wister's  Estate. 
Replicas  of  S.  F.  of  1756  Plate 71 

Col.   H.  D.  Paxson. 

Isaac  Bennet. 

Bucks  County   Historical   Society. 

Mrs.  Walter  Cope. 

Mr.  B.  F  Fackenthall.  Jr. 

Requet-Houyon.   M 21 

Restaurant   Schenken   at   Ansembourg 125 

Reynolds.  William 104 

Rhymes   32,     62 

Rhyme  for  Children 87 


Rhyme  of  Huber 83,  105 

Rhyme  of  Stiegel 83,  105 

Rice.  A.  H ii,  iii,  65,  66,  155 

Rich  Hill 76,  78 

Rich  Man  and  Lazarus 21 

Richards.  William 105 

Richmond.  Va 131 

Right  and  Left  Plates  Not  Always  Duplicates  154 

Rights.  T.  M 123 

Rijks   Museum.   Amsterdam. 

8.  9,  14.  16.  68.  93.  95.  97.  110,  111,  114 

Rims.  Cast  Solidly  in  America 95 

Rims,   Grooved 147 

Rims.  Guttered.  Cast  Solid  upon  Side  Plates.    .  .  95 

Rims,    Gutter-shaped 13 

Rims.   Loose 13,  95,  147 

Rims.   Loose.   Gutter-shaped 30,  34 

Rims,  Loose.  How  Cast 13 

F.im.  Notched  for  Bolts 31 

Rims  on  Corners  of  Stoves 5 

Rims.   Solid  Cast 13 

Rims,  Solid  Cast.  Gutter-shaped 34 

Ringwood    Furnace 104 

Rising    Sun.    The 106 

River  of  God 94,  95 

Rivieres.  Baron  De 17 

Roberts.  J.  O.  K 98 

Robeson,  Jonathan 121 

Robesonia   Furnace 45,  105 

Rock,  George  95,  129 

Rococco    Style 66 

Roman   Letters 20 

Roman  Toga 31 

Romans  12:  21 71 

Ros.  George 83 

Rose.   Mrs 107 

Ross.  George   83,  90,  107 

Ross   Biography,   George 90 

Ross  of  1 765,  George 107 

Ross.   Thomas   98 

Rossmere    90 

Rothenburg-on-the-Tauber    47 

Round  Stove 127 

Roxborough  Furnace 45 

Ruchel.  Emmanuel 60 

Russian   Stoves 139,  140 

Rutter.   Mr..   Philadelphia 95 

Rutter   Family    77,  95 

Rutter.  Thomas 33,  77,  79,  80,  95,  96^  102 

Rutter  of  1758.  Thomas 79 

Rutter  of  Colebrookdale,  Thomas 102 

Rutter,  Thomas.  Three  of  the  Name 96 

Rutter  and  Potts 73 


Saint  George  and  the  Dragon 64 

Salem,  Mass US,  116,   121 

Salutation.  The 65 

Salvation  Plate 99.   100 

Samaria  Plate  at  Metropolitan  Museum 143 

Samson   and    Delilah 51 

Samson  and  the  Lion 31.     50 

Samson   Plate 45.     55 

Samuel,  1st  Book.  17th  Chapter 50 

Samuel  I.  20:  3 59 

Samuel  II.  18 61 

Samuel  Flower  of  1764 97 

S.  F.  of  1756 71 

Samuel    Flower  of   1754 69 

Sand  in  Casting 40 

Sands.   Henry  P 45 

Sandstone    Legs 152 

Sassaman,  Jacob 51 

Sassaman.  Thomas 67.  72,     98 


172 


Sauer,  Christian   Ill 

Sauer,  Christopher 35,  143 

Savage,  Ruth 57 

Scales,  The 53 

Scales,  Angel  Carrying 53 

Schaffner,   Henry   128 

Scharf,  Kurt   9 

Schilling,  Jost 25,  29 

Schoep  (1783) 73 

Schoepp,    Dr.   John   B Ill 

Schwe.tzer,  John 73 

Schweitzer,  Samuel 37 

Schwenckf  elders 57 

Schwenksville    103 

Schwoope,  Benedict  52,  53,  56 

Scott,  Dr.  J.  E 98 

Scottish  Highlanders 44 

Scrap-iron  Heap  at  Pottstown 87 

Scrolls,  Foliate 51 

Scrolls,  Leaf 51 

Scrolls,  Shell-like 102 

Scroll  Work 43 

Scull's  Map,  1755 73 

Seal  of  Philadelphia 56 

Senate  House,  Kingston-on-the-Hudson, 

28,  61,  81,  82,  116,  118,  119 

Sener,  S.  M 105 

Sermon  on  the  Mount 78 

Serpent 42,  43 

Shaferstown    105 

Shapes  of  Stoves,  Varied 140 

Sharf,  Kurt 9 

Sharp,  James 133 

Shearwell   65 

Shearwell  Furnace 52,  53,  55 

Shearwell  Plate,  The 64 

Sheep  Heads 72,  83 

Sheep  Heads  of  the  Aureole 95 

Sheep  Heads  Changed  to  Darts 93,  99 

Sheets  of  Lead  on  Mould3 36 

Sheet  Iron 152 

Sheet  Iron  Stoves 147 

Shewell,  Nathaniel 101 

Shewell  Family 47.  117 

Shirk,  Dr.  Frank 75,  85,  86 

Shoep,  Dr 35 

Shrewsbury  Furnace 104 

Shunamite  Prophetess 29 

Sides,  Without  Fronts 41 

Side  Plate  of  Five-  or  Six-Plate  Stove 55 

Sibenaler,  J.  B 15,  17,  21,  98,  125,  125,  127 

Sibenaler,  M.  Lucien 125 

Sieling,  Dr.  J.  H. 63,  83,  105 

Sigaf OSS,  Lewis 70 

SimUarity  of  Plates 98,  99 

Similar  Stove  Plates 45 

Single  Letter  D 51 

Sirarh  8:  7 iii 

Six-Plate  Stoves 9,  10,  34,  35,  99,  147 

Six-Plate    English    Stoves 99 

Sixty-seventh  Psalm 101 

Size  of  Stoves,   Large,   Middling  and   Small....  34 

Skull's  Map 49 

S-like  Tail 83 

Slabs,  Grave 123 

Smalkald 142 

Smith,  Thomas 79,  86,  88,  94,  101 

Smith,  William 79.  86.  88,  94,  103 

Smith's  Ledger,  Wm 85 

Smith,  W.  D 35 

Smithy  Township,  Berks  County 62 

Smoke    Pipe 90 

Snell,   J.   P 121 

Snyder,  Henry,  Stove  Mould  Maker 35,   150 


Soapstone  Blocks 151,  152 

Society,    Young   Men's   Missionary, 

3,  49,  54,  55,  57,  58,  104,  140 

Soldan,  Philip 8,  9,   13.  16,  17,  22,  29,   141,  143 

Soldan,  Phillipo 9 

Soldiers,  British 121 

Solis  22 

Solomon,   Judgment   of 7 

Soning,  Berkshire,  England 49 

Sorg,  Peter 25 

Sorg,  H.  Philip 26,  28,  29 

South  Kensington  Museum 17 

Southampton,  Penna 61 

Sower,   Christian 64 

Spear,  Mr.  James 127 

Specimens,  Undated.  Oldest 115 

Spotswood,   Colonel 144 

Springhouse,  Penna 50 

Sprouting  Tulips 85 

Squirrel   Hunt,   The 105 

St.  James'  Church,  Lancaster 90 

St.  Luke 9 

St.  Mark 9 

St.  Matthew 9 

Stack.  Furnace 35 

Stag  Hunt,  The 118 

Stamps,  Loose 46,  117 

State  Capitol,  Richmond,  Va 131 

State  House  Museum 25 

State  Library  at  Harrisburg 45,  59 

Statements.  Mistaken 154 

Steadman,  Alexander 80,  83,  105 

Steadman.   Charles 80,  83,  105 

Steigerwalt,  Thomas 33 

Steinman,  Mr.  A.  J 83 

Steinman,  Mrs.  A.  J 43 

Stengel,  Baron 105 

Stenton   73 

Stenton,  Built  in  1728 120 

Stenton  Fireback 123 

Stenton  Fireback  of  1728 119 

Stenton  Fireback,  Chemical  Analysis  of 120 

Stenton,  Wayne  Junction 119 

Stepping-stone  51 

Stevenson,  George 89,  90,  107 

Stevenson  Biography,   George 90 

Stevenson  and  Ross 89 

Stewardson,  Mr.  Emlin 99 

Stiegel    35,  70 

Stiegel's  Advertisement 81 

Stiegel,  Baron   83 

Stiegel,  Not  a  Baron 83 

Stiegel  and  K 83 

Stiegel  Biography 80,  83,  105 

Stiegel's  Cannon  Stove 127 

Stiegel  Plate.  I.  B 81 

Stiegel's   Rhy.me 71 

Stiegel  of  1 758 75,  80,  81 

Stiegel  Stove  of  1769 103,  109 

Stigel.  H.  Wilhelm 81 

Stirling,  Lord 120 

Stockholm    68 

Stockholm  Museum 4,  5,  14,  76 

Stories,  Two  Dillerentlv  Sized,  on  Stoves 113 

Story  of  the  Goose  Girl 142 

Stoudt,  Paul  K 58 

Stoudt,  Dr.  J.  B iii,  46,  75,  76,  86,  87,  88,  89,  155 

Stover,  I.  J 73 

Stoves,  Box-shaped 105 

Stoves,  Cannon 127 

Stoves  Cast  in  1749 145 

Stoves  Cast  in  Six  Plates 113 

Stove,  lamb.  Complete 155 

Stove,  Cylindrical 98 


173 


Stoves,  Earthen 139 

Stove  Fashion  from  Germany 97 

Stove,  First  Franklin 95 

Stoves,  Franklin 95 

Stoves  in  Canada 145 

Stoves  in  German  Fairy  Tales,  Iron 141 

Stoves  in  Letter.  Dated  1647 145 

Stoves  in  Virginia 152 

Stove,   Lord   Botetout's 131 

Stoves,  Kinds  of.  in  Germany 140 

Stoves.  Miscellaneous 115 

Stoves.  Moravian 95 

Stoves,  Names  of 10,  147 

Stoves,   Popular  With  Germans 84 

Stoves,   Price  of 147,  148 

Stove,   Round   127 

Stoves,  Russian 139 

Stoves.  Russian  Brick 145 

Stoves  of  Unusual  Type 147 

Stove,  Tile  and  Iron  Draft 127 

Stoves,  Weight  of 148 

Stoves  with  Upper  Stories 148 

Stove  Castings  35 

Stove  Moulds , 36 

Stove  Moulds.  Sale  of 94 

Stove  Moulds  and  Mould  Makers 150 

Stove  Platcs,  Decorated  of  the  Penna.  Germans 

3,   100,   101,  154 

Stove  Plates,  Used  as  Firebacks 45 

Stove  Tiles 140 

Stovepipe   Attached 93 

Stovepipes,  Sheet  Iron 97 

Stovepipe  of  Thin  Hammered  Iron 89 

Stove  Works  of  Mr.  George  Von  Coellin 18 

Strait    iv 

Stuart,  Henry 114 

Students  and  Collectors 17 

Stuttgardt,  Old  Stoves  Near 18 

Style,  Flemish 121 

Style.   Rococco 65 

Style  and  Weight  of  Stoves 147 

Suddars.  Chas.  A 98 

Sultan,   Portrait  of 7 

Sun  and  Latin  Motto  of  Franklin 95 

Sunbonnet  58 

Surface.  Waved  Peculiar  to  Open  Sand-casting..  33 

Survival  of  the  Stoves 17 

Survival  of  Ancient  Stoves 142 

Swank,  J.  M 32,     35,     35,     43,     49,     70,     71, 

73,     77,     83,     85,   100.   103.  105, 

107.  110,   113,  119,  121,   144,  145,  149 

Swank  and  Montgomery 46 

Swans.   The   Two 107 

Swar.Ti  of  Bees,  The 58 

Swedenborg.  Emanuel 119,  149 

Swedish  Five-Plate  or  Jamb  Stove 23 

Switzerland,  Iron   Stoves  in 17 

Swords  Hammered  into  Ploughshares iv 


Tannery.  Nathaniel  Shewell's 101 

Taques.  Belgium 17 

Taques.   Lorraine 17 

Taques.   Luxemburg 17 

Taques  De  Foyer 15,  16,  115,  124,   125 

Taqueschaf 15,  124,  125,  125,  142 

Taqueschaf.  Belgian 124 

Taunton  Furnace 123 

Taylor.  George 43 

Taylor.  William 105 

T.  B.  Plate ■.■.'.■■.■■.;     83 

Temples  of  India.  Cave 22 

Temptation  of  Joseph 45,     45 

Ten-plate  Stoves 36.  50,  95,  107,  ilO,   112 


Ten-plate  Stove,  Ancient  Dutch 114 

Ten-plate  Stove,  Dutch 110 

Ten-plate  Stove,  Introduction  of 108,  109 

Ten-plate  Stove  Not  an  American  Invention..  ..    110 

Ten-plate  Stove  of  Durham 112 

Ten-plate  Stove.  Origin  of 83 

Ten-plate  Cooking  Stove 108 

Tenth  Commandment,  The 37 

Tenth  Commandment  Plate iii,     45 

Teysher,  John 112 

Thanks  Unto  the  Lord,  for  He  is  Good 88 

Thanks  Unto  the  Lord,  it  is  a  Good  Thing  to 

Give    86 

Thanksgiving,   The 89 

Thomas  Maybury  of  1767 108 

Thomas  Maybury  of  Hereford 103 

Thomas  Rutter  of  1758 79 

Thomas  Rutter  of  Colebrookdale 102 

Thom.,   William    89 

Thompson,   Wm 90,   107 

Thompson  Biography,  William 90 

Thornburg  and  Arthur 90,  107 

Three  Rivers 112,   114 

Three  Rivers  Furnace 113 

Tile   Stoves 78,  140 

Tile  Stove.  Moravian 127 

Tile  and  Iron  Draft  Stove 127 

Tinicum  Township 70 

Tinton  Falls  Furnace 34,  104 

Tobit,  Advice  of iii 

Todtentanz.  Basel 60 

Tohickon  Creek 97 

Tongs    41 

Tools  of  the  Nation  Maker 154 

Top  Plates  Duplicate  Bottoms 41 

Top  Plate  of  Six-plate  Stove 91 

Top  and  Bottom  Plates 40 

Town   Hall   of   Rapperswyl 142 

Towne.  Captain  Solomon 140,  145 

Township.   Alsace 106 

Traders.  The ii 

Trainor.  Patrick 59,  154 

Transylvan'a.  Stoves  in 16 

Treasure  of  1757 74 

Treasure  of  1 758 74 

Treasure  of  Jahn  Pot 78 

Treasure   Plate 70,     77 

Triumphal  Arch  and  Car  of  Maximilian 22 

Trois    Riviers 145 

Trois  Rivieres  Furnace,  Canada 32 

Troys  Rivers 36 

Tromp.  or  Water  Blast 150 

Tubs,  Blowing 35 

Tulip  Design 72 

Tulip  Introduced  into  Europe 72 

Tulips  Sprouting 78 

Tulip  Ware  96 

Tulpehocken  Eisenhammer 148 

Tunkers,  Seventh  Day  or  Baptists 31 

Tunis,  Dr.  Joseph  P 26 

Turner.  Joseph 43 

Twisted   Column 83 

Two   Swans,   The 107 

u 

U's.  Round  in  Central  Cartouche 98 

Udree.  Daniel 65,  1 1 1 

Udree  and  Company  Ill 

Udree  Mansion 65 

Union   Furnace 104 

University  of  Pennsylvania 60 

Unmerciful  Servant 6 

Unmerciful  Steward 7 

Upper  Stories 78 

Urplatten 26 


174 


Valley  Forge 48.  120 

Valley  Forge  Fireback  or  Date  Plate 120 

Van  Buren.  Mrs.  James 52 

Van  Courtlandt,  Mrs 57 

Van  Riemsdyk.  Dr.  B.  W.  F 8,  93,  HI 

Vaulted  Canopies 63 

Vertical  Bolt 40 

Vindugen   96,  97 

Virginia  Furnaces 146 

Volkskunst  and  Volkskunde 18 

Von   Coellin,   George 23,    24,  68.  77 

Voorhees.  Mr 66 

Wachovia  Historical   Society 128 

Waldhorn  of  Germany 102 

Wall  Holes,  Jamb  Stoves 151 

Wall    Stove 5,  10 

Wallace,  James 94 

Walton.  New  York 24 

Walton.  Seth  T 51,  129 

W.  B.  of  1748 48 

Warehouses.   Wooden iii 

Warning  of  Belshazzar 52 

Warp-cracks iv,  11,  12,  13,  55 

\Varp3  in  Wooden  Pattern 115 

Warwick    35,  99 

Warwick  in  1755 35 

Warwick  Furnace 35,  76,  96,  129,  146,  147 

Warwick  Furnace,  History 95 

Warwick  Ledgers 95 

Warwick  Township 73 

Washington's   Headquarters,  Valley   Forge,   Pa., 

48.  120 

Washington's  Headquarters,   Moorestown,   N.   J.  121 

Washington   Hotel 98 

Water   Blast 150 

Watson  36,  59 

Watson's   Annals 108.  148 

Watson's  Annals  Mistaken 103 

Waved  Surface.  Unmistakable,  Characteristic  of 

Iron  Castings 93 

Wayne  Junction 119 

Webb.    Samuel 79,  88 

Webb.  Sheriff 85 

Wedding.  Dr.  Herman   11,  14,  17,  19,  23,  24,  29,  47,  70 

Wedding,  The 57 

Wedding  Dance 56,  58 

Wedgwood,  Josiah 109 

Weight  of  Jamb  Stoves 34 

Weilmunster 26,  28,  29 


Weilmunster  Furnace 48 

Weilmunster    Rhyme 30 

Weiner,  Jacob 64 

Welcker,  Dieterich 52,  53,  55 

Welker,  Dietrich  or  Deiter 65,  111 

Welt,  Vertical 53 

Westbrook,    Miss    118 

Wharves.  Wooden iii 

Wheat   Sheaf 76,  79 

Wheel  of  Fortune 32,  33,  45 

Wheel,  Water 35 

White,  Benjamin 133 

Wicked  Borrower 72 

Wicket,  Draught 92 

Widow,  God  Nurtures  the 27,  29 

Wiesbaden  Museum 25 

Wilhelm,   Bortschent iii 

Wilhelm,  Henrich,  Elizabeth  Plate 83 

William  Bortschent  and  T.  B iii 

William's  Junk  Yard 58.  87 

Williamsburg   Castle  at   Smalkald 142 

Willow   Grove 51,  55 

Wind  Stove 9,  96,  97 

Windsor  Forges 49 

Windsor  Furnace ISO 

Winey,  Jacob Ill 

Winged  Head.  The 55 

Winston-Salem,  N.  C 78,  128 

Winthrop.  Tr..  John 145 

Wister.  C.  j 63 

Wister.  Dr.  Caspar 26,  50 

Wolfach    142 

Woman  of  Samaria 23,  24 

Womelsdorf 105 

Wood-carvings.  Two  by  the  Same  Hand 77 

Woodcuts  in  German  Bibles 54 

Wood-fire,  Open 118 

Worldiness 80 

Worthington.   Harry 103 

Wright.  P.  W 5" 

Wrought-iron  Fuel  Door 92 

Y 

Yardville     12C 

Yeakel  Family 8^ 

Young   Men's   Missionary   Society. 

3,  49.  54.  55.  57,  58,   104.  140 

z 

Zeit    iv 

Zinsweiler   H,  31 

Zornig    6 


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