A new book illustrating 18th and 19th century Pennsylvania German press-printed house blessings is now available. “God Bless This House: The Printed House Blessings (Haus-Segen) of the Pennsylvania Germans 1780-1921” presents in color 78 editions of house blessings often decorated by major fraktur artists. Listed in alphabetical order by printers' names, 66 imprinted editions are shown, as well as 12 editions printed anonymously. Chapters include a brief history of house blessings; translations of the most common texts; and an illustrated checklist of 78 examples.
The authors of “God Bless This House,” Russell and Corinne Earnest and Patricia Earnest Suter, brought to fruition a study envisioned by the late Dr. Ingrid Faust of Bingen, Germany. The collection of printed house blessings Faust assembled beginning about 1995 included many European and American examples. Faust knew of almost 40 editions printed in North America, but “God Bless This House,” which focuses on editions printed here, nearly doubled that number.
According to lead author Russ Earnest, "The number of editions we found beyond what Ingrid discovered surprised us, but the biggest surprise was learning which printers created house blessings and those that did not, and the variety of styles they introduced."
Of interest to collectors of folk art, many early and often extremely rare printed blessings were illuminated by major fraktur artists, including Henrich Otto, Friederich Speyer, Arnold Hoevelman, and others.
Also presented and discussed in “God Bless This House” are two important manuscript house blessings, one written by David Kobler in 1742 may be the earliest surviving American-made house blessing. The second was drawn by fraktur artist Carl Scheibeler in 1775. It represents the first documented example of what became a popular style of house blessing showing the 12-hour meditations. Scheibeler's 1775 blessing was perhaps the prototype for the beautifully decorated 1785 editions that came from the Ephrata Cloister press in Lancaster County.
The 128-page soft cover “God Bless This House: The Printed House Blessings (Haus- Segen) of the Pennsylvania Germans 1780-1921” is available from Russell D. Earnest Associates, P.O. Box 1132, Clayton, Del., 19938, for $39.95 plus $5 postage.
To learn more, email RDEARNEST@aol.com.