Adopt an Artifact in the Schwenkfelder Library
The Heritage Center is launching its first Adopt-an-Artifact program. Under this program, we will feature an object, a fraktur, a work of art, a book, or a manuscript that is in dire need of conservation treatment. You can “adopt” one of the featured pieces with a donation to a restricted fund that will be used solely for the conservation of these artifacts. You can donate the whole amount or a portion, and you will be credited in the artifact’s catalog record and when the artifact is on exhibition.
Currently Available for Adoption
This quarter we are highlighting an extraordinary writing model, or Vorschrift, that was given to us in 2019 by Schwenkfelder descendant Greg Kriebel. It was made by an unknown schoolmaster for Anna Maria Boehm in Philadelphia in 1773 and is truly a masterpiece of baroque decoration. Anna Maria (or as she was known to her family, Maria or Mary) Boehm was the fourth child of Philip and Anna Maria (Yost) Boehm Jr. Philip was a merchant and had property on 2nd Street in Philadelphia. Maria Boehm appears to have been born in 1765, but records are sketchy, so it is difficult to ascertain.
Philip’s father was Johann Philip Boehm, the founder of the German Reformed Church in the United States. The family was firmly rooted in that church and was associated with the Old First Reformed Church in Philadelphia. That church had a school as early as 1753, and perhaps this Vorschrift was made at that school.
What makes this Vorschrift special and unusual is the inclusion of “PHILADELPHIA” at the bottom. Any fraktur made in Philadelphia is uncommon—at least in terms of survival. For this piece to proclaim its origins so loudly is quite amazing.
We predict that conservation treatment and mounting will cost between $2500 and $3000. All our works on paper are treated by The Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts in Philadelphia. Though it is difficult to see in the photo here, the fraktur is in four pieces, so repair and stabilization is a priority.
This Vorschrift is 250 years old this year. What a fitting way to celebrate its birthday! Will you help us give it another 250 years?
Why This Kind of Gift Matters
Collections of this depth and age require constant, skilled attention. Without ongoing conservation funding, objects deteriorate — inks fade, textiles weaken, wood splits, paper becomes brittle. The Schwenkfelder Library holds one of the world's largest collections of Pennsylvania German fraktur, along with textiles, farm equipment, and family archives that exist nowhere else in one place. Adoption gifts fund the direct, material work of keeping these objects intact for the next generation of researchers, descendants, and visitors.
- Each adopted artifact receives a recognition label noting the donor's name and adoption date
- Adoption gifts fund conservation, archival housing, cataloguing, or digitization
- Donors receive written acknowledgment and details about the specific object they supported
- Adoptions can be made in honor or memory of a family member
- Staff will help match you with an artifact suited to your interests and giving level
Be a Part of Pennsylvania History
Our collection spans more than three centuries of Pennsylvania German material culture — fraktur manuscripts, hand-woven textiles, agricultural tools, furniture, devotional objects, and family documents that traveled with Schwenkfelder families from Silesia to Pennsylvania beginning in 1734. Artifacts available for adoption range across all of these categories, at giving levels designed to reflect the scope of work each object requires.
Because available artifacts change as conservation priorities shift, we encourage you to reach out directly. Tell us what interests you — a particular type of object, a family name, a period of history — and we will match you with an artifact that fits both your interests and your giving level.