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Books, Manuscripts
The Schwenkfelder Library & Heritage Center is a not-for-profit historical library and museum located in Pennsburg, Pennsylvania. more...
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It's mission is to \"protect, preserve and interpret books, manuscripts and artifacts of the Schwenkfelders and the people of southeastern Pennsylvania in general and the Perkiomen Valley in particular\".1
History of the Schwenkfelder Library & Heritage Center
The Heritage Center's collection began as an informal collection in a private home in Hereford Township, PA. In 1890 it was designated the \"Schwenkfelder Historical Library\"2. Two years later the collection was moved to Perkiomen Seminary (now Perkiomen School) in Pennsburg, PA. The initial collection was part of an effort to gather the writings of the spiritualist reformer Caspar Schwenckfeld von Ossig (1489-1561). The Carnegie Library, donated by Andrew Carnegie, on the campus of Perkiomen School was designated to house the growing collection of books, manuscripts and artifacts related to Schwenkfelder history on the upper floor. In 1947 the Schwenkfelder Library was established as a non-profit educaitonal institution, separate from Perkiomen Seminary. In 1951 the book and manuscript collection moved to a new building adjacent to Perkiomen School.
In 2001, the Schwenkfelder Historical Library was expanded to house both the library and museum collections. Andrew S. Berky served as the first full time director of the Schwenkfelder Library in 1951. Dennis K. Moyer, author of Fraktur Writings and Folk Art Drawings of the Schwenkfelder Library Collection, 1997, became the director in 1983. David W. Luz became the director in 1997.
Collections
The Schwenkfelder Library & Heritage Center collection started in 1885. The initial collection was an effort to gather the writings of Protestant reformer Caspar Schwenckfeld von Ossig (1489-1561). The collection of writings became the Corpus Schwenckfeldianorum, a nineteen volume body of work containing Schwenckfeld's letters and books. The collection expanded after 1913, when it was housed in the Carnegie Library, part of Perkiomen Seminary. In 1919 twelve tons of research material was shipped from Germany, largely due to the effort and research of Dr. Elmer E.S. Johnson. Although most of the collection was acquired through personal donations, the Schwenkfelder Library acquired the collection of former Governor of Pennsylvania, Samuel W. Pennypacker, in the 1920's. The diverse collection of objects and archival materials today focus on Schwenkfelder heritage as well as the Goshenhoppen and Perkiomen Valley regions of Pennsylvania, and is known for its' collection of Schwenkfelder fraktur. The museum collection houses artifacts and objects related to Caspar Schwenckfeld von Ossig, Schwenkfelder immigration, and the Schwenkfelder way of life in southeastern Pennsylvania. The collection includes furniture, household art, folk art paintings and drawings, agricultural equipment, quilts, show towels, coverlets and other textiles as well as a Herbarium. The widely known Schwenkfelder Fraktur collection at the Schwenkfelder Library includes bookplates, Vorshriften, religious texts, Labyrinths, certificates and manuscript books, from the Lower and Upper Schwenkfelder Districts3. In addition to the Corpus project, the library and archive collection includes, but is not limited to local church and cemetery records, German and English newspapers, deeds and land draughts, family genealogies, the H. Winslow Fegley photograph collection, and Pennsylvania German prints and manuscripts.
Read more at Wikipedia.org
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