Item Info

Creation Date: 2/2/1823
Scripts/Text: Fraktur
Language: German
Physical Description: Leaf
Material: Wove paper; watercolor; ink
Transcription:

Dieses Lieder \ Buch Gehört, \ David Lenz, \ Harmonie, Den \ 2. Februare, 1823

Translation:

This hymnal belongs to David Lenz. Harmony, the 2nd of February 1823.

Category: Bookplate (Bücherzeichen)
Media Type: Manuscripts
Source: Rare Book Department
Notes:

Hand-drawn; hand-colored; hand-lettered. The text in Fraktur extends across the entire document. Below it is a calligraphic spiral, and along the sides are two lines. This bookplate is in the hymnal Harmonisches Gesang Buch (Allentown, Pa.: Heinrich Ebner, 1820).  (PA GER Allentown  1820 H228)

The location "Harmonie" named on the bookplate refers to the Harmony settlement in Posey County, Indiana.  The Harmony Society, a pietistic group from Swabia, was founded by the charismatic leader George Rapp (1757-1847).  The Harmonists established three successive settlements:  They first moved to Butler County, Pennsylvania in 1804.  There they created a thriving communal village named Harmony.  In 1814 the town was sold at a considerable profit.  Everyone moved west to Indiana where they again prospered in a communal setting, also known as Harmony.  This included David Lenz, a member of the Society, who had moved from Pennsylvania to Indiana with the Harmonists, and built a house there ca. 1815. His domicile can be visited today as a typical Harmonist single-family frame dwelling in Indiana. Circa 1824 the members sold this enterprise to Richard Owen, who renamed it New Harmony.  George Rapp and his followers--including the Lenz Family-- then returned to Pennsylvania establishing the village of Economy in Beaver County, which also proved to be economically very successful.  However, because members took vows of chastity, the group inevitably dwindled in numbers. In 1905 upon the death of its last adherent, the Society ceased to exist.  Its vast real estate holdings were sold principally to the American Bridge Company, which enlarged the town, and incorporated it as Ambridge.

Associated Names: Lenz, David
Provenance: Borneman, Henry Stauffer, 1870-1955

Bibliography:

David Lenz: Historic New Harmony, Indiana Online. Retrieved  31 July 2012 from
http://maxkade.iupui.edu/newharmony/lenz.html

David Lenz: Smithsonian Institution Research Information System Online: Retrieved 31 July 2012 from http://siris-archives.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?uri=full=3100001~!255186!0
 

Creation Place Town/Township: Creation Place Note:Based on known history of the Harmonist Society and David Lenz
Region/County:Posey
City/Town/Township:Harmony
State/Province:Indiana

Image Dimensions Width: 17.8 cm
ShelfMark: FLP B-70
Creator Name: Anonymous - Decorator
Heinrich Ebner - Printer/Publisher