John Long And John Boyer: Nineteenth Century Craftsmen In Lancaster County

Lancaster, Penn.

:"John Long & John Boyer: Nineteenth Century Craftsmen in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania," an exhibit at the Lancaster Cultural History Museum of the Heritage Center of Lancaster County through December 31, presents recent discoveries that have shed new light on the significance of two Lancaster County craftsmen working in the Pennsylvania German tradition. A booklet of the same name accompanies the exhibition.

The elegant Betty lamps made by John Long of Sporting Hill in Rapho Township exemplify the fine workmanship and wonderful design elements found among Pennsylvania German craftsmen. The recent discovery of two of his early lamps, other signed forms, a signed lamp by a contemporary maker and lamps by later makers are included in the exhibit and publication for the first time.

Second, the discovery of the identity of woodworker John Palm Boyer of Brickerville, new forms, signed and dated pieces, and documented pieces that have descended in the Boyer family have added much to our knowledge of his distinctive paint decorated woodenware, made in the last quarter of the Nineteenth Century. His repetition of design, position of decorative colors and style of decoration exemplify the wonderful Pennsylvania German tradition of combining color with form and function.

John Long

John Long's elegant Betty lamps — made of iron, brass and copper with brass lids and stylized bird finials — are considered by many to be among the finest examples of Pennsylvania German smithwork. The refined forging of the body, the shape of the brass hinged lids, often with punched decoration, and the wonderful brass stylized birds identify this distinctive group of lighting devices. Many are engraved with the maker's name, the location Sporting Hill, the recipient's name and the date. They exemplify the creativity and the love of form, function and design by the Pennsylvania Germans.

Fat lamps, also called grease lamps or Betty lamps, have traditionally been called schmutz amschel among the Pennsylvania Germans. Fat or lard as a fuel was readily available on the farm as a product of rendering animals. Mary Markley Boyer, who lived in Norristown, Penn., wrote, "November 14th we got our Lard for burning." Her lard for burning was fuel for the fat lamp. Betty lamps were used as a source of light into the late Twentieth Century in some Pennsylvania German households.

John Long (1787–1856) was born in Manheim, Lancaster County, the son of John George and Gertrude (Nageli) Long. He was trained as a locksmith, a specialized occupation within the blacksmith trade, and may have been apprenticed to Mathias Long (1752–1824), a blacksmith who operated a shop in Manheim. He married Peggy Lindemuth, the daughter of Peter Lindemuth of the town of Mount Joy, about 1811. They lived on the property of the widow of a Manheim blacksmith, Jacob Druckenmiller (1756–1806) until 1822, and had nine children, born between 1812 and 1828.