The Black Art

A 23-Year-Old Printer Publishes a Landmark Bible in 1819

(John Baer's Folio Bible)

The printed Bible has always been the Mount Everest of letterpress printing.

Only the best printers have conquered the challenges of printing a complete Bible...to join the rarified ranks of master printers who have stamped their names on this definitive book.

In 1819,  a young 23-year-old Johann Bär (John Baer, or John Bear) became Lancaster County's only member of this exclusive club.

John's 1819 Biblia is the first, and only, complete Bible hand-printed in Lancaster County.

("Bär" is pronunced like "bear". You can listen to it pronounced here. "Johann" is pronounced here.)

John's Biblia was the largest German-language Bible printed in America to that date.  Weighing in at a hefty 12 pounds, his folio Bible was a force to be reckoned with.

John knew that his Pennsylvania Dutch friends and neighbors would be duly impressed that his Bible was the biggest, boldest, American-made Bible on the market in their German language.

The other German-American Bibles were all smaller, quarto Bibles ...printed by the Saur family in Germantown, near Philadelphia, (1743, 1763, and 1776), by Gottlob Jungmann in Reading (1805), and by Friedrich Goeb in Somerset (1813).

John's ambitious Bible was in a class by itself, where it holds its own, even today.

Above:  A Tin Star is a Good Star: This dramatic, tin-star binding was crafted by an anonymous bookbinder for an 1819 folio Bible printed by John Baer. The cover's corner bosses and the star are tin; the studs and tacks are brass. This binding is from the early 1800s, and presumedly was crafted by a bookbinder in Lancaster County.

(Portrait: 1883 History of Lancaster County by Ellis and Evans)

John Advertises his Bible in 1820: Hot off the Press:

John knew that his Bible was a winner, and he was proud of it. He immediately ran ads in his Volksfreund newspaper to advertise the bibliographic significance of his Bible project.  In this November 1820 advertisement he correctly describes his Bible as "die erste in America" (the first in America)  ...the first German-language Bible published in "folio format" in America. (Click image to enlarge.)

Lancaster County: Rolling in Clover in 1829

(John Baer's Cows-in-Clover Sale Bill)

(Click Image for Enlargement)

1829 Public Auction Announcement: Milk Cows, a Young Bull ...Clover Seed by the Bushel...

To my eye, the plain but dramatic design of John Baer's sale bills represents some of Lancaster's best typography.

John seems to have known that this broadside is exceptionally well-crafted. He printed his name here in unusually-large letters...to assure us that he deserves all the acclaim he receives.

And about that clover:

eginning in the 1700s, Lancaster County's Plain farmers transformed our county into an American Cornucopia, thanks to the help of a miraculous, new crop: red clover.

Red clover revolutionized American agriculture, and our Plain (but Progressive) farmers were among the first Americans to grow this important legume.  They knew good hay when they saw it.

Nitrogen-rich clover restores your soil fertility. It fattens your cows, fattens your wallet, and fattens your family.  Everyone gets fat and happy.

Red clover became a symbol of the excellence of Pennsylvania German agriculture.

"'In agriculture the old order really means the new order.' The Plain people 'epitomize the good farming practices for which the Pennsylvania Germans have long been famous' having been the first farmers to adopt diversified farming, crop rotation, manuring, lime, and the cultivation of red clover."  (David J. Walbert quoting Walter Kollmorgen's 1940 USDA report.)

Clover seed was an important Lancaster County export. By the 1780s, newspapers were advertising "Lancaster County red clover seed" for sale.

By 1810, the census shows that Lancaster County had 12 clover mills to hull the clover seeds from the clover flowers. That same year, our clover mills produced 4,900 bushels of clover seed.

But...alfalfa was introduced into the U.S. in the 1860s as the next Wonder Crop, and replaced clover as our most important hay crop.

For me, though, red clover is always the first edition.  Alfalfa is just a later reprint.

John Baer's Almanacs: English as a Second Language

John Baer (Johannes Bär) didn't care which language you spoke. He wanted to sell you an almanac regardless of your accent. So he published two almanacs: one in English and one in German.

The first almanac John printed in Lancaster was English-language. He began publishing that Agricultural Almanac here in 1825.

Six years later, in 1831, John began publishing his German-language almanac, the Neuer Gemeinnütziger Pennsylvanischer Calender.

I would like to be able to say that the Baer almanac is "the oldest continuous U.S. almanac" in the history of the galaxy.  But that pride of place goes to The Old Farmer's Almanac, the oldest continuous periodical in the U.S.  It is published in Dublin, New Hampshire.

It's not the First American Almanac, but it's No Spring Chicken.

Even though Baer's almanac isn't the oldest American almanac, we Lancastrians are always quick to point out that we have set many (United States) longevity records.  We have:

• ...the oldest publicly-owned continuous farmer's market (Central Market)
• ...the oldest continuous theater house (Fulton Theater)
• ...the oldest continuous pretzels (Sturgis Pretzels)
• ...the oldest continuous Fourth-of-July celebration (Lititz Springs Park)
• ...the oldest continuous blogger about Lancaster printing (Me, Lee Stoltzfus)

(Click Calender for Enlarged View)

John Baer's Neuer Gemeinnütziger Pennsylvanischer Calender (New Popular Pennsylvania Almanac)

(Above) John Baer calls for "Virtue, Liberty & Independence" on Nord Quienstraße (North Queen Street).

"...auf der Ostseite der Nord Quienstraße, vier Häuser nördlich von Courthaus."

(...on the east side of North Queen Street, four houses north of the Courthouse. )

This courthouse was in the center of Lancaster's Penn Square, where the Soldiers and Sailors Monument is now. So John Baer's print shop was located near today's Isaac's Restaurant.  (Isaac's owner Phil Wenger did not tear down John Bear's print shop.  Unfortunately that building was long gone.)

The 12 Months of Pennsylvania Farm Life:

12 Woodcuts in John Baer's 1835 Pennsylvanischer Calender

Every month is a work month on a Pennsylvania farm. John Baer printed these hard-working cuts in numerous editions of his German-language almanac.

Jenner hat 31 Tage. (January has 31 Days.) To Spin Flax for Linen Cloth.

Hornung hat 28 Tage. (February has 28 Days.)  To Cut Firewood.

März hat 31 Tage. (March has 31 Days.) To Scutch and Break Flax for Linen Cloth.

April hat 30 Tage. (April has 30 Days.) To Plow and Make Fence.

May hat 31 Tage. (May has 31 Days.)  To Shear Sheep.

Brachmonat hat 30 Tage. (June has 30 Days.) To Harvest Hay.

Heumonat hat 31 Tage.  (July has 31 Days.)  To Harvest Grain.

Augustmonat hat 31 Tage.  (August has 31 Days.) To Spread Manure.

Herbstmonat hat 30 Tage. (September has 30 Days.)  To Plow.

Weinmonat hat 31 Tage. (October has 31 Days.)  To Sow Seed.

Wintermonat hat 30 Tage.  (November has 30 Days.)  To Make Apple Cider.

Christmonat hat 31 Tage.  (December has 31 Days.) To Flail Grain.

John Baer is the People's Friend: the "Volksfreund" Newspaper

John Baer transformed one of Lancaster County's most-failed newspapers into our most-popular German-language newpaper: Der Volksfreund (The People's Friend) (...as in the Volkswagen...The People's Car.)

This floundering newspaper had twice suffered the public humiliation of being sold at sheriff sales, before John Baer purchased the paper in 1817.

The printers William Hamilton and Joseph Ehrenfried had both lost this floundering newspaper at sheriff auction, before John Bear transformed this sour lemon into lemonade.  Baer turned this paper into "a complete pecuniary and political success."

In 1838 John Baer also purchased Der Beobachter (The Observer) from Samuel Wagner.  John then combined his two newspaper into one weekly paper: Der Volksfreud und Beobachter.

Baer published this newspaper for 20 years until his death in 1858.  His sons Reuben and Christian then continued the publication of the Volksfreund.

John Baer: A Bilingual Printer for a Bilingual People

John Baer's customers spoke both Pennsylvania German and English. So did John Baer. He printed his newspaper with Roman and fraktur fonts to appeal to both sides of the language divide.  Here, in his October 1824 Volksfreund newspaper, he announces the upcoming first issue of the first almanac he ever printed, the Agricultural Almanac. Gerald Lestz continues publication of this almanac today. Baer also advertises his handbill-printing business here.  This newspaper issue also includes an address by Judge Franklin (Richter Franklin).  This is Judge Walter Franklin, who was the President Judge of the Court of Common Pleas. (Click Image to Enlarge It.)

John Baer Says: Buy your Dutch Ovens from George Mayer

Colonel George Mayer (1781-1862) was a wealthy Pennsylvania Dutch iron merchant / hardware-store owner.  In this 1820 Volksfreund advertisement The Colonel promotes his iron wares for sale at his Lancaster hardware store: his Eisen Glas u.(nd) Farben Stohr (Iron, Glass and Paint Store.)

John Baer used one of his fanciest fonts for The Colonel's advertisement. Presumedly, these ads were a great success. The Colonel eventually owned four house and more than 8 acres of land in Lancaster.

In this ad, The Colonel's wares include 50-gallon iron kettles (eisen-kettel), Dutch ovens (Backöfen), and woodenware / cedar ware (Zeder-Geschirr).

Colonel Mayer's hardware store and John Baer's print shop were both located on the first block of North Queen Street.

The Colonel was competing with John F. Steinman's hardware store, located around the corner on West King Street. (Located at the site of my favorite letterpress restaurant, The Pressroom Restaurant.)

Today we remember the Colonel as the inventor of the Mayer butt hinge, a somewhat ill-named claim to fame.

(Click  image to enlarge it.)

So is it John Bear, Bär, or Baer?

John's signature appears as "John Bear" beneath his portrait in the 1883 History of Lancaster County by Ellis and Evans. He also used this spelling on title pages of his English-language books, although he printed his German name, Johannes Bär, on title pages of his German-language imprints. 

John's sons Reuben and Christian spelled their name "Baer", which is the spelling used for the Baer almanac today. John's biographers have used all three spellings.  So do I.  I like to keep everyone happy.

In Search of Fraktur Bookplates in John Baer Books

Inscribed by Joseph Lehn in German script: Joseph Lehn Sein Buch, Geschreiben den 10th tag Februarius 1845 (Joseph Lehn His Book, Written on the 10th day of February 1845.)

Above:  John Baer was everywhere in 19th century Lancaster County.  Every household was a potential customer for the reams of almanacs, newspapers, books and broadsides he printed.

Joseph and Elizabeth Lehn were willing and ready customers. Joseph was a Mennonite farmer and barrel maker who is well known today for the brightly-painted wooden ware he crafted: saffron boxes, sugar buckets, miniature chests. 

Lehn's colorful wooden ware is highly coveted by collectors of Americana, who have been known to hand over mid-five-figure checks to purchase red-and-white seed chests by Joseph Lehn.

Joseph Lehn gave this Mennonite catechism to his music-teacher son Henrich (Henry) in 1843. Henry probably created this watercolor-and-ink bookplate himself.

The second book I show above is another John Baer imprint,  the1843 Evangelium Nicodemi (The Gospel of Nicodemus) a book of the New Testament Apocrypha.

Unfortunately, most books printed by John Baer have no fraktur bookplates and no famous associations. But the search for those books is as much fun as finding them.

Fraktur Songbirds in Barbara Martin's 1820 Songbook

Above:  John Baer was Lancaster County's most prolific printer in the 1800s, so it is no surprise that in 1820 he printed an edition of the Mennonite hymnbook Unpartheyisches Gesang Buch (Nonsectarian Hymnbook).

Lancaster's Johann Albrecht had printed the first edition in 1804.  There was much demand in Lancaster County for this songbook, so in 1820 John Baer printed his own edition of this popular book.

Barbara Martin did not take her 1820 Baer songbook for granted. Her book features a watercolor-and-ink bookplate made by an anonymous artist called "the Weaverland Artist," who worked c. 1822-24 among the Mennonites in Earl or East Earl Township, Lancaster County. The bookplate text refers to the morning star and the morning songs of songbirds.