Website published in 2006.
This Site's Author / Programmer / Photographer : Me: Lee Jay Stoltzfus
Antiquarian / Geek / Bibliophile.
Here in Lancaster County, my Stoltzfus surname is the most typical Amish name. Most of my known ancestors were Amish. But my parents left the Amish as teenagers. Fortunately my Karma is still Amish.
I frequently confess to being unrepentantly bookish.
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This Site's Historical Consultant: Clarke Hess
Historian / Collector / Author of the weighty tome Mennonite Arts.
Clarke is a hard-core genealogist. If you are his third cousin twice-removed, he knows who your Grandma's father's sister was.
Clarke is a trustee of Lancaster's Heritage Center, and is a former trustee of Lancaster's Historic Preservation Trust, the Landis Valley Museum, and the Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society. He is totally obsessive-compulsive about Lancaster County history.
Most of books, fraktur, broadsides, and other items in this site are from Clarke's personal library of Lancaster County imprints. Unfortunately that does not include the $125,000 Lancaster almanac or the Declaration of Independence. Maybe one will show up at a yard sale.
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My Information Sources for this Website:
Jack Brubaker (The Scribbler): The Steinmans of Lancaster. Lancaster. 1984.
John W. W. Loose: The Heritage of Lancaster. Lancaster. 1978.
Gerald Lestz: Artists' Album / Lancaster County. Lancaster. 1983.
Don Yoder: The Pennsylvania German Broadside. Penn State. 2005.
Russell and Corinne Earnest: Flying Leaves and One-Sheets. Oak Knoll Books. 2004.
Russell and Corinne Earnest: Papers for Birth Dayes: Guide to the Fraktur Artists and Scriveners. East Berlin, PA. 1997.
Clarence Spohn: "The Bauman / Bowman Family of the Cocalico Valley: Printers, Papermakers and Tavernkeepers." "Journal of the Historical Society of the Cocalico Valley." 1994.
Arndt and Eck: The First Century of German Language Printing in the United States of America. Göttingen. 1989.
J. H. Beers & Co.: Biographical Annals of Lancaster County Pennsylvania. 1903.
Ellis and Evans: History of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Philadelphia. 1883.
Alex. Harris: A Biographical History of Lancaster County. Lancaster. 1872.
Lottie Bausman: A Bibliography of Lancaster County, 1745-1912. Philadelphia. 1916.
J. I. Mombert: An Authentic History of Lancaster County. Lancaster. 1869.
Isaiah Thomas: The History of Printing in America. Worcester, MA. 1810-19.
Henry Long: "Some Early Printers." Journal of the Lancaster County Historical Society. Vol 3. Nos. 8 & 9. 1897-1898.
Frank Diffenderffer: "Early German Printers of Lancaster and Issues of their Press." Journal of the Lancaster County Historical Society. Vol 8. No. 3. 1903-1904.
Etc. etc. etc.
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My Other Websites:
The Hess Homestead: A Mennonite Farm in Lancaster County, PA. Here: Hess Homestead Lititz
John Fass: A Pennsylvania Dutch Artist in New York City. Here: HammerCreek.org
The Photography of Dillman Bomberger, Lancaster County, PA Here: Dillman Bomberger
The Historic One-Story Houses of Lancaster, PA Here: Lancaster Houses
A Few Lancaster Links:
The Heritage Center of Lancaster County. Here.
Lancaster County's Letterpress Printing Club: The .918 Club. Here.
Lancaster Newspapers Online. Here.
Lancaster County Historical Society. Here.
Lancaster County Pennsylvania Visitors Center. Here.
The Pressroom Restaurant: Lancaster's Newspaper-Themed Restaurant. Here .
Weekend Getaways to Lancaster. Here.
Discover Downtown Lancaster. Here.
Baer's Almanac. (John Baer for the 21st Century). Here.
A Few Printing-History Links:
American Printing History Association. Here.
The International Printing Museum, in Southern California. Here.
The Museum of Printing, in Massachusetts. Here.
The Museum of Printing History, in Houston. Here.
Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum, in Wisconsin. Here.
More Printing Museums, listed by the American Amateur Press Association. Here.
Briar Press: A Community of Letterpress Printers, Book Artists, and Printing Enthusiasts. Here.
The Center for Book Arts, in Manhattan. Here.