Spring 2008 Exhibits

March 18 through September 15, 2008

Christopher Sauer: Colonial Printer

Christopher Sauer and his son by the same name were the most influential printers to the German-speaking people of Colonial America. This exhibit introduces father and son and tells the visitor their story. Through copies of rare 18th century imprints from their presses, a glimpse of their lives and their activities is revealed. The Sauer press was a natural place for the Schwenkfelders to turn when they had printing projects in the 1760s. Get to know these intriguing 18th century men from Germantown in this Art Gallery exhibit.

Art Gallery

March 25 through September 15, 2008

By the Sweat of their Brow: Work and Workers in the Perkiomen Region

The Heritage Center will present By the Sweat of their Brow, an exhibition about traditional forms of work and workers in the Perkiomen region. Using H. Winslow Fegley’s extraordinary photographic record of rural work as a guide, the exhibit will feature the types of tools and equipment used for work in the home, farm and rural trades that are in the museum collection of the Heritage Center. The types of workers, including apprentices, indentured servants, and slaves will also be explored using materials from the Heritage Center archives. Many seldom or never seen obsolete objects of everyday life from the collection will be included in the exhibit.

Local History Gallery

April 13 through October 14, 2008

Baby Love: Taufschein and Objects of Babyhood

Celebrate spring with our exhibit featuring selections from the extensive Geburts- und Taufschein collection of the SLHC and baby garments, quilts, furniture, ceramics and other baby-related objects from our museum collection. These examples of Pennsylvania German babyhood from the Perkiomen region and beyond are wonderful representations of the rebirth that comes to us every year with the spring equinox. Bring your favorite baby, or mom-to-be, and receive 10% off your gift shop purchase! (with some exceptions)

Fraktur Gallery

May 5 through August 30, 2008

Upper Perkiomen Valley Baseball Memorabilia

Once again, May 5 to August 30, we feature the fantastic collection of local baseball memorabilia: photos, uniforms, baseballs, and bats for a special spring exhibition in the hallway between the Local History Gallery and the Library. On view will be some recent additions to the Heritage Center’s baseball collection. Check out the roster of local leagues in the early and mid 20th century!

Library Hallway Cases

May 15 through September 2, 2008

What's underground at the Speaker’s House? Archaeology Exhibit at Schwenkfelder

An exhibit on archaeology from The Speaker’s House, the home of Frederick Muhlenberg, the first Speaker of the US House of Representatives. The exhibit features buttons, ceramics, bottle glass, and other household items that were excavated during an archaeology survey that took place in the summer of 2007. Examining change over time, the exhibit shows artifacts from the 18th through the 20th century. Nick Bendas, a sophomore at Ursinus College, developed the exhibit while conducting an internship at The Speaker’s House this spring. The Speaker’s House, which is located at 151 W. Main Street in Trappe, was constructed by John Joseph Schrack c. 1764 and was occupied until 2002 by various individuals, families and tenants.

Ground Floor Lobby

May 30 through August 31, 2008

Calvin Ruth Art Exhibit

Calvin Ruth, a watercolor artist and teacher who lived nearly all of his 87 years in neighboring Quakertown is the featured artist this summer in our meeting room. Over the years, Ruth has painted many watercolors of architecturally significant homes in our area. Often the scenes were repeated in different seasons and years apart. Because of this and his meticulous record keeping, it is possible for historians to note the changes to our area over the last 50 years.

Calvin Ruth graduated from the Philadelphia College of Art with a Bachelor of Fine Art degree and from the Stella Elkins Tyler School of Fine Art of Temple University with a Master of Fine Art degree. He taught at Perkiomen Prep School in Pennsburg and various schools in Hatfield and Souderton, and for over 27 years he taught in Quakertown schools. With a keen interest in history, genealogy and conservation, he is a member of the Bucks County conservancy, Springfield Township Historical Society, Bucks County Historical Society Bucks County Genealogical Society, Montgomery County Historical Society and the Valley Forge Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution. He has been director, secretary and librarian of the Richland Library Company in Quakertown, Pennsylvania.

Meeting Room